Al-Monitor – Earlier this month, a Trump administration official told Congress that Washington’s goals for the outcome of Syria’s civil war remain “within reach.” Those goals are the “enduring defeat” of the Islamic State, a political solution to Syria’s near decadelong conflict and the withdrawal of Iranian-led forces from the country. “Our leverage in Syria is increasing,” Syria envoy Joel …

Al-Arabia – Sahar Tabar, an Iranian who received a 10-year jail term for posting distorted pictures of herself to resemble a zombie-like Angelina Jolie, has reportedly been freed on bail and revealed her real face after giving a television interview. Tabar, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand, received a 10-year jail sentence by an Iranian court more than a week ago which …

Iranwire.com – In mid-November, the Argentine Embassy in the United Kingdom received an anonymous tip-off that chemical products used for making explosives had arrived in Argentina through the Tri-Border area and may be used to target the country’s Jewish community in a terrorist attack. On Friday, November 13, a message was received by one of the Embassy’s social media accounts …

Radiofarda – An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 struck northwestern Iran, near the border with Turkey, state media reported.The official news agency IRNA reported on December 20 that the quake struck the region of Qotur in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province at a shallow depth of 5 kilometers.IRNA did not report if the quake had caused any casualties or damage. …

Radiofarda – A barrage of rockets has targeted Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, causing minor damage to the U.S. Embassy compound and residential areas in the international zone.An Iraqi military statement said “an outlawed group” launched eight rockets on December 20 targeting the Green Zone, the location of embassies and government buildings. Most of the rockets landed near an empty …

Iran-HRM – New reports from Iran indicate of harsh, painful conditions in the Central Prison of Tabriz, capital of the northwestern East Azerbaijan Province. The Central Prison of Tabriz is located on the crossroads of Rahnamaii Ave. towards Kouy-e Vali Asr. It stands next to the Justice Department of East Azerbaijan. The Central Prison of Tabriz is largest prison in …

Iran-HRM – 12 inmates were executed over the past week in Iran. A total of 12 inmates were executed in the week spanning from December 12 to 19. Two prisoners by the names of Behnam and Shoaib Rigi were executed at dawn on Saturday, December 19, 2020 in the Prison of Zahedan, in Sistan and Baluchistan Province. Shahab Javid was …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Three prisoners sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, have been executed at Rajai Shahr Prison. According to Rokna, three male prisoners were executed at Rajai Shahr Prison on December 16. The report does not specify the exact identities of the three men, only that they had been on death row for murder in separate cases. …

gatestoneinstitute.org – The EU would to itself a big favor to realize that Assadi was likely not acting alone. High-level Iranian leaders and diplomats most probably instructed him to carry out the terrorist operation. It was because of his diplomatic position that Assadi was reportedly able to bring the explosives from Tehran to Vienna without being caught. In other word, …

gatestoneinstitute.org – On relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Biden holds the strong card of sanctions devised under Obama and applied under Trump. Obama offered only carrots and failed. Trump offered only stick and didn’t achieve his aim of a photo-op with the top mullah, Ali Khamenei, or even Hassan Rouhani. Biden is in a stronger position than Obama …