Al-Arabia – Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said in an interview with Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT that Tehran would consider letting Russia use its Hamadan air base again if Moscow asked, the RIA news agency reported. Russia launched air strikes against Syrian militants from the Iranian air base in August before the arrangement ceased amid tensions between Moscow and Tehran over …

Al-monitor –  Mehdi Karroubi, one of the candidates in the disputed 2009 presidential election who later emerged as a leader of the Green Movement, resigned from his post as secretary-general of his political party. Karroubi, a former parliament speaker, has been on house arrest along with fellow Green Movement leader Mir Hossein Mousavi since 2011. Karroubi founded the Reformist National …

Al-monitor – On Dec. 22, the same day the Syrian government announced that Aleppo was under its control, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari was in Damascus to meet President Bashar al-Assad. Ansari was in fact in the Syrian capital to congratulate his country’s prime regional ally for retaking Syria’s largest city and one of the main strongholds of …

RFL/RE – Mehdi Karrubi, a top Iranian opposition leader who has been under house arrest for nearly six years, has resigned as secretary-general of his party. Karrubi wrote in a letter to the National Trust party that his resignation is an effort to preserve unity ahead of the May presidential election. “Considering my situation since [2011] and given that I …

RFL/RE – Iran’s currency fell to an unofficial record low against the U.S. dollar on December 26, extending a dramatic drop in the rial’s value in recent months that has prompted concerns about the country’s economy. The street value of the rial reportedly hit 41,500 to the dollar on December 26, compared to 35,570 in September and beating the previous …

RFL/RE – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev said he is ready to host talks between Russia, Iran, and Turkey on the conflict in Syria in the Kazakh capital of Astana. “Kazakhstan is ready to host all sides for talks in Astana,” Nazarbaev said on December 26 during a visit to St. Petersburg where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kazakh …

Al-Arabia – Iran has killed hundreds of thousands of birds in recent weeks as avian flu spreads across seven provinces of the country, officials have reported. More than 1,000 wild birds, mostly geese, have been found dead in the Mighan wetland in central Iran, the environmental protection organization told state news agency IRNA on Monday. IRNA said 63,000 chickens, along …

Al-Arabia – Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, has hailed the ‘victory’ in Syria’s Aleppo claiming that the city represents a frontline for ‘Islamic revolution’ in his country. According to him, Iranian authorities view the evacuation of citizens from Aleppo and the destruction of the city as “victory”. Jafari also said that Tehran …

IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS – Four fingers of the right hand of two prisoners were amputated in an Iranian prison on the Christmas day, December 25. Amputation verdicts of two peisoners were carried out in the prison of Urmia (Northwestern Iran), Sunday December 25. According to close sources the two prisoners who were brothers, were sentenced to prison and amputation of …

Al-monitor — Off-road driving as well as tours of the desert, mountains and forests have become popular pastimes for youths in Iran. The phenomenon particularly applies to those from more affluent backgrounds, who often embark on journeys to the desert in their upscale vehicles. To become better acquainted with desert tourism and off-road driving in Iran, Al-Monitor spoke to Mohammad …