VOA – Amnesty International says its documented death toll from Iran’s recent anti-government protests will rise again from the group’s latest report that at least 304 demonstrators were killed by security forces. “That is not a final figure by any means,” said Amnesty’s Middle East research director Philip Luther in a VOA Persian interview on Monday. Hours earlier, the London-based rights …

VOA – Supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shi’ite groups Hezbollah and Amal clashed with security forces and set fires to cars in the capital early Tuesday, apparently angered by a video circulating online that showed a man insulting Shi’ite figures. Police used tear gas and water cannons trying to disperse them. It was the third consecutive night of violence, and …

CHRI — A coalition of international human rights organizations including the Center for Human Rights in Iran has called on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to launch an independent inquiry and demand accountability for the Iranian government’s repression of last month’s street protests, which resulted in at least 304 deaths. Among the thousands who were detained since the protests …

CHRI – Iranian authorities have refused to provide information about the location or condition of student activist Saha Mortezaei since she was arrested a month ago at the University of Tehran’s Fatemieh dormitory on November 17, 2019. Her family is particularly worried because university officials had previously threatened to subject the young woman to electric shock therapy at a psychiatric facility to punish her …

Al-Monitor – Amnesty International has updated its death toll from the protests in Iran in November to 304. Iranian authorities so far have refused to issue any official numbers, causing frustration even from hard-line media. Abdullah Ganji, the managing editor of Javan, a newspaper linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wrote an op-ed asking why the official figures have not yet been released. “The reasons for the human …

Al-Monitor – The Omani minister responsible for foreign affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi, visited Tehran on Dec. 2-3 on an unexpected trip. He held meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani. While officials have published no details about these meetings, the Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE) initiative was suggested to have been one of the subjects discussed during the visit. Also, tensions between …

PayvandNews – Surena IV, the fourth generation of national humanoid robot design and construction unveiled in Tehran on Saturday. Surena IVsurenahumanoid.com | wikipedia | video At a ceremony held in Tehran University on Saturday morning, attended by the Vice President for Science and Technology Sourena Sattari, and the Chancellor of University of Tehran, a fourth generation ‘Sourena humanoid robot’ was officially unveiled. Sourena Sattari …

Radiofarda – An Iranian parliamentary official said today that the Intelligence Ministry has sued outspoken lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi for “disclosing classified information” related to the case of “assassination of nuclear scientists” between 2010 and 2012. Mahmoud Sadeghi, an outspoken member of Iran’s parliament has gotten into a dispute with the Intelligence Ministry. FILE PHOTO “The Intelligence Ministry has sued Mahmoud …

Radiofarda – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is finalizing with Japan a visit to Tokyo, officials in Tehran said Monday, in what will be the first such trip in two decades. The trip would likely take place around December 20, after Rouhani visits Malaysia for a Muslim leaders summit in Kuala Lumpur, Japanese and Iranian media reported. “This trip (to Japan) …

Radiofarda – A member of Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce has told local media that a few American drug companies have obtained permission from the U.S. government to export medicines to Iran. ILNA news website in Tehran quotes Alireza Kolahi as saying that the drug companies have also proposed the names of several Iranian banks as payment channels and the U.S. …