Radiofarda – The U.S. Justice Department has filed charges against an Iranian political scientist accused of being an agent for Iran’s government. The Justice Department said on January 19 that Kaveh Afrasiabi, an Iranian citizen with U.S. permanent residency, was arrested at his home in Watertown, Massachusetts the previous day on charges of “acting and conspiring to act as an …

Radiofarda – “They did not even let our family identify my sister’s dead body. My mother used to say that they handed a big thing, somehow a maquette, to us. My sister was smallish, petite, and slim. No one believes that my sister is sleeping down there. We never visited her grave because we do not believe that what is …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A prisoner who had been sentenced to death on “drug-related” charges, has been executed at Zahedan Central Prison. According to Iran Human Rights, a male prisoner was executed in the early hours of Tuesday, January 19, in Zahedan Central Prison. The idenitity of the prisoner has been established as Anwar Ali-Zehi, who was sentenced to death …

CHRI – On January 10, 2021, Iranian retirees gathered in front of government buildings in at least 19 cities including–Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Yazd–to protest the government’s lack of response to their demands. The protesters, who receive retirement checks from the State Welfare Organization’s (SWO) pension fund, chanted slogans against state policies and officials at well-organized rallies. According to official statistics published by the …

Al-Monitor – President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, pledged to consult with Israel, Gulf allies and Congress when seeking “a longer and stronger” agreement to rein in Iran’s nuclear ambitions. During his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Blinken said the incoming administration would “engage on the takeoff, not just the landing” with allies and partners before taking …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s military kicked off a ground forces drill on Tuesday along the coast of the Gulf of Oman, state TV reported, the latest in a series of snap exercises that the country is holding amid escalating tensions over its nuclear program and Washington’s pressure campaign against Tehran. Read more: Airstrikes pound Iran-backed militias south of Iraq’s Baghdad: Reports …

Iranwire – While a recent surge in air pollution levels was putting people’s health in Tehran and other Iranian cities in jeopardy, the mother of a nine-year-old girl in London, UK proved in court that her daughter’s death had been directly related to air pollution. Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, whose daughter Ella died in 2013 after a severe asthma attack, embarked on …

Iran-HRM – Iranian Baha’i citizen Mahsa Foruhari has been denied completing the university admission process and continuing her higher education for the tenth consecutive year. In the past ten years was denied entry to universities despite successfully passing the national admissions tests.The test is a national matriculation exam required for admission to Iran’s universities. This year, she tried to enroll …

Iran-HRM – A prisoner died from injuries he sustained after being beaten into a coma by intelligence police in western Iran. Bahman Oghabi, 35, who had recently fallen into a coma as a result of the beating and torture of Kermanshah Intelligence Officers, succumbed to his injuries on January 15, 2021, at Khomeini Hospital in the city. Bahman Oghabi was …

Iran Human Rights IHR – : Baluch Sunni clerics Molavi Amanollah Baluchi and Hafez Abdolrahim Kouhi have been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions in Zahedan Central Prison. Their families have been called to make their last visits with them. Iran Human Rights warns of the imminent execution of the two Baluch Sunni clerics and calls on …