RFL/RE – Iran’s oil exports have reached their highest level in the past four years amid U.S. sanctions, the country’s Oil Minister Javad Owji said on March 12, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency. He said the increase was 190 million barrels above the previous year. In November, President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran’s oil exports had reached levels not …

VOA – Iran is striving to expand its influence in fellow U.S. adversary Venezuela, which is hosting an Iranian cultural fair this week and seeking Iranian assistance to revive the ailing Venezuelan energy industry. The International Fair of Venezuelan-Iranian Culture and Friendship opened March 4 in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and runs through Sunday. It is organized by a Caracas-based …

AL-Arabia – Iran has finalized a deal to buy Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, state media reported, as defense cooperation between the two countries deepens. The air force of sanctions-hit Iran has an ageing fleet of aircraft and has struggled to acquire spare parts to keep its warplanes in the air. In a statement to the United Nations, Tehran …

Iranwire – Six exiled Iranian opposition figures have come together to publish a joint “Charter of Solidarity and Alliance for Freedom” setting out proposals for the establishment of a “free and democratic Iran” after the Islamic Republic falls. The four-page document, dubbed the “Mahsa Charter,” lists democratic governance, human rights and human dignity, justice, peace and security, environmental sustainability and …

Iranwire – As IranWire has reported, hundreds of Iranians have sustained severe eye injuries after being hit by pellets, tear gas cannisters, paintball bullets or other projectiles used by security forces amid a bloody crackdown on mainly peaceful demonstrations. Doctors say that, as of now, at least 580 protesters have lost one or both eyes in Tehran and in Kurdistan alone. …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Ever since the Biden Administration shifted Washington’s Iran policy from maximum pressure to total appeasement, the ruling mullahs’ nuclear advances have been remarkable. In the meantime, the Biden administration does not appear even slightly concerned that a regime which has frequently threatened to wipe two entire countries, America and Israel, off the map, is closer than ever to …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Kurdish political prisoner Mohiyedin Ebrahimi  has been transferred to solitary confinement from the general ward of Urmia Central Prison, raising concerns about his imminent execution. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Kurdish political prisoner Mohiyedin Ebrahimi was transferred from the political prisoners’ ward in Urmia Central Prison to solitary confinement. As his death sentence has already …

Al-Monitor – Syria is the least and Israel is the most free country in the Middle East and North Africa region, while Turkey remains one of the worst performing countries of Europe, according to Freedom House. The US-based international human rights watchdog released its 50th annual Freedom in the world report this week. It reviewed access to political rights and civil liberties …

Iranwire – Iranian security forces have reportedly launched efforts to identify five girls who caused a stir on the Internet this week with a dance video in Ekbatan Town, west of Tehran, which has been a flashpoint of anti-government protests. Late on March 9, Shahrak Ekbatan Twitter account, which covers news about the neighborhood, warned that police were looking for …

Iranwire – Iran’s most prominent Sunni cleric has used his Friday sermon to urge the country’s Shia leadership to uphold international laws and standards on human rights, including equality between men and women, ahead of weekly anti-government protests in the southeastern city of Zahedan. Molavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, also called for accountability for the victims …