Iranwire – A man has been arrested in Iran for posting a video of himself online in clerical garb and claiming to be the twelfth Shiite Imam. The man published the video on Sunday, announcing that he was “the Lord of the Ages, the Promised Mahdi, and the one who endures with Allah”: all names for the mythical “hidden” Imam …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Elite students Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi who were held in pretrial detention for two years, have been sentenced to 16 years imprisonment by the court of first instance. Condemning the unjust sentences, Iran Human Rights calls for the acquittal and release of the students. Iran Human Rights Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “This unjust conviction …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday that talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have not been suspended, despite reports that they’ve been halted. At a press conference in Tehran, Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the negotiations pertaining to Iran, the European Union, China and Russia have concluded and what remains are outstanding issues between Iran and the United States. He …

Al-Monitor – Global oil prices have fallen significantly in recent days.  The price of Brent crude oil — considered the global benchmark for oil prices — fell to $100.85 a barrel at around 5 a.m. ET. This constituted a fall of more than 4% on the day at the time. Brent crude prices were down more than 9.9% in the past five …

Al-Arabia – Iran called on Monday for a new meeting “as soon as possible” in the talks that have been held in Vienna aimed at restoring its frayed 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. Tehran has been engaged in negotiations with Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia directly and the United States indirectly to revive the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan …

RFL/RE – Global defense spending rose again in 2021, topping $2 trillion for the first time as Russia beefed up its military capabilities ahead of its invasion of Ukraine, a new report said on April 25.Adjusted for inflation, defense spending last year grew by 0.7 percent to hit $2.113 trillion, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its …

Iranwire – The UN’s Human Rights Office has announced that Alena Douhan, the Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, will visit Tehran from May 7 to 18 to study the impact of sanctions on human rights in Iran.  According to the statement, Douhan will meet with various representatives of the Iranian state during her visit, as well as businesses and NGOs. The purpose …

Iranwire – Ebrahim Raisi, then Tehran’s Revolutionary Prosecutor, now President Raisi responded in a 1992 interview to United Nations accusations regarding persecution of the Baha’is. “The execution of a Baha’i by the name Bahman Samandari this year was not because he was a Baha’i. He was executed because he was a spy,” Raisi said. Raisi did not support his claim by …

VOA —Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a foreign vessel smuggling fuel in the Persian Gulf and arrested its crew members, state media said Sunday, in the third such incident reported this month. The Guards “seized a foreign vessel carrying 200,000 liters (around 53,000 gallons) of smuggled fuel in the north of the Persian Gulf and directed it to Bushehr (port),” state …

VOA -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Iran on Saturday to release an American citizen he said has been held for years as a “political pawn,” as the nations inch toward restoration of a nuclear deal. Emad Sharghi was sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges, Iranian media reported in January 2021, saying he was detained trying …