Al-Monitor — The US and Qatari governments have reportedly agreed to prevent Iran from accessing the $6 billion in oil revenue unfrozen as part of its deal to swap prisoners with the United States last month, multiple news outlets said Thursday.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not confirm the reports but said none of the funds “have actually been spent or accessed …

iranintl – The Biden administration is not ruling out freezing the $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues that it released last month as part of a deal to free five American hostages. The deal faced objections in Washington from day one, but it never seemed in danger until Hamas attacked Israel and killed more than 1,200 people.  In the few days …

iranintl – Expressing a balanced view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Iran is risky, as all media are meant to echo the official stance of the Supreme Leader. However, several social media users noted on Tuesday that even Ali Khamenei sometimes has to retract what he had said earlier without apologizing to anyone or at least make it known that …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 11 in a phone call, Iranian state media reported. It was the first call between the two leaders since China brokered a deal between Tehran and Riyadh to resume ties. Raisi and the crown prince discussed the “need to end war …

Iranwire – Mahsa Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom protest movement in Iran that was sparked by the death of the 22-year-old are among the finalists for this year’s Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament’s top rights award. The selection was “in recognition of their brave effort to stand up for women’s rights,” David McAllister, the chair of the foreign affairs …

Iranwire – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that the Islamic Republic of Iran bears responsibility for allowing the Palestinian militant group Hamas to grow to the point where it launched a weekend surprise attack on Israel. “We have no tangible evidence that Iran gave concrete and operative support to this cowardly attack by Hamas,” Scholz told legislators on October …

Iranwire – In recent years, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has frequently spoken about the Islamic Republic’s financial and military support, including weapons assistance, to Palestinian militants.  In a speech following Hamas’s weekend surprise attack on Israel, however, he stated at least three times that Tehran has not been involved in the assault, emphasizing that the bloody operation was solely …

Iranwire – A detained Iranian physician who came to the aid of injured protesters during last year’s nationwide protests has been transferred to prison.  Yaser Rahmanirad was arrested on September 21 during a dawn raid on his home in the western city of Khorramabad. IranWire has learned that he has been moved from a detention center of the Islamic Revolutionary …

Iranwire – Officers of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry on October 11 raided the home of the director of the Campaign in Support of Disabled People and confiscated some of his personal belongings, a human rights website reported.  HRANA said that the agents attempted to take Behrouz Morovati with them but were unable to do so due to his physical disability. The …

Iranwire – President Joe Biden warned the Islamic Republic of Iran to “be careful” as the US Navy dispatched a carrier strike group to waters near Israel. A force of six warships headed by the US Navy’s largest and most advanced nuclear aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived in the eastern Mediterranean Sea this week as part of the …