Al-Monitor – A Greek shipping company has admitted that one of the vessels it manages violated US sanctions on Iran earlier this year by exporting oil from the Persian Gulf state. The United States fined Empire Navigation Inc. $2.4 billion for the breach, it was revealed on Thursday. The company and the United States agreed to keep the violation secret for almost …

iranintl – While Iranian conservatives aim to sideline reformists in the March 2024 parliamentary elections, there is a lack of consensus among them on many political issues. The upcoming election, following a year of dissent and unrest, has left most voters indifferent, disheartened by disillusionment. There’s a lack of clarity even among conservatives and hardliners about the number of seats …

iranintl – Calls to shut down an Iran-linked mosque are growing among Iranians in Finland after the Islamic center admitted that one of its imams snatched a protester’s cellphone.  Parvin Shokri, an Iranian protest organizer based in Helsinki, was returning from an anti-regime demonstration on April 24, when her cellphone was seized by a stranger in the street. She was …

Iranwire – A video shared on social media on August 21 showed many residents of Ekbatan town in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz protesting the failure of municipal authorities to provide essential amenities.  Ekbatan town is located in the city’s District 4, known as Golestan, along the banks of Karun River.  After more than a decade of development, the …

Iranwire – Iranian security forces have arrested an 18-year-old protester who sustained severe injuries in both his eyes during protests last year, IranWire reports.  The arrest of Parsa Ghobadi took place at his father’s workplace on September 4. On November 25, 2022, Iranian security forces took to the streets to celebrate the national football team’s 2-0 victory over Wales in …

Iranwire – The Paris-based media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged Iranian authorities to release Elahe Mohammadi, a journalist it said has been incarcerated for the past 11 months for “giving a voice to women” in Iran. Mohammadi has been held since her arrest on September, 29, 2022, for covering the funeral of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who …

VOA – A Greek shipping company has pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, newly unsealed U.S. court documents seen Thursday by The Associated Press show. The now-public case against Empire Navigation, which faces three years of probation under the plea agreement, marks the first public acknowledgement by U.S. prosecutors that …

CHRI – On Tuesday, September 5, 2023, political prisoner Saeed Masouri, in a message from prison, addressed the horrifying and inhumane conditions of Qezel Hessar prison. He holds Hashem Hayat Al-Ghaib, the Director-General of Prisons in Tehran Province, and Ejei, the Chief of the Judiciary, responsible for this situation. Saeed Masouri was arrested at the age of 35 and has …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Mahboubeh Roshandel, a 27-year-old woman sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Mashhad Central Prison. According to HRANA news agency, a woman was executed in Mashhad Central Prison (Vakil Abad) on 4 September. Her identity has been established as 27-year-old Mahboubeh Roshandel who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Mahboubeh was a mother to …

Al-Monitor — Israel’s Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel met on Wednesday in London with several Iranian activists and journalists in part of a monthslong campaign by the senior Israeli official to establish public channels with Iranian exile groups, as protests against the regime in Tehran approach their one-year anniversary.  A source close to Gamliel told Al-Monitor that the senior Israeli official spoke with …