RFL/RE – The United States and Israeli used the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp to assail Iran, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it “the most anti-Semitic regime on the planet.” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin speaks during the World Holocaust Forum at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem on January …

RFL/RE – The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who has been detained in Iran for almost four years, says she is being used as a “chess piece” in foreign policy.Speaking on January 23 following talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Richard Ratcliffe said there has been “no breakthrough” in efforts to secure his wife’s release and urged …

VOA – Iran has long sought the withdrawal of American forces from neighboring Iraq, but the U.S. killing of an Iranian general and an Iraqi militia commander in Baghdad has added new impetus to the effort, stoking anti-American feelings that Tehran hopes to exploit to help realize the goal.    The Jan. 3 killing has led Iraq’s parliament to call for …

Amnesty – Chilling eyewitness testimonies and verified video analysis by Amnesty International confirm that security forces have resumed their campaign of deadly violence against largely peaceful protesters in Baghdad and cities in southern Iraq, the organization warned today.The crackdown on renewed protests from 20-22 January saw at least 10 people killed in Baghdad, Basra, Karbala and Diyala, according to the …

Amnesty – Houshmand Alipour, from Iran’s Kurdish minority, is at risk of execution after he was sentenced to death on 29 December 2019 following an unfair trial. Mohammad Ostadghader, also an Iranian Kurd, was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment in the same trial. Both were denied access to lawyers of their own choosing and say they were forced to give …

Al-Monitor – Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said the country’s investigation into the accidental shooting down of a passenger plane will be made public. “By the strict orders of the commander in chief [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and the other heads of the government the dimensions of this bitter incident will be presented to the people,” Hatami said Jan. 23 at a ceremony commemorating …

MENAFN – It’s simply not possible to do justice to the value of Iran’s cultural heritage – it’s a rich and noble history that has had a fundamental impact on the world through art, architecture, poetry, in science and technology, medicine, philosophy and engineering. The Iranian people are intensely aware – and rightly proud of – their Persian heritage. The …

Radiofarda – The British Court of Appeals on January 23 is hearing the representatives of the Iranian and British governments for a second day about a small part of the British government’s debt to Iran for a 1971 cancelled contract to sell Chieftain tanks to Iran. Iran hopes that the decision of the British Court of Appeals on this small …

Radiofarda – Saudi Arabian and Iranian foreign minister have made statements saying they are ready for a dialogue and reduction of tensions in Middle East that has been the scene of increasing tensions and dangerous confrontations. Saudi Foreign Minister Farhan Al Saud told Reuters on Wednesday Riyadh was open to talks with Tehran “but it is really up to Iran”. …

Radiofarda – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and the speaker of parliament have warned European states not to leave the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and has vowed never to seek nuclear weapons. Rouhani in remarks on Wednesday, January 22 told Europeans, “If you violate the JCPOA you shall be responsible for all the consequences,” although he did not say what …