Al-Monitor – Iran has sentenced eight people, including a woman, to prison sentences ranging from three to 15 years over their alleged role in the killing of a paramilitary force member, the country’s official news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday. The incident occurred during November’s protests in the city of Karaj, in north-central Iran. Hamid Ghare-Hassanlou received a 15-year prison sentence. Three …

Al-Arabia – Iran plans to keep raising oil production as back-door diplomatic efforts with the US appear to be easing pressure on the Middle Eastern nation. The Islamic Republic expects to boost production to 3.4 million barrels a day by the end of summer, according to Oil Minister Javad Owji. That would put output near Iran’s capacity limit of 3.8 …

iranintl – President Joe Biden is facing increasing backlash as Congress demands answers as to how the latest nuclear talks with Iran short-cut strict US laws. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul have written to Biden accusing him of breaking a 2015 law by negotiating a secret nuclear …

iranintl – The Iranian government has intensified measures to step up control over its foreign currency exchange market, criminalizing a wide range of unofficial transactions. The Central Bank of Iran announced on Tuesday that any unauthorized currency transactions and online advertisement are now considered a “crime.”  The new decree includes any “unauthorized” currency transactions in the virtual space, such as …

iranintl – Islamic Republic’s officials are in damage control mode over the Central Bank of Iran’s decision to dissolve several banks and financial institutions by October. The liquidation of Tosse-eh (Development) Credit Institution is in its final stages while the order to dissolve Ayandeh (Future) Bank was given to the Central Bank earlier this week. There are several other financial institutions, such as Caspian and Nour, that are set to dissolve or merge with …

RFL/RE – Molavi Abdolhamid, a spiritual leader for Iran’s Sunni Muslim population, has urged the country’s authorities to promptly release Molavi Fathi Mohammad Naqshbandi, the Sunni imam of Rask in the northeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan. In a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Abdolhamid said Naqshbandi’s arrest, due mainly to his criticism of the …

Iranwire – Ehsan Pirbornash, a sports reporter, Sports Bank website editor, and adept social satirist, was apprehended by intelligence operatives from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on November 7, 2022. Renowned for his poignant protest tweets and incisive political satires, he faced an 18-year prison sentence handed down by the Revolutionary Court of the northern city of Sari. Ten …

VOA – Iran sentenced seven men and a woman to prison after their convictions over allegedly aiding two men who were earlier executed for killing a paramilitary volunteer during the nationwide protests last year that followed Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody, state media reported Wednesday. The sentences come just ahead of the one-year anniversary of Amini’s Sept. 16 death, …

VOA – The daughter of a German citizen of Iranian descent who was sentenced to death by Tehran pleaded Tuesday for the United States and Germany to act urgently to save him. The daughter of Jamshid Sharmahd was making her case in Washington, including holding a sit-in outside the State Department, on the heels of a deal by President Joe …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – A Baluch man only identified as Mr Mir was executed for drug-related charges in Zahedan Central Prison. Four other Baluch men were executed at the prison that day and he is the seventh reported Baluch execution in Iran that day. According to Hal Vash, a Baluch man was executed in Zahedan Central Prison on 21 …