Iranwire – More than 400 Iranian political and civil activists have issued a statement demanding the “immediate and unconditional” release of fellow activist Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraei from prison. In a statement published on April 21, the activists said that Iraei was sentenced last week “in a brutal, unfair, and vindictive process after months of indecision in detention.” They pointed out …

Iranwire – The manager of Tehran’s Lotus Cinema was fired after a prominent actress attended an event there without a mandatory hijab, local media report. Iranian social media users widely praised Pantea Bahram for appearing at the premiere of the last episode of the popular TV series Lion’s Skin on April 19 without head covering. “The manager of Lotus Cinema …

Iranwire – The Persian year of 1401, which ended on March 20, was one of the darkest years for children and students in Iran. Besides the problems of runaway inflation, unemployment, air pollution and fuel shortages, Iranian high schools were the scenes of assaults by security forces, from attacks on students who were protesting a wave of chemical attacks on girls’ schools …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have detained a prominent journalist accused of communicating with groups outside Iran and issued an indictment against four teachers’ rights activists, amid a crackdown on the media and civil and political activism. Journalist Keyvan Samimi was arrested for holding meetings with a “deviant sect supported by the Zionist regime,” state TV reported on April 20, in …

VOA – Iranian political experts and social media users have been criticizing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he ruled out holding popular referendums on state policies this week. Iran faced massive anti-government protests last year, prompting former President Hassan Rouhani to suggest holding referendums on domestic and foreign policies. Iran’s supreme leader rejected the idea. He also said that …

Al-Monitor — A visit to Israel this week by Iran’s last crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, has cost him a barrage of diatribes, particularly from hard-liners in his home country.   Pahlavi, who has been in exile since the ouster of his father, Mohammad Reza, in the 1979 Islamic revolution, landed in Israel on Monday, sat down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, paid …

Al-Monitor – Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Thursday that the IDF must prepare for a multi-front war in which Israel faces many serious security threats at the same time involving Iran’s proxies in the Middle East. Briefing reporters, Gallant said that “the era of limited conflicts” is over. He saw Israel as facing a new security era with possible threats to …

Al-Monitor – The US Navy denied on Thursday Iran‘s claim that it forced a US cruise-missile submarine to surface in the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington had deployed the vessel to the region in a show of force toward Tehran earlier this month. Rear Adm. Shahram Irani, top commander of the Iranian navy, said that the crew of its Fateh submarine …

Shabtabnews – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report on Sexual and Gender Based Violence Against Religious Freedom Protesters in Iran.Sexual and Gender Based Violence Against Religious Freedom Protesters in Iran – This factsheet describes the Iranian government’s deliberate and systematic use of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) against Iranians protesting mandatory hijab …

iranintl.com – A group of 125 British MPs has signed a letter backing hunger striker Vahid Beheshti’s call for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be outlawed. The group supported the Iranian activist’s call for the IRGC to be declared a terrorist organization in a letter they signed and sent to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. A group of the MPs …