Radiofarda – Iranian law enforcement has arrested the chairman of the city council in Lavasan, a posh suburban town near Tehran, according to a tweet by the town’s Friday Prayer Leader. The cleric said authorities arrested Amir Afrasiabi in line with the “campaign against corruption”. In recent years there have been many controversies surrounding Lavasan and illegal construction of villas …

Radiofarda – The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the opportunity to contain the COVID-19 virus could be coming to an end if countries do not mobilize more quickly. “We are still in a phase where containment is possible,” WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on February 21. “Our window of opportunity is narrowing.” He said it was “very …

Radiofarda – The results of Friday’s parliamentary elections in Iran for smaller constituencies are being announced on Saturday. So far candidate vote results for 66 out of a total of 208 constituencies nationwide have been announced. According to numbers made public so far, run-off elections will be held in several constituencies where candidates have failed to gain a minimum of …

Videos and images of polling stations in Iran shared on social media point toward a low voter turnout in Iran’s parliamentary election on Friday. Iranians voted on Friday in a parliamentary election unlikely to change the Islamic Republic’s troubled relations with the United States, after thousands of candidates were barred from the field in favor of hardliners. Videos and images from several …

Al-Arabia – Recent intelligence shows that weapons used by Houthi militias to attack Saudi Arabia were smuggled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to Yemen via the strategic Hodeidah port, the Arab Coalition’s Spokesperson Colonel Turki al-Maliki said in an interview with Al Arabiya English. Iranian-backed Houthi militias have launched increasingly lethal ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia since the …

Al-Arabia – The Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU) militia group has named Abu Fadak al-Mohammadawi as its new leader, succeeding Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis who was killed in Iraq alongside Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani last month. This undated photo shows Abu Fadak al-Mohammadawi, real name Abdulaziz al-Mohammadawi, pictured with the slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. Several Iraqi politicians and activities confirmed …

RFL/RE – A fifth death from the coronavirus was reported in Iran on February 22 by health officials, who also said the fatality was from among 10 new confirmed cases of the virus in Iran. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour made the announcement on state TV, but did not specify when the death occurred. Two people had died earlier on …

Conservatives appeared to be ahead as ballots were being counted in Iran’s February 21 parliamentary elections. The poll was certain to favor conservative candidates following the pre-vote disqualification of thousands of reformists or relative moderates. Initial results were expected on February 22 after authorities three times extended voting by a total of five hours to allow more people to cast …

RFL/RE – The Pentagon has raised to 110 the number of U.S. service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries during an Iranian missile attack on an air base in Iraq last month. The total figure announced on February 21 is one higher than the toll announced on February 10. It represented the sixth time the U.S. military has raised the …

RFL/RE – Iranian officials have reacted to an outbreak of the coronavirus by announcing emergency measures amid public distrust over the government’s handling of the disease and concern that the number of infections is much higher than reported. A total of 18 cases have been confirmed in the country, including four deaths in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom, where …