Social and Political

Al-Arabia – Farsi-speaking Iranians, not Iraqi forces, have been shooting at people during Iraq’s recent deadly protests, according to a protester interviewed in Baghdad by Reuters. “There is no work, you come to protest, they fire at you. Live gunfire. They are all Iranian speaking in Farsi. You want to speak to them they answer in Farsi. The Iraqis would not …

Al-Arabia – Lebanese Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general said on Thursday that aggression on Iran will not be limited to the Islamic Republic, but will affect the whole region given “the proliferation of American bases and the existence of Israel.”In an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera television, Naim Qassem said Saudi Arabia “is serving the US in its project against Iran,” …

Iran-HRM – At least 300 people, including children, are believed to have been infected with HIV in southwest province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari by health authorities using contaminated syringe, reports indicate. People in the village of Chenar Mahmoud in Lordegan, have pointed to medical negligence across the local health care system as the cause of the outbreak. According to locals, …

VOA – Iran and the United States have one month to get to the negotiating table, France’s foreign minister warned, suggesting that Tehran’s plan to increase its nuclear activities in November would spark renewed tension in the region. French President Emmanuel Macron attempted, but failed to broker talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New …

RFL/RE – A senior Iranian official says Tehran has foiled a plot by Israeli and Arab agencies to assassinate Major-General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Major-General Qassem Soleimani(source: Iranian daily Sazandegi) State media quoted Hossein Taeb, the IRGC’s security chief, as saying the plotters had planned to buy …

Radiofarda -Sigal Mandelker, the U.S. Treasury official who oversaw the Trump administration’s aggressive use of sanctions as a foreign policy tool, has resigned to return to the private sector, the U.S. Treasury secretary said on Wednesday. Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Mandelker allowed Treasury to play “an increasingly central role in national security matters.” “She is a fierce advocate for effectively …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called on revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commanders to prepare themselves for “big events.” Speaking to IRGC leaders who went to see him at the end of a 3-day national gathering of Revolutionary Guard commanders, on Wednesday October 2, Khamenei said: “Do not fear the enemy at all. Be alert and have thorough …

Al-Arabia – Two border crossings to Iraq, including one widely used by Iranian pilgrims, have been closed because of unrest in Iraq, the semi-official news agency Mehr quoted Iran’s border guards commander as saying on Thursday.General Qasem Rezaei said the Khosravi and Chazabeh crossings had been closed since late Wednesday, Mehr reported. Anti-government protests have turned violent in recent days in …

Al-Arabia – More than 20 ships carrying around one million tons of grain are stuck outside Iranian ports as US sanctions create payment problems and hamper the country’s efforts to import vital commodities, sources directly involved in the trade said. Trading companies such as Bunge and China’s COFCO International have been hit by payment delays and additional costs of up …

Iran-HRM – The State Security Force attacked and detained villagers in the Kordmir Village of Chardangeh, protesting a 14 year old landfill in the northern village of Chahardangeh. Residents of the village located in the city of Sari, Mazandaran Province were violently beaten and detained during Tuesday’s Chahardangeh landfill protests. Local sources said that security forces used tear gas to …