Al-monitor – The Iranian government’s passing of a bill on Dec. 7 to change the national currency unit from the rial to the toman — equivalent to 10 rials — has triggered charges that the administration had not thoroughly studied the measure. The bill needs to be ratified by parliament and then approved by the Guardian Council to go into effect. AUTHOR Alireza Ramezani Despite the …

PayvandNews – For the time being, the Islamic Republic of Iran revels in the fulfilment of the “divine promise” embodied by its victory in Aleppo. The Pasdaran, or Guardians of the Revolution, have given their all for five long years. They have steadfastly supported Bashar al-Assad’s shaky army. They have mobilized and trained combat-ready auxiliary Syrian forces, imported thousands of …

PayvandNews – Amongst enigmatic tourist destinations in Iran are two Zoroastrian ‘Towers of Silence’ that are nested on top of two lonely, barren hilltops in southern outskirts of the city of Yazd, which has long been a center of Zoroastrianism in the country. In accordance with ancient Zoroastrian beliefs that accentuates on purity of the earth, dead bodies were not …

PayvandNews – Iran and Kazakhstan have signed five agreements for cooperation on the second leg of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s tour of the Central Asia. Rouhani and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev oversaw the signing of the accords in the capital Astana on Thursday, aimed at expanding economic relations. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and his Kazakh counterpart in Astana …

PayvandNews – Iran’s minister of information and communications technology says the country plans to send a new domestically-manufactured satellite into space by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (ending on March 20, 2017). Iran’s Safir rocket sent Rasad satellite into orbit in June 2011 Mahmoud Vaezi said on Wednesday that the probe called Sharif Sat would be put …

RFL/RE – The United Nations General Assembly, over strenuous objections from Russia and Syria, voted to establish a panel to prepare cases involving war crimes and human rights abuses in Syria. The resolution, drafted by Liechtenstein, was adopted by 105 to 15 on December 21, with 52 abstentions, despite warnings from Russia that the assembly was interfering in the work …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is accused of playing an extensive role in the destruction of Aleppo, an Iranian opposition group says in a new intelligence report. Among other things, the country is building a network of stations around the city and sending militia troops from Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon in to execute the brutal killings, …

Iranhumanrights.org – Reformist journalist Farzad Pourmoradi is awaiting sentencing after being tried at Branch 103 of the Criminal Court in Kermanshah, northwestern Iran, on December 5, 2016, but the indictment for the charges of “spreading lies for the purpose of disturbing public order” and “insulting officials” did not specify what constituted the alleged crimes. An informed source also told the …

Al-monitor – In a Dec. 18 interview, Ali Akbar Velayati, the Iranian supreme leader’s foreign policy adviser, described the developments in eastern Aleppo as “the most important victory during the past five years in which Syria has been entangled in the war on terrorism,” adding that they are “a prelude to future victories.” On the same day, Supreme National Security …

Iranhumanrights.org – The lives of at least three imprisoned civil rights activists in Iran are perilously in danger after suffering health complications from weeks on hunger strike, while another has sewn his lips shut, but judicial authorities have yet to respond to their demands, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned. Saeed Shirzad, Arash Sadeghi, Ali Shariati …