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. …

iranwire – June 18, 1983, marks a haunting chapter of intolerance and injustice in Iran’s history. Ten Baha’i women, whose only crime was their religious faith, were hanged in Shiraz’s Chowgan Square, after facing an agonizing choice; renounce their beliefs and save their lives, or to remain steadfast in their convictions and to meet their tragic fate.  Each of the 10 chose …

Iranwire – A woman protester who is serving a long-term prison sentence in Karaj, near Tehran, has attempted to take her own life, local media and human rights groups reported on May 28. They said that Masouma Senobari cut her wrist inside Fardis prison to protest cruel treatment by prison staff. Senobari resides in Karaj but is originally from the …

Al-Monitor — Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic will resort to pressure if necessary against the ruling Taliban establishment in Afghanistan should it fail to provide Iran with its share of a lifeline border water supply, Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.   Amir-Abdollahian cited Afghanistan’s commitments under a 1973 agreement, which obligates Kabul to secure an annual 820 million …

nationworldnews – According to recent reports, the British government is in a dilemma whether to ban the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist group. While the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and the Security Minister, Tom Tugendt, support the measure and align themselves with US policy, the Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, appears to oppose it. Critics argue that the tact …

RFL/RE – Dozens of independent Iranian lawyers were imprisoned during the monthslong antiestablishment protests that erupted last September. Most had represented jailed protesters or been critical of the authorities on social media. Many of the lawyers were later freed under an amnesty announced by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February. But in recent days, around 20 lawyers across …

RFL/RE – A group of Iranian artists has called on the country’s cultural figures to reject the legitimacy of the Islamic republic’s “unjust” Ministry of Guidance and produce their works, including exhibitions, book and magazine publications, and film productions without seeking permission. “We request all artists, writers, publishers, and those involved in Iranian films and TV shows not to recognize the cultural …

RFL/RE – Hundreds of Iranian students are said to be facing disciplinary committees and possible suspensions at Al-Zahra University in Tehran over issues related to the mandatory wearing of hijabs on campus. According to the Telegram channel Voice of Al-Zahra Students, since the beginning of the Persian New Year in late March, at least 35 students have been suspended from studying for …

Iranwire – Iranian security forces have brutally arrested seven labor activists in the western city of Sanandaj, and took them to an unknown location, IranWire has learned. The activists were arrested on the evening of May 17 when agents affiliated to the Sanandaj Intelligence Department stormed the family home of a 21-year-old protester killed by security forces last year, a …

Iranwire – Iran’s judiciary has reduced the prison sentence of Payam Vali, a Baha’i citizen incarcerated in Ghezelhasar prison, IranWire understands. Vali’s initial sentence of 16 years has been reduced to 9 years and 9 months. The judgment, issued by Branch 12 of the Alborz Court of Appeals on May 10, outlines modifications made during the appeals process.  Vali is …