RFL/RE – The announced withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will grant Iran one of its biggest wishes and lead to the departure of all foreign forces, which Tehran has long blamed for insecurity in the region. Analysts say the pullout of U.S.-led NATO forces from Afghanistan could potentially give Iran more room to maneuver within its war-torn neighbor, with …

RFL/RE – An independent, bipartisan advisory body has reiterated its call for the U.S. State Department to add Russia to its register of the world’s “worst violators” of religious freedom, a blacklist that already includes Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and six other countries.The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), created by Congress to make recommendations about global religious freedom, …

Iranwire – The second round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States on the possible revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has just drawn to a close, and the parties have returned home to consult with their respective governments. Meanwhile, a tweet from Abbas Araghchi, the head of the Iranian delegation during this round of …

Iranwire – Human rights activist Narges Mohammadi was held as a political prisoner in Iran for more than five years before being released last October. Her book, White Torture, contains interviews with 12 female political prisoners – and 13 in the second edition – about their experiences of solitary confinement. In this guest post for IranWire, she discusses the dynamics …

Iran-HRM – The lives of prisoners in the Central Prison of Karaj are increasingly in danger with the start of a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Reports from inside the overcrowded and unhygienic prison indicate that testing, treatment and care are not carried out for sick prisoners and the authorities have failed to take adequate infection prevention …

Iran-HRM – A Baluch fuel carrier was killed on Tuesday by the agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Corps at a border region in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran. The fuel carrier identified as Aslam Haji Zehi, had attempted to circumvent the road as the border region had been blocked. But the IRGC forces shot him to death in Kolehgan …

VOA – Serious differences persist between the United States and Iran over how they might resume compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal despite making some progress in their latest indirect talks in Vienna, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. The talks were likely to require several rounds, their outcome remained uncertain, and they were not near conclusion, the …

Al-monitor – Hot take on Vienna … and the other Iran talks: Rouhani notes 60-70% progress in Vienna. Let’s start in Vienna, where talks are underway for the return of both the United States and Iran to compliance with Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The details are trickling out and the messages are mixed, but the headline (cutting through the daily pressers and remarks, on …

unwatch.org – UN Watch is calling on U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and EU states to condemn the UN’s election of Iran to a 4-year term on its Commission on the Status of Women, the “principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.” The vote yesterday by the UN’s Economic and Social Council, reported first by UN Watch, …

Al-Arabia – Turkish authorities have continued with plans to help Iran silence critics seeking refuge in the country, with assassinations, arrests, and deportations of Iranian opposition figures continuing unabated. Now, at-least five Iranian asylum seekers in Turkey are at the edge of deportation to Iran – with at least one facing execution if he gets handed over to the regime authorities. Among …