Iran-HRM – Last month the mullahs’ supreme leader Ali Khamenei appointed the fiery General Hossein Salami as the new commander of the Revolutionary Guards. Earlier, he had appointed Ebrahim Raeesi, involved in the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988, as chief justice. The regime’s officials are alarmed at widespread public discontent turning into street protests, as Iran’s economy is …

VOA – The United States is willing to hold unconditional talks with Iran to ease tensions between the two countries, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday, but Tehran held out little hope for new negotiations. “We are prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. We are ready to sit down with them,” Pompeo said at a news …

gatestoneinstitute.org – The important point is what war one talks about, when, where and against which adversaries. The bland assertion “I oppose war against X or Y” is a sign of intellectual laziness if not of moral bankruptcy. Senator Bernie Sanders never tells us which side he would have supported: Saddam Hussein or a majority of the Iraqi people? One …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A prisoner was hanged at Zanjan prison on murder charges last month. His execution has not yet been announced by authorities. According to the IHR sources, on April 30, 2019, Seyyed Samad Enayati was hanged at Zanjan prison for murder charges. He was from the Iranian city of Bijar and executed at the age of …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Amirsalar Davoudi, a detained member of the Iranian Bar Association who had represented some of the Iranian political prisoners, is sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Iranian authorities. He is accused of several charges and under Iranian law, the longest jail-term among the accusation is applicable. In this case, the lawyer should be …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has laid out his vision for how the country’s economy needs to be reformed in order to resist sanctions. His extensive policy speech on May 14 was more detailed than previous ones and also included admissions about the existence of “maladies” and the need for significant structural reforms. But what needs to be undertaken to …

Radiofarda – The police chief in Western Iranian city of Sanandaj has claimed three people have been arrested for planning a “terrorist” act during the street rallies on the occasion of “Qods Day”, or Jerusalem day, an important annual show of solidarity with Palestinians organized by the state. Ali Azadi announced Friday May 31 that the accused “were arrested before …

Radiofarda – Iran’s foreign minister says Tehran needs “no mediator” for negotiating with the U.S., but the prerequisite for a dialogue is for Washington to abide by the 2015 nuclear agreement. In an interview with Arabic speaking Iranian TV, al-Alam, on Friday, May 31, Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated, “We have already said that we do not need a mediator,” adding, …

Radiofarda – The head of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah warned on Friday that if there was a war against Iran the whole Middle East region would “erupt”, amid escalating US-Iranian tensions. U.S. President Donald “Trump, his administration, and his intelligence know well that any war on Iran will not remain confined to Iran’s borders”, Hassan Nasrallah said. “Any war …

Radiofarda – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has turned down a request by Iran to purchase the advanced S-400 missile defense system, Bloomberg reported on May 30, quoting two Russian officials who chose to remain unidentified. Reports from Russia also picked up by media in Iran’s neighbour Turkey say Putin has rejected the request over concerns about rising tensions in the Persian …