Social and Political

Al-monitor – Speculation surrounding which film would represent Iran at the 2017 Academy Awards finally came to an end in mid-September with the selection of “The Salesman” by Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi. The movie was chosen by a committee of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. “The Salesman” won the best …

VOA – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro in a phone call that it was essential for oil-producing countries to decide to raise the price of oil and stabilize the market, Iranian state news agency IRNA said. Iran and Venezuela are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which agreed at an informal …

VOA – A U.S. journalist who was jailed in Iran for 18 months has filed a federal lawsuit against the Iranian government, claiming he was taken hostage and tortured in an attempt to extract concessions from the U.S. government. Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian said in the suit that he was targeted for arrest so Iran could gain negotiating leverage …

Iran Human Rights – In stark contradiction to recent remarks by judicial officials, Iran’s Judiciary Chief has declared that executions are a deterrent against drugs and has called on the quick implementation of drug-related death sentences. Iran’s head of Judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, recently said that the Judiciary has no plans to abolish the death penalty and called on Iranian judicial …

PayvandNews – The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says the Islamic Republic has sold 32 tons of heavy water to the United States and delivered 38 tons of the nuclear substance to Russia. “European firms, including German and French ones, seek to purchase Iran’s heavy water and we have expressed our readiness in this regard,” Ali Akbar Salehi told …

Radiozamaneh – Amir Tataloo, Iranian musician is till in jail after his second arrest on 23 Aug 2016 by Islamic Republic authorities without any clear announcements regarding the charges against him. by: Rouzbeh Hamid Sources linked to Tataloo have reported in their social media posts that the charge against him is “spreading corruption and indecency”. The reports add that he …

VOA – Iranian news reports say Tehran has built a new aerial attack drone similar to a U.S. military aerial vehicle captured five years ago after it entered Iranian airspace from the country’s eastern border with Afghanistan. The semiofficial Tasnim news agency said the “Saeqeh” (“Thunderbolt”) long-range drone is capable of hitting four targets with smart bombs with what it …

RFL/RE – The United States and European Union on September 30 called on Iran to free Narges Mohammadi, a journalist and activist whose 16-year prison sentence was recently upheld by Iranian courts. Mohammadi was arrested last year after launching a campaign to end the death penalty in Iran. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison in May for founding …

  Al-monitor — President Hassan Rouhani’s trips to New York have always been followed by some controversy inside Iran. On his first trip, which took place in September 2013, he ended up having a phone conversation with the US president. On his third trip, in September 2015, his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shook hands with President Barack Obama. AUTHOR Saeid Jafar However, Rouhani’s latest …