Iranwire – Iranian border forces have shot dead a transborder porter, or kolbar, in the western province of Kurdistan, according to Kurdish human rights activists. The man, identified as 28-year-old Ahoon Dashti, was shot without warning near the Hengezhal border crossing in Baneh district on December 5, in yet another unlawful shooting of an unarmed Kurdish kulbar who worked under cruel …

Iranwire – The Baha’i International Community (BIC) has denounced an “escalation and intensification” of the Iranian government’s “policy of systematic persecution” against the religious community. Baha’is, the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, have been persecuted since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and are today “suppressed in all areas of life,” BIC says in a statement on December 4. It said the authorities …

Iranwire – Over the past year, mental health professionals have witnessed an increase in self-harm and suicidal thoughts among Iranian teenagers.  According to psychologist Shahla Basteh-Hosseini, the reasons for this concerning trend include hopelessness, poverty and family problems such as parental divorce.  She notes that teenagers often compare their situation to those of their peers, leading to a feeling of …

VOA – U.S. forces killed five Iran-backed militants as they prepared to launch a drone attack in Iraq, as the number of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria rose to 76 since mid-October. Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday that U.S. forces saw the militants Sunday as they were beginning to launch an attack drone …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Fereydoun Nasirinejad, a Baluch man on death row for drug-related charges, was executed in Jiroft Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Baluch man was executed in Jiroft Prison on 4 December. His identity has been established as 35-year-old Fereydoun Nasirinejad who was sentenced to death for drug-related charges. Informed sources told …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Ali Majidi, a man sentenced to death for murder, was executed in Qazvin Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Qazvin Central Prison (Choobdar) on 3 December. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Ali Majidi who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Informed sources told IHRNGO that …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Four men including three Baluch minorities were secretly executed in Birjand Central Prison. According to Haal Vsh, four men including three Baluch minorities were executed in Birjand Central Prison on 3 December. The identities of the three Baluch men have been reported as 44-year-old Mohammad Naeimifar, 31-year-old Maziar Narouyi and 40-year-old Ahmad Shahuzehi. They were …

iranintl – After Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed that two IRGC officers were killed in an Israeli attack in Syria, Tehran vows revenge. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Monday that the IRGC forces were in Syria “on an advisory mission,” threatening that “No action against the interests and security of Iran, as well as our advisory forces in Syria, will …

iranintl – The Islamic Republic is using Iranian students abroad, including those on government scholarships, to pursue its Islamist agenda. University students living in the diaspora or studying abroad are utilized as an asset to promote Shiite Islamism in Western democracies and recruited to transfer information and know-how to the um-ul-Qora (Islamic motherland). Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Ahmad Vaezi to oversee the …

iranintl – Iran denies challenges in obtaining foreign currency, contradicting tangible signs of shortages of vital imports in the Iranian market and a plummeting rial.  Amid the government’s faltering attempts to assert control over the foreign exchange market, Mohammad-Reza Farzin, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), said Sunday that Iran faces no obstacles in acquiring dollars or euros. He …