Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Given that Iran’s alliance with Sudan came to an abrupt end in 2016, Iranian officials have opted for a diplomatic silence when it came to protests in the country over the last four months. However, among Iranian journalists and on social media, there has been a spectrum of reactions to the Sudanese military’s announcement that President Omar al-Bashir, …

Al-Monitor – While rotations and replacements of diplomats and ambassadors are usually routine administrative procedures, they sometimes can signify important policy shifts. The latter may be the case in Iran, where the country’s Foreign Ministry has in the past four months been replacing several heads of mission and representatives abroad. Tensions between Iran and the United States have in particular …

gatestoneinstitute – “The Yemeni revolution will not be confined to Yemen alone. It will extend, following its success, into Saudi territories.” — Iranian Lawmaker Ali Reza Zakani, trusted adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “If the Shia rebels gain control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Iran can attain a foothold in this sensitive region giving access to the …

Radiofarda – Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has once again defended eight Iranian environmentalists who have been in detention for more than a year, charged with vague accusations. Last February, DiCaprio called for international support and circulated a petition for the release of the Iranian environmentalists who were arrested by the intelligence organization of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, IRGC. In …

PayvandNews – Recent severe flooding damaged 110,000 houses in provinces of Lorestan, Golestan and Mazandaran, ISNA reported on Wednesday. Following heavy rainfalls in the country particularly in provinces of Golestan, Mazandaran, Lorestan, and Khuzestan as well as other provinces in western, southwestern, and northeastern Iran severe flood struck many cities and villages. Aftermath of floods in Pol-e Dokhtar, Iran’s Lorestan …

Radiofarda – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has threatened the U.S. with unveiling more advanced centrifuges after Washington designated Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization”. Speaking on April 9 at the ceremony for 13th National Day of Nuclear Technology in Iran, Rouhani addressed Washington, saying, “You were afraid of IR1 centrifuges, today we unveiled IR6, and if …

Radiofarda – Washington has stepped up the rhetoric against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, calling his Russia-backed government a threat to the United States and urging the world to recognize his opponent as the legitimate ruler of the oil-rich South American country. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on April 10 said the increased involvement of Russia, Iran, and Cuba in Venezuela …

Radiofarda – A member of Isfahan’s city council in Iran has been barred from attending council meetings for six months, for a social media comment he posted in support of a defender of the embattled Baha’i community. Mehdi Moghaddari published a comment on Instagram last September to voice support for two people in the city of Shiraz who had been …

Radiofarda – U.S. President Donald Trump will continue to increase pressure on Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told the Senate. “I can assure the rest of the world that President Trump will continue to ratchet up the pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran so that their behavior will change,” Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on …

Radiofarda – Iranian authorities have ordered residents of five districts of the southwestern city of Ahvaz to evacuate, as floodwaters entered Khuzestan Province’s capital, local media report.Provincial Governor Gholamreza Shariati said on April 10 that the evacuation order was a “precautionary and preventive move to avert any danger,” according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.The five districts have an estimated …