Al-Arabia – Residents in Baghdad have been captured on camera cheering after billboards of Iran’s former and top leaders were torn down in the Iraqi capital, a Twitter video posted on Thursday showed. Protesters gathered in the Sunni-majority neighborhood of al-Adhmaya in Baghdad and chanted at the removal of large advertising structures featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, former Supreme …

RFL/RE – Iraqi President Barham Salih says his country has hosted multiple rounds of talks between Saudi and Iranian officials, confirming reports of diplomacy to defuse tensions between the Middle Eastern rivals. Talks were held “more than once,” Salih told an online discussion by the Beirut Institute think tank on May 5. He added the discussions were “important and significant,” …

Shabtabnews – USCIRF Releases New Report on Violent Islamist Groups in the Central Sahel Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom today released the following new report on religious freedom violations committed by violent Islamist groups in the central Sahel region of west Africa: Central Sahel Factsheet (https://uscirf.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4140491c2adff549668e45bcc&id=47fe45a552&e=bd32a99346)– Over the past half decade, violent Islamist groups …

Iranwire – With 44 days to go until the Iranian presidential election, the country’s powerful Guardian Council has abruptly intervened in proceedings in an act contrary to the Constitution. Without approving or notifying the Iranian parliament, the oversight body set new conditions on those who can stand as candidates. It communicated these apparent orders in a message to the Ministry of Interior, which manages the …

Iranwire – The name of Khavaran, a cemetery southwest of Tehran, has long been associated with the criminal history of the Islamic Republic. Many victims of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, whose bodies were never identified or returned to their families, are buried here in unmarked, mass graves. The Iranian regime has tried time and again to wipe out any trace …

Iranwire – The bizarre QAnon conspiracy theory flourished online throughout the pandemic, with proponents co-opting Covid-19 disinformation to fuel an ever-changing narrative. Followers of this baseless conspiracy theory believe a cabal of global elites are secretly running an international child trafficking ring. Adherents have been linked to a number of violent incidents including January’s deadly attack on the US capitol. …

Iranwire – In recent days, news of the alleged suicides of three young doctors at Iran University of Medical Sciences tore through social media and horrified many observers. With the cases now being investigated, other medical students have spoken out about their experiences of constant strain, exploitation and isolation working under the Iranian Ministry of Health. IranWire spoke to three health workers …

Iran-HRM – Dozens of inmates have contracted Covid-19 with the spread of the fourth wave of coronavirus in Behbahan Prison. An old prisoner died of Covid-19 in the prison. The prisoner, known as Abdullah Palang, died of shortness of breath in front of the prisoners at 5:00 AM. He was left unattended in prison and was cared for by his …

CHRI – Eight months after an Iranian wrestler was unjustly executed in Shiraz, his brothers Vahid and Habib Afkari remain in prolonged solitary confinement in the same prison where they’ve also been tortured and threatened with execution, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. “These brothers potentially witnessed the crimes committed against their brother and now they could also …

Al-Monitor – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting today, “The sanctions have failed and if we remained united, the sanctions will soon be removed.” Iran and the members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are currently renegotiating the terms of the Iran nuclear deal known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The United States exited the deal in 2018 and reapplied crippling …