iranintl – An illicit Iranian gambling network helped move at least $4 billion through an unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange that also handled funds for sanctioned Iranian institutions, a Reuters investigation found. Blockchain data reviewed by Reuters showed the exchange, Shelbit, processed money for a Farsi-language gambling network spanning more than 2,000 websites. It also interacted with Iran’s central bank, the …

iranintl – Tehran’s prosecutor has launched legal action against an unspecified number of people for opposing the execution of detainees arrested during the January protests and defendants convicted in cases linked to the recent war, Iran’s judiciary news outlet Mizan reported on Thursday. Mizan said the cases were opened after referrals from security and intelligence agencies and reviews of social …

Iranwire – The public relations office of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Friday, July 31, that two oil tankers attempting to pass through a designated corridor in the southern Strait of Hormuz were struck and brought to a halt. The IRGC added that four other tankers altered their course and returned to their points of origin. In …

Iranwire – British police have announced the arrest of a dual British-Azerbaijani national in Cyprus on suspicion of spying for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to London’s Metropolitan Police, Rashad Sultanov, 44, a resident of North London, was arrested in Cyprus on July 17 and remains in custody while awaiting extradition proceedings to the United Kingdom. British media …

Iranwire – The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran has claimed that, on Friday morning, July 31, it targeted Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait using kamikaze drones. In a statement, the Iranian Army’s public relations department claimed that the attack struck fighter jet hangars, satellite communication systems, and US military equipment storage …

Iranwire – Iranian state media, citing Mohammad Jafar Ghaem-Panah, Executive Vice President to President Masoud Pezeshkian, reported that the country is confronting severe energy imbalances that require immediate management. Ghaem-Panah stated that, following US and Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian refineries during the recent war, the government forecasts a daily gas deficit of “approximately 100 million cubic metres during the winter.” …

Iranwire – To gauge the resilience of the ruling establishment, I arrange to meet a retired IRGC officer who has reinvented himself as a wealthy businessman at one of the nightly gatherings in Enghelab (Revolution) Square. We meet at the north-eastern corner of the square, where the entrance to the metro station stands beside Bahman Cinema, formerly known as Capri …

Iranwire – Media outlets in Iran have reported that the historic Azadi Stadium will remain completely unusable for the upcoming football season. Neither Esteghlal nor Persepolis, two of Asia’s most popular clubs, nor the Iranian national team will be permitted to host matches at the venue. With Takhti Stadium in eastern Tehran and Dastgerdi Stadium in western Tehran also deemed …

RFL/RE– Iran’s latest missile attacks on US forces and bases in the region have exposed growing strains in the decades-old US-Gulf security partnership, according to Allison Minor, director of the Atlantic Council’s Project for Middle East Integration and former director for Arabian Peninsula affairs at the White House National Security Council during US President Donald Trump’s first term. In a …

Iran-HRM – Human Rights as a Tool to Cover Up Repression in the Islamic Republic of Iran In recent years, the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly emphasized “adherence to citizenship rights,” “guaranteeing the rights of defendants,” “prohibition of torture,” and “fair trial standards” in official state media and affiliated publications—including IRNA, Iran Newspaper, Mizan News Agency, …