Al-Monitor – The United States on Wednesday imposed one more round of sanctions on Iran, including a foundation linked to the country’s supreme leader, and vowed more punitive measures are on the way.     The State Department designated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials Heidar Abbaszadeh and Reza Papi for their alleged involvement in the violent suppression of anti-government protesters in …

Shabtabnews – Today IOPHR is holding a webinar on “The attitude of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the different Religious Groups”. For the last 40 years, Iran’s ruling regime has claimed to have a population of up to 90% Shia Muslims, whereas in contrast, Iran is made up of diverse groups of religions and ethnic groups, all of whom …

Radiofarda – Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief Prince Turki Al-Faisal Tuesday cautioned Washington from repeating the same mistakes made under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “Mr. President-elect [Joe Biden], do not repeat the mistakes and shortcomings of the first deal. Any non-comprehensive deal will not achieve lasting peace and security in our region,” Prince Turki said during the 29th Annual …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Vice President, Eshaq Jahangiri, has accused the Speaker of Iran’s Majlis parliament of having the “least possible knowledge of the economy.” During a Majlis meeting on Monday, the parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, commented that the government should seek new sources of essential goods, suggesting an increase of customs duties. Qalibaf made the comment at a debate …

In recent years, barely a week has passed without a media appearance of Amirali Hajizadeh, the media-savvy commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force. Charming, gregarious and always wearing a smile, Hajizadeh doesn’t miss any opportunity to talk about drones, domestic car production and the rapid growth of Iran’s missile force while carefully ignoring more inconvenient topics such as the downing …

Radiofarda – The spokesman for the Iranian Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, has dismissed recent reports that Iran has lost its border with Armenia. Previous reports said that Iran would lose its borderline with Armenia based on the recent Russian-brokered peace deal between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, which ended six weeks of fierce fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. “Last week, we faced …

RFL/RE – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Tehran would return to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal if U.S. President-elect Joe Biden lifts crippling sanctions against the country. Zarif said in a November 17 interview with the government daily Iran that Tehran remains committed to the nuclear accord, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action …

RFL/RE – Iran has again breached its nuclear deal with major powers by firing up advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges installed underground at its Natanz site, Reuters reports. The news agency said on November 18 that it had obtained a copy of a new report by the United Nations’ atomic watchdog outlining activities at Natanz, Iran’s main uranium-enrichment site and the one …

iranwire.com – As Iran marks one year since the huge protests across Iran and their suppression by security forces and police, prominent activist and former politician Faezeh Hashemi has spoken of her pessimism for the future of her country, and says she believes the only avenue Iranians have for change is through civil disobedience. Speaking at a small gathering to mark …

iranwire.com – Young Baha’i would-be students who passed this year’s national university entrance exams in Iran have been hauled in by education officials for questioning. On Wednesday, November 11, a number of Baha’i candidates were summoned by telephone to the Karaj branch of Sanjesh, the body responsible for organizing and overseeing the annual tests. Several of those in attendance said …