RL/RE – Plainclothes security agents are reportedly appearing in public spaces throughout the Iranian capital of Tehran, warning women to observe the mandatory hijab law amid a wave of defiance against the dress code following the death of a young woman while in police custody for an alleged head scarf offense. According to eyewitness accounts, groups of women and men …

Iranwire – In Iran, dozens of individuals who participated in nationwide protests are currently being held in prison without due judicial process, and without a verdict being handed down against them by a court of law, according to information obtained by IranWire.  These individuals have been interrogated multiple times, but have not admitted to the charges against them.  Family members …

Iranwire – American senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties have called on U.S. President Joe Biden to enable a federal government agency to seize Iranian oil and gas shipments. The call comes as Iran’s oil exports continue to rise despite U.S. sanctions over its nuclear program. In a letter to Biden, Senators Joni Ernst and Richard Blumenthal urged …

Iranwire – The US Navy says Iranian naval forces have seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, the latest in a series of seizures of commercial vessels in the area in the past years. “Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said in a statement …

Iranwire – Iran’s judiciary has charged three people with “waging war against God,” a charge that could carry the death penalty, over the alleged killing of a member of the Basij paramilitary force during protests last year.  “Three of the defendants in this case have been charged with waging war against God by using cold weapons and acting against the …

Iranwire – An international network protecting academic freedom reiterated its call for the immediate release of an Iranian-Swedish scholar who has been imprisoned for seven years and faces execution in Iran. In an e-mail sent to the prime ministers of Sweden and Belgium on April 26, the executive director of New York-based Scholars at Risk, Robert Quinn, urged the two heads of …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – The Islamic Republic’s Judiciary Spokesperson announced the confirmation of 67-year-old German-Iranian citizen, Jamshid Sharmahd’s death sentence by the Supreme Court. He was kidnapped by Islamic Republic agents on a layover in Dubai in 2020. Iran Human Rights calls on the international community to stop Jamshid Sharmahd’s execution by taking urgent and appropriate action, and not …

Al-Monitor — The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on an intelligence branch of Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other actors involved in the wrongful detention of Americans overseas, senior US officials said.  The sanctions target the IRGC Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO), which US officials say frequently holds and interrogates detainees at Evin prison, the sprawling detention center in northern Tehran …

iranintl – US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously advanced on Wednesday the MAHSA Act, aimed at imposing more sanctions on top Iranian officials.  The bipartisan legislation, introduced by House Armed Services Committee Member Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), is intended to add sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi as well as their inner circles for human …

RFL/RE – Clashes have erupted between security forces and civilians in the southeastern Iranian city of Fanouj amid protests sparked by the death of a teen when his motorcycle collided with a police car. In response to the protests on April 25, the deputy of the police command in the region, Ali Rahimi, said expert teams have been dispatched to investigate the …