CHRI – A Tehran appeals court upheld a 7.5-year prison sentence against prominent political activist Hengameh Shahidi based on her social media posts in which she criticized former Chief Justice Sadegh Larijani and demanded a report on his 10-year tenure. “State forces are threatened by Iranian women leading calls for peaceful reforms in the country and Hengameh Shahidi is the latest …

CHRI – “Authors have learned that they cannot write about things that are against the country’s official religion, or against national security, or anything that promotes ‘moral corruption’ and ‘indecency.’” State censorship of the publishing industry in Iran is intensifying and increasingly arbitrary, causing book publishers in Iran to become more cautious than ever, according to Alireza Behnam, a journalist, …

Al-Monitor – Amid the Trump administration’s all-time high pressure on Iran, manifested in its decision not to extend sanctions waivers granted to Tehran’s key oil customers, Iran-US tensions are reaching levels unseen in recent decades. To alleviate the burden on its shoulders, Iran might not be fully capitalizing on China as its leading oil buyer. Yet Beijing could continue to …

Al-Monitor – The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) decided May 4 to open an economic representative office in Iraq. The decision was made during a meeting bringing together executives at Iraq’s Oil Ministry and Iranian oil industry equipment producers, on the sidelines of the Iran Oil Show 2019. Ramin Gholampour Dezfouli, NIOC’s director for support, construction and goods supply, said only Iranian companies approved by the …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi says officials in a meeting last week have discussed the Iranian Parliament’s bill to prevent violence against women. However, he added it takes a few weeks before the bill is finalized. The bill to prevent violence against women has been awaiting endorsement by the Judiciary since for the last five years. Meanwhile, Iranian …

Radiofarda – Iranian news agencies, including the official government run IRNA, insist that a huge explosion took place in the oil port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, May 12. This version of the event first emerged Sunday morning by Al Mayadeen TV, an Arabic language station based in Lebanon and financed by Iran. Fars news agency …

Radiofarda – The Iranian Parliament has passed the general outlines of a bill authorizing the government to grant citizenship to children born to Iranian mothers and foreign fathers. The bill was ratified on May 12 by 188 votes in favor, 20 votes against, and three abstentions out of 226 legislators present in the public session. If the details of the …

Iran-HRM – A glance at the two-month record of Ebrahim Raisi Since the appointment of Ebrahim Raisi as the new chief of Iran’s judiciary, the human rights situation has swiftly deteriorated in the country. Executions At least 44 people were executed since he emerged as Iran’s Chief Justice. One of Raisi’s latest crimes was the flogging and secret execution of …

RFL/RE – Iran said on May 13 that it has sentenced an Iranian citizen who works for the British Council to 10 years in prison on charges of “spying.”Gholamhossein Esmaili, a judiciary spokesman, did not name the person who was sentenced but said the person was in charge of the British Council’s Iran desk.Esmaili said the suspect had made “clear …

RFL/RE – The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has issued a security alert to U.S. citizens that warns of “heightened tensions” in Iraq and advises against travel to the country.The advisory warning was issued late on May 12 amid rising tensions between neighboring Iran and the United States. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad advises all U.S. citizens of heightened tensions in …