Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A prisoner was hanged for murder charges at Ahvaz (Ahwaz) Central Prison last Saturday. According to IHR sources, on Saturday, June 15, prisoner Mohammad Shekaf was hanged at the Iranian southern city of Ahvaz’s central prison. He was arrested on January 29, 2015, and charged with murder. His execution is not announced by Iranian authorities …

CHRI – A group of prominent political and civil rights activists in Iran has issued a statement condemning the imprisonment of a councilman after he publicly denounced the arrests of two citizens for their religious beliefs, as well as the state’s persecution of peaceful activists. Mehdi Hajati, a member of the City Council in Shiraz, Fars Province, was taken to …

Al-Monitor – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told France’s new Iranian Ambassador Philippe Thiebaud June 17 in Tehran that time was quickly running out for the remaining signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to “play their historic role in salvaging the deal.” Rouhani warned that the pact’s collapse would not serve the interests of any side involved the agreement. A few …

PayvandNews – Iranian universities are included in different subjects of 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, according to its website. In physical science, 24 Iranian universities are amongst 963 universities worldwide. Twenty one universities in Iran are amongst 903 universities assessed in engineering and technology subject. Eleven Iranian universities are on ranking table for life sciences amongst 751 universities …

Radiofarda – A court in Tehran has sentenced a student of painting at the University of Tehran to 35 lashes on the charges of ‘insulting’ a filmmaker. Mahyar Bahram Asl, a graduate student, may have to receive the lashes if he is convicted for the same or any other reason within the next three years. Bahram Asl criticized Mrs. Tahmineh …

Radiofarda – A key member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a body that will select the country’s next Supreme Leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says “it is not prudent and expedient” to reveal the names of potential successors. Only a few days after another prominent member of the Assembly, Mohsen Araki talked about a top secret list of prospective …

Radiofarda – The U.S. military has released additional photos that it claims bolster allegations that Iran was responsible for attacks last week on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. The Pentagon on June 17 released images, many taken from a U.S. Navy helicopter and purporting to show Iranian forces removing an unexploded mine from the hull of the …

Al-Arabia – Speaking on Iran’s Channel 2 on Tuesday, the representative of the Iranian Supreme Leader at the Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili said that “the cost of compromise is greater than the cost of resistance,” Mehr News Agency reported. “We can resist America’s economic pressure with the same determination we displayed during the Sacred Defence,” he said, referring …

RFL/RE – China has warned the United States to ease what it calls its “extreme pressure methods” on Iran as concerns about a possible confrontation between Washington and Tehran mount.Speaking in the Chinese capital after a meeting with Syria’s foreign minister, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi, the government’s top diplomat, also called on Iran to remain in a nuclear accord …

VOA – Iran says its economy fell into a worse recession last year than international organizations expected, as the United States began re-imposing tough sanctions on Tehran’s vital oil industry and other financial sectors. In a report published Sunday, the Statistical Center of Iran said Iranian gross domestic product contracted by 4.9% in the last Persian year that ended on March …