RFL/RE – A select group congressional leaders received a classified briefing on Iran from the White House following complaints that lawmakers had not been kept informed on recent U.S. military moves in the Middle East.The briefing was given on May 16 to the so-called Gang of Eight, a varying group of four Democratic and four Republican lawmakers who are at …

VOA – President Donald Trump says he hopes the U.S. is not going to war with Iran amid rising tensions in the Middle East, as an Iran diplomat downplayed such prospects. “I hope not,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of a conflict with Tehran as he began talks with Swiss President Ueli Maurer. The U.S. and Iran do …

VOA — Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister on Thursday accused Iran of ordering an attack on Saudi oil pumping stations that Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia has claimed responsibility for. The attack “proves that these militias are merely a tool that Iran’s regime uses to implement its expansionist agenda,” tweeted Prince Khalid bin Salman, a son of King Salman. “The terrorist …

Radiozamaneh – Three members of the Iran’s Writers Association (IWA) were sentenced to a total 18 years in jail, according to the group’s statement. Three Prominent Iranian Writers (from left: Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan and Reza Khandan Mahabadi) Are Sentenced to a Total of 18 Years in Prison Iran’s judiciary handed out the verdict for Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Baktash Abtin …

Iran Human Rights – Mohammad Reza Haddadi, a juvenile offender on death row in Iran, has been denied access to medical care outside prison despite suffering from severe intestinal bleeding. According to IHR sources, Mohammad Reza Haddadi, a prisoner on death row in Shiraz Central Prison (also known as Adelabad) suffers from severe intestinal bleeding. “Despite an order by prison’s …

Amnesty – A contemptible amendment to Iran’s code of criminal procedure could effectively strip detainees who are facing punishments such as the death penalty, life imprisonment and amputation, of the right to access a lawyer while they are under investigation, said Amnesty International. An analysis of the bill published by the organization today details how, if passed, the amended law would permit …

Al-Monitor – During a trip to Japan, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke to journalists regarding the latest status of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the increasing tension with the United States. Zarif said that any military action by the group he dubbed the B-team (national security adviser John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi …

Radiofarda – Iran says it has “successfully” tested a firewall it calls the country’s “cyber-defense shield”, after announcing plans for a test several times before. The Iranian Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said on Thursday May 16 “Iran’s young scientists have developed a cyber-defense shield for the country’s automated industrial systems.” Jahromi claimed that the firewall “can practically stop …

Radiofarda – Iranian hardliner journalists and analysts have been suggesting this week that Iran should attack Saudi and UAE interests in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, attributing the UAE and Saudi attacks to “Islamic Resistance”. The sinister suggestions were made as international media were bubbling with the news of mysterious attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf region. …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Permanent Mission to The United Nations has dismissed Washington’s reasoning for withdrawing non-essential employees of the U.S. embassy in Iraq. The semi-official ISNA news outlet reported that Iran’s diplomatic mission in New York has said that the decision by the U.S. State Department to withdraw some of its employees form Iraq is “The latest episode in America’s …