Social and Political

PayvandNews – There is growing uncertainty around the fate of the nuclear deal with Iran and, more broadly, intentions of the Trump administration regarding that country. Meanwhile, the world, including the American supporters of the agreement-also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)- increasingly looks to Europe to safeguard it. The stakes could not be higher. Not only …

PayvandNews – Reports say Iran has sent at least two supertankers to Europe in what appears to be the country’s first direct shipment of crude oil to EU clients after the removal of sanctions last year. A report by the Financial Times said two giant vessels called ‘Snow’ and ‘Huge’ were already on their way towards the storage and trading …

RFL/RE – Britain’s top diplomat says the West may have to rethink its long-standing demand that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down as part of any peace deal ending Syria’s civil war. “We were wedded for a long time to the mantra that Assad must go. We haven’t at any stage been able to make that happen,” Foreign Secretary Boris …

RFL/RE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes the election of U.S. President Donald Trump will end the world’s “deafening silence” on Iranian threats against the Jewish state and its citizens. Speaking to diplomats in Jerusalem ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 26, Netanyahu said that while anti-Semitism is on the rise everywhere, only Iran’s …

Al-monitor – Iran is in the grip of heated debate on whether homeless women who are addicted to drugs should be sterilized. The controversy began Dec. 27 after Shahrvand daily published images of homeless men and women sleeping in open graves in a cemetery near Shahriar, a small town in Tehran province. The story sent shockwaves across Iran and led …

Al-monitor – Various news outlets reported on Jan. 25 that US President Donald Trump plans to sign executive orders to restrict immigration and also suspend visas for citizens of Iran and six other Middle Eastern and African countries — at least temporarily. AUTHOR Rohollah Faghihi In response, prominent Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti has announced that she has decided to boycott …

PayvandNews – NIAC Action issued the following statement based on language of a reported Executive Order that President Donald Trump plans to sign. “Trump’s Muslim ban is real and even more draconian than many anticipated. Visa holders, dual nationals, and even green card holders from Muslim-majority countries may be barred indefinitely from the United States. Based on our analysis of …

Al-Arabia – Iranian website Jamaran published on Wednesday an interview with Ghoulam-Ali Rajai, former chairman and advisor to Iran’s former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died two weeks ago at the age of 82. In the interview, Rajai accused former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad quoting Rafsanjani of obstructing the agreement with Saudi Arabia. According to Rajai, Rafsanjani stressed, saying to …

Iranhumanrights.org – Less than three months into his new post as culture and Islamic guidance minister, Reza Salehi Amiri boasted about banning ten films from entering the Tehran Fajr International Film Festival, “in line with the policies of the supreme leader,” on January 19, 2017. “For the first time, we cut out films with feminist and inappropriate themes and supported 30 films …

Al-Arabia – When former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died Jan. 8, much was made of the absence of a message of condolence from Saudi Arabia. This was especially stark since Rafsanjani personally enjoyed good relations with many Arab leaders and had played a key role in the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement in the years after the end of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. Indeed, rulers …