Radiozmaneh – A pivotal politician in Iran’s internal struggles for reform and the former president of the country, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani dies in Tajrish hospital after a heart attack. Hashemi was 82 years old. His brother, Mohammad Hashemi confirmed the news adding that at 18:30 on 8 Jan 2017, Hashemi suffered a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. …

PayvandNews – Iranian political prisoner Arash Sadeghi ended his 72-days hunger strike after his wife Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee was given furlough from prison on $150,000 bail. Ali Shariati, Saeed Shirzad and several other prisoners still remain on hunger strike. Arash Sadeghi on 7 Jan 2107 at hospital (left) Arash Sadeghi was taken to hospital on 7 jan 2017 on a …

BBC – Iran’s ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a dominant figure in the country’s politics since the 1980s, has died at the age of 82, media say. Mr Rafsanjani had suffered a heart attack, the reports said. He served as president from 1989 to 1997 but lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he ran again in 2005. Although Mr Rafsanjani was …

RFL/RE – Iran has accepted its first new Airbus passenger jet, and the A321 aircraft is expected to be delivered within a few days. A spokesman for the European aviation firm said on January 8 that the “technical acceptance” has been completed, marking a key moment in Iran’s opening up following the lifting of most international sanctions. Iran has ordered …

Al-Arabia – Pollution in Tehran has hit a dangerous level on the Air Quality Index, with airborne particles considered “unhealthy” for the general public. Kindergartens and primary schools in the Iranian capital were ordered to stay closed Sunday, according the state run television. Every year, Tehran suffers some of the worst pollution in the world when cool temperatures cause an …

Iran Human Rights – Three prisoners were reportedly executed at Rajai Shahr Prison on Wednesday January 4. According to confirmed sources, two of the prisoners were executed on Moharebeh charges (enmity against God) and the other prisoner was executed on drug related charges. According to the human rights news agency, HRANA, the two prisoners hanged on Moharebeh charges were accused …

Iran Human Rights -Several political prisoners and prisoners of conscience are on hunger strike in Iran as a last resort effort to be heard by Iranian authorities regarding the violation of their basic human rights. Despite widespread attention by the Iranian civil society to the situation of political prisoners on hunger strike in Iran, the United Nations, European Parliament and …

PayvandNews – Two environment collaborators managed to capture images of the Persian leopard in Taleghan, Alborz province, on Friday. According to Iran Environmental Watch and Wildlife, two environment collaborators crossing their village near the city of Taleqan, found new leopard footprints on the snow. After a few minutes, they saw a mature leopard only a short distance away, which did …

PayvandNews – Reports suggest that Iran has managed to sell nearly half of oil that it had long held on tankers at sea as it capitalizes on OPEC oil cut to sell millions of barrels, courting new customers around the globe. Tehran has sold more than 13 million barrels of the crude it had held in floating storage. The amount …

RFL/RE – More than 35 prominent Iranian-Americans, including artists and academics, have called on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to preserve a nuclear deal with Iran by world powers and choose “diplomacy over sanctions and war” in dealing with the Islamic republic. The January 5 letter warns that scrapping the nuclear accord would be a “disaster for both nations.” “It would …