Radiofarda – In a “double-urgency motion” dozens of Iranian lawmakers have called for the Islamic Republic to automatically withdraw from the JCPOA or the 2015 nuclear agreement, if the United States successfully activates the process to reimpose UN sanctions. The parliamentary motion is a reaction to President Donald Trump’s call on August 15 to activate the “trigger mechanism” or “snapback” …

Radiofarda – Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has praised former National Security Advisor John Bolton for being consistent in questioning the use of the “snapback” option by Washington to trigger UN sanctions against Iran. In an article in the Wall Street Journal published August 16, Bolton has said the Trump administrations determination to force the snapback option “Is not wroth …

Radiofarda -Two comparative studies conducted in 2017 and 2020 about the situation of Iran’s economy under its latest four presidents reveal that President Hassan Rouhani’s economic performance has likely been the worst of the bunch, particularly during his second term in office. Ironically enough, neither of these reviews — the first published on pro-reform news website Fararu on August 17, 2020 under …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Armed Forces General Command said in a statement on Monday that cyber-threats from “any government, group or person and at any level” will be “mightily reciprocated,” warning about cyber operations from foreign countries in “political, economic, social or cultural” areas, including elections. Iranian authorities have admitted on several occasions that the country’s online infrastructure had been targeted …

RFL/RE – Iran has reacted angrily to the United Arab Emirates’ decision to normalize ties with Israel, a move that could increase pressure on Tehran amid suggestions by U.S. and Israeli officials that other Persian Gulf states could follow suit. Iranian President Hassan Rohani blasted de facto U.A.E. leader Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed’s reported pledge, which follows a de-escalation with …

VOA – The wife of a jailed Iranian dissident has criticized her nation’s Islamist rulers for ordering the couple’s son to go to prison for protesting the Iranian military’s January shoot-down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, saying the wrong people were being imprisoned for the incident.   Fatemeh Maleki announced in an August 11 Instagram post that authorities had summoned her son Ali Nourizad to report …

Iran-HRM – Alireza Farshi Dizjikan, an Azeri activist detained in Evin Prison, called on prison authorities to attend to Evin Prison conditions during the coronavirus pandemic and enforce social distancing measures. He did so in an open letter to the legal deputy of Evin Prison. Alireza Farshi Dizjikan in his letter revealed the horrible Evin Prison conditions in Ward 8 during …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A prisoner sentenced to qisas (retribution in-kind) for murder was executed in Mashhad Central Prison. According to the Khorasan newspaper online, on the morning of Saturday, August 15, a male prisoner was executed in Mashhad Central Prison. The prisoner who has only been identified as Hadi A, 36, had been sentenced to qisas (retribution in-kind) …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Nasrin Sotoudeh’s daughter, Mehraveh Khandan was detained for hours by security forces today. Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been on hunger strike in protest to the treatment of political prisoners since August 11. IHR strongly condemns the authorities’ escalation of pressure on Nasrin Sotoudeh and other human rights defenders by harassing their …

gatestoneinstitute.org – By holding a political protest at the compound of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinians are not only desecrating the sanctity of the site, but also sending a warning to citizens of UAE not to visit Jerusalem or the mosque, as many apparently hoped to do. The Joint Statement of the United States, Israel, and the UAE on August 13 …