iranintl – Nearly three weeks after the parliamentary elections in Iran, disputes continue about the results and the way the elections were held, with 7,000 complaints received from just three towns. Gholam-Ali Jafarzadeh Imanabadi, a former lawmaker from the northern city of Rasht, questioned why candidates with judicial clearance were rejected from running in the parliamentary election, while others caught …

iranintl – Hopes for increased economic cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia following last year’s diplomatic reconciliation have not materialized, due to historical and political factors Saudi Arabia and Iran have a long history of hostility, usually taking opposing sides in regional conflicts such as Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria. This competition, fueled by disruptive activities and outright attacks on Saudi land and oil …

iranintl – UN’s rapporteur on Iran’s human rights and its fact-finding mission have renewed their call to hold Tehran accountable for its violations, including brutal crackdown on dissent and surging executions. The Human Rights Council hosted members of the UN’s fact-finding mission that was established to investigate Iran’s crackdown on the popular protests of 2022, ignited by the death in …

RFL/RE – An emboldened Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, has changed the balance of power in the South Caucasus in recent years. Baku reclaimed full control over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region that for three decades had been under ethnic-Armenian control, last year. A weakened Armenia, meanwhile, has distanced itself from its traditional ally, Russia, and looked to move closer to the …

Iranwire – Iran’s government announced a 35 percent increase in the minimum wage of laborers for the next Persian Year, which began March 20. This increment brings the minimum wage to 11,107,000 tomans (approximately $185) with benefits. However, the decision has been met with fierce criticism from labor representatives.  They walked out of a meeting of the Supreme Labor Council …

Iranwire – The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that United States officials visited Niger last week to address concerns about the West African nation’s potential development of ties with Russia and Iran.  “The US delegation was there to raise a number of concerns… We were troubled (about) the path that Niger is on,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said, according to Reuters.  …

Iranwire – The Constitutional Council of Iran has formally approved the outcomes of the March 1 parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.  Council spokesperson Hadi Tahan Nazif, speaking on state TV Monday night, confirmed “the correctness and validity of elections in 208 polling areas for the parliamentary elections and in all of the polling areas of the Assembly of Experts …

Iranwire – Israel launched missile strikes targeting several military installations outside the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday, according to Syria’s defense ministry.  The ministry claimed they intercepted some missiles with their air defense systems, resulting only in “material damage.” This latest strike comes amidst heightened regional tensions following the Hamas attacks on Israel in October last year.  Since December, several …

Iranwire – The Tehran Province Court of Appeals has upheld the five-year sentence for Saeed Azizi, a 60-year-old Iranian-Swedish dual national.  Azizi, currently incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin Prison, was initially handed the five-year term for charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. He was arrested by Iranian security forces on November …

Iranwire – The Iranian judicial system has sentenced five Kurdish individuals to varying terms of imprisonment, according to a report by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. Among those sentenced is a minor, 16-year-old Hiwa Sharifi. Two others, Shwana Babakri and Shafie Babakri, have been identified as members of a “justice-seeking family.”  The remaining two individuals are Shahin Ebrahimi and …