RFL/RE – The joint commission on the Iran nuclear agreement will meet in Vienna on September 1, the European Union has said, after the U.S. and its European allies sparred over Washington’s bid to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran. The meeting will be chaired by the EU and attended by representatives of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran, the …

RFL/RE – The United States says it is imposing visa restrictions on 13 Iranian individuals for their involvement in “gross violations of human rights” regarding the 1990 assassination of an Iranian opposition activist in Switzerland. It did not disclose the names of the individuals. “These 13 assassins, who posed as Iranian diplomats, were acting under the highest orders of their …

VOA – An Iranian lawyer says a Baha’i woman he represents has become the latest member of the religious minority to begin serving a prison sentence for practicing her faith, deemed heretical by the nation’s Islamist rulers. In a Tuesday phone interview from the Netherlands with VOA Persian, lawyer Mazdak Etemadzadeh, who has represented multiple Iranian Baha’is in the past …

Iran-HRM – Jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been transferred to the clinic of the Evin Prison after her health deteriorated on the 9th day of her hunger strike. Nasrin Sotoudeh in critical condition was taken to the clinic of the Evin Prison at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, wrote Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan on his Facebook account the …

Radiozamaneh – “Coup 53“, a documentary by Taghi Amirani, is an extensive visual account of the removal from power of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in the 19th August 1953 Coup, a historical event that continues to reverberate as a theme within Iranian society. The Anglo-American-directed operation which unseated Mossadegh has affected the Iranian political scene ever since and has …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A prisoner sentenced to qisas (retribution in-kind) for murder was executed at Boroujerd Central Prison. According to Iran Human Rights, on the morning of Thursday, August 20, a man was executed in Boroujerd Central Prison. His identity has been established as Hossein Moloudi, a 33-year-old who had been sentenced to qisas (retribution in-kind) for murder. …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Domestic media in Iran have reported the execution of a woman convicted of murder in Mashhad Central Prison. Meanwhile, human rights sources reported five prisoners being executed on similar charges at the prison yesterday. According to Rokna, a woman on death row was executed in Mashhad Central Prison on the morning of Tuesday, August 19. …

theguardian.com – Behdad Esfahbod was forced by the Revolutionary Guard to enlist as a foreign agent. But when they tried to activate him, he went public instead  Behdad Esfahbod ignored the IRGC’s coded message to get to work as a spy – and went public instead. Photograph: Supplied On 14 June, Behdad Esfahbod, a Facebook software engineer, received a text …

Shabtabnews – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recognizes the United Nations’ second annual International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief ahead of August 22, the official remembrance date. In the statement the USCIRF states – “Commemorating the many victims of violence based on religion or belief is critical, but only the …

RFL/RE – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defended Washington’s move to formally begin the process of activating a mechanism aimed at reimposing UN sanctions on Iran citing Iranian violations of a 2015 nuclear deal, which Washington exited in 2018.Pompeo on August 20 submitted a letter to the president of the UN Security Council notifying him of Iran’s “significant” …