RFL/RE – Iran said on February 20 that three more people have tested positive for a new coronavirus in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom, where two people the previous day had died of the illness caused by the virus.The IRNA state news agency reported that all schools and universities, including religious Shi’ite seminaries, were closed in the holy Iranian …

VOA – The United States on Thursday slapped sanctions on five Iranian officials in charge of vetting candidates for the Islamic republic’s parliamentary elections, in which thousands, predominantly moderates, have been barred from running. The officials targeted ahead of Friday’s vote include Ahmad Jannati, a 92-year-old cleric who, according to the Treasury Department, oversaw the disqualification of nearly half the …

Al-Monitor – The elections for Iran’s 11th parliament since the 1979 Islamic Revolution will take place Feb. 21, a day when most people do not have to work. With many well-known Reformists barred from running, the vote will ultimately be a contest between conservative and hard-line candidates, both of whom will likely work overtime to undo the policies of moderate President Hassan Rouhani. Headlining the list …

Al-Monitor – Ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Feb. 21, Iranian hard-liners find themselves facing an unprecedented challenge: the emergence of a group with left-leaning tendencies spawned inside its own conservative camp. The mostly young activists of the Justice Seekers current are practically communists in the eyes of their former friends on the far-right. In the latters’ eyes, the Justice Seekers represent a threat in their willingness to cross certain redlines. As a result of some of …

PayvandNews – The Iranian parliament has approved the details of a government bill to drop four zeros from the national currency rial. Reports in the local media on Wednesday said that the parliament’s economic committee had gone through all technical details of the bill which seeks to amend Article 1 of Iran’s Monetary and Banking Law to allow the government …

Radiofarda – First Vice-President of Iran on Wednesday said he was unaware of revelations about the torture an environmentalist in prison has suffered in the hands of her interrogators, but he said he will discuss it at the Cabinet meeting on Sunday. Es’haq Jahangiri made the comment in response to a reporter’s question at the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting …

Radiofarda – Two Iranians have died in hospital after testing positive for the new coronavirus in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom, the head of the city’s University of Medical Sciences told the state-run Mehr news agency on Wednesday, February 18. “Two Iranians, who tested positive earlier today for the new coronavirus, died of respiratory complications, senility, and faulty system …

Radiofarda – An Iranian women’s rights and anti-compulsory hijab activist has won an international prestigious women’s award in Geneva, Switzerland. Shaparak Shajarizadeh, 44, received her award on February 18. She was a Girl of Revolution Street meaning one of the Iranian women who dared to take their scarves off in busy public places to protest compulsory hijab and Islamic Republic’s …

Radiofarda – The February plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is underway in Paris. The outcome of this meeting could prove pivotal for Iran. The FATF, an intergovernmental body charged with setting standards and monitoring implementation of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) policies, has threatened to “fully lift the suspension of counter-measures and call on its …

Al-Arabia – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived on Wednesday in Riyadh for a three-day visit during which he will discuss regional security after the US killing last month of a top Iranian general pushed the oil-producing region closer to an all-out war. Pompeo was received at King Khalid International Airport by Princess Reema Bint Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, …