iranintl – Hadi Matar, the man who almost killed Salman Rushdie in New York State last year, might appear in court in early 2024, Iran International has learned. Jason Schmidt, the district attorney overseeing the case, told Iran International that a “very important hearing” has been completed in favor of the prosecutor. The defense wanted to “suppress certain statements that …

Iranwire – The 16-year-old Iranian girl who fell into a coma after being pushed by hijab enforcement officers in a Tehran subway station for not wearing a headscarf has been identified as Armita Geravand. The Norway-based Hengaw group, which monitors rights violations in Iran’s Kurdish regions, reported on October 3 that Armita, from western Kermanshah province, is under stringent security …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have arrested four members of the Baha’i religious minority in central Yazd and transferred them to an undisclosed location. The detainees are Mojgan Basiri, Shokofeh Basiri, Vida Ehrari, and Jamal Qadirzadeh. Security forces raided Mojgan Basiri’s house on Sunday evening and arrested her along with three guests who were at the house.  The agents searched the …

Iranwire – A week after the reopening of Iranian universities, reports from independent student sources indicate a trend of increasing security pressures and the widening scope of repression in universities.  A report published on the Amirkabir Newsletter Telegram channel, which covers news related to this university, said that one day after the professors of the Sharif University Professors Union were …

Iranwire – It has been reported that an Iranian court sentenced 17 workers to fines and flogging for protesting last year the management practices of their employer, the state-owned Iran National Steel Industrial Group, and their employment status. According to the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA), the Revolutionary Court of the southern city of Ahvaz ordered the workers to …

Iranwire – Iran’s Shargh newspaper says security forces arrested one of its reporters on October 2.  It said that Maryam Lotfi was taken into custody after visiting Fajr Air Force Hospital to report on the situation of a girl who had lost consciousness in the Tehran subway.  According to some reports, a high school girl was sent to the hospital …

VOA – Iran said Monday it opposes any “geopolitical changes” in the Caucasus, where it has long been angered over Azerbaijan’s desire to set up a transport link along the Armenian-Iranian border. Foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani, while voicing support for Azerbaijan’s reclamation of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region last month, said Tehran is “against making geopolitical changes in the region …

Al-Monitor – A Saudi soccer team refused to play an Iranian squad on Monday, reportedly due to a statue on the sidelines depicting slain Iranian commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani, an indication of the continued complexities of Iran-Saudi relations. What happened: The Saudi soccer team Al-Ittihad was in the Iranian city of Isfahan for a match against the Iranian club Sepahan at Naghsh-e …

Iranwire – Hardliners have labeled concerns about rising Afghan immigration as “Afghan-Phobia,” defending the government’s perceived “open borders” policy, despite public outcry. The fast-growing Afghan population in Iran has given rise to protests on social media and even debates in Iran’s government-controlled media, with many claiming that the government has a hidden agenda in letting thousands of Afghans enter the …

iranintl – The chairman of Iran’s chamber of commerce says he has heard rumors that the government intends to meet the standards of FATF, the global money-laundering watchdog.  Hossein Selahvarzi, the chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture said Sunday that there is “unofficial news about the accession to the money-laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the possibility of more serious economic negotiations.”  Iran’s previous …