Social and Political

BAGHDAD, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Iraqi protesters set fire to the entrance of a shrine in the southern holy city of Najaf on Saturday and security forces fired tear gas to disperse them, police and a demonstrator at the scene said, risking more bloodshed after a rare day of calm. The demonstrator sent a video to Reuters of a doorway …

rferl.org – The commander of Iran’s navy has confirmed that his forces will participate in joint exercises with Russia and China beginning later this year. Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi on November 30 said the maneuvers will be held in the northern Indian Ocean from December 22 to January 20. The admiral’s statement did not give a specific location for the …

rferl.org – Registration has begun for candidates running in Iran’s parliamentary elections set for February 2020, Iranian media reported. The registration kicked off on December 1 and will continue until December 7, the official government news agency IRNA reported. The elections will be a gauge for the popularity of President Hassan Rohani and his allies. It comes after protests and …

rferl.org – France, Britain, and Germany say that six new European nations have joined INSTEX, the bartering system they developed to allow firms to conduct business with Iran without violating U.S. sanctions. In a joint statement on November 30, the three said they “warmly welcome the decision taken by the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden …

iranhumanrights – Manouchehr Bakhtiari, the father of a young protestor who was shot to death as he participated in the recent protests in Iran, will file a complaint with judicial authorities demanding the identification of the person responsible for killing his son, he told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on November 28. Pouya Bakhtiari, 27, died of a bullet …

alarabiya – Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi has compared Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to the Shah, the monarch deposed in a 1979 revolution, following the government’s crackdown on protests this month. The unrest began on Nov. 15 after the government of the Islamic Republic, one of OPEC’s biggest oil producers, announced gasoline price hikes. But the protests quickly turned political, …

alarabiya – Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force, is currently present in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Al Arabiya sources confirmed. His visit on Saturday comes as Iraq’s cabinet approved Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi’s resignation, according to a statement from his office, but parliament has yet to withdraw its support …

alarabiya – Iraq’s cabinet approved Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi’s resignation, a statement from his office said on Saturday, but parliament has yet to withdraw its support for the prime minister at a session on Sunday, making it official. “The government has done all it can to respond to the demands of protesters and enact reforms … and calls the …

radiofarda – Six more European countries announced Friday that they have joined Instex, the EU financial mechanism set up to facilitate trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions. Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden will now be part of INSTEX which launched in January of this year. Germany, Britain and France kickstarted the mechanism in January under pressure from Iran …

radiofarda – Iraq’s embattled premier announced Friday he will resign in keeping with the wishes of the country’s top Shiite cleric, after nearly two months of anti-government protests that have cost more than 400 lives. Adel Abdel Mahdi’s written statement was greeted with cheers and blaring music across Baghdad’s iconic Tahrir (Liberation) Square, where crowds have amassed since early October …