Social and Political

Al-Monittor – Millions of Iranian viewers had to spend a Monday night without “90,” a wildly popular soccer show hosted by Adel Ferdowsipour, who is widely believed to have kept Iranians tuned to a national broadcaster that has been grappling with a serious audience crisis. Ferdowsipour’s debate-oriented program was starkly different from conventional Iranian TV shows, breaking away from common clichés and formalities. The show …

lobelog – Last week, the European Parliament joined the international outcry over the sentencing of Iranian human rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh to a long prison term by voting overwhelmingly for a resolution calling for her release. The European Parliament is particularly sensitive to the fate of Sotoudeh. It awarded her the Sakharov Prize in 2012, the EU’s highest human rights award, in recognition of her …

Radiofarda – There has been yet another signal from Islamic Republic officials that Tehran does not pin high hopes on the trade mechanism offered by European powers to help Iran continue trade, despite U.S. sanctions. The spokesperson of Iran’s foreign ministry, Bahram Ghasemi (Qassemi) told the local Young Journalists’ Club website on March 19 “You should not have hopes for …

Radiofarda – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with a joint Iraqi-Iranian military delegation headed by Chief of General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Baqeri and Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Armed Forces Gen. Othman Al-Ghanimi March 18 in Damascus. Iran’s Chief of Staff of Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, left, speaks during …

Radiofarda – An Iranian billionaire football club investor on trial for financial corruption is using the opportunity of the public proceeding to criticize the government. Business tycoon Hossein Hedayati insinuated in court March 18 that he had information relating to Iran’s financing of militant groups in the region. “They have branded me as an economic troublemaker for receiving secured loans. …

Al-Arabia – A senior US arms control official said on Tuesday that Iran’s missile program is destabilizing the Middle East and increasing the risk of a “regional arms race.”Yleem Poblete, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament that Washington would aggressively counter “Iran’s regional proliferation of ballistic missiles and its unlawful …

RFL/RE – A senior U.S. diplomat has told President Hassan Rohani that he should give Iranians jobs and employment instead of urging them to curse the United States for their country’s deteriorating economic situation. In a tweet in Persian on March 19, U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook, who sometimes responds to similar statements by senior Iranian officials, said: “In response …

VOA – An influential Iranian cleric says Iran might bring Shiite militias to the country from other parts of the Middle East to fight threats to the government.Musa Ghazanfarabadi, head of the Tehran Islamic Revolution Courts, told religious students in Qom this month that his government could use foreign fighters to crack down on potential popular uprisings in Iran. “If we …

HRW – There’s not much good news to share in Iran as Nowruz, the Iranian new year, approaches. The economic situation that played a role in nationwide protests during December 2017 and January 2018 is still difficult as millions of Iranians struggle to live a decent life. Inflation and perceptions of widespread corruption further fuel popular frustration, prompting dozens of …

Al-Monitor – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s recent landmark trip to Iraq was closely monitored and discussed from various aspects by the media and analysts around the world. Some observers put their focus on the bilateral aspect, talking about the importance of the visit in terms of Iran’s growing influence in Iraq, while others analyzed it within the context of Iran’s plans to overcome the US …