Radiofarda – The Iraqi Border Authority have announced that the country’s borders are closed, a response to videos posted on social media showing some Iranian pilgrims storming toward Iran’s western borders to reach the Iraqi city of Karbala. Iraq was one of the first countries to confirm being hit by the novel coronavirus spread from Iran. On February 21, one …

Radiofarda – Navid Afkari’s family members and acquaintances gathered at his burial place, in Sangar village of Sepidan city in Fars province, to shower his grave with flowers. A video of the ceremony circulated on social media shows dozens of attendees chanting, “Navid, the Champion.” Afkari, an Iranian national wrestling champion, was sentenced to death on charges of participating in …

Al-Arabia – US President Donald Trump will be a target of the Iranian military “for the rest of his life” for his involvement in the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, a representative of Iran’s supreme leader warned on Sunday. As “the killer of Soleimani,” Trump will for the rest of his “dirty and disgraceful” life be a target of the …

VOA – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Saturday he cannot take any action on a U.S. declaration that all U.N. sanctions on Iran had been reimposed because “there would appear to be uncertainty” on the issue. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month that he triggered a 30-day process at the council leading …

VOA – The United States is returning virtually all the U.N. sanctions on Iran, including an arms embargo, according to a Saturday night statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Calling Iran the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and anti-Semitism, the statement said the sanctions are being reimposed beginning Saturday at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 UTC) through the snapback …

VOA – Last week’s U.S. announcement that it would withdraw more than 2,000 of its troops from Iraq this month appears to have emboldened Iran-backed Shiite militias, with some groups vowing to keep up their fight against the remaining American troops in the country. The commander of U.S. Central Command, Marine General Frank McKenzie, said September 9 that the U.S. …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Following increasing pressure on families of the victims of the 1980s executions, the graves of two members of the Sajedi family which were located on private property, were destroyed in Azna (Lorestan Province). The Sajedi family had decided to lay gravestones for their sons, decades after Massoud Sajedi was executed and Saeed Sajedi killed under torture. …

CHRI – A group of prominent academics, policy experts, former government officials, parliamentarians and diplomats released a statement on September 15, 2020, calling on the Government of Iran to release its many imprisoned dual nationals. The list of prisoners cited in the statement include son and father Siamak and Baquer Namazi, who have Iranian and British citizenship, Morad Tahbaz, who has Iranian, …

Radiofarda – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration says that on Saturday (2000 EDT/0000 GMT Sunday) all United Nations sanctions on Iran have to be restored and a conventional arms embargo on the country will no longer expire in mid-October. But 13 of the 15 U.N. Security Council members, including long-time U.S. allies, say Washington’s move is void and diplomats say …

RFL/RE – The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has threatened retaliation against everyone who had a role in the January killing of a top IRGC general by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq. The IRCG’s website on September 19 quoted General Hossein Salami as saying, “Mr. Trump! Our revenge for martyrdom of our great general is obvious, …