RFL/RE – What to call the Persian language in Afghanistan? It’s a question Afghans have grappled with and sparred over for decades. The long-simmering dispute was reignited after the BBC changed the name of one of its local-language Facebook pages to BBC Dari, prompting a backlash from many Afghan Persian speakers who despise the word officially used to describe their language. …

Al-Arabia – A reformist website known to leak what is going on behind the scenes of the Iranian regime, quoted informed sources in Tehran that the adviser to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Akbar Velayati met with resigned Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, in Beirut last Friday. During the meeting he threatened Hariri to choose between backing up the strategy …

VOA – The White House is calling for the United Nations to examine Iran’s role in the conflict in Yemen, alleging the Iranian government is perpetuating the fighting in order to “advance its regional ambitions.” U.S. ally Saudi Arabia accused Iran of supplying Houthi rebels with arms, including a missile the Saudis intercepted after it was fired at an airport in …

VOA – Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions. Trump’s decision has thrown into doubt the future of the pact negotiated by Iran, the EU and six major powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Congress has until mid-December to decide whether to reimpose sanctions lifted under …

Amnesty – Ahead of the consideration of Resolution A/C.3/72/L.41 on the promotion and protection of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Third Committee of the General Assembly, Amnesty International, joined by over 30 other NGOs, urges UN Member States to vote in favor of the resolution. The organizations express concern about the persistence of chronic human rights …

Al-Monitor – As Kurdish defenses collapsed in Kirkuk province on Oct. 16, the top leadership of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), a critical part of Baghdad’s offensive to recapture the disputed areas, received an urgent call from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to a senior source within the PMU, there was a request: Dispatch a unit to kill or capture …

Al-Monitor – Almost immediately after Yemeni fighters launched a missile at Riyadh’s airport Nov. 4, Saudi officials and US President Donald Trump both pointed fingers at Iran, saying Tehran was behind the attack. In response, Iranian officials were quick to rebut the allegation. On Nov. 5, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Ali Jafarisaid, “Shipping missiles to Yemen is not even possible and these missiles that …

RFL/RE – A top Saudi official rejected accusations by the pro-Iranian Hizballah movement that his government forced Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to announce his resignation over the weekend. “Talk about Hariri being pushed to resign are lies and aim at distracting the Lebanese people,” Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan told Al-Arabiya television on November 6. Hariri, Lebanon’s …

RFL/RE – Britain warned on November 6 that recent comments by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson should not be used by Iran to bring additional charges against imprisoned Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Johnson told the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee last week that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had gone to Iran last year to teach people journalism, a statement that the Thomson Reuters Foundation, …

Al-Arabia – Western sources said that the motorcade of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned last week, had detected jamming attempts, pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Sunday. They added that the jamming devices, which are designed to confuse radars and AWACS, turned out to be Iranian-made. The newspaper, citing unnamed sources close to Hariri, said that Western intelligence agencies …