Iran Human Rights  –  At least two prisoners were hanged at Urmia Central Prison on murder charges. According to a close source, on the morning of Sunday, January 28, at least two prisoners were executed at Urmia Central Prison (Darya). The prisoners were sentenced to death on murder charges. Moreover, another prisoner named Hamdollah Mohammadpour, who was scheduled to be …

Al-Monitor – When the protests in Iran began Dec. 28, it wasn’t clear to Tehran’s regional allies whether or not to be concerned. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Syria’s defiant government, whose existence today has a lot to do with the revolutionary establishment’s decision to fight on their side, all had many …

Al-Monitor – When President Hassan Rouhani presented his administration’s budget proposal on Dec. 10, he gave a controversial speech on the parliament floor about corruption, which many observers believe played a contributing factor to the protests that rocked Iran. While Rouhani may have hoped the speech would garner public support for his economic plan after parliament rejected his general budget …

PayvandNews – Heavy snowfalls have forced airports and schools in Tehran to close, while hundreds of cars have been blocked on highways out of the Iranian capital for hours. Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International and Mehrabad airports were shut due to poor visibility “until further notice,” state television said on January 28. Schools closed in several parts of the country, including …

PayvandNews – Iran national beach soccer team defended their Persian Cup title on Monday. Team Melli defeated Spain 4-2 in the final match in Bushehr, south of Iran. Mohammad Ahmadzadeh scored a hat trick and Moslem Mesigar was on target once for the Iranian national beach soccer team. Earlier on the day Ukraine defeated Azerbaijan 4-3 to finish in third …

RFL/RE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Syrian conflict and Iran’s presence in the country will be high on the agenda when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on January 29. Speaking to reporters upon his departure, Netanyahu said he and Putin would discuss what he called “Iran’s relentless efforts to establish a military presence …

AL-Arabia – Iranian authorities granted a four-day leave on humanitarian grounds Sunday to Baquer Namazi, the oldest of a group of American citizens known to be held in the Islamic Republic. His lawyer Jared Genser said that Namazi, an 81-year-old former UNICEF official, cannot leave Iran and is prohibited from speaking to the media. His son, business consultant Siamak Namazi, …

Al-Arabia – The Iranian authorities on Sunday released a woman who was arrested in the center of Tehran after she took off her headscarf in protest of the law enforcing women to wear headscarves in Iran her lawyer said, The lawyer Nisreen Stouda, of Iran’s Human Rights Defenders Center in Tehran, said in a statement that her release camew after …

Al-Arabia – The Iranian judiciary has issued a ruling dismissing the case against Saeed Toosi, a favored Quran reciter of the country’s supreme leader, accused of raping 19 children many of whom were his students. An official Iranian media published on Saturday a copy of the Tehran court’s ruling confirming that Toosi was acquitted of charges of sexually molesting and …

Radiozamaneh – It has been one year since the disastrous Plasco Building fire in Tehran and authorities continue to pass on the burden of responsibility to others while the victims of the disaster, namely the workers, firefighters and store owners have received none of the assistance promised by the government. On January 20, 2017 the Plasco building caught fire and …