Social and Political

VOA – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says it is “appalled” by a Tehran court’s decision to uphold prison sentences for four journalists from the Gam (Step) online magazine. However, the appeals court in Tehran reduced the length of the jail terms from 18 to five years for each journalist — Amirhossein Mohammadifard, Sanaz Allahyari, Amir Amirgholi, and Assal Mohammadi — …

Al-Monitor – Iran has condemned a United Nations resolution condemning human rights violations in the country. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi responded, “Using human rights politically and as a tool and applying double standards in this area is contrary to the promotion of human rights.” On Dec. 18 the UN General Assembly passed the resolution calling on Iran to stop committing human rights abuses. The measure proposed …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has used an Islamic conference in Malaysia to urge Muslim nations to deepen cooperation in order to counter U.S. “hegemony.” Speaking on December 19 at the opening ceremony of the event in Kuala Lumpur, Rohani reiterated Iran’s view that the United States is using economic sanctions as the “main tools of domineering hegemony and …

Radiofarda – Iran’s notorious riot police known as the Special Unit rushed in on Wednesday to disperse angry football (soccer) fans outside the headquarters of Esteghlal Football club in Tehran. The fans were chanting slogans against the club officials and the sports minister for failing to return Andrea Stramacchioni, the Italian coach of the team, who quit and left the …

Radiofarda – More than a month after the start of the latest round of anti-government protests in Iran, security forces are still arresting people in various cities. The Police Chief in Kermanshah, Ali Akbar Javidan said on Wednesday December 18 that 250 more protesters have been arrested in that city. Elsewhere in Iran officials broke the news on Tuesday about …

Radiofarda – Iran seems to have quietly lifted a 36-year ban on competition of its athletes against Israelis. On Monday two Iranian chess grandmasters played against an Israeli player in the sixth edition of the Sunway Sitges chess festival in Sitges, Spain. It is unlikely that the two members of Iran’s chess team would do so without having received the …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s top security official said Wednesday the Islamic Republic opposed US negotiations with Afghanistan’s Taliban, as the talks excluded the Afghan people and government. https://vid.alarabiya.net/2019/12/18/irntopustal121866199727/irntopustal121866199727___irntopustal121866199727_video.mp4 “Any strategy, any decision or plan without the participation of the Afghan people is wrong and doomed to failure,” said Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. “The Taliban …

RFL/RE – Covered in black and holding a picture of her son, a blogger who died seven years ago in police custody, Gohar Eshghi trudged slowly with a cane into the home of Nahid Shirpisheh, whose son was shot dead in last month’s violent crackdown on nationwide gas-price protests. Eshghi’s son, Sattar Beheshti, was killed in 2012 while being detained …

PayvandNews – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that transactions within INSTEX barter mechanism is entering its final phase. INSTEX – the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges – is designed to circumvent U.S. sanctions against trade with Iran by avoiding the use of the dollar. It was introduced by the European trio of France, Germany, and …

Radiofarda – The Basij paramilitary force under the command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards plans to increase its presence in every “neighborhood”, in the wake of widespread protests in November when hundreds of protesters were killed and thousands arrested. The Basij plays a major role in suppressing demonstrations and its larger presence in urban areas will help it gather intelligence and …