Jcpa – A shorter version of this article appeared in the Jerusalem Post. Nuclear alarm bells should have sounded after the New York Times’ editorial board published on April 23, 2021, its paean to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Why the Past Haunts Talks with Iran.1 “Nuclear talks in Vienna… are said to be making progress, which …

wjla – A classified study of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 conducted a year ago by scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Department of Energy’s premier biodefense research institution, concluded the novel coronavirus at the heart of the current pandemic may have originated in a laboratory in China, Sinclair has learned. Researchers at Livermore’s “Z Division,” the lab’s intelligence …

RFL/RE – Long persecuted by Iran’s Islamic regime, followers of the Baha’i faith in Tehran have now been told they must bury their dead upon the mass graves of political prisoners. The Baha’i community in the Iranian capital has for years buried its dead in a special section of Tehran’s Khavaran cemetery, near the resting place for hundreds or even …

Iranwire – Within minutes of being rebuked by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over the contents of an interview leaked last weekend, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif humbly apologized for his controversial remarks. In an Instagram post, he expressed particular regret for his seemingly disparaging comments about General Ghasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force who was killed by an …

Iranwire – US and UK authorities have denied Iranian state media reports that the US and the UK are to pay Iran money the country claims it is owed in exchange for the release of hostages. On Sunday, state TV and other outlets including Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday that Britain will pay Iran £400m related to the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks ordered …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – According to the Annual Report of the Death Penalty in Iran, at least four juvenile offenders have been executed in Iran in 2020.  Read the full report (pdf) Juvenile executions: Trends and legislative reforms Iran is one of the last remaining countries to sentence juvenile offenders to death and executes more juvenile offenders than any …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) –  Chapter III of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran contains provisions related to the rights of the people. In this Chapter, Article 22 states: “The dignity, life, property, rights, domicile, and occupations of people may not be violated, unless sanctioned by law.” However, the number of crimes punishable by death in Iran is among the …

JPost – The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that it may execute Vahid Afkari, the brother of the champion wrestler Navid Akari, who was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by Iran’s judiciary for his protest against Iranian regime corruption.The founder of the campaign United for Navid, Masih Alinejad, on Saturday tweeted:  “After executing the innocent athlete Navid Afkari …

reuters – Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday criticised its foreign minister, who said in a leaked interview that the elite Revolutionary Guards had more influence in foreign affairs and Tehran’s nuclear dossier than him. In the interview, aired by the London-based Iran International Persian-language satellite news channel last week, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he had “zero” influence over …

Al-Arabia – A report by all intelligence agencies in the United States has identified Iran as the “primary state challenger” to Washington’s interests in the Middle East, the London-based Iran International reported on Sunday. Iran has been identified as the “primary state challenger to US interests in the Middle East because of its sophisticated military capabilities, broad proxy and partner …