Social and Political

Reuters – The United States and its negotiating partners agreed “in secret” to allow Iran to evade some restrictions in last year’s landmark nuclear agreement in order to meet the deadline for it to start getting relief from economic sanctions, according to a report reviewed by Reuters. By Jonathan Landay The report is to be published on Thursday by the …

WSJ — British Airways plans to resume flights to Tehran Thursday evening, the latest restored link between the West and Iran since the lifting of nuclear sanctions in January. A Boeing 777 wide-body jetliner is scheduled to take off from London around 9 p.m., bound for Tehran, the first flight into Iran by the airline since 2012. It suspended service …

RFL/RE – The United States has carried out its part of the Iranian nuclear deal, but unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran have remained in place and are a “big hindrance” for Tehran, a top Russian diplomat told TASS. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who is visiting Tehran, told TASS on August 31 that the U.S. administration has implemented “from …

RFL/RE – Iran says it arrested an Iranian-American dual citizen in late July on charges of plotting against national security and collaborating with hostile governments. Mizan Online, the judiciary news agency, said on August 31 that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps arrested the person in the province of Golestan. The report, which did not name the suspect, appeared to be …

RFL/RE – Iranian state media reports say a retired Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) general has been killed while battling against Islamic militants in northern Syria. The Fars news agency, which is closely affiliated with the IRGC, reported on August 31 that General Ahmad Gholami was killed on August 30 while fighting against Sunni militants in Aleppo. The report did …

Al-monitor – A conservative Iranian news agency reported Aug. 23 that Abdol Rasul Dori Esfahani, the nuclear negotiator in charge of banking affairs, was arrested for selling economic information to the intelligence agencies of foreign countries. The unconfirmed report cited comments by the Tehran prosecutor that a dual national had been arrested, whom many believed was a British-Iranian national. Days …

Al-monitor — Most economists and monetary policymakers in Iran have been supportive of getting rid of the country’s dual foreign exchange rate system by as soon as March 20, 2017, when the current Iranian fiscal year comes to an end. However, there appears to be a gulf between what the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) wants to do and what …

Washington Post – The head of U.S. Central Command warned Iran against provocative naval maneuvers on Tuesday, saying that operations by “rogue” Iranian commanders could result in direct U.S.-Iranian military engagement. “I think the big concern here is miscalculation,” Gen. Joseph Votel told reporters at the Pentagon. “I am concerned about rogue commanders, rogue Iranian Quds force naval commanders who …

Iranhumanrights.org – Suspected state-sponsored hackers have intensified their attempts to break into the online accounts of Iranian rights activists in recent weeks by exploiting security vulnerabilities in Android smartphones, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned. On August 11, 2016 an unknown person sent a message on Facebook to a prominent Iranian political activist living in Paris …

PayvandNews – The Motorcycle and Automobile Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (MAFIRI) has allowed the Iranian women to take part at the motocross race. Mahmoud Seydanlou, the head of Iran’s Motorcycle and Automobile Federation, paid tribute to the motorcyclists women at the Azadi complex motocross race in Tehran. “We hope to see the Iranian women in the country’s …