VOA – Iran must take “de-escalatory steps” on its nuclear program if it wants to make space for diplomacy with the United States, starting by cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. The comments by spokesperson Matt Miller at a briefing was the second time in recent days that the United States …

Iran-HRM – Verishe Moradi, also known as ‘ Ciwana Sine,’ a citizen of Sanandaj, political activist, and women’s rights defender, has been abducted by the Iranian security forces for nearly two months. Her family is kept in the dark regarding her situation and whereabouts. According to reports received by Iran Human Rights Monitor (IranHRM), Verishe Moradi, a women’s rights defender …

Al-Monitor — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Iran is now warming up to a joint Turkish-Azeri plans to set up a transport corridor connecting Turkey to Azerbaijan via Armenia. Speaking on his way back from the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, Erdogan reiterated his country’s resolve to set up the corridor through which Ankara is seeking to boost its trade …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s judiciary announced on Tuesday that its prosecutors had issued indictments against US President Joe Biden and over 50 other American officials over their supporting and hosting of a US-based exiled opposition group.  At a press briefing in Tehran, judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi said the list also included former presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush as …

Al-Arabia – Iran has sentenced four people to death for selling contaminated bootleg alcohol that killed 17 people and sent dozens more to hospital in June, the judiciary said on Tuesday. The sale and consumption of alcohol has been banned in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, giving rise to a huge illicit trade in smuggled or bootleg alcohol, some of it …

iranintl – Three Iran experts who have worked closely with Robert Malley, the Biden administration’s special envoy on Iran, were members of an influence network formed and guided by Tehran, an investigation by Iran International shows. The investigation was based on thousands of emails between Iranian diplomats and analysts obtained by Iran International, which shared them with Semafor. The two …

iranintl – Iran’s Statistical Center has reported an inflation rate of 46 percent, indicating no significant change despite rise in oil sales and the release of frozen assets. According to the latest report from ISC, the point-to-point inflation rate is approximately 40 percent, signifying that Iranian households now spend 40 percent more on purchasing an “identical set of goods and …

Iranwire – With the first anniversary of Zahedan’s Bloody Friday approaching, Iranian security and military institutions have increased pressure on the families of the massacre’s victims in an attempt to discourage them from seeking justice for their loved ones. On September 30, Iranian security forces opened fire on a peaceful protest in the southeastern city, killing more than 100 demonstrators …

Iranwire – Iraq expects to complete its first railway link with neighboring Iran “in about 18 months,” a senior transport adviser has said. Nasser Al-Asadi, transport advisor to Iraq’s prime minister, told Reuters news agency that work is underway to clear the area between the southern Iraqi city of Basra and the Iranian border town of Shalamja before ground work …

Iranwire – Mohsen Borhani, a law professor at Tehran University who has openly supported protests, says he has been “suspended” from his position. Borhani said on September 25 that he is no longer allowed to teach as the new academic year began on September 23.  He also said that he is facing legal action from multiple security agencies over his …