gatestoneinstitute.org – Both the United Kingdom and the U.S. State Department have complained to China about the free flow of Chinese weapons to Iran, which then wind up with the Taliban. These include surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, artillery shells, and land mines. China’s $3 billion copper mine investment… in Afghanistan’s Logar Province remains under the Taliban’s protection. Other Chinese corporations …

Radiofarda – The United States faces a tough, messy battle if it uses a threat to trigger a return of all United Nations sanctions on Iran as leverage to get the 15-member Security Council to extend and strengthen an arms embargo on Tehran, diplomats said. Washington has shared its strategy, confirmed by a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity, …

Radiofarda – Experts are working to decipher a newly discovered inscription unearthed in an ancient necropolis near Persepolis, an official of the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran, said on Monday. The inscription which dates from the Sassanian period (224-651 AD) was found in Naqsh-e Rostam and is written in Pahlavi language (also known as Middle Persian) which was the official …

AFP – France on Monday condemned Iran over the executions this month of two young offenders who it said where minors at the time of their crimes, accusing Tehran of violating its international obligations. The French foreign ministry said that Shayan Saeedpour was executed on April 21 and Majid Esmailzadeh on April 18, noting they were both “minors at the …

Radiofarda – Any “illegal and provocative move” will be met with the crushing response of the Iranian forces, General Headquarters of the Islamic Republic Armed Forces has warned U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf. A statement on Monday, April 27, by Iran’s military tells “the U.S. and its allies” to honor international rules and regulations while passing through “Iran’s exclusive …

Radiofarda – An Iranian Health Ministry deputy on Monday said lifting coronavirus restrictions on businesses does not mean “going back to normal” and can be reversed if the number of infections and deaths go up. Since April 12 Iran has started relaxing lockdown measures and allowed some factories, businesses, malls, arcades and parks to open to the public amid fears …

Al-Arabia – In Iran, the regime’s belated and inadequate coronavirus response was the behavior of an illegitimate regime that prioritized its own survival over public health, according to experts. Having quickly emerged in January as the epicenter of the disease in the Middle East, the government covered up news of the outbreak, was late to respond, and is accused of massively underreporting the spread …

RFL/RE – The editor in chief and a social-media administrator of Iran’s semiofficial ILNA news agency were detained last week over a cartoon deemed insulting to the country’s leadership. The cartoon, which appeared to mock Iran’s highest authority, was reportedly removed from ILNA’s Telegram channel shortly after being posted. ILNA’s editor in chief, Masud Heydari, has been released on bail …

VOA – Iran appears to have shown little public or private support for 12 Iranians accused or convicted of crimes in the U.S., despite pledging to work for the release of such citizens four months ago in another potential prisoner swap with Washington.   The last, rare prisoner exchange between the two longtime foes happened December 7, when Iran freed Chinese American academic Xiyue Wang …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Two men were hanged for murder charges at Sanandaj prison, Kurdistan province, on March 24, 2020. Death row prisoners Ramyar Mokhles and Vahed Feizi were hanged at the central prison of Sanandaj city, Kurdistan province, on Friday, March 24. They were both sentenced to qisas (retribution in-kind) for murder charges.  According to the Kurdistan Human …