Social and Political

PayvandNews – One Mideast player in particular looks likely to benefit from the travesty playing out between Turkey and the Syrian Kurds.  Because it has close ties to both Damascus and Ankara, Iran was in an awkward position when Turkish forces entered Syria last week to attack the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Ankara considers factions of the SDF to be affiliated with terrorists, though the SDF has …

PayvandNews – Reports in the Iranian media shows a female captain and her co-pilot have flown a passenger plane, a first in the history of the country’s aviation industry. The reports published on Tuesday showed photos of the two pilots taken from the social media showing them before and after the two-way flight between the capital Tehran and the second …

Radiofarda – Students at the University of Tehran today protested during a speech by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, demanding cancellation of prison terms for their peers. Students protest during Iranian President’s speech at Tehran University. October 16, 2019 Several university students have received a total of 100 years in prison for having participated in anti-government protests since 2017. Iranian universities, …

Reuters – (Exclusive)- The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran in the wake of the Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran, two U.S. officials have told Reuters.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place in late September and took aim at Tehran’s …

Radiofarda – The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently proven how much damage it can cause without having access to high-tech military equipment and formal arms markets. The past few months are indeed instructive. Under a slashed defense budget and outmatched in terms of regional military spending, Iran still managed to turn-up the heat without inviting kinetic reprisal. Western powers and Saudi Arabia have …

Radiofarda – The Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic (SCI) has dismissed a lower court verdict against a conservative politician and former Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander. Iranian MP Salman Khodadadi (L), who’s been accused of sexual misconduct, and one of his alleged victims Zahra Navidpour. Salman Khodadadi, 57, was sentenced to two years’ exile, a two-year ban on serving …

Radiofarda – A prominent member of the Iranian Parliament (Majles) has expressed concern that Iranian intelligence officials might use a man arrested on charges of running an anti-regime social media platform to level incriminating accusations against innocent people. A screengrab from video shown on Iran state television showing Rouhollah Zam apologizing to the regime. October 14, 2019 In an interview …

Al-Arabia – France said on Wednesday that Iran must refrain from a new phase of “particularly worrying” reductions to its nuclear commitments. “Iran must abstain from crossing an especially worrying new phase of new measures that could contribute to an escalation in tensions,” French foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll told reporters in a daily briefing.She was responding after …

Al-Arabia – Russian journalist Yulia Yuzik who was detained earlier this month in Iran has confirmed that she was charged with spying, refuting Iranian claims that she was charged with a visa violation instead. In an interview with Radio Farda, Yuzik said that she was charged with “spying for Israel and cooperating with its intelligence agencies.”Media reports had said that the …

RFL/RE — Majority state-owned Turkish bank Halkbank has been criminally charged in an indictment for involvement in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran.Prosecutors in New York on October 15 alleged the bank had protection from high-level Iranian and Turkish government officials as it engaged in widespread fraud and money laundering using a vast, complex network of front companies to …