rferl.org – The deal would imply the release and possibly even pardon of Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who was last year sentenced to 20 years in connection with a plot to bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an exiled opposition group, outside Paris in June 2018. Belgian lawmakers have ratified a fiercely criticized treaty allowing …

alarabiya – Tehran on Wednesday recalled its ambassador to Sweden “for consultation” in protest against a sentence handed down to former Iranian prison official Hamid Noury. “The Islamic Republic of Iran, in protest at the statement and the illegal sentence issued in Sweden against Mr. Hamid Noury… has decided to recall its ambassador to Sweden for consultations,” foreign ministry spokesman …

rferl.org – The Tehran Police Department has announced disciplinary action against a police team that arrested a girl for disregarding mandatory hijab rules even as her mother pleaded with them to release her child because she was sick. A video of the arrest by a morality police unit went viral on social networks on July 19, sparking angry reactions as …

iran-hrm – The multifold increase in prices, unemployment, and the exponential growth of rent, along with social problems such as addiction, has aggravated the risk of families becoming homeless. Ali Heidari, the Director of Iran’s Ending Homelessness Institute, warned that the phenomenon of homelessness has a direct relationship with the economic situation of families. “We are moving from the phenomenon …

rferl.org – A court in Tehran says acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi must serve a six-year sentence he was handed more than a decade ago for supporting anti-government demonstrations. “Panahi was sentenced in 2010 to a total of six years in prison…and therefore he was entered into the Evin detention center to serve his sentence,” judiciary spokesman Masud Setayeshi told …

rferl.org – Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a photo prior to their talks at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran on July 19. Iran’s supreme leader voiced strong backing for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war in Ukraine, accusing Western countries of opposing an “independent and strong” Russia. Ayatollah …

Baha’isFardin Qamsari begins a 1-year sentence in TehranHrana / Sens Daily (30.06.2022) – On June 18, Fardin Nadaafeyaan Qamsari was summoned to Evin Prison in Tehran to begin a one-year sentence. His arrest, in October 2019, and sentencing were not previously reported on Sen’s Daily. In October 2019, a Revolutionary Court headed by a notorious abuser of human rights, Judge Moqayeseh who was also …

uscirf.gov – Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report: Iran Country Update – This country update reports on widespread religious repression in Iran. Baha’is, Christian converts, Sunnis, and Gonabadi Sufis in particular continue to face ongoing violations of their freedom of religion or belief. The Iranian government continues its …

rferl.org – A woman has been arrested after a video of her arguing with another woman who was enforcing rules on wearing a head scarf on a bus in Tehran went viral. The woman, identified as Sepideh Rashno, a 28-year-old writer and artist, was confronted by a woman who warned her she would send video to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards …

rferl.org – The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom have signed a memorandum of understanding worth around $40 billion, according to the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news service, SHANA. The deal, agreed on July 19, coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran for a summit with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts. SHANA reported that …