RFL/RE – U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his temporary ban on all refugees as well as travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, saying the order was “done for the security” of the country. Trump made the comments in a February 8 speech to law enforcement officers after a federal judge last week blocked his controversial order. “I don’t ever …

Al-Arabia – The new United States administration, under President Donald Trump, is believed to be exerting pressure for imposition of new sanctions against Iran in response to their activities in the Middle East and fueling instability in the region. The administration is said to be studying several aspects for the sanctions, which one includes the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps …

Al-monitor – With the Iranian presidential elections in May, rivals of incumbent Hassan Rouhani continue to assess possible candidates. In recent weeks and months, one new name has repeatedly surfaced in the Iranian media: Ezzatollah Zarghami. AUTHOR Saeid Jafari The former director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s …

Al-monitor – Along with moderates and Reformists, Iranian hard-liners are slamming US President Donald Trump, but the reason of their criticism is different. Moderates are worried that Trump may fulfill his electoral promise by tearing up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), while hard-liners lash out at the current US government for not destroying the deal. AUTHOR Rohollah Faghihi …

VOA – The White House has dismissed a defiant message from Iran’s supreme leader about Donald Trump, saying Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should realize “there is a new president in office.” In his daily press briefing Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump would not remain idle in response to Iran’s “violations, or apparent violations,” of its 2015 nuclear …

Hrana -This leaflet contains the 2016’s analytical and statistical annual report on the human rights in Iran, prepared by the Department of Statistics and Publications of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI). This statistic analysis report presented by HRAI is the result of the daily efforts of this organization and its dedicated members as part of a daily statistic and …

Amnesty -Iranian academic specializing in disaster medicine Dr Ahmadreza Djalali, a resident of Sweden detained in Iran since 25 April 2016, has been threatened with the death penalty. He has been on hunger strike since 26 December 2016 in protest at his detention. http://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1356322017ENGLISH.pdf

Iranhumanrights.org – Soheil Arabi, who is currently serving a seven-and-a-half year prison sentence for the content of his social media posts, is being denied urgent medical care, his lawyer told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “My client has been having serious seizures and is in poor condition,” said Arabi’s lawyer, Amir Salar Davoudi. “My plea to the judicial …

Iranhumanrights.org – After completing a five-year prison sentence in Iran for posting jokes about religion on Facebook, the Judiciary has sent Soheil Babadi into exile. The 39-year-old computer engineer must now spend the next two years in Beshagard, a remote community of 35,000 people in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, a source told the Campaign for Human Rights in …

Iranhumanrights.org – In the latest crackdown by hardliners against popular social media applications in Iran, the Intelligence Ministry has detained several channel administrators of Telegram. Hardline domestic news outlets have subsequently aired admins’ alleged video “confessions.” Telegram is a mobile instant messaging application that also allows users to create membership-based online content channels and groups. The ultra-conservative Fars News Agency, which …