Social and Political

PayvandNews – Iran’s best startups will compete to represent the country at the Seedstars World Global Summit and win up to $500,000 in equity. Seedstars Tehran: September 15, 2016 www.seedstarsworld.com/event/seedstars-tehran-2016 Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, is returning to Tehran on September 15, 2016 to host a startup competition at the Incubator …

Al-monitor – When the website of late Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri posted an audio recording of his objections to the execution of thousands of people, mostly members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) in the late 1980s, it revealed little new information beyond what had been printed in Montazeri’s autobiography. One thing the recording does confirm, however, is the identities of the …

Al-monitor  — News of Russian warplanes flying missions from an air base in Iran’s western province of Hamedan first made headlines Aug. 15. The Arab outlet Al-Masdar News scooped the development, publishing exclusive footage of Russian TU-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 strike fighters in the Islamic Republic. Soon afterward, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it was launching attacks against Islamic State …

VOA – Iran called Wednesday for a quick end to Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria, saying the continued presence of Turkish forces will only escalate the conflict. Turkey launched the offensive last week targeting Islamic State militants as well as U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters that the Turkish government considers linked to Kurdistan Workers’ Party rebels at home. Clashes between the …

Iranhumanrights.org – High Number of False Arrests Would Require Large Payout More than a year after Iran’s new Code of Criminal Procedure went into effect, the Judiciary is resisting implementing Article 255, which grants individuals the right to sue the government and seek damages for false arrests. According to Article 258, the National Criminal Compensation Commission (NCCC)—consisting of the chief justice of …

Al-monitor — Before the July 2015 nuclear deal, most banking and finance headlines about Iran concerned individuals or banks being fined or coming under investigation for allegedly violating US sanctions. These days, news of banks and financial institutions working with Iran no longer necessarily raise eyebrows. However, an Iranian minister’s recent inference that MasterCard services will become available to Iranians has caused a stir. …

Al-monitor – According to an Iranian news outlets, Tehran’s City Council is caught up in a corruption scandal involvingTehran real estate. Memari News reported Aug. 27 that it had acquired documents showing that 1,100,000 square meters of government-owned property, including apartments and villas, had ended up in the possession of various individuals, including government officials, sometimes sold at a 50% discount. AUTHOR: Arash Karami According to …

VOA – The Iranian government’s launch of a “United Shia Liberation Army” is sending signals that Tehran wants to expand its political and military role in Middle East conflicts along sectarian lines, analysts say. “Using a sectarian Shi’ite identifier with the title of the new army will inflame sectarian tensions in the region,” Talha Abdulrazaq, a researcher at the University …

Retuers – Iran’s military detected a U.S. drone entering Iranian airspace on Monday and issued a warning for it to leave, which it subsequently did, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. “Iran’s army air defence detected and warned an American drone in the eastern airspace of the country. It was coming from Afghanistan. The drone left the area,” Tasnim quoted the …

RFL/RE – Iranian officials say they have deployed a new Russian-made long-range missile system to protect its Fordo nuclear facility. General Farzad Esmaili, the commander of Iran’s air defenses, told the state IRIB channel on August 28 that protecting the country’s nuclear facilities is paramount “in all circumstances.” He added that “today, Iran’s sky is one of the most secure …