Iranwire – A ground-breaking new study by the transparency initiative Iran Open Data has shed light on the role of bribery – otherwise known as “under-the-table”, “tea money”, “colleagues’ share” or “sweets” – in Iranian public life. The report, entitled Bribery Quotes in Iran, focuses on how commonplace bribery has become in Iranian political and administrative bodies. It also attempts to …

Iranwire – With the sharp decline in rainfall in Iran, officials in the country’s various water departments are reporting record-breaking low reserves and issuing warnings about the need to save water. Is this level of drought genuinely unexpected in Iran, or do officials bear a degree of responsibility for the ensuing water crisis? What overall impact will the decrease in …

VOA – Iran said Tuesday it was seeking the release of all Iranian prisoners held in the U.S. amid talks in Vienna meant to bring Tehran and Washington back into the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei also hinted that another exchange of prisoners between Iran and America was possible, saying that “the idea of …

gatestoneinstitute.org – In the Haidilao Hot Pot restaurant in… Vancouver, more than 60 surveillance cameras watch 30 tables and send feeds to China. The cameras, manager Ryan Pan explains, are there to “people track” and are “part of the social credit system in China.” In 2014, China’s State Council issued guidelines for the establishment of a national “social credit system” …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Baluch citizen, Habibullah Sheikh-Hossein has been executed on drug-related charges in Sabzevar Prison. According to Resanak, a man was executed in Sabzevar Prison on the morning of April 26. His identity was established as Zahak native, Habibullah Sheikh-Hosseini, who had been sentenced to death on drug-related charges. He was arrested in Nayin city around two …

CHRI – World powers negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program should present a joint stance against Iran’s cruel and unlawful practice of jailing dual nationals to use as bargaining chips, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) urged ahead of more show trials of dual nationals scheduled for April 28, 2021. “No government should be allowed to play …

Al-Monitor – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered an investigation April 27 into the leak of an audiotape containing containing confidential statements by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Government spokesman Ali Rabiee said Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has been assigned with identifying those behind the leak, which he said is being treated as a “conspiracy against national security.” Iranian officials have said the audio was part of an oral history …

Shabtabnews – Iran is, again, recommended as a Country of Particular Concern in the 2021 #USCIRFAnnualReport. Iran is, again, recommended as a Country of Particular Concern in the 2021 #USCIRFAnnualReport. @USCIRF_BauerRead more about religious freedom conditions in #Iran & recommendations to the US govt to address those concerns: https://t.co/L2oV3MQq6j pic.twitter.com/RO0sZiyPQJ— USCIRF (@USCIRF) April 27, 2021

realclearpolitics.com – Samantha Power, President Biden’s choice to head the U.S. Agency for International Development, literally wrote the book on America’s poor record of fighting genocides around the world even as the nation’s leaders have promised “never again” after the Holocaust. Power’s  “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide” earned her a nonfiction book Pulitzer Prize in …

JPost – Leaked recordings are the latest twist in a strange saga that appears to pit Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani was undermining him and the Iran deal while working with Russia, he supposedly said on the tapes.The tapes appear to show Zarif claiming that Russia wanted to sabotage the …