PayvandNews- The Iranian government has submitted a long-awaited bill for the protection of women against violence to the parliament. The bill titled, Protection, Dignity, and Security of Women against Violence, had been under review since September 2019. It criminalizes any act or behavior that causes “physical or mental harm” to women “as a vulnerable gender”. In line with principles and …

gatestoneinstitute.org – The Lebanese are worried that their country will meet the fate endured by Iraq, Syria and Yemen, where the Iranians and their militia proxies are playing a major role in the civil wars currently plaguing these countries. The Lebanese are demanding an end to Iranian occupation of their country; they are clearly hoping that the international community will …

RFL/RE – Iranian forces have held military exercises involving ballistic missiles amid heightened tensions over the country’s nuclear program and a U.S. pressure campaign against Tehran. Iranian state television reported on January 15 that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched several surface-to-surface ballistic missiles against simulated enemy bases in the country’s central desert as part of the exercises. It …

Iranwire – Officers from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence raided the houses of three Baha’i citizens in different cities of Iran, searched their homes and confiscated their personal belongings. According to reports sent to IranWire, on the morning of January 11, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence entered the house of Tina Alavi (Enayatipour), a Baha’i citizen living in Karaj, and …

Radiofarda — “Deep in my heart, I longed for the lie to continue. Alas, it did not. After three days full of lies, the truth hit us like lightning. Suddenly, we found ourselves facing a horrendous crime. The painful truth was not just losing our loved ones; they were victims of an unparalleled crime. Our own forces had shot down …

Radiofarda – In its report on the state of journalism in the world in 2020, Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders) has appropriately ranked Iran as the global record-holder of killing media staff. Referring to Ruhollah Zam’s kidnapping process that led to his trial behind closed doors, sentencing, and hanging, the internationally renowned organization has called his death not execution …

VOA – Iran has sentenced a film director to an effective three-year prison term for alleged national security offenses, including his work on a decade-old documentary about an Iranian journalist who later became a prominent anti-government activist, according to the director’s sister. Speaking to VOA Persian from her home in Canada on Tuesday, Neda Mihandoust said Iranian authorities had sent …

VOA – The recent arrest by Turkish authorities of an alleged Iranian spy ring is seen as a sign of increasing rivalry between the two neighbors.  The arrest comes as Turkey seeks to expand its influence in the Caucasus, an area considered by Tehran as its backyard. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. 

Iran-HRM – Iranian political prisoner Masoumeh Senobari has been denied medical leave and hospital transfers despite being suspected of cancer. The authorities of Tabriz Prison where Masoumeh Senobari is held, have rejected the poitical prisoner’s requests for medical leave or hospital rtansfer. Masoumeh Senobari’s family have been following up on her treatment and medical tests and have accepted to pay …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Two brothers who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for “premeditated murder” during a group fight, have been executed at Ardebil Central Prison. According to Iran Human Rights, two male prisoners were executed in the early hours of Wednesday, January 13. In the same case, the two brothers had been arrested and convicted of “premeditated murder” during a …