Social and Political

Radiofarda – Former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticized “the closed circle of Iranian leadership,” in a strongly worded commentary on his website Dolat-e Bahar on March 7. Ahmadinejad says that the closed circle has reached “the last act of the show,” and “the powerful hand of the nation will break this rigid circle.” This is the harshest tone and …

Radiofarda – Iran’s prosecutor-general has officially called for those responsible for a ceremony celebrating Women’s Day in Iran to be prosecuted. Reportedly, the ceremony, during which a group of small girls jovially danced in front of a mixed-gender audience in Tehran, has deeply angered conservatives all over the country.

Radiofarda – As the fresh deadline set by US President Donald Trump to amend the Iran nuclear deal is approaching, three European allies, France, United Kingdom and Germany are eager to salvage the agreement. In doing so the Europeans have engaged in direct talks with the US; 3rd round of such talks is set to take place in Berlin Mid-March.

Iran-HRM – Iran’s top legal attorney general seeks to take action against organisers of a Women’s Day event in Tehran, after young girls were shown dancing on stage at the mixed gender festival held on March 7, according to the state-run ISNA news agency.

RFL/RE – Several women who had attempted to gather in Tehran to mark International Women’s Day have been detained, reports said. Women’s rights activists had announced that they would stage a peaceful protest outside the Labor Ministry in the Iranian capital on March 8 to call for more rights. “On this one day, out of an entire year, we as …

RFL/RE – The widow of an Iranian-Canadian environmentalist who died in a Tehran prison last month in disputed circumstances has been prevented from leaving the country, her two sons have said.

RFL/RE – Pakistan, Iran, and nations in the Middle East are among the countries that are least likely to have job opportunities for women, resulting in high rates of female unemployment there, the United Nations has found.

RFL/RE – An Iranian woman who removed her Islamic head scarf on a Tehran street has been sentenced to two years in prison, local media report.

VOA – A magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit southeast Iran on Wednesday evening, state media said. The epicenter of the earthquake was about 14 km (9 miles) away from the town of Kahnooj in Kerman province, state media reported. There were no immediate reports of any dead or injured, or any property damage. Two teams from the local chapter of the …

CHRI – Sadegh Zibakalam, a Tehran-based reformist political analyst and academic known for his criticisms of Iranian state policies, has been fined for telling a foreign newspaper that the majority of Iranians do not support the Islamic Republic.