Social and Political

Radiofarda – Islamic Republic’s Intelligence Ministry announced on Thursday the arrest of 13 “elements” of the Islamic State group who it said had plans to launch “military” operations in Iran’s Western Kurdistan province.

Radiofarda – One year ago, the quiet, upper-class Tehran neighborhood of Golestan Haftom became a war zone.

RFL/RE – Iran on February 22 opened large-scale naval drills at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, state media reported, adding that the maneuvers will feature submarine cruise-missile launches for the first time.

VOA – The brother of an Iranian environmentalist says Iranian authorities have detained the activist in an apparent continuation of a wave of arrests of environmentalists in western Iran in recent months.

VOA — The commander of the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened Saudi Arabia with revenge over a suicide bomb attack in southeastern Iran on Feb. 13 that killed 27 Guards members, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.

Amnesty – The Iranian authorities must immediately halt plans to execute three young men who are on death row for crimes that took place while they were under the age of 18, said Amnesty International.

Iran Human Rights – IHR has published a report on the situation of Iranian human rights defenders in 2018.

IHR –  Iran must immediately halt the imminent execution of child offender Mohammad Kalhori, say a group of UN human rights experts in a statement published today.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Juvenile offender Mohammad Kalhor who is sentenced to death for murdering his teacher at the age of 15, is at imminent danger of execution. His death sentence can be carried out in the coming days despite several reports by medical experts testifying that Mohammad was mentally unfit and suffered from depression at the time of the …

CHRI – News of an 11-year-old girl in the Iranian city of Ilam being repeatedly raped after being illegally married off to a man four times her age has renewed protests by some members of Parliament against the law that allows child marriage.