Social and Political

Radiofarda – Mohammad Hossein Rostami, a hardline activist in jail in Iran, has released an audio file in which he makes several claims about a network operating under IRGC Intelligence Chief Hossein Taeb that runs illegal businesses and frames high-profile potential opponents in corruption scandals. Rostami, the former editor of ultraconservative Ammaryoun website, was arrested in 2016 on charges of …

Security forces in Iran have closed major routes leading to historic Pasargadae, the site of Cyrus the Great’s tomb in anticipation of spontaneous gatherings of people to mark the annual commemoration of the first king of ancient Persian Empire. A gathering of an estimated 15,000 people at Pasargadae in 2016, on Cyrus Day. File photo In recent years as thousands …

Radiofarda – Hundreds of people suffering from respiratory problems have visited the medical centers in the city of Ahvaz in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, southwest Iran, after first seasonal rains that were mixed with air pollutants. Hundreds of people rushed to hospitals to get help for respiratory problems caused by acid rains. October 2019 “Out of 480 nearly 380 …

Radiofarda – The spokesman of Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday said in an interview that killing Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi “was not a big deal” and the extremist group had already been defeated by Iran and other regional powers. Abbas Mousavi told Iran’s state broadcaster, “We don’t regard such noisy American actions as extraordinary”, adding that these …

Al-Arabia – US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that the United States will increase economic pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. “We have executed on a maximum pressure campaign for sanctions. They have worked, they are working, they are cutting off the money,” Mnuchin said during a visit to Israel. He made the comments to reporters standing …

Iran-HRM – Iranian police have detained 52 men and women at a mixed-gender party in the northeastern city of Mashhad, the state-run ROKNA news agency has said. The party, illegal under Iranian law, was held on Thursday October 24, ROKNA reported. Chief Justice of Khorasan Razavi Gholam Ali Sadeghi was quoted as saying 29 men and 23 women were arrested. He said, “The women were …

RFL/RE – An Iranian lawyer representing two French researchers in custody in Tehran says that prosecutors have given no evidence to support the spying and security charges against them.The semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted lawyer Saeid Dehghan on October 28 as saying that Roland Marchal, a researcher at Sciences Po in Paris, was detained on security charges in June while …

RFL/RE – Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has ordered the country’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) to help put down anti-government protests that have rocked the country over the past weeks, Western news agencies are reporting.Mahdi on October 26 ordered CTS forces onto the streets of the capital, Baghdad, and the southern city of Nasiriyah and were told to “use all …

VOA – Thousands of students have joined Iraq’s anti-government protests, defying a government order and tear gas from security forces.  The students skipped classes at several universities and secondary schools in Baghdad and across the Shi’ite south on Monday to take part in the protests. The demonstrations are fueled by anger at corruption, economic stagnation and poor public services. In Baghdad’s …

gatestoneinstitute.org – European leaders, of course, who seem never to tire of sanctimoniously posturing on behalf of human rights, are meanwhile pursuing appeasement policies with a government that is called the world’s leading executioner and torturer of children — and others. Two 17-year-old boys, who apparently did not even did not even know about their death sentences, were flogged before …