Iranwire – As Iranians were marking the end of the Nowruz holidays in early April, more than 25 Baha’is were summoned and arrested in the cities of Shiraz, Mashhad, Bandar Abbas, and Karaj. Others saw their homes raided and searched by security forces. The crackdown, initiated by the Ministry of Intelligence and reinforced by the judiciary, came just as Iran …

VOA – Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% purity Friday, its highest level ever, after an attack targeted its Natanz nuclear site, the country’s parliament speaker said. The comment by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, quoted by state television, did not elaborate on the amount Iran planned to enrich. However, it is likely to raise tensions even as Iran negotiates with …

CHRI – At least nine defense attorneys are currently imprisoned on trumped-up charges in Iran for taking on cases involving detainees persecuted by the state for practicing peaceful activism, freedom of speech and expression, or other human rights. Among them is the renowned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was jailed for defending women arrested for removing their hijabs in public, and Mohammad Najafi, …

Amnesty – Jamshid Sharmahd, a 66-year-old German-Iranian political dissident, is at risk of being convicted in a grossly unfair trial and sentenced to death. He has been arbitrarily detained in Iran for over eight months, at times in circumstances akin to enforced disappearance, without trial and access to an independent lawyer of his choosing and consular assistance. State TV broadcast …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – According to a former cellmate, students Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment in order to force false confessions from them. A year after their arrest, Ali and Amirhossein are still held in security Ward 209 of Evin Prison without a trial or access to their lawyer. Their lawyer has …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – According to a notice served to Arsalan Khodkam today, the Kurdish political prisoner’s death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment. According to Iran Human Rights, following the publication of the Amnesty Commission’s list, Arsalan Khodkam was served a notice from Branch One of the Urmia Military Court informing him that his death sentence had …

Al-Arabia – Two days after lifting its uranium enrichment to the 60% level, Iran said it is capable of even further raising the rate to 90%, which is sufficient for the production of nuclear bombs. Tehran, however, renewed a pledge not to seek such weapons. “Today, if we want to, we are able to enrich uranium at the 90% level, …

Al-Monitor – Russia on Thursday described the recent talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna as “positive,” even as tensions soared over a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear site and Tehran’s planned hike in uranium enrichment. Iran and the other signatories of the landmark nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on Thursday resumed …

Radiofarda – Denmark’s public prosecutor has charged three members of an Iranian Arab opposition group with financing and supporting terrorist activity in Iran and aiding Saudi intelligence services. “This is a very serious case, where people in Denmark have carried out illegal intelligence activities and financed and promoted terrorism from Denmark in other countries,” Lise-Lotte Nilas, a Copenhagen prosecutor, said …

RFL/RE – Talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal are set to resume in Vienna amid renewed tensions as Tehran prepares to ramp up uranium enrichment following an alleged sabotage attack on the country’s main nuclear site. Iran and other parties to the 2015 agreement -– Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia — last week launched what has been described …