Radiofarda – A Radio Farda investigation shows that the Revolutionary Guard owned Mahan Air has continued its flights to four Chinese cities in the past three weeks despite consistent denials by Iranian officials. The information has been collected from flight-tracking websites such as Flightradar24. As seen on Flightradar24 website in the screenshot below Mahan Air’s flight W576 from Shanghai was …

Radiofarda – In an unprecedented move, Iranian legislators voted against the general outlines of the government’s proposed budget bill apparently to stop further deliberations and the risk of getting exposed to coronavirus. In an open session of parliament (Majles) on Monday, February 24, out of 191 members present, 114 voted against the general outlines of the bill proposed by President …

Al-Arabia – Saudi Arabia issued preliminary sentences for eight Saudi nationals, charging them with spying for Iran and monitoring two foreign embassies in the Kingdom. The Saudi State Security Court sentenced one person to death and seven to prison on espionage charges. The death sentence was given to a person who was proven to have leaked confidential information to Iranian …

Al-Arabia – Twenty-seven people have tested positive for coronavirus in six countries across the Arab region after returning from Iran. Iran has reported 15 deaths from coronavirus, the highest number outside China, but that number is disputed. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Iran has risen to 95, the health ministry’s spokesman Kianush Jahanpour said on Tuesday, the official IRNA news …

RFL/RE – The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) has suspended all flights to and from Iran, where the outbreak of the new coronavirus has already killed at least 15 people — the highest death toll outside the disease’s epicenter in China. Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew this week after sharp rises in new cases in Iran, Italy, and South Korea. …

Iran’s Health Ministry has dismissed a claim by a lawmaker from Qom that the death toll from the disease in the holy Shi’ite city is about four times higher than the official number and that the government is covering up the extent of the disease’s spread in Iran. Speaking in parliament on February 24, Qom lawmaker Ahmad Amirabadi-Farahani was quoted …

HRW – Iranian authorities have failed to hold security forces accountable for excessive and unlawful use of lethal force in confronting large-scale protests that began on November 15, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today. Members of the United Nations Human Rights Council should take urgent action to address the brutal crackdown. Over three months later, the government has failed to announce …

Al-Monitor – Tehran and Muscat have for decades maintained close relations, a tradition that was upheld even after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. However, Oman’s long-servingleader, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, died Jan. 10 at the age of 79, and the prospect of cordial Iran-Oman relations is subject to speculation. Some concern had already been sparked by recent news of the sultan’s deteriorating health after a long battle …

PayvandNews – Fears of a coronavirus pandemic, or global outbreak, are growing as countries including Iran, Italy, and South Korea are battling to contain the spread of the disease that has already killed around 2,600 people in China. Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait on February 24 reported their first cases of the COVID-19 virus — all involving people who had …

PayvandNews – Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli announced on Sunday that turnout in the Friday parliamentary elections was around 42%. Rahmani Fazli said that more than 24 million people out of 58 million eligible voters participated in the election, Mehr reported. Rahmani Fazli also said turnout in Tehran Province was around 25%. 48% of voters were female and 52% were …