Al-Arabia – Several protests erutped across Iranian cities on Saturday, with many protesters blocking main roads with their cars and burning tires while chanting “Death to the dictator,” a day after the government announced a surprise decision to ration and hike the price of petrol. One civilian was killed and other people injured in Iran’s Sirjan, the semi-official news agency …

Radiofarda – Large protests rocked major Iranian cities Friday and continued Saturday, with clashes reported between protesters and security forces in at least three cities; Mashhad, Ahvaz and Sirjan. The official government news website IRNA said clashes in Sirjan were fierce. The report added that protesters tried to attack an oil depot with the intention of setting it on fire …

Al-Arabia – At least one person was killed and more than a dozen wounded late Friday when a bomb placed under a vehicle detonated in the protest-hit Iraqi capital Baghdad, security forces said. In a statement distributed to journalists, the security forces said the blast went off near Tahrir Square, which has been occupied for three weeks by demonstrators demanding …

Radiofarda – Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani has called on the Iranian Parliament (Majles) on Saturday, November 16 to revoke the decision to increase the price of gasoline as massive protest demonstrations are raging in the streets of major Iranian cities. Golpaygani who is over 100-years old is one of the most senior and authoritative clerics in Iran. This comes while …

Radiofarda – As gasoline price-increase protests spread to a dozen cities in Iran, exiled prince Reza Pahlavi tweeted Friday that the Islamic Republic has brought only poverty and suffering to the Iranian people. The prince’s reference was to promises made during the 1979 Iranian revolution when its founder Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini promised free electricity, water and public transportation to the …

Radiofarda – Amnesty International (AI) has issued a statement welcoming Sweden’s arrest of a former Iranian official accused of taking part in extra-judicial killings in prisons in Iran in 1988. Iran — Combo picture of several victims of Iran’s mass executions on 1988. In a public statement November 14, AI also praises the governments of Belgium and Lichtenstein for questioning …

As angry reactions and calls for protests in Iran have begun against the government’s fuel price increase, President Hassan Rouhani has defended the decision by the heads of Judiciary, executive and legislative branches as being “in the interest of those who are under pressure” economically. Speaking to members of his cabinet on Friday November 15, he said “There were plans …

HRANA – Behnam Eskandari, Yalda Firouzian, and Ardeshir Fanaiyan, three Baha’i citizens residing in Semnan, were sentenced to 23 years in prison and live in exile. They were arrested on April 30, 2019 by the security forces, their personal belongings were confiscated, and they were transferred to Semnan Prison. The Revolutionary Court of Semnan put hold on their temporary releases. …

HRANA – On November 10, 2019, Moin Hajizadeh, Raha Ahmadi, Leila Mirghafari, Armin Sourani, Mohammad Abolhasani, Saman Zandian, and Vahid Ghadirzadeh were tried at the Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court headed by judge Abolghasem Salavati. They were charged with “propaganda against the state” and “assembly and collusion”. Moin Hajizadeh was arrested on August 8, 2019 by security forces and …

RFL/RE – Iranians are blasting their government for rationing gas and greatly increasing its price, with many concerned that the move will lead to inflation and greater hardship in a country where so many people are struggling to make ends meet. The state-run National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said in an overnight announcement on November 15 that each motorist …