iranintl – President Masoud Pezeshkian faces criticism for appointing 73-year-old ‘reformist’ politician Mohammad-Reza Aref as his vice president, despite his promise to form a “young” cabinet. Pezeshkian announced the appointment shortly after his endorsement by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at a ceremony on Sunday. The appointment came as a surprise to many who expected economist Ali Tayebnia’s appointment as VP. Tayebnia, who …

iranintl – Shortly after Turkey began exporting electricity to Iraq this week, Iran ceased its deliveries to its neighbor due to an increasingly worsening domestic power deficit. The National Iraqi News Agency cited an official source on July 23, reporting that the country’s Diyala province experienced a massive power outage due to the cessation of Iranian electricity deliveries from both transmission …

iranintl – Iran has established anti-abortion centers in 250 cities, preventing 4,700 abortions, according to a Health Ministry official. In an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Saturday, Saber Jabbari-Farouji, head of Iran’s Health Ministry’s Population Youth Department, disclosed that the centers are part of the “Nafas” intervention group. The group operates in locations frequently visited by …

iranintl – Iranian authorities have accused four women of “armed rebellion”, a sentence carrying the death penalty, as the country’s execution spree continues. The four women have been identified as Pakhshan Azizi, Sharifeh Mohammadi, Varisheh Moradi, and Nasim Gholami Simiyari. While Azizi and Mohammadi have received a death sentence in recent weeks, the verdicts for Moradi and Simiyari are pending. …

iranintl – In a vague statement on Sunday, Iran denied any role in a rocket attack that killed 12 children and teenagers on a soccer field in a Druze village in Golan Heights, which Israel says was carried out by Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Saturday the rocket used in the deadly attack was an Iranian-made …

iranintl – Following widespread public outcry, Iranian writer and anti-hijab activist Sepideh Rashnu, has had her prison sentence postponed. Rashnu was summoned to begin serving three-years and 11-months on Saturday for defying mandatory hijab laws. However, writing on X on Saturday, her brother, Saman, announced that the execution of her prison sentence has been deferred until August 3. He added that a …

RFL/RE – Dozens of people have been put to death in Iran over the past week, after a lull in executions during the recent presidential election period. According to reports by foreign-based Iranian rights groups, at least 30 prisoners convicted of murder or narcotics offenses were hanged in various prisons between July 20 and July 27. Rights groups had said …

VOA – The U.S. State Department has described as “deplorable” reports Iran’s tiny Jewish minority was coerced into participating in the recent Iranian presidential election, in a statement obtained exclusively by VOA. The reported coercive measures, verified by VOA, included Iranian authorities for the first time setting up special ballot stations for Jews to vote in a presidential contest and …

iranintl – Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed Mohammad-Reza Aref, a ‘reformist’ known for his aloof conduct as a lawmaker, as his first vice president, contrary to earlier reports suggesting a top economist would get the post. The announcement came immediately after Pezeshkian received his seal of approval by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an inauguration ceremony Sunday morning and …

iranintl – An increasing number of Iranian filmmakers are defying the country’s strict ideological censorship by making movies without seeking the Culture Ministry’s permission, for screening abroad. Many filmmakers are bypassing regulations requiring them to obtain approval at various stages of production, from screenplay inception to final screening and entry into international film festivals. These new independent films challenge compulsory …