Amnesty – Prisoner of conscience Mohammad Nazari, who has been unjustly languishing in prison for over two decades, is critically ill and needs urgent medical care outside prison. He has been on hunger strike since 30 July, demanding his release from prison. He must be released immediately and unconditionally. To view report click on below link: http://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1373272017ENGLISH.pdf

RFL/RE – A top Iranian military commander traveled to northern Iraq to urge Kurdish leaders to withdraw from Kirkuk in a move that Kurdish officials said played an important role in enabling Iraq’s government to swiftly retake control of the city from Kurds this week.

Al-Arabia – US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin will be visiting the Middle East this week to discuss the Terrorist Financing Target Center (TFTC) partnership and other matters on Iran.

CHRI – After years of being pressured by the UN and other rights groups to reduce the country’s high execution rate, Iran’s Parliament has passed an amendment to the Law Against Drug Trafficking that could save thousands of prisoners currently on death row. “After the Parliament addressed one of our objections and clarified some ambiguities, the Guardian Council deliberated and approved the measure,” the …

CHRI – The life of one of Iran’s longest serving political prisoners, Mohammad Nazari, could “end in tragedy” due to a prolonged hunger strike, a source with knowledge about the case told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

Al-Monitor — Economic growth is generally generated by four sources: increasing private consumption, expanding private investment, higher government consumption and investment, and more exports. At present, when it comes to the first three, there is no potential for picked up economic output in Iran. Although efforts have been made to increase private investment, the data still show that Iran is faced with …

PayvandNews – A top Iranian state audit agency says it has found the country’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad responsible for causing as much as $1.1 billion in damages to national wealth through imports of unauthorized gasoline as well as unsettled sales of hydrocarbon products to domestic clients.

Al-Arabia – France wants to take action to tackle Iran’s missile program and “destabilizing” behavior, but believes scrapping the 2015 nuclear deal would help hardliners and be a step towards future war, France’s defense minister said on Friday.

RFL/RE -A recent meeting of officials from Uzbekistan and Iran was a curious event. Central Asia has seen a reshuffling of relations over the past couple years, and improved relations between Tashkent and Tehran is one of the more intriguing developments.

RFL/RE – European Union leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to a landmark deal to limit Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, despite opposition from U.S. President Donald Trump. The 28-member bloc gave a nod to concerns Trump has raised, however, by stepping up criticism of Tehran’s ballistic-missile program and its role in what the West sees as fomenting instability …