Iranhumanrights.org – Iranian-born Swedish resident Ahmadreza Jalali is protesting his detainment in Iran since April 2016 without charge and denial of access to due process by refusing food and water. “On Thursday (February 23) Ahmadreza’s relatives in Tehran visited him in prison and said he had lost a lot of weight and was in a bad mental state,” Vida Mehrannia …

VOA – Exiled Iranian rock musician Shahin Najafi sang alongside Israeli rock star Aviv Geffen at a concert in Tel Aviv — the first performance by an Iranian artist at an Israeli rock concert — on March 2, 2017. Shahin Najafi (R) performing with Israeli rock star Aviv Geffen WASHINGTON – Fresh from an unprecedented performance in Israel, exiled Iranian …

RFL/RE – Iran’s judiciary has suspended the six-year prison term of the son of prominent deceased dissident cleric Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. The semi-official ISNA news agency reported on March 4 that the court ordered the six-year term of Ahmad Montazeri suspended at the request of an unidentified senior cleric (after being approved by the Supreme Leader). Ahmad Montazeri Shocking …

RFL/RE – Reuters is reporting that giant Chinese telecom company ZTE is expected to plead guilty to U.S. criminal charges that it sold restricted technology to Iran. The company has not yet signed a plea deal with U.S. enforcement agencies, Reuters reported on March 2, but ZTE is expected to plead guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic …

RFL/RE – The White House has again delayed release of a revamped executive order limiting travel and immigration to the United States. White House officials said on March 2 that the revised order will not be published until next week. The original order, which President Donald Trump said he rushed to get out during his first week in office to …

RFL/RE – Syria’s warring parties traded blame on March 2 after nearly a week of peace negotiations without progress in Geneva, while the United Nations’ negotiator pressed on with efforts to bring the two sides together. In separate talks with both sides, UN Syria envoy Steffan de Mistura sought to focus the talks on agreeing to hold elections, draft a …

Amnesty – Iranian academic Dr Ahmadreza Djalali has resumed his hunger strike and has said he has stopped taking liquids as well as food. He is protesting his ongoing detention and the authorities’ refusal to grant him access to a lawyer of his choice. He has said that he would “rather die from his hunger strike than be convicted of …

Al-monitor – Iran’s upcoming presidential election is set to be contentious, pitting the ruling coalition of moderates and Reformists against hard-line conservatives. As moderate incumbent President Hassan Rouhani seeks a second term, his opponents are striving to reach a consensus over a single candidate — a prospect that appears unachievable given deep disagreements among conservatives, with former chief nuclear negotiator …

Al-monitor – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met March 1 in Islamabad on the sidelines of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) conference to diffuse recent tensions between their countries. Despite the photo op in the Pakistani capital, the two sides still hold opposing positions on a number of issues in the Middle East. . AUTHOR …

PayvandNews  – The recent reports indicate that the Islamic Republic of Iran has already been able to escalate its oil exports to levels that existed before sanctions were imposed on the country in 2011. Iran’s exports of oil stood at 2.35 million bpd before the sanctions were imposed against the country in 2011. One of the main reasons for the …