Al-Arabia – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has arrived in Baghdad, Iraq’s government said on Monday, in an official visit aimed at shoring up Tehran’s influence in Iraq and expanding trade ties. With the visit, Iran aims to send a strong message that it retains its influence in much of the region despite US sanctions. Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad …

RFL/RE – Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to seven years in prison, local media report. A judge at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court told the semiofficial ISNA news agency on March 11 that the prominent human rights defender had been sentenced to five years for “colluding against the system” and two years for “insulting” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali …

Amensty – Eight detained conservationists could face the death penalty or long prison sentences, following a grossly unfair trial in which they were accused of trumped-up spying charges. Their charges stem solely from their conservation activities including carrying out research into Iran’s endangered wildlife. They have said they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. View report in English https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1399782019ENGLISH.pdf

PayvandNews – An Iranian team from University of Science and Technology has gained a citation award at The 2019 International Architecture at Zero competition in the US.  Students of ‘the School of Architecture and Environmental Design’ of the Iranian university claimed third place by winning the Citation Award along with three other teams from the US and one from Poland (see …

Radiofarda – Two political prisoners in Tehran have said that they are still being denied access to medical treatment despite claims by Iranian authorities, according to the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC). Narges Mohammadi and Iranian-British Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who are being held at Tehran’s Evin Prison, have warned that if their demands are not met they will stage a …

RadioThe outspoken Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Motahari has called on Iran’s new Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi to “stop some wrong practices” in the judicial system. In a letter, Motahari, representing Tehran, has put forward five requests including one that calls on Raeesi (Raeisi) to stop limiting the number of defense lawyers political prisoners can choose from. Motahari …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said his resignation last month was not related to Bashar Assad’s trip to Tehran at the end of February. Zarif abruptly announced he was resigning on February 25, immediately after Syrian strongman Bashar Assad visited Tehran and met with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. Zarif was not present …

Radiofarda – A former ally and now a vocal opponent of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been sentenced to three years in jail and ordered to read and copy three books. Abolfazl Qadyani (Ghadyani) who was a staunch revolutionary in the 1970’s and 80’s has become a critic of Khamenei calling him to step down and rejecting the concept …

Radiofarda – The head of Iran’s Central Bank has said that subsidized dollars for imports of essential goods, including medication and food has failed to stem the tide of rising prices in the country. As the Iranian currency began to devalue one year ago, the government and the central bank decided to offer the U.S. dollar at a subsidized, preferential …

Al-Arabia – Hundreds of people turned out in Washington Friday demanding regime change in Iran and denouncing “atrocity toward the people” under Tehran’s regime. Protesters waved Iranian flags as they chanted for “regime change now” – with some holding portraits of Maryam Rajavi, leader of the People’s Mujahedin, an Iranian opposition group banned in the country. “The regime inside Iran …