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Monthly Archives: August 2017

Iran’s Rouhani warns the US: ‘We can quit the nuclear deal’

Al-Arabia – President Hassan Rouhani warned on Tuesday that Iran could abandon its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers within hours if the United States keeps on imposing new sanctions. In a speech to parliament, he also hit out at US counterpart Donald Trump saying that he had shown the world that Washington was “not a good partner”. Rouhani’s comments come …

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Iran: Raising the Death Penalty Bar

HRW — The Iranian parliament on August 13, 2017 approved a long-awaited amendment to the country’s drug law that significantly raises the bar for a mandatory death sentence, Human Rights Watch said today. The amendment, which the parliamentary judiciary commission revised four times, is a step in the right direction despite being more limited than a December 2016 draft amendment that …

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Political Prisoner Responds to “Dolled-Up” Evin Prison Visit by Foreign Ambassadors

CHRI – A political prisoner held in Evin Prison since 2009 has harshly criticized a state-organized “dolled-up” tour of the facility by a group of foreign diplomats in July 2017 that was used by state officials and media to gloss over the prison’s well–documented history of ongoing human rights violations. “When I saw your photos in the newspaper sitting under the trees [in the Evin Prison lawn], I wished those …

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Ahmadinejad camp brazenly assaults Iranian judiciary

Al-monitor — Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his inner circle have been at the center of a storm on the Iranian political stage in recent weeks, with senior aide Hamid Baghaei hurling brazen accusations of rights abuses at the judiciary. AUTHOR Fereshteh Sadeghi Baghaei, a former vice president for executive affairs, made the accusations on July 26 after being released from 18 days in …

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Beheading of IRGC fighter unites Iranians

Al-monitor  – Imagery of the decapitated body of Mohsen Hojjaji, a fighter from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was dispatched to Syria, surfaced on Iranian social media Aug. 9. Earlier, the Islamic State (IS) had shared video of Hojjaji’s capture on the Syrian-Iraqi border during a surprise attack that left a number of people dead. Iranian officials and social media users immediately sent their condolences …

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Reports: Iraq To Mediate Between Saudi Arabia, Iran

RFL/RE – An Iraqi leader has said his country will take the role as mediator between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, media in Iraq and Iran are reporting. Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim al-Arraji on August 13 said Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman had requested Iraq get involved to help ease tensions between Riyadh and Tehran, according to Iran’s semiofficial ISNA …

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Iranian Lawmakers Raise Thresholds Triggering Death Penalty For Some Drug Offenses

RFL/RE – Iran’s parliament has ended the death penalty for certain drug violations, raising the thresholds that can trigger capital punishment in a move that could prevent thousands from being executed. The long-awaited amendment to drug trafficking laws was approved on August 13 after months of debate and must still be ratified by the powerful clerical body, the Guardians Council, and …

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Iran’s Khamenei names conservative cleric to arbitration body

Al-Arabia – Iran’s supreme leader has appointed a conservative cleric to head a council that mediates disputes between government bodies, Iranian state TV reported on Monday. The TV said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei named Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi as the new chief of the arbitration body – known as the Expediency Council – for the next five years. Shahroudi replaces …

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