Social and Political

voanews – Iranian-backed proxies have attacked U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria at least 150 times since President Joe Biden took office, two U.S. defense officials tell VOA. More than a third of those attacks have occurred in the last month, marking a clear surge in violence against U.S. forces in the region. Asked on March 28 about the number …

voanews – The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on six people affiliated with the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataeb Hezbollah, which is accused of being behind a spate of recent attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. Included in the sanctions are the militia’s foreign affairs chief, a member of its governing council, its military commander and a media …

iranintl – A UN General Assembly committee has slammed Iran for discriminating against and harassing women and girls, in addition to a host of other human rights violations. The Third Committee of the 78th General Assembly approved a resolution entitled “Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran” by a vote of 80 in favor to 29 against. Another 65 countries, …

BERLIN —  voanews – German police raided 54 locations across the country on Thursday in an investigation of a Hamburg-based center suspected of promoting Iranian ideology and supporting the activities of Hezbollah, the government said. The Interior Ministry said the Islamic Center Hamburg, or IZH, has long been under observation by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. It said the activities of …

iranintl – The Iranian regime continues its crackdown on dissidents, targeting women’s rights, labor and union activists, environmentalists, and religious minorities in recent weeks. In the past week alone, there have been reports of the arrests of two female former political prisoners in Tehran, two female environmental activists and journalists as well as two female writers, and a female animals …

iranintl – An ultraconservative lawmaker in Iran has initiated an impeachment against the foreign minister citing inaction by the diplomatic service before the Saudi authorities. In a document disclosed by Tehran’s Jamaran news website, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh-Meshkini criticized the “weakness in playing a central and effective role” in addressing the Gaza conflict. He expressed the expectation that Iran’s Foreign Ministry, being …

RFL/RE – The Tehran Prosecutor’s Office says it has charged 40 people over a deadly fire at the notorious Evin prison in October 2022. Prosecutor Ali Salehi made the announcement on November 14 but gave no further details. Eight prisoners were killed in the blaze, which officials said was caused during a fight between inmates. However, activists are skeptical of …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have arrested 300 men and women for participating in a mixed-gender party in the northeastern city of Shahrud. The deputy police commander of Semnan province, Ali Mirahmadi, said that security forces raided a party venue on the outskirts of the city on November 14 and found that the participants engaged in “rule-breaking behavior.” Mirahmadi also stated …

Iranwire – Iranian-Canadian activist Hamed Esmaeilion emerged as a key opposition figure to the Islamic Republic following the eruption of nationwide protests sparked by the September 2022 death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. In October last year, he co-organized a rally in Berlin that was joined by up to 100,000 Iranian exiles, in a formidable show of solidarity with …

Iranwire – The United States has imposed a third round of sanctions aimed at Palestinian terrorist group Hamas following its attack on Israel last month, targeting its leaders and “the mechanisms by which Iran provides support to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).” “Iranian support, primarily through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has enabled Hamas’s and PIJ’s terrorist activities, …