VOA – The British navy said Thursday its forces seized Iranian anti-tank missiles and fins for ballistic missiles from a small boat in the Gulf of Oman. Britain did not identify a destination for the arms, but the U.S. military, which said it provided “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support” for the operation, said the seizure took place “along a route …

Al-Monitor – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi ordered authorities on Wednesday to investigate the poisoning of schoolgirls in the country. The poison attacks are furthering discontent with the Islamic Republic amid continued protests in the country.  Local reports have suggested that the wave of poisonings has been going on for months in different schools across Iran, with female students taken to the …

Shabtabnews – In a statement the International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights (IOPHR) condemned the use of chemical poisons by Basij groups against young female students . The statement stated that : “Reliable news outlets have reported the death of at least one young female student, as a result of poisoning caused by the Basiji groups affiliated with the Islamic …

RFL/RE – Iran’s national currency, the rial, plummeted to new record lows on the country’s unregulated market over the weekend, trading for 601,500 to the dollar, its lowest-ever rate. On February 28, the rial stood at 569,000 against the U.S. dollar, according to the foreign-exchange site Bonbast.com. Iranian authorities have blamed the currency’s fall on alleged attempts by the country’s …

RFL/RE – Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran, says the fall of the Islamic republic and the establishment of a democratic government would not only liberate Iranians from the tyranny of a “terrorist regime,” but also benefit global peace and stability and ensure the interests of the international community. Pahlavi, currently in the United Kingdom on the third …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities imposed 18 Internet shutdowns in 2022 in response to months-long nationwide demonstrations against the government, the third highest number in the world, according to a US digital rights advocacy group. “From Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, authorities are imposing internet shutdowns at staggering rates. In 2022 alone, governments and other actors disrupted the internet at least 187 times …

Iranwire – Over the past three months, hundreds of schoolgirls in Qom, Tehran, Borujerd, Sari, Ardebil and other Iranian cities have been poisoned. Now, this mysterious rash of poisoning appears to be much more serious than initially thought. On February 20, Attorney-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri sent a letter to Qom’s prosecutor saying that the poisonings might be part of a “deliberate criminal act.” …

Iranwire – Students at the University of Tehran have held protests for the second consecutive night, according to videos posted on social media, following a decision to close the dormitories and hold classes online for more than a month. The protests began at the university campus on the afternoon of February 27 before reaching the men’s and women’s dormitory complexes, …

Iranwire – Article 7 of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC), defines crimes against humanity as criminal acts “when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.” Article 7 (1) also determines the actions which amount to crimes against humanity in 11 subparagraphs, including murder, torture, extermination, …

Iranwire – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on the Iranian authorities to rescind their recent decision to ban a reformist daily that has criticized the country’s economic policies and morality police. Sazandegi newspaper was banned amid a brutal crackdown on five months of popular protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political reforms in the country, accompanied by a clampdown …