VOA – A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Fars province in southern Iran on Monday, Iranian state TV reported. State TV did not report any information on possible damage or casualties from the quake, which hit near the town of Khane Zenian. Assessment teams have been dispatched to the quake site, which is not a very populous area, the head of …

HRW – These are tumultuous times in Tehran. On the evening of Jan. 11,  protests broke out in front of two of the most prominent universities in Tehran, after the head of Iran’s military acknowledged that it accidentally shot down Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, carrying 176 passengers, including more than a dozen Iranian students living in Canada.  Protesters were furious at the government’s …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Recently, three Republican senators, Ted Cruz (TX), Tom Cotton (AK) and Mike Braun (IN) have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). According to the Iranian American Forum: “Some of these documents are posted here and reveal NIAC’s relation and collaboration with Iranian officials and business interests …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s powerful Guardian Council has purged many Reformists from the ranks of would-be candidates for the fast-approaching parliamentary elections, including many incumbents. The council, controlled by hard-liners, vets hopefuls in all Iranian elections with the exception of city and village council polls. Its strict qualification procedures for the Feb. 21 vote have seen 90 current legislators sent out …

Al-Monitor – A number of protesters gathered outside of Iran’s Foreign Ministry building to demand the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over an interview with the German publication Der Spiegel in which he discussed negotiations with the United States.  In the interview, Zarif was asked about the possibility of negotiations with the United States following the assassination of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds …

Radiofarda – The head of Iran’s Judiciary has said, “We will soon meet the killers of Qassem Soleimani, but not for talks”, adding that Iran will pursue legal action in international tribunals. Ayatollah Ebrahim Raeesi (Raisi) at a meeting of Iran’s Supreme Judicial Council said that Soleimani’s killing has “aroused the people of the region” and has united them with …

Radiofarda – The Islamic Republic has executed five people in recent days in Iran, international Human Rights Organizations report. Ali Ashouri, a man accused of carrying weapons and drugs, and kept for twelve years behind bars, was hanged on January 6, in Dastgerd, Isfahan, central Iran, says Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRO). Meanwhile, IHRO reports that Javad Aliploo was also …

Radiofarda – Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has rejected bilateral talk with the United States Sunday and said the only channel for negotiations is the multilateral 5+1 framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement signatories. In a tweet Zarif said, “.@realDonaldTrump is still dreaming about a bilateral meeting—to satisfy HIS lust for a “Trump deal”. It’s wishful thinking.” Iran’s top …

Radiofarda – President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has warned against holding “formal” elections and favoring one faction at the expense of others, less than four weeks before the parliamentary vote in February. According to Islamic Republic’s constitution, the Guardian Council, an election watchdog, must give its seal of approval for every candidate registering to run in parliamentary and presidential elections. …

Radiofarda – Two weeks after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard acknowledged they had downed a Ukrainian airliner killing all 176 on board, Ukraine keeps insisting on its demand for transparent investigation into what happened to Flight 752. Iran, on the other hand, says it is Tehran’s right to go through the aircraft’s black box flight recorders and investigate the details of what happened. In …