Iranwire – Iran’s foreign minister was in the Syrian capital yesterday to talk about closer ties between the two states and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hossein Amir Abdollahian touched down in Damascus and was welcomed by his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mikdad, and President Bashar al-Assad. During the talks, he claimed relations between their countries were the strongest they had ever been, …

CHRI – Longtime human rights defender and former prisoner of conscience Narges Mohammadi is peacefully refusing to report to prison in Tehran to serve an eight-year sentence that was issued against her after a five-minute trial. She announced the news using the Farsi-language hashtag “نافرمانی_مدنی#”, which means civil disobedience. “I do not accept the verdicts against me, and now I am on the …

Al-Monitor – Iran is offering a visa aimed at attracting startups, innovation and foreign investment.  The visa is for “innovators and startup managers who are keen on investing in Iran,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Wednesday.  Individuals who receive the visa can stay in the country from three to six months and will then be eligible to receive residency. Grantees …

Al-Monitor – Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, issued a warning to Israel against more attacks targeting Iranian forces in the region.  Speaking in the city of Dezful at an event commemorating previous IRGC fighters, Salami said, “You saw in recent weeks how the Zionists, who constantly make mistakes in their calculations, were under the attacks …

Iranwire – The journalist Kianoosh Sanjari (Mehdi Sanjaribaf) left Iran on Monday, March 21: the first day of the Iranian new year. Formerly based in the US, he had returned to Iran in autumn 2016 out of homesickness and love for his country, only to be rearrested, tortured and jailed for being a “spy” in a sham trial lasting barely …

Iranwire – “I was married to a man who worked in the same field as I did, and who shared my beliefs. But the wounds he inflicted on me when I filed for divorce and afterward are so deep, just thinking about them can paralyze me for days.” Samira’s voice trembles as she recounts what happened to her. I apologize …

VOA — U.S. optimism that a deal to restore the 2015 agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear developed has soured, with the State Department warning Tuesday it was headed toward “Plan B” if Tehran doesn’t budge. Just a week ago Washington officials were hopeful that an agreement that aimed to halt Iran’s march toward nuclear weapons capability, after almost one year …

inews.co.uk – The BBC has filed a complaint to the United Nations about the harassment of women journalists as Rana Rahimpour reveals the abuse she faces while trying to do her job By Rana RahimpourMarch 23, 2022 7:03 am(Updated 10:59 am) “One day, we will arrest you, we will rape your daughter in front of you, and then we will cut …

CHRI – Human rights lawyers in Iran are a crucial lifeline for individuals accused of crimes against the state—yet they’re few and far between. For decades, the Iranian government has been working to eliminate independent lawyers through various tactics, including harassment and imprisonment. “What the state is trying to do to lawyers is shameful,” Amirsalar Davoudi, a defense attorney who knows this …

Al-Monitor – Bennett boosts profile as mediator. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Tuesday in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh for a trilateral summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, just weeks after his surprise visit to Moscow to help mediate Russia’s war on Ukraine (as we reported here). While the crisis in Ukraine was among the …