gatestoneinstitute.org – After President Trump’s visit to the region, the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have ratcheted up their efforts to fight extremism. The UAE and other Gulf states have been participating with the US in a multinational mission. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been encircling Saudi Arabia with the apparent goal of taking …

HRW – Asian football is in a crisis. That’s because the leaders of the sport in Bahrain, Afghanistan and Iran are not effectively using their positions at the top of the football food chain to carry out FIFA’s new Human Rights Policy and to stop rights abuses against players, human rights defenders, and women. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani receiving a present from …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A man who was sentenced to death for drug charges, hanged on Monday morning at Dastgerd Prison in the Iranian city of Isfahan.  According to IHR sources, prisoner Abdollah Ghanbarzehi, 29, was executed on April 15, 2019. He was from the Iranian southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan. A well-informed source told IHR, “Ablollah was …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A prison sentence for civil activist Raheleh Rahemipour who is seeking the truth about the fate of her nephew, is changed to a court fine. However, Raheleh says she wouldn’t pay the fine because seeking the truth should not be punishable. Raheleh Rahemipour has been demanding the truth about the fate of her nephew, the …

CHRI – A member of the Isfahan City Council, Mehdi Moghaddari, has been suspended from his seat for six months in part for supporting a fellow councilman who had sought the release of detained followers of the Baha’i faith and was consequently detained himself. “This morning I made an appearance at Branch 11 of the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan and presented …

Mehr News Agency – The 2019 Fajr International Film Festival has announced the lineup for International Competition (Cinema Salvation) section. www.fajriff.com The event, known as Iran’s most anticipated international cinematic event, includes 109 titles from 75 countries in its screening program. Of which, 30 foreign and Iranian feature and short films are vying for the top prize. The program includes 24 foreign …

theguardian -For nearly 40 years, Iranian women have been banned from watching stadium football matches. The photographer Forough Alaei, a World Press Photo winner in the sports category for her Crying for Freedom series, describes following the story of Zeinab, one of the first women to disguise herself as a man to watch matches by Forough Alaei Mon 15 Apr 2019 07.35 BSTShares2,191 It takes …

Radiofarda – Contrary to expectations, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has deferred allocating funds from reserves to deal with unprecedented flood damage in Iran. The head of Iran’s Central Bank had said April 8 that it will be impossible to deal with the disaster relying on the current budget and money must be withdrawn from the National Development Fund (NDF). …

Radiofarda – An outspoken Tehran lawmaker, Mahmoud Sadeghi has lambasted the Islamic Republic’s powerful Expediency Discernment Council (EDC) for its “boundless” expansion. Members of the Iranian parliament talking during a session in August 2017. Mahmoud Sadeghi is seen on the right. Speaking to pro-reform daily E’temad, Sadeghi said, “EDC was supposed to just hold meetings, but it has turned into …

Radiofarda – Western sanctions on Damascus and U.S. sanctions on Tehran have led to serious fuel shortages in Syria, which announced measures April 14 to deal with long lines at the pumps. Syrian authorities are seeking to “regulate the distribution at gas stations” and to ensure even deliveries across to country while “preventing waste and smuggling”, the official SANA news …