RFL/RE – Three former political prisoners, who were rearrested last year, have been sentenced to a total of 23 years imprisonment, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) reported. Citing an “informed source”, CHRI said that a Revolutionary Court judge sentenced Mohammad Banna Zadeh Amirkhizi to eleven years prison and two years banishment to the city of Nikshahr in …

eureporter – After WWII, European voters have been taught to consider human right criteria as a priority, writes Hamid Bahrami. During the many electoral campaigns in the EU, candidates tout their ideas based on human values and democratic principles such as freedom, gender equality, justice, rule of law, and rejection of fundamentalism. In reality, however, these valuable words are seen …

RFL/RE – A political prisoner and deputy of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran has celebrated the birthday of her children for the third time in prison, by lighting a candle. In an open letter from prison, Narges Mohammadi, 45, has lamented, “I do not have a real and clear image of my twins, anymore”. Ms. Mohammadi’s twins, Ali …

RFL/RE – Iranian weightlifter Sohrab Moradi broke two world records to win the 94-kilogram class at the World Championships in Anaheim, California, on December 3.

RFL/RE – Iran has officially opened an extension of its southeastern port of Chabahar, which Tehran hopes will become a key transit hub for land-locked Afghanistan and Central Asia. State TV said President Hassan Rohani attended the inauguration on December 3 along with dignitaries from India, Qatar, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries. “Through this port, goods will be delivered to …

RFL/RE – French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Iraq to dismantle all militias — including an Iran-backed military force – and for the government in Baghdad to open dialogue to ease tensions with Iraqi Kurdish leaders. Macron on December 2 told a news conference in Paris that “France calls for a constructive national dialogue to engage in Iraq.” Macron …

Al-Arabia – Usually the Iranian media compete to broadcast news of Houthi infiltrations against the Yemeni people or the Arab countries, starting from besieging Yemeni cities and starving people there, to the launch of Iranian-made ballistic missiles against Saudi Arabia. But with the latest developments during the past 24 hours in Sanaa, the media and its officials are keeping silent, …

Al-Arabia – US Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo said on Saturday he sent a letter to Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani and Iranian leaders expressing concern regarding Iran’s increasingly threatening behavior in Iraq. Speaking during a panel at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in Southern California, Pompeo said he sent the letter after the senior Iranian military commander …

VOA – Israel won’t allow Iran to entrench itself militarily in Syria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday. His remarks, in a taped message to a forum in Washington, came just a day after Israeli aircraft attacked a suspected Iranian base outside Damascus and could suggest the Middle East is entering a new volatile phase in a confrontation between …

RFL/RE – Syrian air defenses intercepted at least two Israeli missiles fired at a government “military position” in Damascus Province, state media reported on December 2.