Social and Political

Al-Arabia – The United States on Wednesday sanctioned an Iraqi company and two of its associates, which it said had helped Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-Quds force evade sanctions by smuggling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons. “Treasury is taking action to shut down Iranian weapons smuggling networks that have been used to arm regional proxies of …

Al-Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, said that “for 40 years, the Iranian regime has been spreading chaos, death and destruction, by sponsoring and financing terrorist organizations including the Houthis.” Referring to the Wednesday’s attack on the Abha International Airport in the Kingdom, he added that the targeting of Abha Airport by Iranian-backed Houthi militia …

RFL/RE – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that Iran will not repeat what he called a “bitter experience” of negotiating with the United States amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tehran on June 13. In remarks …

VOA – Two oil tankers were damaged in attacks Thursday in the Gulf of Oman, a strategic sea lane off the coast of Iran. The Norwegian Maritime Authority said three explosions were reported on the Norwegian-owned tanker Front Altair after a suspected attack on the Singapore-owned ship the Kokuka Courageous. The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet said it is …

Amnesty – More than a million people in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe have come together to express their outrage at the sentencing of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to 38 years and six months in prison and 148 lashes after two grossly unfair trials, Amnesty International announced today, as signatures demanding her release …

Al-Monitor – Not a day has gone by during the past two weeks in Iran without speculation about the Japanese premier’s visit to Tehran and the agenda of his talks with Iran’s leadership. The speculation has been fueled by reports that US President Donald Trump, during his May 27 trip to Tokyo, had embraced Shinzo Abe’s offer to help alleviate the tensions between …

AP — A hard-line Iranian newspaper has printed a front page image showing the mushroom cloud of a nuclear blast, meant to criticize the Japanese prime minister’s close ties with the U.S. ahead of his historic visit to Iran. The daily Farheekhtegan, or Educated, followed it up with a large headline in both English and Farsi, saying: “How Can You …

Radiofarda – The spokesman of Islamic revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has denied recent reports and rumors that several commanders have fled or have been arrested. (L to R) Muhammad Tavalaee, a former deputy of the Revolutionary Guard, Mostafa Rabiee, Ex IRGC Commander and Ali Nassiri, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards. File photos Ramezan Sharif was quoted Tuesday by IRGC-run …

Radiofarda – Iran’s military expenditures have been declining, writes Iranian military analyst Hossein Aryan in an analysis for Radio Farda’s Persian website based on data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The decline in Iran’s military spending comes against a backdrop of rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and these two countries as well as Qatar …

An Iranian version of Uber has triggered a heated debate over the country’s strict Islamic dress code for women known as the hijab. Snapp driver Said Abed a taxi driver after being hosted in prime time TV show in IRIB(June 10) A female passenger in Tehran complained on Twitter on June 6 about a Snapp taxi driver who had forced …