Social and Political

Al-monitor – On April 20, Iranian conservative presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi met with visiting Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov — an encounter that Raisi probably did not expect would end up causing problems ahead of the May 19 presidential elections. AUTHOR Rohollah Faghihi The hard-line Tasnim News Agency, which is seen as backing Raisi and reported the meeting, described Minnikhanov as an envoy of …

PayvandNews – The seventh meeting of the Iran-P5+1 Joint Commission, which monitors the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, has been convened in the Austrian capital of Vienna. One of the key issues that the participants were scheduled to discuss was Iran’s request to purchase 950 tonnes of concentrated uranium, also known …

ABC – A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer fired a warning flare toward an Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel coming near it in the Persian Gulf, an American official said on Wednesday, the latest tense naval encounter between the two countries. The incident happened Monday as the vessel attempted to draw closer to the USS Mahan despite the destroyer trying to turn away from …

Bloomberg – President Donald Trump personally intervened to inject tougher language into a State Department letter to Congress last week that found Iran was in compliance with the deal limiting its nuclear program, according to an administration official familiar with the matter. The letter to Congress from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson certified that Iran is complying with terms of …

Al-Arabia – Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi approved executing thousands of prisoners in 1988 when he was member of the commission of death that was tasked with eliminating political prisoners who opposed the regime. According to the Iranian opposition, the authorities executed between 3,500 and 15,000 political prisoners in 1988. The majority of those killed were members of the People’s …

CHRI – The Guardian Council’s attempt to ban religious minorities from running in Iran’s nationwide local council elections on May 19, 2017 is unlawful and infringes on their constitutional rights, a former reformist member of Parliament told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). Ahmad Shirzad, who represented Isfahan in the sixth parliamentary session (2000-04), said the Guardian Council is …

Al-monitor – According to a recent survey released by the polling firm IranPoll, incumbent Hassan Rouhani remains popular just as Iran’s presidential campaign kicks into high gear. But Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Rouhani’s chief rival from the last presidential election in 2013, is also well regarded by voters. Does the poll, which was conducted April 11-14, set the stage for a …

Al-monitor – As Iran approaches its May 19 presidential elections, the conservative candidates — who are determined to unseat incumbent moderate Hassan Rouhani — are making new campaign pledges to attract votes. AUTHOR Rohollah Faghihi Opponents of Rouhani have been focusing on unemployment and people’s livelihoods, saying Rouhani has been wholly unable to solve the economic hardships many ordinary Iranians are facing. Conservative …

theguardian- Of all the places one might encounter Shirin Ebadi, Tallahassee should not be one. I was to meet her in the state capital of what is officially known as America’s sunshine state, but is more widely regarded as America’s weirdest state. Ebadi was in Florida for PeaceJam, which connects Nobel peace prize laureates with youth. But I found it hard to imagine …

RFL/RE – U.S. prosecutors said they will show that a Turkish-Iranian gold trader coordinated an illegal scheme to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions with people at “high levels” in Turkey and Iran. During a pretrial hearing in a Manhattan district court on April 24, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Lockard said he would prove that Reza Zarrab and his co-conspirators offered …