CHRI – Two young men who were killed by security forces in the city of Sanandaj in Iran’s Kurdistan Province in early January 2018 were unarmed despite official claims to the contrary, according to a local civil rights activist who has been monitoring the cases of Saro Ghahremani and Kianoosh Zandi. “What the Islamic Republic has said about them is …

Al-Monitor – On Jan. 14, Islamic Azad University (IAU) approved new rules that are set to increase state control over its many campuses. The move will also consolidate Principlists’ grip over Iran’s largest private university. As part of the new regulations, the Friday prayer leaders of Iran’s 31 provincial capitals were placed on the university’s regional boards of trustees. These …

Al-Monitor – Despite reports that Iran’s foreign minister had canceled a scheduled trip to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum, Tehran says he never planned to participate in this year’s summit. On Jan. 21, Reuters said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had canceled his trip to Davos. In response, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi denied these news stories, …

CHRI  – In the wake of a massive influx of detainees following protests in several Iranian cities at the end of 2017, more than 150 lawyers have called on Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani to stop restricting the detainees’ access to legal counsel. Iranians protesting economic hardship “As you are aware, widespread arrests have been carried out by security and law …

PayvandNews – Police in Tehran have shut down several currency exchange shops and arrested a number of money changers suspected of being behind a recent turmoil in exchange rates. They intervened after the plunge of the Iranian rial which has dropped to around 45,000 against the US dollar from 37,700 in mid-2017, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. It said …

PayvandNews – The Iranian president has said his government’s measures failed to remove ban on some social apps in the country. Hassan Rouhani made the remarks during a live interview on the national TV late on Monday. Referring to his 2013 electoral campaign symbol of a key to the country’s problems, the host asked the president if his key failed …

PayvandNews  – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears in the wake of recent anti-government protests to have put his weight behind President Hasan Rouhani’s repeated calls for reduced military and Revolutionary Guards involvement in the economy. Mr. Khamenei signalled his support by ordering the military and the Guards to start divesting from commercial holdings and businesses not related to …

Daily Mail – The Iranian woman who protested the country’s ‘modesty’ dress code by standing on a pillar box in Tehran and waving a hijab, is missing and feared to have been arrested.

RFL/RE – Iran is expected to dominate Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s January 23 meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris, the second leg of the U.S. top diplomat’s weeklong trip to Europe. After meeting with top British officials in London on January 22, Tillerson cited progress in getting European support for tough penalties against Tehran that …

VOA – U.S. Vice President Mike Pence reiterated Tuesday the Trump administration’s view that the international deal on Iran’s nuclear program should be changed, and said moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem is a tangible sign of U.S. commitment. As he met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Pence said the U.S. is sending a signal to its European …