RFL/RE – A U.S. Navy veteran being held in Iran has been detained in connection to a “private complaint,” an Iranian prosecutor says.

HRANA – The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 24th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Al-Monitor – Pirouz Hanachi is the third mayor of Tehran elected by the City Council in a period of less than seven months. As part of his drive to establish a closer connection with the city’s residents, Hanachi recently joined a campaign dubbed “car-free Tuesdays.” The campaign, originally launched in December 2015, has never become widely popular, remaining an unfulfilled dream mostly pursued …

Al-Monitor – Amidst a backdrop of accusations against Iran of attempting assassinations in Europe, a former Iranian ambassador has caused an uproar by calling those charges hard to deny and suggesting the possibility that they could be at the hands of rogue agents.

CHRI – One Dead, Eight Others At Grave Risk for Harm Detainees, Jailed for 12 Months, Denied Counsel, Could Face Death Penalty

PayvandNews – Environmentalists took up the 10-year challenge on social media, posting photos of the lakes and wetlands drying up across the country, to raise awareness about the devastating impact of climate change on the environment in Iran, Mehr reported on Saturday.

AP — Fissures appear along roads while massive holes open up in the countryside, their gaping maws a visible sign from the air of something Iranian authorities now openly acknowledge: the area around Tehran is literally sinking.

Radiofarda – The United States on Thursday targeted two Iran-backed foreign fighter militias in Syria and an airline that helps ferry weapons to Syria in fresh sanctions as Washington prepares for a military withdrawal from the war-torn country.

Radiofarda – Wednesday’s events in Venezuela echoed loud and clear in Iran during an evening a lot of Iranian web users were busy encouraging each other to show their dissatisfaction with the state TV by proliferating the hashtag #IraniansWantIRIBban.

Radiofarda – France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that he expected a European-backed system to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and circumventing U.S. sanctions would be established in the coming days.