Social and Political

Iranwire – According to Azerbaijani media reports, two individuals named Tohid Ebrahim Beigli and Orkhan Mamedov, the leaders of a group called “Hosseiniun, the Islamic Resistance Movement of Azerbaijan,” were arrested in the north-eastern Iranian city of Qom nearly a week ago. While some in Iran, such as member of parliament Ahmad Naderi, protested the reported arrest of the two …

VOA – Iran seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second-such capture by Tehran in recent days, the U.S. Navy said. The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Niovi. It said Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized the ship. The Navy published pictures of a dozen Guard vessels surrounding the tanker. Those …

Al-Monitor — Iran and India signed a joint statement of cooperation on Monday covering multiple areas, including trade and transport, as Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval sat down with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Shamkhani, in Tehran.     Shamkhani requested that a rial-rupee mechanism be activated in trade ties between the two countries, according to a report by Nour News, the official outlet …

Iranwire – Workers and retirees took to the streets of cities across Iran on International Workers’ Day to protest the Islamic Republic’s failure to meet their demands. According to information obtained by IranWire, retirees gathered outside labor and social security departments on May 1 in Ahvaz, Shush, Dezful, Kermanshah, Kerman, Sanandaj, Sari, and Rasht. Meanwhile, workers at more than 110 …

RFL/RE – National Clean Air Day was not a cause for celebration this year in Tehran, where many residents were shuttered in their homes for their own safety to avoid exposure to the Iranian capital’s infamous and deadly smog. In the run-up to January 19, the day Iran dedicates to promoting air quality, students were prevented from attending universities and …

VOA —Iran’s parliament voted to dismiss the minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Sunday. Amid allegations of mismanagement and widespread dissatisfaction with rising prices, especially in the car market, Reza Fatemi Amin was forced from his position, with 162 of the 272 lawmakers present voting to oust him. There are 290 seats in parliament. Last year, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali …

iranintl.com – Thousands of Iranians marched in London to 10 Dawning Street Saturday to ask the UK to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. The protest rally was attended by activist Vahid Beheshti who has been on a hunger strike in London since February 23 outside the UK Foreign Office to raise awareness for the need to …

Al-Arabia – An Iranian police chief was assassinated on Sunday by unknown gunmen in Iran’s restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan on Sunday, state media reported. The attackers opened fire on Major Alireza Shahraki’s car at around 7:10 a.m. local time, killing him instantly. His wife, who was with him in the car, later died in the hospital due to injuries …

VOA —Four thousand Iranian petrochemical workers on strike over pay and conditions in an energy-producing region of the country’s south will be sacked and replaced, state media reported. The employees in Bushehr province have demanded salary increases and improved conditions for accommodation and transport, an official in charge of the Islamic republic’s oil and gas sector in the region was …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi will go to Damascus on Wednesday at the official invitation of the Syrian president for a “very important” two-day visit, state media reported. “Dr Raisi’s trip to Damascus next Wednesday is a very important trip due to the changes and developments that are taking place in the region,” IRNA state news agency quoted Iran’s …