Social and Political

Radiofarda – Ultraconservative Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati has been reelected as the Secretary of the influential Guardian Council of the Constitution (GCC).

Radiofarda – Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday China was “pivotal” to salvaging a multilateral nuclear agreement for the Middle Eastern country after the United States pulled out of the pact earlier this year.

Radiofarda – Sports are once again at the forefront of gender issues in Iran, highlighting the complicated position of women in Iranian society and sports. As part of support for the national soccer team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Iranian families were allowed to watch matches at Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

Radiofarda – Former Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has called upon U.S. President Donald Trump to release the names of top Iranian officials’ relatives who live in the United States or hold green cards.

Al-Arabia – On Sunday 15 July, speaking at the Reagan Presidential Library in California, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a scathing speech on “the regime’s revolutionary goals and willingness to commit violent acts”.

RFL/RE – Iran has launched major naval exercises in the Persian Gulf just days before the United States is due to start reimposing sanctions on Tehran, according to media reports citing U.S. officials.

VOA – Anti-government protests by Iranians fed up with their nation’s economic woes have spread to 10 major cities, posing the biggest challenge to Iran’s Islamist rulers since January’s nationwide demonstrations.

HRW – Activists Face Prolonged Detention, Threat of Torture

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Caspian Sea regions have always had abundant water resources, but they face a new threat as drought forces residents in the interior of the country to move north.

Al-Monitor – As a third day of protests erupted across major Iranian cities over the country’s worsening economic situation, the clergy in Iran is looking inward. Rather than only pointing the blame at US sanctions, the most senior clerics in Iran — often referred to as “grand ayatollahs” — are demanding that the administration and the judiciary take a harder line fighting …