Iranwire – The past few days in Iran have been peppered by reports on contraceptive drugs apparently being blocked from sale due to an alarming combination of shortages, a new directive blocking over-the-counter sales, and the shadowy presence of the so-called “morality patrols”  trying hard to put buyers off. A spokesperson for Iran’s Food and Drug Administration has tried to dampen down the situation, …

Iranwire – Another 70 Iranian human rights activists have added their names to global condemnation of the ongoing state-backed wave of attacks on Iran’s Baha’i community. The country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority has come under increased pressure in recent weeks, with scores arbitrarily arrested, subjected to raids, or even made homeless overnight. The statement issued Wednesday, whose signatories included Nobel Peace Prize …

Iranwire – Aziz Jabbari, a former presenter with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in Ardebil, has been sentenced to an additional three years in prison over posts on Instagram despite his extremely poor health, IranWire understands. Jabbari was first arrested in the late spring 2018 by Ardebil’s Intelligence Bureau. He was later convicted of “insulting the sanctities” and “insulting …

Iranwire – Hardline news outlets have laid into ex-Iranian prime ministerMir Hossein Mousavi after he accusing Iran’s ruling elite of conspiring to create a hereditary leadership model. In comments published by the news website Kaleme on Tuesday, Mousavi, who was placed under house arrest more than a decade ago, demanded to know: “Have the dynasties of the past 2,500 years come back, …

BBC – In Iran, virginity before marriage is important for many girls and their families. Sometimes men demand a virginity certificate – a practice that the World Health Organization (WHO) deems to be against human rights. But in the past year, more and more people have been campaigning against it. “You tricked me into marrying you because you’re not a …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Samin Ehsani had been running educational courses for Afghan children living in Iran, but who did not have access to education in the country. During the trial, her activities were presented as an example of the charges against her. In Iran, an estimated 300,000 followers of the Baha’i faith are being denied many fundamental rights such as access …

Iran-HRM – A recent wave of executions continued in July 2022 with at least 71 prisoners being hanged at Iran’s prisons. According to the statistics collected by the Iran Human Rights Monitor, at least 31 prisoners were executed on drug charges, 34 were hanged on the charge of murder, four on the charge of rape, and two others on the …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Mohammad Hossein Alizadeh, an Afghan national who is reported to have been 17 years old at the time of a murder in defence of his cousin against a group attack, was executed in Qom Central Prison. Iran Human Rights is working to verify his age. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, an Afghan …

Al-Monitor –  Before signing the nuclear deal, Iran wants the IAEA to end its investigation — just like 2015. EU presents ‘final text.’ As negotiators inch closer to a renewed nuclear agreement, Iran is seeking the shutdown of a yearslong investigation by the UN’s atomic energy agency into nuclear material found at the country’s undeclared sites.   On Monday, the European Union …

Al-Monitor – The US government charged an Iranian man today in relation to an alleged plot to kill former US national security adviser John Bolton.  Shahram Poursafi of Tehran, who also goes by Mehdi Rezayi, was charged with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire as well as with providing and attempting to provide material support to …