gatestoneinstitute.org – In the absence of any desire on the part of the Biden administration to support the Saudis — for decades one of Washington’s most important allies in the region — China has moved quickly to fill the diplomatic vacuum to launch its own initiative to restore ties with Iran. [T]he fact that the Chinese can pull off a …

Al-Arabia – The UK government on Tuesday said it had imposed a full asset freeze on a Lebanese businessman suspected of financing Hezbollah. The Treasury action against Nazem Said Ahmad on national security grounds follows similar restrictions imposed in 2019 by the United States. “All assets and economic resources belonging to Ahmad in the UK have been frozen and no UK …

RFL/RE – An association representing the families of those killed in the downing of a Ukrainian commercial flight by Iran more than two years ago has criticized the verdicts issued in Iran against the alleged perpetrators as a “show trial.” Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed on January 8, 2020, while en route to Kyiv, killing all 176 people on …

Iranwire – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated threats against Israel during a ceremony marking the Islamic Republic’s annual Army Day celebrating the country’s regular military. Raisi made the comments on April 18 as fighter jets and helicopters flew overhead in Tehran during a ceremony carried live by state television. “Enemies, particularly the Zionist regime, have received the message that any …

Iranwire – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is calling on Iranian authorities to immediately release journalist Saeed Seif-Ali and drop any charges against him. “Authorities must let members of the press do their work without fear that they will be subject to arbitrary arrest and detention,” Sherif Mansour, the New York-based media freedom watchdog’s Middle East and North Africa …

Iranwire – “The devil is in details:” This is an apt description of the mandatory hijab laws of the Islamic Republic, laws that are so remote from modern life, so contrary to human rights and to Islamic Republic’s own constitution that it is difficult to believe that they truly exist. And these laws are enforced by the police, the paramilitary …

Iranwire – Belgium says it has formally asked Iranian authorities to repatriate jailed aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, as a disputed prisoner exchange treaty between Tehran and Brussels formally entered into force on April 18. “I can confirm that Belgium has today submitted to Iran a request for the transfer of Mr. Vandecasteele,” a spokesman for Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib …

Iranwire – A series of chemical attacks against girls’ schools were reported in at least a dozen cities across Iran on Monday. Reports and videos on social media reveal that students were poisoned at schools in Isfahan, Sanandaj, Ravansar, Saqqez, Bukan, Diwandrareh, Urmia, Gilangharb, Tabriz, Dezful, and Mahdasht. Since November 2022, more than 13,000 students have suffered symptoms including nausea, …

VOA – A spate of attacks from Iranian-backed militants last month on U.S. military personnel in Syria caused traumatic brain injuries in 23 military personnel, Defense Department officials tell VOA. One American contractor was killed, and 25 U.S. military personnel were wounded in the attacks. Thirteen of the 26 casualties were the result of a follow-on attack from Iranian-backed forces …

gatestoneinstitute.org – An overwhelming majority of American people reportedly do not trust President Joe Biden on Iran’s nuclear deal. “The Biden administration remains obsessed with reentering a nuclear deal with the Iranian regime.” — Senator Ted Cruz, The Washington Free Beacon, February 3, 2023. “[I]n a timely question in the McLaughlin & Associates survey, 63% of Americans believe that providing …