Iranwire – Iran’s judiciary says an Iranian diplomat imprisoned in Belgium will “soon” be released in a prisoner swap. The announcement was not immediately confirmed by Brussels. “Belgium has requested an exchange and so have we for our diplomat Asadollah Assadi. Following the necessary protocols, such an exchange will be done soon,” spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi, said on April 26, according …

Iranwire – Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd on charges of “corruption on Earth.” The Iranian judiciary’s website Mizan Online made the announcement on April 26. Sharmahd, who also has US residency, was abducted by Iranian officials in the United Arab Emirates in July 2020 and forcibly transferred to Iran. Iranian authorities accuse him of …

Iranwire – A police car ran over four Iranians traveling on two motorcycles in the south-eastern city of Fanuj on the evening of April 25, killing a 16-year-old teenager and seriously injuring three others, human rights activists say. Haalvsh, a group that monitors rights violations in Sistan and Baluchistan province, said that police officers shot at demonstrators who had gathered …

Iranwire – The registered number of thefts in Iran increased 1.7 times from 2011 to 2021, new research shows, amid an intensification of economic crises. Reports from the Statistical Center of Iran say that more than 900,000 robberies were registered in 2021, compared to around 545,000 a decade earlier, the collaborative initiative Iran Open Data said in an article published …

Iranwire – Abdul Karim Paz is a controversial Argentinian figure. A Catholic convert to Islam and one of Argentina’s leading Shia figures, he is the head of the largest mosque in the South American country and a main Iranian agent of influence in Latin America. Paz was mentored by Mohsen Rabbani, the chief architect of Iran’s Latin American missionary network …

Iranwire – As IranWire has reported, hundreds of Iranians have sustained severe eye injuries after being hit by pellets, tear gas canisters, 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 – University of Haifa’s Shaul Chorev and Alexander Grinberg on hosting speech by exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi. Wisconsin Project’s Valerie Lincy assesses U.S. sanctions against suppliers of parts to Iran’s military drone program. Canadian MP Ali Ehsassi on Ottawa’s effort to achieve justice for victims of Iran’s 2020 downing of Ukrainian passenger flight PS752.

VOA – As a deeply divided Israel marks its 75th anniversary, analysts say Iran is gaining strength in the Middle East and could threaten Israel on several fronts. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen.

Al-Monitor – A high-ranking Shiite religious official was killed in Iran on Wednesday. Relatively few details are known about the incident at present. Abbas Ali Soleimani Esbukalai, 75, was the Friday imam in the city of Kashan in central Iran from 2020 to 2022, and also served on Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the council that appoints the supreme leader of the country. …

Al-Arabia – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held talks with the defense ministers of Turkey, Syria and Iran on Tuesday as part of closely-watched negotiations in Moscow aimed at normalizing ties between Ankara and Damascus. In a readout published after the meeting, Russia’s defense ministry said all four countries had reaffirmed their “desire to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and the …