RFL/RE – The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on September 28 said Russia is trying to “shield Iran” from inspections by the UN’s nuclear watchdog of some activities that could contribute to developing a nuclear bomb. Nikki Haley has been pushing to increase and broaden the inspections conducted by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is charged with …

RFL/RE – Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on September 28 that he wants to hold a summit with Iranian and Iraqi leaders to coordinate their response to the Kurdish vote for independence in Iraq. “We are planning to come together in the near future to coordinate the steps to be taken for the next period,” Yildirim told reporters in Turkey. …

Radiozamaneh – In the past weeks labor protests and strikes have increased across Iran with workers speaking out against layoffs and nonpayment of wages. Iran’s ailing economy has not recovered from the nuclear sanctions and even after the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal, workers’ living conditions have not improved. Workers of Heavy Equipment Production Company (HEPCO) and the Azarab Industries …

CHRI – The husband of imprisoned Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe speaks to CHRI about her case and their lives since she was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards in April 2016. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe never imagined she would be arrested and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison when she entered Tehran’s international airport on her way back home to the UK …

CHRI – Dozens of Tehran bus drivers and labor activists rallied in front of the Labor Ministry in Tehran on September 25, 2017 in solidarity with their imprisoned colleague Reza Shahabi, who has been on hunger strike for more than 50 days. More than 800 political and labor activists also signed a letter, released on September 24, expressing support for Shahabi’s …

CHRI – A lawsuit has been filed in an Iranian court against the CEO of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, accusing the app of servicing terrorists and spreading immorality, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi announced on September 26, 2017. “This network, which operates under Western laws, cannot stop us from investigating this suit,” said Dowlatabadi, according to the judiciary’s official news agency, Mizan. “According …

Al-Monitor – Hope for Iran’s long-overdue accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) appears to have disappeared. The July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed between Tehran and six world powers, has done little to bring about a consensus within the organization to proceed with Iran’s membership bid. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, the Iranian government has little to show in terms of …

RFL/RE – Iran’s sports federation has fired Golnar Vakil Gilani, the head of the Polo Federation, over leaked private photos. Gilani told Iranian news agencies that she had not received any letter in this regard but the sports authorities had appointed another woman as temporary president for the federation. Former head of Iran’s Polo Federation, Golnar Vakili Gilani Read related article by Shahrvand daily Defying …

PayvandNews – The fifth edition of Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games has come to a close in Turkmenistan, with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s delegation landing in the third slot of the medal count table at the end of the international and multi-sport event.  Iranian sportsmen and women took home a total of 118 medals (36 gold, 23 silvers and …

PayvandNews – The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced that the inflation rate for the 12-month period ended on the last day of the sixth Iranian calendar month of Shahrivar (September 22) compared to the same period in the previous year hit 9.9 percent, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. cartoon by Javad Takjou, Etemad daily It is while the Statistical Center of …