Iranwire – On Friday, June 18 both the presidential “election” and municipal council elections are due to be held on the same day in Iran. Opposition members inside and outside the country have called on social media for a boycott of the vote. To try to gauge public mood on the ground, IranWire’s citizen journalist visited a park east of …

VOA – A prominent contender in Iran’s presidential election appealed Tuesday for better economic and political relations with the West, his most extensive attempt yet to attract reformist voters just days ahead of the poll.  Former Iranian Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati, among the seven candidates allowed on the ballot for Friday’s vote, has no official ties to any political …

Iran-HRM – Two Baluch fuel carriers were killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces in Mirjaveh county, southeastern Iran. According to local sources, Tuesday, the two men were identified as Saeed Shahouzehi and Naeem. Saeed was killed at the same time, and Naeem, the driver, died of his injuries after being taken to hospital. Saeed and Naeem were …

CHRI – One week before Iranian Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi runs virtually uncontested for president, the family of Navid Afkari—a wrestler who was executed under Raisi’s watch—has filed a supreme court petition seeking a judicial review of the cases against him and his two brothers. Two of Afkari’s brothers, who remain detained in connection to his case, are meanwhile being denied proper medical treatment despite having …

Al-Arabia – Iran has made 6.5 kilograms (14 lb) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, the government said on Tuesday, detailing a move that rattled the country’s nuclear talks with world powers by taking the fissile material a step towards nuclear weapons-grade of 90 percent. Government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted by state media as saying the country …

justthenews – Naftali Bennett, Israel’s new prime minister, says renewing the Iran nuclear deal is a “mistake.” “The renewal of the nuclear agreement is a mistake,” Bennett said Sunday in his opening remarks in the Knesset, according to The New York Times. “Israel will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons and will maintain full freedom of action.” Bennett’s statement echoes what predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu argued …

RFL/RE – Iranian authorities say they have given emergency approval for a domestically developed vaccine against COVID-19 as the country battles the Middle East’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak. Health Minister Saeed Namaki told a press conference on June 14 that permission for the emergency use of the vaccine called COVIran Barekat was issued the previous day. The move comes after the country is …

Iranwire – In Shia Muslim doctrine, Zeinab, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law, is a symbol of strength, piety and the continuation of the path of the third Shiite Imam. And Narjes, the mother of Imam Zaman [Lord of the Age] and the final, “Hidden” Imam according to Twelver Shiite belief, is similarly revered. It just so happens that …

Iranwire – Mahdieh Golroo is a women’s rights activist who has been repeatedly detained in Iran for her political activity. The former prisoner of conscience has told IranWire that in her experience, jailed LGBT Iranians suffered the worst treatment of all at the hands of the guards. “Heterosexual women and men alone face many problems in prison,” she said. “The …

Al-Arabia – Elections have consequences, even in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Nobody knows this better than Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the country’s most powerful person and most important “voter.” Through his agents in Iran’s byzantine bureaucracy, Khamenei intends to make the most of the upcoming presidential election to cement his hardline legacy and promote extreme politics, even after his …