Iranwire – Iranian security forces have abducted several schoolchildren in Sanandaj, the capital of Iranian Kurdistan, the Kurdish activist Ammar Goli has told IranWire. This includes a 13-year-old boy, whom we will refer to as “Jivan” to protect his identity. Jivan was on his way to the supermarket when he was abducted by plainclothes officers and taken to a detention …

Iranwire – There is no sign of an end this week to the nationwide protests which have now entered a second month. Workers in the petrochemical industry, vital to Iran’s economy, continue to strike, while students refuse to return to class and instead take to the streets chanting anti-government slogans. On the streets Videos circulating on social media on Tuesday …

VOA – Forty-one journalists have been confirmed detained by Iran since protests broke out last month over the death of a woman in the custody of the country’s so-called morality police. Mahsa Amini, 22, a Kurdish woman, was arrested in September for improperly wearing her hijab. She died three days after her arrest. Iran has violently suppressed the protests that …

CHRI – Climbing organizations and professionals, as well as the international community, should stand with professional climber Elnaz Rekabi, who is under extreme pressure by the Iranian government to cover up her heroic act of competing without a hijab earlier this week, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) in a statement today. “While she was scaling that …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – A month after the start of nationwide protests in Iran, at least 215 people including 27 children have been killed by security forces and mass arrests made on and off the streets. Calling for the immediate release of all protesters and recognition of the Iranian people’s right to peaceful protest, Iran Human Rights warns about …

Al-Monitor –  Iran’s deeper involvement in Russia’s faltering war on Ukraine marks a new chapter in relations between the two international pariahs.   Ukraine is moving to formally sever ties with Iran after a barrage of Iranian-produced Shahed-136 drones struck civilian targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Monday, killing four people.   Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for Ukraine’s air force, said …

Al-Monitor – Iran and other states along the Caspian Sea have renewed a ban on the fishing of beluga sturgeon. Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, who are parties to the Caspian Sea Aquatic Resources Convention, renewed the ban on the commercial fishing of sturgeon, the state-run Press TV reported Wednesday.  Why it matters: Sturgeon fishing has been banned in the Caspian Sea since 2011. The …

Al-Arabia – Iranian human rights activists spoke out against US-based advocacy group, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), rejecting as bogus the group’s efforts to appear supportive of protesters during ongoing demonstrations in Iran. NIAC describes itself as a “non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 2002 to give voice to the Iranian-American community.” However, the group has long been accused by …

Al-Arabia – The United States, Britain and France plan to raise alleged Iranian arms transfers to Russia at a closed-door UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, diplomats said, after Ukraine said Russia’s having obtained drones violated a Council resolution. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomats said the three – which also believe such transfers violate UN Security Council Resolution …

gatestoneinstitute.org – If US President Joe Biden really is “gravely concerned” about the plight of Iranian schoolgirls being attacked and killed by Iran’s authoritarian regime, then the best way to help them would be to abandon his ill-considered attempt to broker a new nuclear deal with Tehran. The death toll is now said to have passed the 200 mark, with …