RFL/RE – Iran’s official IRNA news agency says U.S. plane-maker Boeing will deliver two 777 passenger jets to Iran within the next month, one of the first major U.S. business deliveries with Iran after years of Western sanctions. IRNA on April 9 cited an “informed source” as saying the jets will be delivered to national carrier Iran Air. The 777 …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani defended his economic record in a press conference on Monday but stopped short of formally announcing his candidacy for next month’s presidential election. Rowhani pushed back against criticism from conservatives over his economic performance, saying there had been measurable improvements in agriculture, healthcare, energy and internet coverage, especially in villages and poor suburbs. He …

PayvandNews – President Hassan Rouhani has unveiled two major nuclear achievements on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of Iran’s National Nuclear Technology Day. The Iranian chief executive lifted the curtain off the accomplishments made by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, namely a stone centrifuge, and high-temperature condensate pump. The former product is used to analyze samples gleaned from …

PayvandNews – Iran has been a major supporter of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s beleaguered president, throughout its civil war, which has entered its sixth year. In fact, until Russia decided to conduct airstrikes in Syria in September 2015, Iran was the only country that actively and meaningfully supported the Syrian regime. In addition to providing military and other support, Iran also …

Iranhumanrights.org – A little over a month before Iranians head to the polls on May 19, 2017, Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani has warned that a repeat of the protests against the disputed result of the 2009 presidential election would not be tolerated. Iran’s Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani “This time the judiciary, the police and security forces, the authorities and, most …

BBC – Talk of ‘us’ and ‘them’ has long dominated Iran-related politics in the West. At the same time, Christianity has frequently been used to define the identity and values of the US and Europe, as well as to contrast those values with those of a Middle Eastern ‘other’. Yet, a brief glance at an ancient religion – still being …

Dr Mehdi Khazali conducted his first presidential campaign interview via the global television network, DorrTV. Less than forty days remains until the twelfth presidential election in Iran, and the candidates of different parties have been somewhat confirmed. President Hassan Rouhani has been confirmed as the sole reformist candidate in Iran’s twelfth presidential election. There is however the talk of a …

Al-Arabia – Iran has condemned the US missile strike on Syria, saying the “unilateral action is dangerous, destructive and violates the principles of international law.” That’s according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi. He made the comments in a report carried Friday by the semi-official ISNA news agency. Iran is one of the biggest supporters of embattled Syrian President Bashar …

Iranhumanrights.org – An additional 91 days were added to civil rights activist Atena Daemi’s seven-year prison sentence for her peaceful activism. The sentence was issued to Daemi and her two sisters after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded to her complaint about their use of excessive force with a complaint of their own. “The strange thing is that when …

Iranhumanrights.org – Despite interest expressed by foreign female runners, participants in Tehran’s first international marathon will be required to run separately based on their sex. The sudden change resulted in an admission by a sports official that the hijab—the head-to-toe Shia-Islamic dress code that all women in Iran are legally required to observe in public—is not always convenient. Two days …