Iranwire – Four imprisoned members of the Baha’i religious minority in Iran have been subjected to coercive measures by interrogators, pressuring them to make confessions on camera, IranWire reports. The actions occurred during the trial of the four citizens on May 31 at Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Judge Iman Afshari presided over the proceedings, and the defendants are currently …

Iranwire – The Islamic Republic’s leadership claims the country is heading in the right direction, telling the beleaguered Iranian business community that a new agreement with world powers on its nuclear program is on the horizon. According to Iranian officials, reviving the deal would lift crippling economic sanctions, which would in turn attract foreign investments. However, the collaborative initiative Iran …

Al-Monitor – Tensions have escalated between Tehran and the Taliban regime in Kabul over the distribution of their shared waters. As Iran faces increasing water scarcity issues, Afghanistan is trying to dam water sources as much as possible to generate electricity and irrigate agricultural land.  Originating in the Afghan Hindu Kush mountain range, the Helmand River is Afghanistan’s longest river that …

RFL/RE – The U.S. Navy said on June 5 that its sailors and the U.K. Royal Navy came to the aid of a ship in the crucial Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards “harassed” it. Three fast-attack vessels with armed troops aboard approached the merchant ship at a close distance in the afternoon on June 4, the U.S. Navy …

RFL/RE – Iran will reopen its embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital on June 6, Iranian sources told the semiofficial Fars news agency, months after Tehran and Riyadh agreed to end years of hostility. In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reestablish relations after years of hostility between the regional rivals that had threatened stability and security in the Middle …

Iranwire – It has been 34 days since the arrest of Sajjad Shahrabi, a radio announcer and dubber who is also the brother of Shima Shahrabi, the editor-in-chief of IranWire’s Persian-language website. Held in solitary confinement and interrogated for days, Shahrabi was transferred to the general ward of Tehran’s Evin prison on May 24. Officials announced a bail of 10 billion …

Iranwire – The café that was the workplace of Nika Shakarami, a 16-year-old victim of the bloody crackdown on last year’s nationwide protests, was shut down for a second time for catering to women without hijab. Mohammad Nabi Mousavi-Fard, the Friday Imam of Ahvaz, has supported the closure of all businesses that provide services to women without hijab. Civil resistance …

Iranwire – The father of Mohsen Shekari, a 22-year-old protester who was executed in December after an unfair trial, has said that his son’s gravestone has once again been vandalized. “My family and I have not returned and will not return to the normal life of the past after the loss of our beloved son. But now that we are suffering …

Iranwire – Psychological warfare, known by a number of names including psychological operations and “psy ops,” is one of the oldest tactics employed in wars. Such tactics are aimed at undermining the enemy’s morale and its will to fight or resist and, sometimes, at persuading the enemy to change its position. Another kind of psy-ops is propaganda aimed at strengthening …

Iranwire – The parents of Kian Pirfalak, a nine-year-old boy who was killed by Iranian security forces during protests last year, have filed a complaint against the “judiciary’s bailiffs” for the killing of their son. Security forces shot at the car carrying Kian Pirfalak in the southwestern city of Izeh on November 16, killing the boy and wounding his father, …