AL-Arabia – A rapper arrested in October on capital charges in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests needs urgent medical treatment, a rights group said Thursday, urging an international campaign for his release. The New-York based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) also said Toomaj Salehi was being deprived of his right to a fair defense in his trial, for …

Iranwire – More Iranian women and girls are flouting the country’s Islamic dress code, including the mandatory hijab, in a direct challenge to the authorities. The clerical establishment has responded by issuing increasingly severe warnings and raising the cost for girls and women who refuse to wear the Islamic head scarf in public. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on April 4 said …

Iranwire – More Iranian schoolgirls were taken to hospital on April 5 amid a wave of poisoning attacks that have hit more than 200 girls’ schools across the country over more than four months. In the central province of Fars, a video posted on social media showed several pupils from Esteghlal Girls’ School in Kohenjan being rushed to hospital in apparent …

Iranwire – Hundreds of protesters flooded the streets of a Tehran neighborhood overnight to commemorate the birthday of Hamidreza Rouhi, a university student who was killed nearly five months ago amid a brutal state crackdown on anti-government demonstrations. The protesters marched through Shahr-e-Ziba neighborhood late on April 5 despite the heavy presence of security forces, chanting slogans calling for justice …

Iranwire – In an audio recording provided to IranWire, Hami Bahadori, 26, a detained member of Iran’s persecuted Baha’i religious minority, spoke of his experience during interrogation and imprisonment and his court appearances. Bahadori was arrested on October 22 last year and is being held at Greater Tehran’s Fashafouye prison. In his audio recording, he spoke to his fellow 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 – China hosted a meeting Thursday between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia as the Middle East nations work to restore ties after seven years of tensions. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, discussed steps toward reopening embassies and consulates and the official resumption …

VOA – Israel has increased its air raids in Syria, targeting positions belonging to the Syrian government and Iranian forces. In recent days, suspected Israeli airstrikes hit such targets in four different occasions.The most recent strike on Monday hit an area near the Syrian capital, Damascus, according to Syrian state media and an opposition war monitor.The Syrian Observatory for Human …

CHRI – The international community, including music and arts institutions as well as freedom of speech and expression organizations, should urgently call for the release from arbitrary imprisonment of dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi, who is widely considered the voice of Iran’s protest movement, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “Toomaj rapped about political and social issues that …

Al-Monitor —  The latest signs indicate the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran doesn’t have much of a pulse. The Biden administration says the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not on the agenda. However, on Monday a report by Axios revealed that the US has discussed with its European and Israeli partners an interim agreement with Iran that would include …