Social and Political

VOA – The Iranian government arrested, imprisoned or executed at least 860 journalists in the three decades between the Islamic revolution in 1979 and 2009, according to documents leaked to media monitoring group Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF).

Al-Monitor – With the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey slated to attend a new round of Syria peace talks within the Astana framework on Feb. 14, the relationship between Tehran and Moscow — two main allies of the Syrian government in its eight years of fighting against rebel and terrorist groups — is facing a new durability test, mostly due to the Israeli factor.

Al-Monitor – Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani set off a media firestorm by announcing that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for “structural reforms,” leading to speculation about the future of the government.

Radiofarda – One day after Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh complained that Iraq has not paid billions of dollars for its imports from Iran after the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, Iran’s Central Bank Governor told reporters that he has reached an agreement with his Iraqi counterpart about the payments.

Radiofarda – Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has voiced his support for eight environmentalists jailed Iran for more than a year on ambiguous charges of “spying”.

Radiofarda – U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, says Washington has no plan to extend waivers when the exemptions expire in May.

Radiofarda – In a series called “Forty Years, Forty Interviews,” Radio Farda’s Farhang Ghavimi is sitting down with 40 prominent Iranians who played a role in events leading up to the Islamic Revolution 40 years ago. In a recent episode he spoke with Amir Taheri, who was then the Editor-in-Chief of the Iranian mass-circulation daily Kayhan.

Al-Arabia- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday his country would be ready to establish “friendly relations” with the United States if it apologized for past wrongs.

Iran-HRM – The Director General of Ilam’s Welfare Organization announced that 98 marriages under 15 years of age have been recorded in the province during the past nine months.

RFL/RE – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has responded to criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump by declaring that the United States supports “dictators, butchers, and extremists” in the Middle East.