Al-Monitor – “The spring of tourism [is coming],” wrote the government-run Iran newspaper Sept. 21, reporting on a ceremony in which conservative politician Ezzatollah Zarghami was sworn in as Iran’s new minister of cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts. Zarghami told the event that following his conversations with hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran plans to lift visa restrictions to help the severely hit …

Iranwire – On Saturday, at a meeting with Iranian medalists in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics games, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei once again drew attendees back to the only topic that concerns him in the sporting arena: Israel. Using harsher language than usual, Khamenei told officials “not to be passive” in refusing to accept Israel’s legitimacy at international sports contests. He …

Iran-HRM – A appeals court in Tehran has upheld flogging and prison sentences against labor activist Esmail Gerami. Esmail Gerami was sentenced to 74 lashes, five years of prison, and a fine of 2 million tomans (about $72) by the Tehran Appeals Court on Saturday, September 19. The 67-year-old labor activist was previously sentenced to 74 lashes, five years of prison, and …

Iran-HRM – A Kurd border porter was killed by security forces on Sunday in Sardasht, northwestern Iran. According to Kurdish news websites, the man was identified as 39-year-old Omid Mohammadzadeh. He was shot in the hip and bled to death. Mohammadzadeh was married and father to three children aged eleven, seven, and five. His body has not been given to …

gatestoneinstitute.org – According to the Global Index of Terrorism, more than 57% of terrorism in the first 15 years of the Global War on Terror happened in four countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. In Syria, since 2011, most of the deaths in that category were the work of state terrorism. Most of the active terror groups are located in …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian athletes that they must continue to refrain from playing competitive sports against Israelis, even if they are disciplined by international bodies for it.“Any Iranian athlete worthy of the name cannot shake hands with a representative of the criminal regime in order to win a medal,” Khamenei told a reception for …

Iran-HRM – Eighteen days after Baha’i citizen Arsalan Yazdani was arrested, he is still being held in one of Evin Prison’s security detention centers.Arsalan Yazdani was arrested on September 1, by security forces in Tehran. He was detained after security forces raided his home and confiscated some of his personal belongings. He was transferred to an unknown location.In a phone …

Iran-HRM -Amnesty International called for the immidiate and unconditional release of Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi. In a series of tweets on Friday, The international human rights watchdog said “Iran’s authorities must immediately and unconditionally release #TomajSalehi, a dissident rap artist detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. In his songs, he spoke out against repression, corruption, …

Iranwire – The Biden administration Friday announced new sanctions on Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, with the top US diplomat calling on governments around the world to clamp down on the terrorist group. “Hezbollah is increasingly looking for additional sources of revenue to bolster its coffers. We call on governments around the world to take steps to ensure Hezbollah and other terrorist groups do …

Iranwire – In his last weeks in office, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who served as foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 2013 to 2021, published a six-volume treatise on Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the P5 + 1:  the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. Entitled The Sealed Secret, the book carries the subtitle “An Immense Endeavor for Iran’s …