Social and Political

RFL/RE  – Turkey’s foreign minister has called on Iran to exert pressure on the Syrian government and its allies to stop violating a cease-fire in Syria. “Iran should reassert its authority over the Shi’ite militias and the regime in Syria,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency on January 4. Iran, along with Russia, is a key ally of …

Radiozamaneh – After the #SaveArash successful twitter campaign in support of Arash Sadeghi, Iranians are now showing solidarity with Ali Shariati, a reformist political prisoner who is serving a five-year sentence for taking part in a protest apposing serial acid attacks against women in Isfahan, Iran. Shriati is objecting his five year sentence which he says is illegal. His demands …

Al-monitor – After the Dec. 29 announcement that Russia and Turkey had reached an agreement on a nationwide cease-fire in Syria, the United Nations Security Council on Dec. 31 unanimously approved a resolution welcoming the new effort to help resolve the Syrian crisis. Such unanimous international support, together with the overall effective implementation of the cease-fire by the concerned parties on the ground since Dec. 30, …

PayvandNews – The World Bank says Iran’s foreign debts rose slightly in 2015 but were still significantly lower than 2011 when the country faced a series of US-led sanctions. World Bank’s “International Debt Statistics 2017” report: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/25697/9781464809941.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y A report by the World Bank titled “International Debt Statistics 2017” showed that Iran’s debts for 2015 stood at $6.32 billion. The figure …

PayvandNews – Iran’s media on Tuesday cheered as the Parliament voted to end a hefty housing project that President Hassan Rouhani had previously blamed for shooting up inflation to above 40 percent over the past years. The Parliamentarians in their debates over Iran’s Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2020-2025) voted to have Maskan Bank allocate the required funds for completing …

RFL/RE – A jailed Iranian activist has ended his hunger strike following his wife’s release from jail. Arash Sadeghi had reportedly refused to eat since October 24 to protest the arrest of his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi. Ebrahimi, a writer and human rights activist, told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda on January 3 that she had been temporarily released from prison on bail. …

RFL/RE – Iran has issued a list of 29 companies from Europe and Asia that have the government’s approval to bid for oil- and gas-development projects in the energy-rich country. The Iranian Oil Ministry said on January 3 that the National Iranian Oil Company will soon hold tenders for energy exploration and production, something made possible due to Tehran’s signing …

Al-Arabia – Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior foreign policy advisor to Iran Supreme Leader, hailed the “liberation” of Aleppo as the “victory of the victories,” during a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Muallem in Tehran, according to media sources. The top Syrian diplomat accompanied by special security advisor to Bashar al-Assad, Ali Mamlouk, held a series of meetings with …

Al-monitor – After a two-year delay, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s administration is preparing to implement its social housing program. The scheme aims to provide 570,000 residential units to households on low incomes or with special needs by the end of Iranian year 1400 (March 20, 2022). The proposal was approved Dec. 11 by the Infrastructure Commission, and it is now …

RFL/RE – President Hassan Rohani says that the exchange rates of the rial against foreign currencies “will not remain at current levels.” President Hassan Rohani has told Iranians the government will work to protect the country’s market stability amid a downfall in the Iranian currency to record lows. “I am optimistic about the country’s economic situation and…I want to reassure …