Social and Political

PayvandNews –  Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran Air) signed a $16.6 billion deal to buy 80 passenger planes from U.S. aircraft maker Boeing, IRNA quoted Farhad Parvaresh, the managing director of the Iranian flag carrier as saying on Sunday. The deal, penned in the presence of Iran’s Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi, includes purchase of 50 narrow-bodied 737 …

RFL/RE – The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador in Tehran because of recent comments by British Prime Minister Theresa May about Iran. Ambassador Nicholas Hopton was summoned for talks in Tehran on December 10 to explain May’s comments at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Bahrain on December 7, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported. Iran state television …

VOA – Tensions between neighbors Turkey and Iran are on the rise, with the countries jostling for influence in war-torn Syria and Iraq. But there are concerns that the rivalry is fueling sectarian divisions in the region. The tensions could also open the door to cooperation with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Officially Ankara says it enjoys good neighborly relations with …

Radiozmaneh – Twenty four Iranian Baha’is who had been sentenced to heavy sentences ranging from 6 to 11 years for charges ranging from threatening national security to links to espionage, were acquitted from the charge that link them to enemy countries by the appeals court in Golestan Province. The unprecedented ruling comes after numerous human rights groups and activists have …

Al-monitor – During the lead-up to the 2013 Iranian presidential election, the earliest signs of Hassan Rouhani’s initially unanticipated victory came from a surprising source: high-quality polling conducted by Iranian pollsters. In the run-up to the presidential election in May 2017, all signs point to a greater availability of Iranian polling data than in the past. AUTHOR Matt Dabrowski ESOMAR …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani says cooperation among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is key to implementing a deal reached last week to cut production in a bid to boost slumping global prices, Iranian state TV reported. Oil prices have risen to more than $50 a barrel after members of the OPEC cartel on November 30 …

Iranhumanrights.org – Since its 1979 revolution, Iran’s Student Day has been marked with passionate speeches given in a less restrained political atmosphere on university campuses. But this year the government has tried to extinguish displays of political dissent by cancelling speeches that had permits while issuing them for “happy shows,” including musical concerts and stand-up comedy. On December 6, 1956, …

Al-monitor — Fluctuation in the value of the rial became a common occurrence in Iran during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and especially in the latter years. Foreign currencies would get more expensive by the day — and sometimes even by the hour. When Ahmadinejad first took office in 2005, the dollar traded for 8,200 Iranian rials. In the days …

PayvandNews – Iran has called for China to step up its economic relations with the country in the post-sanction era. “As China expanded its economic relations with Iran during the sanctions, the country fits for playing stronger role in the Iranian economy after the removal of the sanctions,” Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture Chairman Gholam-Hossein Shafeie said …

RFL/RE – The British government has distanced itself from comments made by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who accused Iran, Britain’s ally Saudi Arabia, and other Middle Eastern states of engaging in “proxy wars.” Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokeswoman Helen Bower said they are Johnson’s own views and do not reflect Britain’s policy on Saudi Arabia and its role in the …