Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Court of Appeal in Iranian Markazi province upholds imprisonment and flogging sentences for 11 civil activists from Arak city, the capital of Markazi Province.

Al-Monitor – During an Oct. 17 speech to young scholars and academics in the country, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei encouraged young Iranian scientists to “look east.” Khamenei spoke of the “necessity of having scientific relations with countries that are moving in the direction of growth,” and added, “These countries are primarily in Asia.” Khamenei went on, “Therefore we have to look …

PayvandNews – Iran delegation moved 17 spots up to seventh at the Youth Olympic Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 6 to 18. The Iranian sportspersons snatched seven gold, three silver and four bronze medals in the 13-day Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

PayvandNews – Fatemeh Motamed-Arya has used her popularity as an artist to tackle the difficult and complex issues facing her country.

Radiofarda – Abdolnasser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), has claimed that the second round of U.S. sanctions against Iran’s oil exports and international banking operations would be ineffective. Economic realities, however, paint a gloomier picture.

Radiofarda – Reimposed U.S. sanctions on Iran are making it more difficult and expensive for average Iranians to travel abroad, and an increase in Iranian asylum claims in Europe could see further restrictions imposed.

Radiofarda – France’s foreign ministry said on Thursday a so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that the European Union is considering creating to enable trade with Iran could be used more broadly to help the bloc avoid the extraterritorial reach of U.S. law.

Al-Arabia – What is the FATF and why are we hearing such conflicting remarks from inside the Iranian regime in this regard?

RFL/RE – The Azerbaijani coast guard says it has rescued several Iranian sailors who showed symptoms of chemical poisoning after receiving a distress signal on the Caspian Sea.

RFL/RE – Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has told his Iranian counterpart that security forces are searching for 14 Iranian border guards who Tehran says were abducted by militants this week.