Al-Arabia – Iran said Monday it “will not hesitate” to respond in the event of US attacks on its territory after the White House declined to say whether strikes on Iran were ruled out. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday the US will press on with its retaliation against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria. Asked whether the United …

iranintl – Several members of US Congress on Sunday slammed President Joe Biden for his failure to directly confront Iran even after its proxies killed three American soldiers in Jordan. President Biden authorized airstrikes on dozens of targets in Syria and Iraq last Friday, five days after a drone attack on US base Tower 22 in Jordan by Iran-allied Kataeb …

iranintl – The Fajr Film Festival, once the Islamic Republic’s most prominent annual cultural event, has caused embarrassment for the regime, its officials, and supporters this year. According to reports, Iran’s best-known filmmakers refused to attend the opening gala, critics criticized the organizers for their poor programming, and artists confronted officials for various reasons. The festival has become a political tool …

iranintl – To get in line with US measures to crack down on currency smuggling to Iran, Iraq has banned eight local commercial banks from engaging in US dollar transactions. The banks are banned from accessing the Iraqi central bank’s daily dollar auction, a main source of hard currency in the import-dependent country that has become a focal point of …

iranintl – Iran’s modern public education system, established in the 1930s as one of the first in the Middle East, is increasingly falling under clerical control while suffering from a lack of investments. Over the past decade, several concerning issues have plagued Iran’s public education system, attracting significant attention. Mass recruitment of clerics in public schools, significant dropouts even in …

Iranwire – Since 2022, when the Woman, Life, Freedom protests against the Islamic Republic’s leadership erupted across Iran, the authorities have dramatically intensified their clampdown on members of the Baha’is faith. Many Baha’is have been arrested, prosecuted and handed stiff sentences, with multiple observers drawing parallels with the persecution they endured in the 1980s. Baha’i women have borne a disproportionate …

Iranwire – In a recent interview, Iranian football legend Ali Daei said he had been prohibited from engaging in any business activities in the country for the past year and a half.  Daei, a former German Bundesliga striker whose 109 goals at international level were long unsurpassed until Cristiano Ronaldo overtook him, has been a vocal supporter of the 2022-23 …

Iranwire – The Islamic Republic of Iran has used two big UK banks to covertly move money around the world as part of a scheme to evade sanctions, the Financial Times reported. According to documents seen by the British newspaper, Lloyds and Santander UK provided accounts to British front companies secretly owned by a sanctioned Iranian petrochemicals company based in …

VOA – Washington vowed additional military action against Iran-backed groups in the Middle East following two days of attacks in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen in retaliation for months of assaults on U.S. assets in the region, including a drone attack that killed three American service members in Jordan last month. White House national-security spokesman John Kirby said in a series …

VOA – Iran on Sunday denounced the latest U.S. and U.K. strikes on targets in Yemen saying they “contradict” their declared intention of avoiding a wider Middle East conflict. These attacks are “in clear contradiction with the repeated claims of Washington and London that they do not want the expansion of war and conflict in the region,” Iran’s foreign ministry …