Social and Political

radiofarda – Iran’s Guardian Council (GC) has rejected a bill passed by parliament on combating money laundering as part of the standards set by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF), GC’s spokesman said on Friday.

radiofarda – A protest rally against “financial corruption” held Thursday, August 16, at Iran’s major Shi’ite seminary in city of Qom, turned into a demonstration against President Hassan Rouhani.

radiofarda – Agents of the Islamic republic’s Ministry of Intelligence stormed the house of a prominent lawyer and human rights activist, Nasrin Sotoudeh, on Saturday, her husband has disclosed.

Al-Arabia – Senior leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are likely to split up and leave the country secretly, according to American expert Michael Pregent, a senior fellow in Hudson Institute.

Radiofarda – U.S. President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton will discuss arms control treaties and Iran’s role in Syria in talks with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev in Geneva next week, Reuters is reporting.

VOA – The Trump administration’s new special representative for Iran says his team will focus most of its work on changing Tehran’s behavior on issues of nuclear weapons, terrorism and detention of Americans.

CHRI – After several state officials called on President Hassan Rouhani to make Twitter accessible in Iran, a hardline judicial official has said doing so would be a “crime.”

Al-Arabia – The future of some Iranian newspapers is in limbo as they can’t afford paper, a new phenomenon stemming in part from US sanctions.

lobelog – As Iran’s domestic tensions in some regions are on the rise over water shortages and persistent drought, the country has another challenge to overcome: a dispute over transboundary waters with its South Asian neighbor, Afghanistan.

Al-Monitor – The United States is increasing its pressure on Iran at a time when the country’s Reform movement appears to be on its deathbed. Increasingly, the Reformist camp’s attempts to help overcome the national crises related to the failing economy and external pressure are deemed meaningless by many Iranians who have been responding to such efforts with anger and scorn.