Al-monitor – With the presidential election due to be held on May 19, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged a high turnout in the race. AUTHOR Rohollah Faghihi In a meeting with a group of army commanders and staff on April 19, Ayatollah Khamenei made reference to the upcoming presidential and city council polls, saying, “The election should be healthy, safe, lucid …

PayvandNews – With all 1600-plus candidates now registered for next month’s Iranian presidential election, the results of a new public opinion survey by IranPoll suggest that incumbent President Hassan Rouhani may have a challenge on his hands if he hopes to win a second term. Assuming that Iran’s Guardian Council doesn’t disqualify him from running, Rouhani should be the favorite to win the May 19 contest …

VOA- U.S. President Donald Trump has directed the National Security Council to review the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and evaluate whether suspending sanctions “is vital to the national security interests of the United States.” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (official portrait) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson revealed the review in a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Paul …

PayvandNews – Russia says it has lifted visa restrictions for tourists and businessmen from Iran as well as 17 other countries for trips to the country’s Far East. The announcement was made by Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as reported by Sputnik news agency. Russian Far East “I have recently approved the list of countries, whose nationals can take advantage …

RFL/RE – An Iranian activist who is seeking to run for president says the anti-Semitic rhetoric of some Iranian politicians damages the country’s image. Azam Taleghani, the most prominent of the 137 women who have registered to run in the May 19 election, spoke on April 18 in Tehran. She and the other women are widely expected to be kept …

RFL/RE – The U.S. State Department notified Congress late on April 18 that Iran is complying with last year’s nuclear deal with global powers, and said it has extended sanctions relief given to Tehran under the agreement. The certification of Iran’s compliance, which must be sent to Congress every 90 days, is the first to be issued by the Trump …

Al-Arabia – At a wake in Iran’s holy city of Qom in February, a small group of Bahraini emigres and clerics mourned a young man killed in a gun battle with Bahrain’s security forces. The eulogy was delivered by an exiled Bahraini cleric who has called for the island’s Shi’ite Muslim community to uproot the monarchy in a holy war. …

Iran Human Rights –  Eleven prisoners are reportedly in imminent danger of execution in Karaj’s Rajai Shahr Prison. According to close sources, they may be executed at any moment. According to close sources, the prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement on the morning of Sunday April 16 in prepation for their executions. All eleven prisoners are reportedly on death row …

Iran Human Rights – Eleven prisoners have been transferred to solitary confinement in Rajai Shahr Prison in preparation for their executions. They may be executed at any moment Eleven prisoners at Karaj’s Rajai Shahr Prison were reportedly transferred to solitary confinement on the morning of Sunday April 16 in preparation for their executions. According to close sources, the prisoners are …

CHRI – Imprisoned human rights activist Atena Daemi has been stricken with a kidney infection nine days after going on hunger strike to protest a new sentence issued against her and her sisters following a complaint by the Revolutionary Guards. “Because of her hunger strike, Atena has lost a lot of weight and unfortunately, she is not even taking the …