RFL/RE – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is visiting Russia’s Black Sea resort town of Sochi, where he is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Zarif’s talks with the Russian leadership would focus on the conflict in Syria as well as “the Middle East in general, issues related to Iran’s nuclear …

RFL/RE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeated his opposition to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement during a press conference as he visited Argentina. Noting recent press reports that Israel might support leaving the agreement in place, Netanyahu said on September 12: “Let me take this opportunity and clarify: Our position is straightforward. This is a bad deal — either …

RFL/RE – Iran has signed a series of deals and memorandums of understanding with Damascus to repair Syria’s electrical-power infrastructure, state media report, giving the Islamic republic a potential foothold in war-torn Syria’s eventual rebuilding process. Syrian state-run SANA news agency reported that the deals were inked on September 12 during a visit by Syrian Electricity Minister Zuhair Kharboutli to Tehran. …

Al-Arabia – The State Department on Tuesday expressed concern about Iran’s participation in the Astana negotiations as a backer of the cease-fire and noted that Tehran’s support for Assad increases the severity of the conflict and the suffering of the Syrians. This comes as a preliminary consultation tour begins in the Kazakh capital of Astana between the representatives of Russia, Iran …

CHRI – Maryam Akbari-Monfared was forced to spend her childhood visiting family members in state prisons and cemeteries. Her three brothers and sister, all political prisoners, were executed without trial in the 1980s, and now Maryam is a political prisoner herself. If her case were reviewed, she would be eligible for release, but the authorities have refused all her demands, including …

CHRI – Three days after Iranian women were barred from entering a stadium in Tehran to watch an international soccer match, President Hassan Rouhani’s top female adviser described the ban as discriminatory. Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar was reacting to Syrian women being allowed inside Azadi Stadium during a World Cup qualifier match between Iran and Syria …

CHRI – An Iranian union is considering a mass strike to protest a prominent labor activist being returned to prison to serve an additional year behind bars two years after he was released. Reza Shahabi, a board member of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (UWTSBC), has been on a dry hunger strike since August 9, 2017. “On …

Al-monitor – Attempts to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia have probably reached a dead end, an Arab diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The source added that a new path doesn’t seem to be possible given “Tehran’s arrogant approach in the region and its insistence on threatening its neighbors, meddling in their internal affairs and helping destabilize the region.” …

PayvandNews – The number of international tourist arrivals to Iran stood at 4.9 million in 2016, falling 5.6 percent from a year earlier and showing the first decline since 2013, according to the latest UNWTO Tourism Highlights report released on August 15. Tourist arrivals in the country jumped from 2.938 million in 2010 to 4.967 million in 2014 and 5.237 million …

PayvandNews – Eleven were killed and 28 others injured after a bus rolled over into a valley in Jajrood, northeast Tehran. The incident happened at 2:30 a.m local time Tuesday when the driver of the bus lost control and the vehicle plunged into a 50-meter deep valley, IRIB reported. According to road police officials, initial investigations show mechanical failure was the …