Iranwire – On Sunday, May 15, the Iran Football League Organization announced that matches across the country would be held behind closed doors, without spectators, for the foreseeable future. The official reason given by president Heydar Baharvand was the Interior Ministry had flagged up a widespread failure to follow Covid-19 rules at sports venues. Pro League matches are set to continue for another …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Mr Biden’s hopes of pressing ahead with the nuclear talks suffered a significant setback the other week when a bipartisan super-majority of US Senators voted to endorse a Republican-led measure insisting that any future agreement with Tehran must address Iran’s support for terrorism in the region, and that Washington should not lift sanctions against the IRGC. Tehran is …

Iran-HRM – The Iranian regime has stepped up executions to intimidate the society infuriated over the skyrocketing prices of food staples. At least 18 prisoners, including a woman, have been executed in recent days in Iran. One of those executed was a minor at the time of the arrest. Nine of those executed were convicted of drug-related charges and nine …

CHRI – Iranian authorities should revoke the death sentence against Iranian-born Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali, said the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner in a statement published today. Read the complete statement by spokesperson Liz Throssell below. Click here to learn more about Djalali’s case. We are deeply alarmed by the imminent execution in the Islamic Republic of Iran of Swedish-Iranian doctor …

CHRI – At least five protesters are dead amid a violent state crackdown on street demonstrations in Iran, while the authorities have blocked internet access in protest hot zones, pressured domestic media not to cover the protests, and arrested growing numbers of protesters and activists. Yet the protesters are refusing to back down; street demonstrations, currently in their second week, were reported …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Ghobad Khodakarami, a retired teacher sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Khorramabad Central Prison. According to HRANA news agency,  a man was executed in Khorramabad Central Prison on the morning of May 7. His identity has been reported as Ghobad Khodakarami who was sentenced to qisas for murder. An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Ghobad …

Al-Monitor – One week after a statement on the arrest of two Europeans, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry revealed the identities, nationality and details of what it claimed to be close surveillance of the two.   Aired by the conservative-controlled state television, the Intelligence Ministry’s video report referred to French citizens Cecile Kohler, 37, and Chuck Paris, 69, as “spies,” who landed in Tehran from …

Al-Monitor – Iran unveiled a factory in Tajikistan today that will produce drones.  The factory in the Tajik capital Dushanbe will manufacture Abagil 2 drones. Iranian military Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri attended the ceremony, reported the official Islamic Republic News Agency.  “We are in a position to apart from meeting our domestic need, we can export military equipment to …

Iranwire – At 2.50pm on Friday, May 13, an Iranian would-be internet user in Khuzestan opens up Google on their phone and types one innocuous word into the search bar: “Washington”. The search engine thinks about it a little while. Then they’re presented with the weak visual joke now familiar to Chrome users the world over, a dog-eared piece of …

Iranwire – At least five people have been named as killed by security forces since fresh protests broke out in Iran over government-imposed food price increases this month. Pictures of other, wounded people, including young children, have been posted online. On the evening of Sunday, May 15, many cities in the provinces of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad were the scene …