Social and Political

Iranwire – A magnitude 4.9 earthquake hit southern Iran on October 20, injuring at least seven people, local media reported. Minor material damage was reported in the quake, which struck at a depth of 10 kilometers near the city of Khan Zenyan, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Farhad Saadi, the director-general of Crisis Management in Fars province, said that …

Al-Monitor – The day after Hamas launched its surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, where scores of Israelis were killed and abducted by the Islamic militants in the south of the country, the Israeli government ordered the Tamar gas field shut down. The field is Israel’s second largest, holding some 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and is owned by Chevron, Dor Gas …

iranintl – Attendees at the funeral of Dariush Mehrjui and his wife, who are suspected victims of a state-sponsored crime, chanted anti-government slogans in Tehran on Wednesday. “Death to Khamenei”, and “Death to the perpetrator of this crime!”, chanted participants. Videos posted on social media also show many women not wearing the compulsory hijab and people chanting “Woman, Life, Freedom”, …

Iranwire – The EU parliament has awarded its prestigious Sakharov Prize to Mahsa Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom protest movement in Iran that was sparked by the death of the 22-year-old. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the 2023 laureate on October 19, saying that the chamber “proudly stands with the brave and defiant who continue to fight for equality, dignity …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities say they have arrested the “primary murderer” of renowned Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, semi-official media reported.  The 83-year-old Mehrjui and Mohammadifar were stabbed to death over the weekend in their home in Karaj, near Tehran. Mehrjui is known as cofounder of Iran’s film new wave in the 1970s that mainly …

Iranwire – Amnesty International has called on Iranian authorities to immediately release Johan Floderus, a Swedish diplomat working for the European Union who has been “arbitrarily” detained in Iran for a year and a half. Floderus was arrested while visiting Iran in April 2022 “amidst indications the Iranian authorities are holding him hostage…to compel Swedish authorities to swap him for a …

Iranwire – “I am a protester! […] I am a victim of [your injustice]…Who are you [to act] like ghosts behind curtains and issue orders [arbitrarily]?…Mr Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance! I can’t take this [injustice] anymore! I declare war against you and your organisation! Look! Here is my chest – Come and kill me! Destroy me! Do what …

VOA – French Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah has returned to France, her university said Wednesday, after being held for 4½ years in Iran in a case that prompted tensions between Paris and Tehran. Adelkhah was arrested in June 2019 and convicted on national security charges that her supporters have denounced as absurd.She was released from prison in February but remained …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Notably, some of the Arab and Muslim states and their leaders who are pointing the finger of blame at Israel have not hesitated to take punitive measures against Hamas when they themselves felt threatened… In the eyes of these rulers, it is fine for Arabs to punish Hamas, but it is not fine for Israel to respond to …

Al-Monitor — The Biden administration unveiled new measures Wednesday to counter Iran’s proliferation of missiles and drones, as well as its destabilizing regional behavior, following the lapse of the United Nations’ prohibitions on Tehran’s missile-related activities.  The administration announced sanctions on more than 20 individuals and entities based in Iran, Hong Kong, China, Venezuela and Russia that it said were providing …