Social and Political

Radiofarda – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had separate telephone conversations with Britain’s foreign Secretary and the French foreign minister to discuss Iran, Syria and other issues. The Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department, Robert Palladino announcedthat Pompeo spoke with Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt o discuss countering Iranian malign behavior”, securing progress in Syria and “pursuing shared goal to …

Radiofarda – The U.S. Representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations and Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that Washington is looking forward “to concluding a comprehensive agreement with Iran that addresses the totality of our concerns”. Ambassador Jackie Wolcott told the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on March 5 that Iran should …

Radiofarda – A highly controversial proposal to transfer water from the Caspian Sea to the parched inland province of Semnan has reportedly been approved by Iran’s parliament, much to the chagrin of environmentalists and coastal residents. Visiting Semnan in December, President Rouhani, who was born in the province, insisted the problems with the project had been addressed and it would …

RFL/RE — European Union ambassadors have decided to leave sanctions imposed on dozens of Iranians accused of severe human rights abuses in place for another year. EU-nation envoys in Brussels made the decision on March 6, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal details of the discussions publicly The asset freezes …

VOA – The United States and rights activists are criticizing Iran for selecting as its new judiciary chief a conservative cleric allegedly involved in mass executions of dissidents in the 1980s. An Iranian judiciary spokesman confirmed in a Sunday news conference that Ebrahim Raisi will succeed another conservative cleric, Sadeq Amoli Larijani, as judiciary chief on Friday. Iranian media had …

VOA – The United States has sanctioned Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, a radical Muslim militia group of about 10,0000 fighters, as well as its leader Akram Kaabi, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday. Active in Iraq and Syria, Nujaba, which is known by various names including the “The Movement of the Noble Ones,” is also loyal to Iran. Reuters reported …

Amnesty – Wildlife conservationists in Iran who have been accused of espionage after using cameras to track endangered species could face the death penalty or more than a decade in prison, said Amnesty International, ahead of a verdict in their case in the coming days. The eight scientists, who are linked to the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, were arrested at …

CHRI – Prominent Human Rights Defender Was Facing Decades in Prison, Sentence Unclear The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) forcefully condemns the conviction of prominent Iranian defense attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh in a court process sorely lacking in international standards of due process. “No amount of spin will be able to conceal the fact that Sotoudeh is being persecuted for …

Al-Monitor — A 1970s building on Tehran’s Enghelab (Revolution) Avenue that ends in Azadi (Liberty) Square has recently been the site for a series of meetings on an unusual subject given Iranian social norms. Every Tuesday, experts and members of the public come together there to talk, sometimes heatedly, about sex. Since Dec. 4, “Forums on Sexual Crisis in Iran” has …

PayvandNews – Legend has it that once upon a distant past juncture, ZaHawk a mythological, tyrannical, unjust, and cruel despot, ruled over Persia. Confiscating an ambivalent hiatus with his absolute power, he crowned himself on the Persian peacock throne as if he was immortal and anointed by an imaginary vengeful supreme. He reigned with iron fist, suffocating people with hegemony and heavy …