RFL/RE – Over 1,000 Iranian citizens and civil activists have signed a statement protesting “four decades of oppression of Iranian women.” The signatories of the letter were sparked by the recent arrest and suspected torture of a woman for protesting against mandatory head-scarf rules. The letter says Sepideh Rashno’s “forced confessions” on state television were a continuation of the government’s …

RFL/RE – Influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on his loyalists in the Green Zone to withdraw after nearly 24 hours of fierce clashes with security forces and rival Iran-backed Shi’ite groups that left at least 30 dead. In a televised speech on August 30, Sadr gave his supporters, hundreds of whom stormed the government palace and have been …

RFL/RE – Iran’s government has approved a set of regulations for trading with cryptocurrencies, a move that potentially allows the country to skirt some U.S. financial sanctions imposed over Tehran’s nuclear program. This news was announced on August 29, just weeks after Iran’s Trade Development Organization approved its first official import order — worth $10 million for the import of …

Iranwire – An alleyway in Shiraz has been sealed off after two veiled women were physically attacked by two conservative women influenced by government policy on hijab. The incident on Sunday came in the wake of a wide-ranging crackdown by the Iranian state on women’s civil rights, affecting major cities including Shiraz. Multiple women have been arrested in recent months for not following …

Iranwire – On August 12 this year, the British author Salman Rushdie was attacked onstage in western New York and suffered life-changing injuries. It came some 33 years after controversial elements of Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses prompted Ayatollah Khomeini to invite Muslims around the world to kill him and all those involved in its publication. Hadi Matar, the 24-year-old …

VOA – Iran closed its land borders to Iraq as flights to the country halted Tuesday amid violence in Baghdad following an influential Shiite cleric’s announcement he would resign from politics. The death toll rose to 20 Iraqis on Tuesday after the unrest erupted the previous day, according to a senior medical official. Iraq’s military said four rockets were launched …

VOA — Iran is pressing ahead with its rollout of an upgrade to its advanced uranium enrichment program, a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog seen by Reuters on Monday showed, even as the West awaits Iran’s response on salvaging its 2015 nuclear deal. The first of three cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-6 centrifuges recently installed at the underground Fuel …

CHRI – An ongoing campaign of religious persecution by the Iranian government has so far resulted in more than 1,000 members of the Baha’i minority faith awaiting jail sentence announcements, confiscation of Baha’i-owned lands and properties, raids on dozens of Baha’i homes, as well as the destruction of Baha’i properties. More than 60 Baha’is have meanwhile been banned from attending university despite passing the country’s prequalifying and highly …

Al-Monitor – A deal is taking shape that would revive the landmark Iranian nuclear agreement, but US and Iranian negotiators are unlikely to return to Vienna to hash out their remaining differences, a European Union source told Al-Monitor.    Asked whether further talks could be held to bridge the gaps between the two sides, an EU source said “there will be …

breitbart – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urging the State Department to consider imposing sanctions, including a ban on entering America, on Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, one of the region’s most prominent leftists. Fernández de Kirchner served 12 years as both president of Argentina and first lady …