Social and Political

RFL/RE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to meet with newly installed U.S. President Donald Trump soon to discuss what he sees as the dangers from Iran and its “cruel” government. By Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari In a message posted on his Facebook page on January 21, Netanyahu said, “I plan to speak soon with President Trump about …

RFL/RE – Turkey’s deputy prime minister said it is no longer “realistic” to insist on a solution to the Syrian conflict that excludes President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey, which is co-sponsoring Syrian peace talks with Russia that begin in Astana on January 23, has previously acknowledged that Assad remains an important actor in Syria. But Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek’s remarks …

RFL/RE – Iranian officials say hopes are fading for finding survivors in the rubble of a 17-story commercial building that collapsed in Tehran on January 19 and is thought to have killed at least 20 firefighters. Esmail Najjar, chief of the city’s emergency services, said on January 20 that it is very unlikely anyone will be pulled out alive from …

Iranhumanrights.org – A survey of public opinion in Iran conducted in the last quarter of 2016 shows that even though a large majority of Iranians (75%) rated advancing democracy and protecting personal and civil rights among their highest priorities in 2015, 70% of Iranians said they were “dissatisfied” with their government’s handling of these issues in 2016. The results of …

Iranhumanrights.org – The Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned that Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi has called on President Hassan Rouhani to block access to Telegram, Iran’s most widely used messaging application, ahead of the upcoming presidential election scheduled for May 19, 2017. Rouhani has yet to respond to the request, an informed source told the Campaign, but …

Al-monitor – In death, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was able achieve something that had eluded him the last decade of his life: favorable coverage from Iran’s conservative and state-run media. Watching their effusive coverage of Rafsanjani’s funeral, one could easily forget that these outlets had spent the better part of the last decade committed to destroying the elder statesman’s …

Radiozmaneh – Head of Hormozgan Province Department of Justice announced that 32 managers and users of the instant messaging service, Telegram in the province have been arrested on charges of publishing profanity. Telegram is one of the only social media services that is not blocked by the Iranian government; however, conservative factions have repeatedly called for tightening of state control …

Al-Arabia – Hossein Mirdamadi, the uncle of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has addressed a warning to Khamenei through a public letter saying that social and political stability in Iran is at risk unless Khamenei reviews and modifies his current policies and practices. In the letter that was published on Thursday by “Kalima” website that is close to Iran’s …

Al-Arabia – Amnesty International declared that young people in Iran are exposed by the ruling regime in their country to a “systematic violence,” referring to the incident of flagellation of young people on charges of participating in mixed celebrations. Amnesty International condemned in a statement the physical violence sentences issued by Iranian courts against citizens, citing the example of the …

Al-Monitor – Iranians are outraged and saddened by the destruction of the country’s oldest high-rise, the Plasco building, which collapsed Jan. 19 after being engulfed by fire. The 17-story structure, completed in 1962, was the center of clothing production in Tehran. The presence of textiles may have led to the rapid spread of the flames along with building managers’ having ignored repeated warnings about the lack of adherence to fire …