Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Images of a controversial administrative order went viral across Iranian social media in recent days, enraging large sections of the country’s religious minorities. The internal document, a letter, announced new regulations at kindergartens operated by Iran’s Rehabilitation Organization. “Recruitment of religious minority members for any position at kindergartens is illegal unless those centers are exclusively hosting children of religious minorities,” the letter states, …

Al-Monitor – In Iran, hard-liners have recently intensified their attacks on former judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani. An unpopular figure among almost all of the political currents, Larijani was in December appointed chairman of the Expediency Council, which is tasked with resolving disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council. During his tenure as judiciary chief, Larijani tolerated little …

Radiofarda – Iranian politicians affiliated with various political factions have been speaking against negotiations with the United States in recent days. Some Iranian officials say there could be no talks with the United States until sanctions are lifted. In one of the latest remarks in this regard, Iran’s powerful hardliner Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi has said on Monday June 3 …

Radiofarda – The lawyer for a Lebanese man held in Iran since 2015 said Monday that his client will be released in the “next few days.” Majed Dimashkiyeh told The Associated Press that Nizar Zakka’s expected release comes after mediations by top Lebanese officials, including President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Aoun is a close ally of Hezbollah, …

Radio Farda – Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says the Islamic Republic of Iran transfers $700ma year to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Celebrating Jerusalem Day on Sunday, June 2, Netanyahu said: “Every year, Iran’s foreign Ministry transfers over $100m under diplomatic cover, by seemingly innocent means, to Lebanon and from there to Hezbollah.” Speaking at a ceremony in Ammunition Hill in …

RFL/RE – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Syrian-Russian “military alliance” of using a “cocktail of internationally banned and indiscriminate weapons” in attacks on civilians in northwestern Syria. Since April 26, hundreds of attacks have been carried out every day in areas controlled by anti-government groups in Idlib, Hama, and Aleppo provinces, killing an estimated 200 civilians, including children, …

gatestoneinstitute.org – The new book, a sort of biography, was originally written in Arabic under the title “En Ma’a al-sabr fathan” (“Patience Leads to Victory”) but has just come out in Persian translation under a pseudo-poetical title, “The Drop of Blood That Became a Ruby”. The “Supreme Guide,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recalls his “passion for reading famous Iranian and world …

Al-Monitor – The recently intensified US pressure on Iran is, according to many observers, bridging the gap between the country’s rival political camps. But on the ground, signs indicate otherwise. Indeed, Iran’s multilayered politics remains plagued by fundamental internal strife — and the US pressure is exacerbating it.  Calls for unity from Iranian politicians have in recent months grown louder …

Al-Monitor — In a sign of President Donald Trump’s growing impatience with stalled nuclear diplomacy with Iran and North Korea, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo generated headlines when he offered Sunday to hold talks with Iran without any preconditions, even as he subsequently insisted that the position was not a new one. “We’re prepared to engage in a conversation with …

Al-Monitor – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made headlines June 2 when he said that the United States is ready to negotiate with Iran with “no preconditions.” Pompeo added that the Donald Trump administration simply wants Iran to act like a “normal nation.” The United States unilaterally reneged on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA) between Iran, the five permanent members of …