Iranwire – Iranian authorities have summoned journalist and photographer Aliya Matlabzadeh and arrested the editor of Qom News website, Ali Portabatabaei. The development comes amid a brutal crackdown by the authorities on five months of nationwide protests in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands of others were illegally detained, including dozens of journalists. Some of the journalists have been …

Iranwire – An Iranian sports official has said that women’s gymnastics will not be licensed in the country due to “cultural” reasons. “The gymnastics attire is not permitted due to cultural considerations, as it is a crucial component of the athlete’s overall appearance, along with the make-up required for championship-level competition,” Mahin Farhadizadeh, vice president of Women’s National Olympic Committee, …

Iranwire – Agroup of Iranian women’s rights activists have released a statement demanding fundamental reforms that would bring “freedom and justice” in the country, amid more than five months of nationwide demonstrations against the country’s clerical establishment. In their March 5 statement, released three days ahead of International Women’s Day, the activists called the women-led protest movement a “glorious symphony …

Iranwire – Hundreds of Iranian schoolgirls were taken to hospitals with poisoning symptoms on March 5, as poisoning incidents were reported in more than 80 schools across the country. Over the past three months, thousands of school students, mostly girls, were affected by a wave of illnesses, with symptoms including nausea, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties, and heart palpitations. Some Iranians …

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. …

VOA – Iran’s Supreme Leader Monday described a series of suspected poisonings at girls’ schools as an “unforgiveable crime.” According to the state-run IRNA news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said if authorities determine there were deliberate poisonings, “those behind this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them.”SEE ALSO:Crisis Over Suspected Iran Schoolgirl …

VOA – A crisis over suspected poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls escalated Sunday as authorities acknowledged more than 50 schools were struck in a wave of possible cases. The poisonings have spread further fear among parents as Iran has faced months of unrest. It remains unclear who or what is responsible since the alleged poisonings began in November in the Shi’ite …

RFL/RE – Tensions continued in Iran as the number of girls’ schools affected by a wave of illnesses increased and government critics questioned official actions, following protests by the parents of affected students. Female students reportedly fell ill in at least 33 cities across 17 Iranian provinces on March 4, as speculation swirled over what some allege are months of noxious gas …

VOA – Israel rebuffed as “unworthy” on Sunday comments by the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief that any Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be illegal. Having visited Tehran in a bid to loosen deadlocked talks on renewing its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, International Atomic Energy Agency chairman Raphael Grossi on Saturday said “any military attack …

gatestoneinstitute.org – [W]e see that at least part of the predicted clash [of civilizations] is taking place within the same “civilization”. It is in the United States and Western Europe that we witness such phenomena as wokeism and cancel culture while many “emerging nations” are breaking some taboos to open a wider space for discussion and dissent. With the exceptions …