Al-Monitor – Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi issued a decree July 1 obliging the overwhelmingly pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) to fully integrate into the Iraqi armed forces. The move came amid growing concerns among Iraqi leaders that their country might turn into a battleground between Iran and the United States. Referring to the increasing tensions between Tehran and Washington, …

PayvandNews – While the U.S. unilateral sanctions against Iran have created some limitations for trade with the Western partners which led the Islamic Republic to expand economic and trade ties with its neighbors and boost non-oil exports to them, trade with the northwestern neighbor, Turkey, is growing significantly. Iran and Turkey Presidents Hassan Rouhani (R) & Recep Tayyip ErdoganTehran, Iran, …

Radiofarda – Three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have been shot dead in the western city of Piranshahr, the IRGC said in a statement on July 9.The three died “when terrorists opened fire on their car,” the statement said, adding that an IRGC member had been wounded in the attack.The semiofficial Mehr news agency said Kurdish militants …

Radiofarda – The former head of Tehran’s largest stadium, Azadi, has been summoned to court for allowing women to run alongside men in the Tehran Marathon. Ali Akbar Shabanlou told ISNA on Tuesday July 9 that he had earlier been questioned at a first-instance court and was told that he had been cleared of all charges, but the judges must …

Radiofarda – Ahead of his meeting on Tuesday, July 9, with the Emir of Qatar at the White House, President Donald Trump once again warned Tehran. “Iran’s doing a lot of bad things,” Trump told reporters, adding, “Iran better be careful.” Trump had issued similar warnings in recent days after Tehran declared that it was enriching uranium up to 4.5%., …

Al-Arabia – The US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, told Al Arabiya that imposed oil sanctions on Iran alone will deny the regime 50 billion dollars in revenue annually, adding that the pressure is going to continue. “The oil sanctions alone are going to deny the Iranian regime 50 billion dollars in revenue annually. We’ve also sanctioned the petrol …

Al-Arabia – US senator Ted Cruz called on the Trump administration Tuesday to revoke the civil-nuclear waivers issued by the State Department allowing Iran to build up its nuclear program. “As for the civilian nuclear waivers, there are a total of seven. We had partial success, they revoked two of the seven that was a step in the right direction. …

Iran-HRM – According to the data collected from material published by the Iranian state-run press, human rights activists and their websites, or from our private sources, since the beginning of 2019, more than 99 executions were carried out in Iran. Nevertheless, the actual figures are definitely higher, as most executions in Iran are carried out secretly without anyone knowing except …

Iran-HRM – Security officials from Iran’s Intelligence Ministry raided the homes of eight Iranians converts to Christianity on July 1, in the southern city of Bushehr, taking them to solitary confinement. Security forces raided and searched their houses and confiscated their Bibles, Christian statues and signs, wooden crosses, paintings, laptops, cellphones, ID cards and credit cards. The children witnessed all …

RFL/RE – Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi says any disruption to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz will be a “major obstacle” for his country and that Baghdad is looking for potential alternative routes for crude shipments.“Iraq has too few export outlets,” Abdul Mahdi told reporters on July 9 in response to questions about the raised tensions between …