Radiofarda – A large group of Iranian lawmakers have submitted a proposal in parliament to stop the teaching of English as a second language in public schools, citing remarks by the country’s Supreme Leader. Three years ago, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei complained in a speech that teaching English was spreading even “into daycare” institutions. Now, 57 members of parliament are backing …

Radiofarda – Iranian Kurds have come out into streets on Saturday protesting Turkey’s incursion into Syria’s Kurdish populated and controlled northeast, multiple social media images show. Turkey decided to send its army into northeastern Syria in a large military operation to carve out a “safe zone”, accusing Kurdish forces who fought with the United States against the Islamic State group …

Radiofarda – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that if Iran were serious about fighting money laundering and terrorism financing, it would have approved laws to make the country in par with international standards. The international watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) based in Paris in 2017 demanded Iran reform its legal system and banking practices by following international …

Reuters – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is heading for Tehran, two government officials said on Friday, weeks after the United States asked him to help mediate between long-time regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran.A top official at Khan’s office and another at the foreign office confirmed that Khan was scheduled to fly to neighboring Iran at the weekend. It …

Radiofarda – Maryam Mombini, the wife of environmentalist Kavous Seyyed Emami, who died in custody at Evin prison in Tehran in February 2018, has arrived in Canada after nearly two years of being barred from traveling abroad after her husband’s mysterious death. Kavous Seyyed Emami was jailed with several other environmentalists who are still in prison for alleged espionage. However, …

RFL/RE – Iran has described as a “cowardly attack” an incident that Iranian media have called the apparent targeting by missiles of an Iranian-owned oil tanker. “An appropriate response will be given to the designers of this cowardly attack, but we will wait until all aspects of the plot are clarified,” government spokesman Ali Rabei was quoted as saying by …

RFL/RE – U.S. defense officials say they are sending more troops and military hardware to Saudi Arabia following a major attack last month on the kingdom’s oil facilities that U.S. and Saudi officials have blamed on Iran. Reports quoted the Pentagon as saying the deployment would include a large deployment of troops and two Patriot air-defense batteries and a Terminal …

VOA – The 5-year-old daughter of a British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran since 2016 has arrived back in Britain, her father said Friday, after making the “bittersweet” decision to bring her home. Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been staying with relatives in Iran since her mother Nazanin’s detention on sedition charges, visiting her in jail each week. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 40, stated in …

CHRI – On the International Day of the Girl Child, All States Urged to Address Needs of Girl Children Child Marriage, Lack of Protection against Abuse, Juvenile Executions Key Issues in Iran October 11, 2019—On the International Day of the Girl Child, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) urges the authorities in Iran to confront its child protection crisis, …

CHRI – Women’s Tickets Capped at 4,000 Out of 75,000 The soccer match between Iran and Cambodia on October 10, 2019, in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium included the historic presence of thousands of women. However, although the stadium was more than half empty, the authorities capped the number of tickets sold to women and denied female photographers press access. No law bans women …