Al-Arabia – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani likened outgoing US President Donald Trump to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and repeated the Iranian regime’s vow to avenge the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, in a speech on Thursday. “Trump was like Saddam. Saddam imposed eight years of war on us and was overthrown and Trump imposed three years of …

Iranwire.com – The story of General Soleimani’s $22 million generosity to Hamas has recently made headlines. But charges of financial corruption against the late IRGC Quds Commander, and against individuals associated with him and the Quds Force, go back a long way. This report revisits some of the allegations that have come to light in the past. *** On December …

Iranwire.com – We were brother and sister. Bahareh was the eldest by a year and a half; I was born in the fall of 1987, she in the spring of 1986.  We were close friends and always knew what was going on with each other. Before going to university, we shared a room and all of our games, laughter and …

Radiofarda – They go from cemetery to cemetery, looking for unmarked graves. Wherever there is one, they squat over it, hoping that their children might be resting in peace down there. They mark the tombs with flowers or pieces of stone. Soon after, Iranian agents rush in and demolish the markings. For their part, they go back and replace the …

RFL/RE – The United Nations has condemned Iran for executing a man convicted of murder when he was 16 years old, saying the punishment violated international law. The UN human rights office in Geneva said Mohammad Hassan Rezaiee was executed on December 31. He was the fourth juvenile offender put to death in Iran this year, the office said. “The …

VOA – Iran has sentenced a rights activist from its Azerbaijani Turk ethnic minority to an effective five-year prison term for his peaceful campaign against discrimination of his minority group by the Islamist rulers of the Persian-majority nation, according to a knowledgeable source. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Persian from Iran, the source familiar with the situation of activist …

Amnesty – The Iranian authorities’ execution of a young man on 31 December 2020, following a grossly unfair trial for a crime that took place when he was just 16 years old, has once again demonstrated their unrelenting assault on children’s rights and utter disregard for the rules of juvenile justice and the right to life. The execution of Mohammad …

Al-Monitor – Pakistan and Iran inaugurated a second official border crossing Dec. 19 at the strategically located crossing point of Gwadar-Ramdhan. Situated in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which lies adjacent to Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, this new gateway is now the shortest land route connecting the port of Gwadar to Iran. The idea for a second border crossing had recently been suggested by …