Social and Political

Iran-HRM – At least 32 Azerbaijani activists arrested in the lead-up to an annual July protest at Babak Fort in East Azerbaijan province against discrimination targeting the Azeri minority.

Amnesty – Iranian authorities must carry out an impartial and thorough investigation into reports that security forces used unnecessary and excessive force, possibly including firearms, against generally peaceful protesters during the recent protests in Khuzestan province where people have been demanding clean and safe drinking water. They must ensure that anyone detained solely for peacefully exercising their right to peaceful …

Al-Arabia – The US Department of State published on its website a list of Iranian-sponsored terror acts in Europe during the last four decades,  between 1979 and 2018, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged European countries to confront the threat.

Al-Arabia – A Sunni preacher was shot dead in Khash, south of Iran, the Iranian Fars news agency reported.

Al-Arabia – Iran should make more effort to ensure stability in the Middle East and get along with its neighbors, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they may block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran Human Rights – According to the Iranian state media, Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, announced that cases of 1700 of the prisoners sentenced to death or life imprisonment for drug-related crimes in Tehran have been reviewed, while there are 1300 more requests which remain to be reviewed in the future. 

Al-Monitor – Parts of the Tehran Grand Bazaar, a traditionalist bastion in the heart of the Iranian capital, shuttered on June 25 in the wake of the significant currency devaluation and resulting high prices. The strike comes amid demands from mainly conservative political figures that President Hassan Rouhani resign due to his “inefficiency” and “mismanagement” of the economy. Yet, while the calls and …

Al-Monitor – As President Hassan Rouhani embarked on a European trip to salvage the nuclear deal, news broke that a Belgian couple of Iranian origin had been arrested for allegedly planning to attack a Paris gathering of a dissident group working to overthrow the Iranian government. Iran has not only denied the allegations but claimed that it was a “false flag” …

RFL/RE – An intense heat wave is shattering temperature records in Iran and the Caucasus nations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, causing power shortages that are adding to discomfort in the region.

Reuters – World powers and Iran appeared to make no concrete breakthrough on Friday in talks to provide Tehran with an economic package to compensate for U.S. sanctions that begin taking effect in August.