Social and Political

VOA – An American-owned oil tanker long suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil began offloading its cargo near Texas late Saturday, tracking data showed, even as Tehran has threatened to target shipping in the Persian Gulf over it. The fate of the cargo aboard the Suez Rajan has become mired in the wider tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic, …

RFL/RE – Iranian police have accused 12 women’s rights activists arrested earlier this week of “acting against national security” by planning and coordinating events ahead of the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, who died while in police custody, sparking a year of nationwide unrest. The police commander of Gilan Province and the Gilan Intelligence Department accused the activists of “communicating …

Iranwire – It has been almost a year since the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement started with unprecedented nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Islamic Republic’s morality police.  Since then, we have witnessed fundamental changes in the demands of Iranian society, the methods of struggle and the relationship between the people and the government. …

Iranwire – Dozens of mostly women staged two rallies in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz in recent days to protest the shrinking of Lake Urmia, one of the world’s largest salt lakes.  The first protests took place in front of the Natural Resources Department in Tabriz on August 12, and the second was held two days later outside the …

Iranwire – Branch 37 of the Court of Appeals of Fars province has upheld the initial sentence against Hoshidar Zarei, a Baha’i resident of Shiraz and a provincial judo champion. In July, the Shiraz Revolutionary Court issued a one-year prison sentence for Zarei on the charge of “propaganda activity” against the Islamic Republic and five years for “engaging in activities …

gatestoneinstitute.org – The Biden Administration has destabilized the Middle East, launched a potential international nuclear arms race, incentivized global terrorism, increased American taxpayers’ funding both sides of the Ukraine war, crushed even further a people fighting for their freedom and appeased yet another rogue regime — after Afghanistan, China and Venezuela – this time one that the US State Department …

Al-Monitor — A group of Republican senators say unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets to secure the release of five Americans sets a bad precedent and will only encourage more hostage-taking, even as the Biden administration says the unlocked funds could be used only for humanitarian purposes.    The mounting congressional criticism of the deal announced last week could complicate an already …

iranintl – Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei has praised the Revolutionary Guard while their loyalty and power to quash dissent will be put to test once again during possible protests. In a meeting with a group of senior IRGC officers and Basij paramilitary leaders on Thursday, Khamenei described the Revolutionary Guard as “the largest counter-terrorist organization in the world,” while international calls to designate the group as a terrorist outfit have been echoing across the political …

RFL/RE – Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Jeddah in the highest level talks since the countries reconciled after years of bitter rivalry that destabilized the region. The unscheduled meeting on August 18 comes a day after Amir-Abdollahian arrived in the kingdom and declared that ties between the countries were “on the …

Iranwire – In recent days, a number of developments within the realm of Iranian cinema has captured the attention of its ardent audience. These developments had in common the civil disobedience exhibited by filmmakers against government-imposed constraints. One of the most notable cases is the ongoing legal battle over the film “Tafrigh,” which was banned from release by the Ministry …