Reuters – Iran confirmed on Friday that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had discussed prisoner releases with former U.S. ambassador Bill Richardson, a day after the two countries each released one detainee. A ministry official had said in December that Richardson, a former U.S. envoy to the United Nations, had held talks with Zarif but played down their significance. On …

President Hassan Rouhani warned Iranians Saturday to prepare to live with the novel coronavirus “for a long time,” as the country gradually rolls back restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak. People should not assume that “this disease will be eliminated in 15 days or a month: we must therefore follow the instructions for a long time,” Rouhani said during the …

Al-Arabia – Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will run in the next presidential elections in Iran, the state-affiliated news website Entekhab reported on Saturday. Ahmadinejad was president of Iran from 2005 to 2013, having served as mayor of Tehran between 2003 and 2005. In 2017, Ahmadinejad announced he would run in the Iranian presidential elections, but his nomination was rejected …

Iran-HRM – Despite nearly 60 days since the arrests of two elite students of Sharif University of Technology, Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, they are still denied access to lawyers and visit their families. Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi have remained in detention despite human rights groups and activists repeatedly expressing concern about their conditions. Amnesty International said …

RFL/RE – The United Nations’ atomic watchdog said on June 5 that Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium far beyond the limits set in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raised “serious concerns” over Iran’s refusal to let international inspectors investigate possible past nuclear activities at two locations. …

HRW – Iranian authorities have detained two students from Sharif University in Tehran in solitary confinement for nearly two months, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should release the two students immediately – unless they can promptly charge them with a recognizable crime – and ensure all their due process rights. The authorities arrested Ali Younesi, 20, on a Tehran street …

CHRI – Laws in Iran that allow the authorities to imprison people after they’ve been acquitted should be immediately revised, said the mother of jailed activist Saba Kord-Afshari, 21, who is again facing a minimum 15-year prison sentence for advocating against the country’s mandatory hijab law after the Appeals Court acquitted her. Kord-Afshari’s mother, Raheleh Ahmadi, is also in prison for campaigning …

Al-Arabia – Emmanuel Macron made the comments on the one-year anniversary of Fariba Adelkah’s imprisonment.  French President Emmanuel Macron meets with trade unions and employers’ representatives amid the novel coronavirus outbreak at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 4, 2020.  Photo by Yoan Valat/REUTERS. The French president is calling on Iran to release a dual-citizen academic imprisoned there. Emmanuel …

Radiofarda – President Emmanuel Macron has demanded that Franco-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, whom Tehran has sentenced to six years in prison, be released immediately. “One year ago, Farida Adelkhah was arbitrarily arrested in Iran. It is unacceptable that she is still in prison,” Macron tweeted on June 5. “My message to Iranian authorities: justice demands that our compatriot be immediately …

Radiofarda – An Iranian security official on Thursday denied that police shooting was responsible for a vehicle fire in Yazd Province that killed at least three Afghan citizens and wounded several others. Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Thursday evening, Ahmad Tarahomi-Behabadi, Law Enforcement Commander of Yazd Province, claimed that the vehicle caught fire due to overheating …