Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Mohammadreza Afaridoun, a Baluch man sentenced to death on drug-related charges, was executed in Zahedan Central Prison on January 30. According to the Baluch Activists’ Campaign, a Baluch man was executed in Zahedan Central Prison on the  morning of January 30. Mohammadreza Afaridoun was from the village of Ghassem Abad in Zabol and had been …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, Hossein Kaveh was executed in Rasht Central Prison on January 29. Another prison was returned to  his cell after obtaining an extension in his case. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Rasht Central Prison on the morning of January 29. His identity has been …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani spoke Feb. 1 at a session of the parliament’s powerful National Security and Foreign Policy Commission at which he answered questions about the status of the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.  According to Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, spokesperson for the commission, Bagheri said, “So far there have been no direct negotiations with the United …

Al-Monitor – The Biden administration is shifting its approach to the Yemen war, now entering its seventh year, in response to escalating drone and missile attacks by Ansarallah (Supporters of God, the formal name of the Houthis) on the home territories of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.  Just this week, the United States committed more military support to …

RFL/RE- When jailed Iranian poet and filmmaker Baktash Abtin died in a hospital in Tehran, rights groups quickly pointed the finger at authorities.The 48-year-old dissident died on January 8 after twice contracting COVID-19 at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. Doctors had placed Abtin, who suffered from coronary heart disease, in a medical coma before he was transferred to a hospital. Rights …

Iranwire — Hackers have targeted the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) app Telewebion, streaming anti-regime images and slogans on the platform. The group Edalat-e Ali [Ali’s Justice] was behind the disruption on Tuesday, February 1, the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini’s return to Iran in 1979 ahead of the Islamic Revolution. During the period the hacktivists had control, audiences could hear …

Iranwire – The verdict in a massive corruption case involving the Iran Petrochemical Commercial Company (PCC) was announced on September 5, 2021. But nearly three years after proceedings first got under way, the details remained shrouded in mystery. We were told at the time that 15 named defendants had been sentenced to a total of 180 years in prison, linked to the embezzlement of …

Iranwire – The HRANA News Agency reports that two Baha’i citizens in the Marlik area of ​​Tehran have been arrested. According to this report, security forces arrested Pari Kargarian Marvasti and Daniel Baninejad, two Baha’is, along with another citizen, Esmaeil Molaei, and transferred them to an unknown location. The report also said that Pari Kargarian’s home was searched and some of …

Iranwire – On Saturday, January 29, a spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s Budget Committee for 2022-23 said members had agreed that exemptions from military service could again be sold to individuals at a cost of 250 to 600 million tomans (US$9,000 to $21,500). The news met with widespread outrage. A buy-out scheme was in place in Iran until three years …

Al-Monitor – Hard-line Iranian politician Saeed Jalili, who led his country’s nuclear negotiations with world powers from 2007 to 2013, has reportedly called for uranium enrichment at a 90% purity rate in Iran’s nuclear program. In a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former chief negotiator is said to have expressed unease with the trajectory of the talks over …