HRW – Iranian Judiciary Requires Actresses to Undergo Psychological Treatment. In recent cases, Iran’s judiciary has ordered actresses to undergo psychological treatment, as part of their sentencing after being convicted for not complying with compulsory hijab laws. Iranian mental health associations have protested the orders. In a letter to the head of the judiciary, four mental health associations called the orders an …

Al-Monitor – Iran and Belarus signed a defense agreement on Monday, furthering cooperation between the two countries that now involves Shahed drones production that Russia has deployed in its war in Ukraine. Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with his Belarusian counterpart, Gen. Viktor Gennadievich Khrenin, during a meeting in Tehran. The two …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court has sentenced two female journalists, Saeedeh Shafiei and Nasim Soltanbeigi, to prison terms and imposed social restrictions on them, marking a continued clampdown on press freedom in the country. Shafiei, a seasoned journalist with over two decades of experience, was sentenced on July 31 to two years in prison along with two years of social deprivation, …

RFL/RE – The Iranian government has suspended the operating license of Azki.com, a startup specializing in online insurance sales, following the publication of images showing some of its female employees without the compulsory hijab, as the government continues to tighten its enforcement of dress-code regulations. The suspension was announced by the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic …

Iranwire – Iran’s judiciary has denied that two female journalists have been detained for 10 months for having reported on the September death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi “cooperated with the hostile government of the United States on occasions,” judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told a press conference on August 1, adding that “a comprehensive …

Iranwire – The situation remains tense in a village in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province where security forces opened fire on protesters demanding employment at a nearby gold mine. In recent days, villagers of Agh-Dareh in Takab district held rallies to protest the non employment of locals at the gold mine of the same name.  The unrest took a dramatic turn …

Iranwire -The Iranian government has announced a nationwide two-day holiday because of high temperatures in the country, official media reported. Government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi said the decision to close governmental offices and banks on July 2-3 came after the Ministry of Health warned about a possible increase in cases of heat exhaustion, according to IRNA news agency. In recent …

Iranwire – Mahvash Nikjoo was born in 1936 into a Baha’i family in Tehran. Her father, Zabihullah Nikjoo, was studying law when Mahvash was born. Zabihullah was part of the first group of graduates from the Law School of Tehran University. Following the completion of Zabihullah’s studies, the Nikjoo family relocated to the northeastern city of Mashhad. Mahvash Nikjoo received …

Iranwire – The whereabouts of at least 15 people arrested in the central Iranian city Isfahan 20 days ago remain unknown. The 15 men and women were detained simultaneously by security forces at 7 a.m. on July 11 in various locations across Isfahan. The families have not been informed of the reasons for the arrests and the locations where they …

Iranwire – Members of Iranian parliament have put forward a proposed amendment to the law on determining the citizenship of children born from a marriage of Iranian women and foreign men that would introduce DNA tests to establish the child’s relationship with the mother.  Under the proposal, applicants would also need to obtain a certificate of rejection of foreign citizenship, …