iranintl – Amidst a crowded field of 80 candidates for the upcoming state-controlled presidential election in Iran, one name continually stands out: Saeed Jalili. At 55, the anti-American ideologue and self-proclaimed revolutionary is seen by many as a potential replica of Ebrahim Raisi’s government. The state-monitored Rouydad24 news outlet suggests that while his path to victory is complex, certain elements …

voanews – The U.S.-based Campaign for Human Rights in Iran is condemning Iran’s Supreme Court for upholding the death sentence of Kurdish cleric Mamusta Mohammad Khezrnejad for his involvement in the 2022 nationwide protests over the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini. Khezrnejad, 45, a Sunni Muslim cleric from the western Iranian city of Bukan, was detained in …

rferl.org – Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence handed to Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, arrested over his alleged involvement in the 2019 antiestablishment protests. Babak Paknia, Vafaei Sani’s lawyer, said on June 8 that the Supreme Court had struck down his client’s death sentence “for a second time.” He did not say when the first death sentence had …

rferl.org – The main coalition of reformists in Iran on June 8 said it would only participate in this month’s presidential election if at least one of its candidates is approved to run, according to the reformist newspaper Etemad. “The Guardians Council cannot nominate a candidate for the reformist movement,” the Fars news agency quoted Azar Mansuri, leader of the …

iranintl – Tehran has vowed to continue threatening the news channel Iran International in blatant disregard of the call by UN experts to cease its transnational violence against the UK-based network and its journalists. Kazem Gharibabadi, head of the Judiciary’s Human Rights Headquarters, labeled the network as “terrorist” on social media platform X and issued threats against its employees. Calling the …

iranintl – Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf is increasingly being referred to as the “IRGC’s candidate” in Iran’s presidential elections of June 28. Many believe at least one major faction in the Revolutionary Guard is backing his candidacy. The clearest reference that the IRGC has a ‘preferred’ candidate was made Wednesday by Vahid Haghanian, a former close aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in …

rferl.org – The Iranian government has issued strict guidelines for media conduct in the run-up to Iran’s presidential election, which was called after the recent death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. According to the newly published regulations, any content deemed to be aimed at discouraging voter turnout or promoting election boycotts, as well as organizing any …

iranintl – Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad convened with a crowd of his supporters on Thursday, staging a campaign-like event at Tehran’s Bazaar, a bustling hub of commercial activity. The controversial politician, largely marginalized by the ruling establishment for almost a decade, has submitted his candidacy for the forthcoming snap presidential elections, pending approval from the Guardian Council. Aligned with Supreme Leader …

iranintl – Israel’s latest strategy to take on its regional rival Iran is not with a weapon, but a new tool in its soft power arsenal which aims to bridge relations between the two nations locked in escalating tensions. It may be surprising, but the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has rolled out a Persian-language channel on various social media apps, highlighting the …

iranintl – Chinese-language media are seemingly downplaying Beijing’s recent supportive stance toward the UAE on three disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, drawing the ire of Tehran. In a joint statement following a conference with Arab states in Beijing on Sunday, China outlined its position on the three disputed islands in the Persian Gulf—Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa—suggesting …