Al-Arabia – Police in Iraq’s southern province of Dhi Qar were instructed to withdraw and follow up on the situation on Friday, following protests in the province, a security source told Al Arabiya. Dhi Qar province, particularly its capital Nasiriyah, has witnessed some of the most intense clashes between protesters and Iraqi security forces during the ongoing demonstrations which have …

Al-Arabia – Thirteen anti-government protesters were killed Sunday by Iraqi security forces in one of the “worst” days of clashes in the country’s south, as protests swept through the oil-rich area, officials said. Demonstrators outraged by rampant government corruption and poor services burned tires and blocked main road arteries. Security and hospital officials, who requested anonymity in line with regulations, …

HRANA – On November 21, 2019, Osman Mostafapour and Mohammad Nazari were released on parole. They are two of the longest-serving political prisoners who were released on parole after spending more than 25 years in Tabriz, Rajai Shahr, and Urmia Prisons without having any furlough. Osman Mostafapour (born in 1967) was arrested on July 14, 1991 and was tried in …

HRANA – Bushehr Appellate Court upheld sentences of seven Baha’i citizens. On May 5, 2019, they were sentenced to 21 years imprisonment, compiled, by the Bushehr Revolutionary Court. Mino Riazati, Asadollah Jaberi, Ehteram Sheykhi, Emad Jaberi, Farideh Jaberi, Farokhlegha Faramarzi, and Pooneh Nasheri were each sentenced to three years imprisonment. They were arrested on February 13, 2018 by the security forces. Their houses …

VOA – Machine gun fire answers rock-throwing protesters. Motorcycle-riding Revolutionary Guard volunteers chase after demonstrators. Plainclothes security forces grab, beat and drag a man off the street to an uncertain fate. As Iran restores the internet after a weeklong government-imposed shutdown, new videos purport to show the demonstrations over gasoline prices rising and the security-force crackdown that followed.The videos offer …

gatestoneinstitute.org – This internet blackout, according to Iran Human Rights director Amiry-Moghaddam, “might indicate the Iranian authorities’ plans to use even more violence against the protesters.” On November 22, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Twitter: “The U.S. is sanctioning the Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Mohammad Jahromi, for helping shut down the Iranian internet. We will …

Radiofarda – An outspoken lawmaker in Iran says two days after the gasoline price hike of November 15 that led to bloody protests, the country’s Supreme Leader intervened to stop parliament from opposing the controversial move. In a “note” to Iran’s Parliament (Majles) Speaker Ali Larijani, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dissuaded deputies from opposing the price hike, Mahmoud Sadeqi, a …

Radiofarda – The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative Nancy Pelosi has voiced concern at the death of more 100 protesters in Iran, joining other Democrats and Democratic presidential candidates who had already condemned the killings. Earlier, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, several Democratic presidential candidates and lawmakers had spoken out on violent suppression of protests and the Internet blackout …

Radiofarda – Amid a harsh crackdown on protesters that has killed more than a hundred people since November 15, Iran has asked Russia to provide an additional $2 billion loan. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday that Tehran is asking the loan for projects including the construction of thermal power plants, hydroelectric power plants, railroads and subway carriages. …

Radiofarda – In a statement released on Friday Iran International Television, a London-based Persian-language news channel, said it will lodge a complaint against Iran with OFCOM, the UK’s communications regulator, for blocking its signals since Tuesday on Hotbird Satellite by uplink (orbital) jamming. On November 16, following protests throughout the country against the three-fold increase in the price of gasoline …