Social and Political

RFL/RE – President Hassan Rohani said on August 6 that Tehran favors talks with the United States if it lifts sanctions against Tehran.Tensions have risen between Iran and the West after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 landmark nuclear agreement which curbed Tehran’s atomic program in return for an easing of economic sanctions.In remarks on state television, …

RFL/RE – Tehran has told the European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal that it would further reduce its compliance with the accord if they don’t provide relief from U.S. sanctions that have crippled the oil-rich nation’s economy.Signatories Britain, France, and Germany have so far failed to prevent U.S. Donald Trump from trying to unilaterally force Iran to limit its …

RFL/RE – Britain says it is joining the United States in an “international maritime security mission” to protect merchant vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping line that connects the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.“The U.K. is determined to ensure her shipping is protected from unlawful threats,” Defense Minister Ben Wallace told reporters on August 5.“We …

RFL/RE – An Iranian lawmaker has welcomed a court ruling stating that police should issue an unidentified woman in the central city of Isfahan a motorcycle license.“Certainly, the ruling issued by the Court of Administrative Justice is based on existing laws and we all must abide by the law,“ Faride Oladghobad told the semiofficial ISNA news agency on August 5, …

VOA – At a global press freedom conference last month, BBC chief Tony Hall made a point of praising journalists in his network’s Persian service for standing up to repeated harassment by Iran.  “I want to pay tribute again to their resilience, of them and their families, in the face of years of concerted intimidation,” Hall said at the London …

Radiozamaneh 0 Several Iranian teachers have gathered in protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Tehran and several other cities. Teacher’s Protest in front of the Ministry of Education. In Tehran, dozens of contractual teachers gathered in front of the Ministry of Education for the second day on Monday 5th of Aug, demanding permanent contracts. The spokesperson of the …

HRW – Iran’s latest crackdown on women has taken place in the quiet of a courtroom. On July 31, a court in Tehran sentenced three women – including a mother and daughter – to prison for protesting laws that make wearing a hijab compulsory. The three are among dozens arrested in the past two years for defying the government’s mandatory …

gatestoneinstitute.org – It seems, then, that for Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the ceasefire understandings, reached under the auspices of Egypt and the UN, are meant to give the Gaza-based groups a chance to continue building their military capabilities without having to worry about Israeli retaliatory measures. Iranian media quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as expressing satisfaction over the “progress” the Palestinians …

Radiofarda – Iraq’s oil ministry announced on Sunday it has no connection with an oil tanker seized by Iran and claimed to be smuggling oil, Iraqi media reported. Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said that it has seized an oil tanker smuggling oil in the Persian Gulf. Since then Iran has maintained silence. According to the Iranian …

Radiofarda – While many Iranians on social media are complaining about what they believe is Iran’s unfair share of the Caspian Sea, the spokesman for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed “speculations” about the legal regime of the Caspian Sea as “untrue.” The speculations and criticism of the Iranian government for compromising “Iran’s rights” started on 29 …