gatestoneinstitute.org – According to NGO Monitor, South Africa’s case at the ICJ is built on reports from groups with links to terrorist organizations. “South Africa’s submission to the court contains no fewer than 45 references to NGO publications, including several from outfits linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terrorist organization.” — Wall Street Journal, January 29, …

iranintl – The Biden administration is pressuring the House of Representatives to approve more funding for Ukraine, saying a failure to do so would amount to helping Russia and Iran. “A House vote against American national security is a vote to appease and empower the Iranian regime. Period,” reads a White House memo aimed at Republican representatives and seen by several journalists.  The …

iranintl – The ayatollah who was the fervent proponent of pure Islamic rule as distinct from the Islamic Republic died in 2021, politicians using his ideology were gaining power in Iran. Iranians had all but consigned Ayatollah Mohamad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi to the annals of history. However the ascension of President Ebrahim Raisi to power in 2021, following Mesbah-Yazdi’s passing that …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court has handed death sentences to four ethnic Baluchis on charges of “baghy,” meaning insurrection against a legitimate imam and the Islamic ruler of the country. The individuals, identified as Eido Shahbakhsh, Abdul-Ghani Shahbakhsh, Abdul-Rahim Qanbarzehi Gorgij, and Suleiman Shahbakhsh, were implicated in what the court describes as “forming anti-revolutionary groups and being members of said groups.”The …

RFL/RE – Iranian lawyer Mahdokht Damghanpor, who had been critical of the judiciary and pointed out flaws in the case presented against executed protester Mohammad Qobadlou, has been summoned before a court for questioning. Amir Raesian, another lawyer for Mohammad Qobadlou, said Damghanpor was summoned to the Media Court, where on February 12 he presented relevant documents it had requested. “We invited …

Iranwire – Revelations that the son of Iran’s parliament speaker was attempting to get a residence permit in Canada has reignited discussion around officials’ children living abroad.  This is not a new phenomenon, as the offsprings of high-ranking officials have resided overseas during their parents’ tenures.  The number of foreign-based children of officials has surged from a handful in the …

Iranwire – The Iranian parliament held its session on February 14 behind closed doors and voting was conducted manually, following reports of a cyberattack on its systems. Journalists were barred from entering the chamber, with its communication department reporting “disruptions in some internal systems, including traffic, online resources and internet connectivity.”  No further details about the disruptions were provided. State …

Iranwire – The Albanian cybersecurity authorities have accused a hacker group “sponsored” by the Iranian government of attacking the Balkan country’s Institute of Statistics earlier this month. The institute said on February 1 it had been targeted by a “sophisticated cyberattack” that affected some of its systems. On February 13, the National Authority for Electronic Certification and Cyber Security accused …

Iranwire – An Iranian-British dual citizen has been imprisoned in Iran for six months, the activist HRANA news agency reported on February 14.  Shahram Namavar, who holds citizenship from both Iran and the UK, has been held in Tehran’s Evin prison since his arrest in August 2023. His legal status remains uncertain. There has been no official information about the …

Iranwire – A member of Iran’s Baha’i religious minority has presented herself at Vakil Abad prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad to start serving her one-year prison sentence. Branch 1 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court handed down the sentence against Noushin Mesbah in October last year after convicting her of “membership in a group with the intent of disrupting …