Iran-HRM – The state security forces have arrested four people in the capital for “spreading rumors” about the incompetence of officials in flood relief efforts, Tehran Police Chief announced Sunday. The SSf commander Hossein Rahimi who was cited by the state-run ISNA state-run News Agency admitted that government officials and commanders of armed forces presumably involved in relief efforts have …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has condemned the decision by the United States to put Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on its foreign terrorist organization (FTO) list.In a televised speech on April 9, Rohani said Washington’s move was a “mistake” and asserted that the United States is the real “leader of global terrorism.”“Who are you to label revolutionary …

VOA – With Syria’s eight-year war waning, many foreign fighters who have fought in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are returning to their home countries. Some of those fighters are Iranian-backed Afghan refugees. Since 2011, Iran has sent thousands of undocumented Shi’ite Afghan refugees to Syria to fight alongside forces of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran’s elite …

VOA — In the latest escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran, President Donald Trump on Monday labeled Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization — an unprecedented move that marks the first time the U.S. has formally named another country’s military as terrorists. Experts say the decision will likely raise the already strained relationship …

CHRI – Michael White Sentenced to 10 Years Imprisonment US Navy veteran Michael White was repeatedly taken to court in Iran without an attorney or a translator before he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in March 2019, a family representative told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). During an April 3 interview, the family’s rep Jonathan Franks informed CHRI …

Al-Monitor – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced today that the United States would designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “foreign terrorist organization.” The Wall Street Journal reported April 5 that as early as this week President Donald Trump would designate the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organization,” an unprecedented move against a national armed force. Iranian officials, as …

Radiofarda – The Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani has promised to “swiftly compensate” losses to flood victims, in a cabinet meeting on April 7. Meanwhile, Rouhani called all his cabinet members to prepare an accurate assessment of damages to people’s houses, industrial units, agricultural lands, orchards, and livestock farms. However, Rouhani’s first deputy, Eshaq Jahangiri had earlier admitted regretfully that …

Al-Arabia – Mahan Air, a private Iranian airline accused by the West of transporting military equipment to Middle East war zones, on Monday launched a direct flight to Venezuela, as Tehran voices support for Caracas against a US-backed opposition.Mehr news agency quoted the spokesman of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Reza Jafarzadeh as saying that the route was launched in the …

RFL/RE – A British-Iranian woman is facing two years in jail in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) for allegedly insulting her ex-husband’s new wife on Facebook, a campaign group says. The Detained In Dubai campaign group said Laleh Shahravesh, 55, was arrested at Dubai airport in March after flying there to attend her ex-husband’s funeral. The group said she faced …

RFL/RE – Iranian authorities have ordered the evacuation of more towns and villages threatened by floods in the country’s southwest. With heavy rains drenching much of the country since March 19, floods have swept through hundreds of towns and villages in 26 of Iran’s 31 provinces. At least 70 people have been killed. The oil-producing Khuzestan Province, in southwest Iran, …