Social and Political

Al-Arabia – New documents from Abbottabad, the Pakistani city where al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was hiding out, uncovered details of deep ties between Iran’s Khomeini regime and several armed “Salafists” groups. The US Central Intelligence Agency had seized documents in 2011 from Abbottabad that revealed ties between al-Qaeda and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The “Salafist” groups identified in …

RFL/RE – A fire at an oil refinery in the Iranian city of Abadan in southwestern Khuzestan Province has killed one person and injured 18. A report by Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency on June 28 said that the Abadan petrochemical complex caught fire at midnight on June 27 and that 10 of the injured were transferred to a hospital. …

VOA – Importers of Iranian oil are facing pressure from the United States to find another energy source or be hit with sanctions. The Trump administration is threatening other countries, including close allies such as South Korea, with the sanctions if they don’t cut off Iranian imports by early November, essentially erecting a global blockade around the world’s sixth-biggest petroleum …

Al-Monitor – Iranian hard-liners are euphoric as President Hassan Rouhani is under increasing pressure from public opinion and losing credibility among voters, given the dire condition of the economy. But this state did not emerge overnight; rather, it is the result of a combination of US President Donald Trump’s policies and the well-devised plans of Rouhani’s staunch opponents in Tehran. …

Al-Monitor – A man in handcuffs is standing in front of the camera, haltingly giving a first-person account of the pedophilia case that has shaken Iran for a month: “Four or five students came into my office. … I had some obscene images on my cell phone. … They saw them. … It was mostly a joke. … It only …

hrw.org – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities and the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) should ensure that women and girls can freely attend all future men’s sports matches in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 20 and 25, 2018, the authorities opened Azadi stadium’s doors to women and men to watch a live screening of the last …

voanews – UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.’s political chief said Wednesday that the Iran nuclear deal was at a “crossroads” after the U.S. withdrawal last month from the international agreement.

radiofarda – A member of the Iranian parliament has harshly criticized Bashar Assad of Syria and Vladimir Putin of Russia on June 27, saying that these two leaders will “soon sacrifice us” to Israel and the U.S.

radiofarda – The wave of protest and unrest in Tehran’s retail commercial centers this week highlighted the role of the bazaar in social and political change in Iran.

rferl.org – Iranian President Hassan Rohani in a fiery speech has blamed Washington for the country’s deepening economic problem, while nearly two-thirds of Iran’s legislators issued a letter demanding that he change his own economic management team.