Social and Political

Al-Arabia – The US State Deparment released a statement on Monday revealing that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al- Jubeir discussed the need for continued regional efforts to stand against the Iranian regime’s malign activity and to advance peace, prosperity, and security.

Al-Arabia – Brian Hook, the US Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State, was in Abu Dhabi as part of Mike Pompeo’s delegation touring eight nations across Gulf and Middle East. Hook sat down with Al Arabiya English for an exclusive conversation. Here is the entire interview:

Iran-HRM – Iranian security forces secretly buried the body of Zahra Navidpour at a cemetery in a small village. Reports indicate that security forces smuggled out the body of Zahra Navidpour from the coroner’s office before an autopsy is done and secretly buried her in the village of Tazeh Qaleh.

RFL/RE – A British-Iranian mother detained in Tehran is set to begin a three-day hunger strike in protest against being denied specialist medical care, her husband says.

RFL/RE – A cargo plane coming from Kyrgyzstan has crashed near the Iranian capital, with the country’s military saying only one person of the 16 on board survived.

RFL/RE – President Donald Trump’s national security team asked the Pentagon last autumn for possible options to strike Iran in response to an attack on an area in Baghdad where the U.S. Embassy is located, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Al-Monitor – The reimposition of US sanctions on Iran has created many difficulties for Iranian students who are studying abroad — including in Europe. The root of these hardships seems to be European companies’ fear of potential US penalties.

Radiofarda – President Hassan Rouhani’s cultural advisor says the potential for urban protests still exists in Iran, since its causes have not yet been dealt with.

Radiofarda – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticised Poland on Friday for jointly hosting a global summit with the United States focused on the Middle East, particularly Iran, calling it a “desperate anti-Iran circus”.

Radiofarda – The Syrian state news agency said Israeli warplanes fired a number of missiles toward the Damascus area on Friday, triggering Syrian air defenses that shot down most of them.