Iranwire – “Alcohol is banned, British nationals are regularly picked up on spurious charges of spying and only two weeks ago female football fans were pepper-sprayed for having the cheek to attend an international match. And now, Iran says it is ready to host thousands of England supporters a short hop from Qatar for this year’s World Cup.” This is what British …

Iranwire – The Iranian judiciary has jailed another convert to Christianity on spurious charges. Fariba Dalir, 51, was sent to Evin Prison on Saturday, April 16 to begin serving a two-year sentence for “acting against national security by establishing and leading an Evangelical Christian church”. A report by Article 18, a London-based campaign for religious freedom in Iran, states that Dalir was …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – There has been an intensification of the crackdown on civil society in Iran over the last week. Six civil and workers’ rights activists, Amir Amirgholi, Amir Abbasi, Mohammad Irannejad, Sara Asgari, Nasrollah Amirlou and Morteza Seyedi were arrested. Rasoul Bodaghi, a civil activist and member of the Teachers’ Union was sentenced to five years imprisonment, …

Al-Arabia – Iran on Monday said an agreement with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal was still not in sight, blaming the United States for the delay. “More than one issue is still pending between Iran and the United States,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said. “Messages (from Washington) sent through (European Union coordinator Enrique) Mora these …

Al-Arabia – Punishing those behind the US killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani is a “basic and definite principle” of Tehran’s foreign policy, Iran’s foreign ministry’s spokesman said on Monday. “It is a definite principle in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran that (those involved in the killing of Soleimani) must be brought to justice,” Iran’s official …

Iranwire – The door for standing as a candidate in the Lebanese parliamentary elections closed in mid-March, with some 1,043 people in the potential running – up by 77 since the last round in 2018. Unlike last time, the vote, which is run in accordance with the proportional law that adopts closed lists, comes after a period of singularly explosive political turmoil: …

VOA – Iran’s armed forces will target Israel’s heart if it makes “the slightest move” against the Islamic Republic, President Ebrahim Raisi told a military parade on Monday, amid stalled talks between Tehran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear pact. Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, says it will not be bound by …

Iran-HRM – Rasoul Bodaghi, a member of the Board of Directors of the Iranian Teachers Trade Association (ITTA), has been sentenced to five years in prison and banned from residing in Tehran and neighboring provinces for two years. Mr. Badaghi’s lawyer, Ramin Safarnia, tweeted on Saturday, April 16, that the activist was sentenced to four years in prison on charges …

Iran-HRM – A Kurdish political prisoner has said that she has been threatened to make confessions. Golaleh Moradi sent an audio file in Kurdish from Urmia Central Prison about the torture and pressures on her to confess against herself. Golaleh Moradi, the mother of two, said in her audio file: “This is Golaleh Moradi from the Urmia Prison. I have …

Shabtabnews – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF ) today welcomed Iran’s temporary furlough of religious prisoner of conscience Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and called on the government to permanently release him. Iranian security officials arrested Nadarkhani in July 2018 on charges of “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity.” “Pastor Nadarkhani’s furlough is a welcome development …