Social and Political

gatestoneinstitute.org – “It is unacceptable that a U.S. government program, which makes the United States and its allies safer, provides funds to remediate the victims of terrorism, and generates income for the United States in a cost-effective manner has been allowed to languish. United States sanctions should be enforced to the fullest extent of the law. As Iranian oil sales …

Iranwire – Iran’s most prominent Sunni cleric has slammed the way elections are being conducted by the Islamic Republic, saying they have led to the election of “weak managers.”  Molavi Abdulhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of the south-eastern city of Zahedan, said on May 12 that the Iranian people want “free and fair elections, not the type that is being …

VOA – The United States said Friday it was sending reinforcements to the Gulf after what it called increasing harassment by Iran of ships in the oil-rich waters. “The Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture” in the Gulf, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, saying there would be “details …

Al-Monitor — Despite mediation efforts by Egypt and other regional players, fighting resumed Friday on the fourth day of Israel’s Shield and Arrow Operation against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip after a 13-hour lull.  The resumption of rockets fired at Israel and Israeli counterstrikes in Gaza dashed hopes of a cease-fire between the sides. Egyptian-mediated contacts between the parties …

RFL/RE – Human rights watchdog Hengaw says Saman Darvishi, a Kurdish prisoner held at Iran’s Evin prison, has died with the cause of death attributed to assault and torture by Iranian security forces. Darvishi’s death, which Hengaw said occurred on May 9, follows a year of reports that he suffered severe beatings and torture while incarcerated for theft and allegedly injuring …

Iranwire – A Iranian man who lost an eye in the security forces’ brutal clampdown on nationwide protests last year says the authorities are not allowing him to get treatment.   Hossein Hosseinpour is among hundreds of protesters who sustained severe eye injuries after being hit by pellets, paintball bullets or other projectiles used by security forces amid a bloody crackdown on …

VOA – German prosecutors on Thursday charged a German Iranian dual national in an attempted arson attack near a synagogue on the orders of the government in Tehran. Babak J. was instructed by an intermediary “acting on behalf of unknown Iranian state agencies” in November 2022 to carry out an arson attack on a synagogue in the region of North …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – More than a dozen rights organisations including Iran Human Rights condemned the appointment of the Islamic Republic as Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Social Forum of the Human Rights Council.  “We are also profoundly disappointed by other regional groups’ failure to offer alternatives to this nomination by proposing their own candidates.” The statement calls on the United …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Finance Minister Ehsan Khandouzi landed in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Thursday, two months into a Chinese-brokered deal that ended a seven-year hiatus in Tehran-Riyadh relations.   According to the state-run IRNA news agency, the minister will discuss bilateral trade while also delivering speeches at a summit of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah.   As the first Iranian official …

Al-Monitor — The recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran hasn’t stopped Tehran from sending weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said Thursday.  Tehran and Riyadh, which back opposing sides in Yemen’s civil war, agreed in March to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their respective embassies shuttered in 2016. Lenderking told reporters that the United States …