VOA – Germany, France and Britain pressed Iran on Saturday to back off the latest planned violation of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, saying that Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for uranium metal. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that Iran had informed it that Iran began installing equipment for the production of uranium metal. It …

AL-Monitor – Syria — Iranian forces and affiliated militias in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria carried out new redeployment and repositioning operations after their military sites and barracks were subjected to airstrikes, believed to be carried out by Israeli aircraft Jan. 13.  The redeployment included evacuating the sites affected by the bombing, emptying several weapons depots, and moving weapons to other locations in various neighborhoods in the cities of …

Shabtabenews – In a statement the USCRIF condemned the restrictions imposed by the Iranian regime on religious groups. USCIRF Commissioner @USCIRF_Bauer: "#Iran's restrictions on holiday observance and attempts to effectively ‘reeducate’ Baha’is place the country among the world’s most notorious religious freedom violators." (1/2) https://t.co/2E7EM9xqwp— USCIRF (@USCIRF) January 15, 2021 The statement also went further by stating: USCIRF Commissioner @USCIRF_Bauer: …

VOA – The family of a jailed Iranian dissident who is marking 20 years in Iran’s prison system without a single day of leave is appealing for international help in securing his parole from a life sentence for supporting an exiled opposition group. Saeed Masouri, who is in his mid-50s, has been imprisoned in Iran since Jan. 8, 2001, for …

Iranwire – It began as a rumor but has now been confirmed: according to Iran’s own official media, Emad Edward Sharqi, vice-president of the holdings company and noted tech investor Sarava, was arrested while attempting to leave the country. The reports didn’t say when the arrest took place. But the rumors about it had begun a month earliy. Sharqi was …

Iranwire – Fourteen year-old Behrooz insisted on returning to Iran. He had refused to go to school for three days and had dug his heels in, saying, “I have to go back to Iran.” It had been three years since he had been sent abroad to study at the suggestion of his family. The Baha’is in Iran were in a …

Iran-HRM – There was a wave of arrests of Kurdish citizens and activists over the past week in Kurdish cities or cities with Kurdish residents. At least 26 Kurdish citizens were arrested and detained by intelligence agents over the past days in the cities of Mahabad, Marivan, Rabat, Bukan, Sarvabad, and Sanandaj. They were transferred to intelligence institutions. These citizens were arrested without warrant. Some …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Four months after the execution of Iranian wrestler, Navid Afkari in Shiraz, his two brothers, Habib and Vahid remain in solitary confinement. According to Iran Human Rights, Vahid and Habib Afkari have been held in solitary confinement since 5 September 2020 and have been denied the right to call their family. An informed source has …

Iran Human Rights – A Baluch prisoner who had apparently 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 Zahedan Central Prison on the morning of Thursday, January 14. The prisoner whose identity has been established as Jama Zahrozehi, was apparently executed on “drug-related” …

​Al-Monitor – Thick and stubborn clouds of hazardous emissions have blanketed the Iranian capital, Tehran, for four weeks in a row, only adding to a long list of challenges residents in the megacity are grappling with on a daily basis. Characterized by its frustrating traffic jams, which have been exacerbated by a poor public transportation infrastructure and an unregulated population …