VOA — A former U.S. hostage in Iran is set to begin a hunger strike in Vienna on Wednesday to press U.S. and Iranian officials to come to an agreement about the release of Americans and other Westerners of Iranian origin jailed by Tehran. He hopes the move will help to break a months-long stalemate in indirect prisoner talks between the …

VOA – More than 1,000 U.S. military veterans and family members of those killed or wounded in attacks by Iran and its proxies are calling on President Joe Biden to compensate the victims of Iranian attacks before releasing frozen funds as part of nuclear negotiations with Tehran. In a letter to the president obtained by VOA News, veterans and military …

Al-Monitor – A “Revolutionary” court in Tehran opened the trial of Habib Chaab, the leader of a foreign-based pan-Arab movement, on terror-related charges. Reading out the indictment in the Jan. 18 session, a prosecutor accused Chaab of “corruption on earth,” a charge in Iran’s Islamic penal code that is punishable by the death penalty. The indictment was based on Chaab’s alleged …

Al-Arabia – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said funding for Iran could lead to “terror on steroids” on Tuesday, in an apparent warning against world powers easing sanctions against Tehran as they seek a new nuclear deal. “The last thing you want to do … is pour tens of billions of dollars into this apparatus. Because what will you get? …

Al-Arabia – The United States condemned Monday’s drone strike on Abu Dhabi claimed by Yemen’s Houthis, and vowed to hold the Iran-backed militia accountable for the “terrorist attack” that left three people dead. “The Houthis have claimed responsibility for this attack, and we will work with the UAE and international partners to hold them accountable,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan …

RFL/RE – The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin will host his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, in Moscow on January 19, amid negotiations aimed at reviving a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. It will be Raisi’s third visit outside Iran — after Tajikistan and neighboring Turkmenistan — since he took over the presidency in August, and the first …

RFL/RE – A civil activist and niece of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is being held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison following her detention last week after she took part in a celebration praising the widow of the ousted shah, her brother has told RFE/RL. Farideh Moradkhani, a daughter of Khamenei’s sister known for her activism against the …

RFL/RE – A Tehran court has kicked off the trial of an Iranian-Swedish dissident accused by Iran of being behind a string of attacks for an Arab separatist group, local media report. The first hearing in Habib Chaab’s trial was held on January 18 at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, the semiofficial ISNA news agency said. According to the …

Iranwire – The head of the Iranian police’s NAJA special forces unit has claimed that women who “stubbornly” remove their hijab in public, for any reason at all, have committed a crime and will be prosecuted. Speaking on Tuesday, January 18, Mohammad Rostami on Tuesday said police would be cracking down on women and girls who do not abide by the Islamic …

Iranwire – January 15, 2022 was a game-changing day for the political landscape of Iran. The Islamic regime and the Communist Party of China announced the implementation of a sprawling 25-year bilateral agreement on trade, oil sales and infrastructure: one signed behind closed doors and without consultation with the people of either country. The leaked draft agreement showed heavy concessions by Iran and the …