VOA – The husband of one of Iran’s most prominent jailed dissidents has strongly criticized authorities for not furloughing her from a coronavirus-plagued prison where he says her health is in danger. In a Thursday phone interview with VOA Persian from Tehran, Reza Khandan faulted the Iranian government for temporarily freeing thousands of common criminals from jails since late February …

Radiofarda – In a tweet on Thursday the White House National Security Council condemned “anti-Semitic rhetoric and threats by Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei against Israel”. “We stand with our friends in Israel and recognize Israel’s absolute right to defend itself,” the White House National Security Council declared. Another tweet that followed quoted President Donald Trump who in March 2019 said: …

AFP -The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Thursday condemned a threat against Israel from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a threat to world peace. Josep Borrell, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, took to Twitter after Khamenei’s comments sparked an angry response from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the …

Radiofarda – Following the arrest of a parkour athlete in Tehran, the Iranian capital’s police announced the detention of his female companion who appeared with him in a video and photos seen by the authorities as a violation of Islamic Republic’s dress code and morality restrictions. The police announced the arrest of the young female, but no official source has …

Radiofarda – The head of Ukraine’s investigation team has said that evidence from the passengers on board flight PS752 suggests that something had happened to the plane even before it was hit by the missiles fired at it by the Revolutionary Guard. Alexander Ruvin, Director of the Kyiv Research Institute of Forensics, says evidence shows that passengers were out of …

Al-Arabia – Israel is a “deadly and harmful appendage” for the region that will be “eradicated,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said during a speech commemorating Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on Friday. “The Zionist regime is a deadly and harmful appendage for this region, and it will certainly be eradicated,” Khamenei said during a live speech on Iran’ …

Iran-HRM – “Removing the veil in the cyberspace is considered a crime,” the Deputy Chief of the Iranian Cyber Police announced, adding, “Anyone who does not abide by the law on Hijab in the cyberspace would be recognized as a criminal.” Col. Pashaii reiterated, “There is no difference between crimes committed in the cyberspace and those committed in real life. …

VOA – Iran’s government is facing a crisis of legitimacy over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to critics. Iran has recorded more than 120,000 cases and 7,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to scientists’ estimates. There are also concerns over gross human rights abuses during the outbreak, as Henry Ridgwell reports. Producers: HenryRidgwell, Jonathan Spier

CHRI – Civil rights activist Shora Fekri was taken to prison in Amol, Mazandaran Province, on May 18, 2020, to begin serving a five-month prison sentence for protesting Iran’s downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. After three days of denials, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) admitted to “accidently” shooting down the plane on …

Al-Monitor – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is seeking to reorganize the Popular Mobilization Units under the framework of the PMU law.  Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi (in center, to right of flags) meets with the head of the Popular Mobilization Units, Faleh al-Fayadh, and other PMU leaders in Baghdad, May 16, 2020.  Photo by Iraqi prime minister’s media office/via …