Iran-HRM – Only three weeks after the harrowing murder of Romina Ashrafi,13, who was beheaded in her sleep by her own father, two young women are murdered by their family members.The tragic deaths of Fatemeh Barihi, 19 and Reyhaneh Ameri, 22, who were murdered by their husband and father respectively, reinitiated the bitter debate over the savage honor killings in Iran …

RFL/RE – New U.S. sanctions on Syria’s crumbling economy come into effect on June 17 in an attempt to deprive Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his backers any benefits from a military victory. The United States and the European Union already have sanctions on Syria, but the latest from Washington extend to punish any individuals, institutions, or companies conducting business …

RFL/RE – Iran has criticized a plan to put forward a resolution at a meeting of the UN’s nuclear watchdog urging the country to allow inspectors access to two disputed sites. European states are expected to submit the resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) board of governors meeting in Vienna this week. During a visit to Moscow on …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Who will benefit from lifting the arms embargo? Russia and China. They would most likely be the preferred weapons exporters to Iran. With prospects for multi-billion dollar deals, Moscow and Beijing would doubtless be delighted to sell weapons to Iran. Tehran will likely utilize the sophisticated weaponry to advance its hegemonic ambitions in the region, increase its military …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country will not allow the United States to manipulate the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a tool to destroy the fragile Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).  Standing next to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at a presser in Moscow, Zarif also took aim at the IAEA …

Guardian – Iran’s state hospitals and clinics are no longer performing vasectomies or giving out contraceptives in an attempt to revive flagging population growth, a senior health official has told state media. Iranian women were now having 1.7 children on average, well below the 2.2 required to maintain the population, Hamed Barakati, director general of the Ministry of Health’s Office …

Radiofarda – The Center for the Management of Female Islamic Seminaries in Iran has lambasted human rights advocates for protesting child marriage. Referring to the case of the fourteen-year-old Romina Ashrafi whose father recently beheaded her for eloping, the fundamentalist center said in a statement on Monday, June 15, that the groups against child marriage should also be charged in …

Major European powers want to admonish Iran at the UN nuclear watchdog over its ongoing refusal to give access to inspectors at sites suspected of activities that may have been part of a nuclear weapons program, a draft resolution showed.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued two reports this year rebuking Iran for failing to answer questions about nuclear activities almost two decades …

Radiofarda – The White House National Security Council on Monday said it supports the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Rafael Grossi’s call on Iran to fully and immediately cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. The world must come together to stop the Iranian regime’s blatant disregard of the IAEA, the White House National Security Council said in a tweet and added: …

Radiofarda – Like its Latin American ally, Venezuela, Iran appears to be rebranding its crude oil destined for China in Malaysia to circumvent U.S. sanctions. Data provided to Radio Farda by oil tanker tracking and intelligence firm Kpler indicates that Iran has suddenly increased oil exports to Malaysia since January. At the same time, official figures show a huge drop …