Al-Monitor – In brief remarks about the fate of the nuclear deal, Ali Akbar Velayati, who is serving as foreign policy adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has expressed his doubt about the potential for Iran and Europe to reach an agreement over the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “It is unlikely that negotiations with …

Mass Arrests at Protest; Death in Custody (Beirut) – Iranian authorities arrested over 300 members of the minority Dervish Muslim community in late February 2018 after police forcibly tried to break up a protest. The events in February stemmed from what appears to be an intensified crackdown on the Dervish minority, including likely ramped-up surveillance of the group’s leader. Police …

IOPHR – Mr. Yavar Mohammad Salas’ defence appeal notice regarding the court case number 961334: In protest of the issued verdict, which violated eight legal codes: Article 37 of the Constitution, as well as Articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 45, and 123 of the Criminal Procedural Code. Introduction Mr. Yavar Mohammad Salas’ defence appeal notice regarding the court case …

Radiofarda – In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and dwindling hopes the agreement can be salvaged with the help of European powers, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who oversaw preparations for the initial talks, is trying to distance himself from the deal, which is now widely seen as a failure in Iran.

AP — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday it would be wrong to cancel the nuclear agreement with Iran, highlighting it as one of her main differences of opinion between Berlin and Washington. President Donald Trump announced last week the U.S. would pull out of the 2015 accord, which is designed to keep Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in check and took …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Forensic Medicine Organization, part of the Iranian Judiciary, says authorities did not give it a chance to identify a mummy that was unearthed at a Shrine in downtown Tehran in late April.

Iran-HRM – It has been a few weeks since the painful execution of a young athlete in Iran. Bahman Varmaziyar’s death sentence was suspended last minute, and the news of his pardon was also released to his family; but the regime’s judiciary went ahead with his execution the next day, with everyone in utter disbelief.

Iran-HRM – Anti-hijab protester Shaparak Shajarizadeh who has been detained for the second time has started a hunger strike protesting her extrajudicial detention. Shaparak Shajarizadeh was arbitrarily arrested on May 8, 2018, along with her 9-year-old son in the city of Kashan, central Iranian province of Isfahan. His son was freed several hours later but she is still in captivity. …

RFL/RE – The United States has imposed sanctions on the governor of Iran’s central bank, accusing him of providing support for terrorist activities. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on May 15 announced sanctions against Valiollah Seif and another senior official in the Central Bank of Iran, Ali Tarzali. The two were named “specially designated global terrorists” for …

VOA – President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal puts the United States on a collision course with some of its closest allies in Europe. Trump has directed maximum sanctions be applied to companies that continue doing business with Iran, causing alarm, especially in France and Germany, where companies like Airbus and Volkswagen have signed multimillion dollar …