gatestoneinstitute.org – History is filled with the terrible retribution inflicted on America’s foes when those enemies underestimate the United States. Consider Imperial Japan, which totally underestimated the United States. Hitler thought we could manufacture cars but never have the ability to produce tanks, an air force, a two-ocean navy and the willpower to fight and win. The Soviets told the …

iranhr.net – The 16th Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, by Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), reveals that the Iranian authorities intensified their use of the death penalty to instil societal fear in the year following the outbreak of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” nationwide protests. The report documents a staggering total of …

Al-Arabia – A quarterly meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog’s main policy-making body began on Monday with Western powers again choosing not to seriously confront Iran over its failure to cooperate with the agency on a range of issues, diplomats said. It is more than a year since the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution ordering Iran …

iranintl – While the Iranian Foreign Ministry teased Iranians with “good news” of an LA-based singer’s potential return from exile, the government abruptly halted a beloved 10-day music festival in Bushehr. Like most decisions made by Iranian officials, these decisions were also contradictory and controversial. On the one hand the government is trying to trumpet good mood among Iranians ahead …

iranintl – With only 17 days remaining in the current Iranian year, the country’s Supreme Labor Council has yet to convene a session to establish next year’s workers’ wages. Within Iran’s state-controlled economy, the government sets wages for public sector workers, including thousands of companies and factories, which also determines salaries of ordinary workers in the private sector. According to …

iranintl – Two significant trends mark the orchestrated 2024 elections in Iran: the notable significance of invalid or blank votes and the strife among winning factions loyal to Khamenei. Despite the objections of Khamenei’s confidant, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, the ultraconservatives fielded six lists for Tehran, whose representatives will wield considerable influence in parliament’s management. Internal conflicts between pro-Khamenei factions are exacerbated …

Iranwire – Iranian border forces in the western Kurdistan province have fatally shot another Kurdish kolbar amid an escalation of violence against the transborder porters.  The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights identified the victim as 52-year-old Ali Zarghami, a resident of Saqqez. Zarghami was lethally wounded in the stomach on March 3 at the Mishiav border in the Sarshio area …

Iranwire – Authorities in the Islamic Republic have arrested Soleiman Abdi, a teacher and member of the Iranian Teachers’ Union branch in the Kurdish town of Saqqez. The charges against him include “disrupting public order and peace by participating in an illegal gathering in Aichi cemetery,” where Mahsa Amini’s grave is located. Amini emerged as the face of the Woman, …

VOA – Iranian conservatives secured the bulk of seats in elections for a key clerical body and the national legislature, local media reported Sunday, estimating a record low turnout. Authorities were still counting ballots two days after Friday’s vote for members of parliament and for the Assembly of Experts, which selects the Islamic republic’s supreme leader. The vote was the …

VOA – Iran’s judiciary has executed a “terrorist” over a drone attack that targeted a defense ministry site in central Iran last year, state media reported Sunday. According to state TV, the person “planned to explode the workshop complex of the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan under guidance of the intelligence officer of Mossad,” Israel’s spy agency. The date of …