CNBC.com – Saudi Arabia and Iran’s ongoing battle for power and influence rages on in the Middle East but analysts aren’t convinced that an all-out war will happen, yet. Many neighboring countries have been drawn into the conflict with Qatar, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon becoming proxy battlegrounds in the fight for regional dominance. Holly Ellyatt | @HollyEllyatt Saudi Arabia and …

RFL/RE – The top U.S. prosecutor in a high-profile Iran sanctions case has denied charges from top Turkish officials that the case is “fabricated” and “politically motivated,” calling those allegations “ridiculous.” “Frankly, it displays a fundamental misunderstanding of how our justice system works,” acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said at a news conference in New York on November 21, speaking …

Amnesty – Responding to news that Iran, Turkey and Russia will meet in the Russian city of Sochi on Wednesday, while more than 30 Syrian opposition groups hold separate talks in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Research Director at Amnesty International said: “As the parties to the conflict in Syria meet separately to discuss a roadmap …

CHRI – In a letter addressing Iran’s ambassador to the UN, 175 Nobel laureates have called on the country’s authorities to release Iranian-born Swedish resident Ahmadreza Djalali, who says he has been imprisoned in Tehran for refusing to spy for the country’s Intelligence Ministry. “As members of a group of people (and organizations) who, according to the will of Alfred …

Al-Monitor – A senior delegation from the European Union traveled Nov. 19 to Iran for high-level talks between Iran and the EU. Helga Schmid, the deputy of EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, led the delegation in this third round of talks. Previous summits were held in Brussels and Tehran. According to Iran’s official IRNA news agency, energy, the environment, …

CHRI – A senior official representing Iran’s top internet regulation body has threatened to take action against social media applications that refuse to comply with the country’s strict censorship rules.  “Foreign messaging networks should comply with the polices of the Islamic Republic of Iran and should not publish immoral material,” said Abolhassan Firouzabadi, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Cyberspace Council (SCC), on November 14, 2017. “If …

RFL/RE – Iran and its ally, the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hizballah, are denying accusations from Saudi Arabia and its allies that they are arming rebel groups and destabilizing the Middle East. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasem said the accusations are “full of lies” on November 20, the day after Arab League foreign ministers accused Iran of “aggression” against Arab …

VOA — U.S. officials are spotlighting Iran’s efforts to spread its influence across the Middle East with what they describe as a “large-scale” counterfeiting operation, sophisticated enough to fool some European regulators. Treasury officials in Washington exposed the counterfeiting ring Monday, sanctioning a network of individuals and companies, including two based in Germany, linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and …

Iran Human Rights – A prisoner was executed at Ilam Central Prison (Western Iran) on murder charges. According to a close source, on the morning of Saturday November 18, a prisoner was hanged at Ilam Central Prison. The prisoner, identified as Alireza Sadeghi, was sentenced to death on the charge of murdering a man during a street fight. “Alireza got …

CHRI – “I know I will not be treated fairly by the judiciary.” A prominent Iranian lawyer who was previously imprisoned for her peaceful defense of human rights has refused to comply with a summons by the Revolutionary Court in Evin Prison because “I know I will not be fairly treated,” she told the Center for Human Rights in Iran …