Iranwire – The life of Ali Rezaei, a 39-year-old yoga instructor and teacher of Turkish language, took a devastating turn on December 11, 2022, when security forces stormed his home in Mianeh in the north-western province of East Azarbaijan, seized his electronic devices and other personal belongings, and took him to custody. Blindfolded and handcuffed, Rezaei was transferred to Tehran’s …

Iranwire – An Iranian court has sentenced political activist Ahmedreza Haeri to three months and one day in prison on charges of “spreading lies,” local media reported.  Branch 1040 of the Criminal Court in Tehran handed down the sentence in absentia on June 21, as Haeri was serving a previous conviction in Tehran’s Evin prison. The plaintiff in the latest case, the Tehran …

Iranwire – Active Islamic seminaries outnumber state-funded colleges by five to one in Iran, according to new research by Iran Open Data. Officially, at least 1,120 religious seminaries and specialized jurisprudential centers are engaged in activities and are planning to admit students during the upcoming academic year, the collaborative initiative said in a recent article. Meanwhile, official statistics show that …

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 – Several schools in Iran have been charging Afghan students “illegal” amounts of money for their enrollment, constituting a form of bribery and a clear violation of the law, the DidbanIran website has reported.  According to the report, a source at the Children’s Aid Association has said that these public schools demand fees ranging from “500,000 tomans to millions” …

VOA – Iran’s foreign minister on Thursday concluded a three-day tour of Gulf Arab neighbors with a visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he held talks with the country’s president. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to the UAE followed stops in Qatar, Kuwait and Oman — the latest in a flurry of diplomatic moves by Tehran as it seeks to reduce …

aawsat – An Iranian man arrested in western Germany earlier this year after a tip from US officials has been charged with plotting an attack using ricin or cyanide, German prosecutors said Wednesday. The 26-year-old, identified only as J.J. in line with Germany’s privacy rules, was arrested in January along with his brother in Castrop-Rauxel, a city in the industrial …

RFL/RE – Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, alcohol has been strictly banned in Iran, where consuming, producing, or selling alcohol is punishable by prison, floggings, and fines. Despite the official ban, Iranians still drink foreign and homemade alcoholic beverages that are sold on the black market. Over the past year, there has been a spike in the cases of …

RFL/RE – A group of hackers has reportedly leaked government documents suggesting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi approved the use of at least 100 trillion Iranian rials ($200 million) to put down protests during the recent nationwide unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in September while she was in police custody for an alleged head-scarf offense. The hackers, known as Uprising …

Iranwire – Chinese cars on sale in Iran are being sold at significantly inflated prices compared to their actual value, Lotfollah Siahkoli, a member of the Iranian parliament has said.  Siahkoli made the comments during a meeting at the Hokmranin Sharif (dignified governance) Think Tank on Wednesday, June 21.  According to Siahkoli, the real price of these cars ranges from …