Social and Political

Iranwire – Iranian President Ebrahaim Raisi has replaced the minister of agriculture and the head of planning and budget, as the country’s dire economic conditions have contributed to widespread dissatisfaction at the government. Government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said on April 12 that Agriculture Minister Javad Sadatinejad was replaced by a deputy, Seyed Mohammad Aghaminiri, who will serve as interim …

Iranwire – Iran’s Premier League football club Malavan Bandar Anzali FC has asked the authorities’ permission to host female fans in its stadium this week, when the team plays against Tractor FC. Malavan made the announcement in a statement on April 11 after the president of the Iranian football federation claimed that women in all Iranian cities were now allowed …

Al-Monitor — Several Iranian cities were rocked once again this week by a new wave of what has been called mysterious poisoning of mostly schoolgirls.   The new wave of gas attacks followed a brief respite during Iranian new year holidays, for which schools are closed for two weeks starting from late March. The cities targeted, according to opposition outlets and some …

Al-Monitor — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened on Monday an urgent news conference in Tel Aviv, reinstating to his position Defense Minister Yoav Gallant whom he fired two weeks ago. Taking reporters’ questions for the first time since assuming office over three months ago, Netanyahu blamed the recent security escalation on the previous government. The unusual press conference by Netanyahu was …

Iranwire – On April 9, a wave of poisonings hit three girls’ schools in Iran’s north-western Kurdish city of Saqqez. Students’ families and other residents gathered outside one of the schools to protest the incidents, pulling down the Islamic Republic’s flag from the building and chanting slogans against the country’s clerical leaders. As a notification was sent to local media …

VOA – A bipartisan group of more than 130 U.S. Congress members have signed a joint letter calling on the European Union to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. In the letter addressed to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the lawmakers said Iran is “a leading state sponsor of terror” and that for decades the IRGC …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s foreign ministry said on Sunday a delegation will visit Saudi Arabia by Friday to pave the way for reopening its diplomatic missions there following a similar move by Riyadh. The announcement comes a day after a Saudi delegation arrived in Tehran on a similar diplomatic trip and follows a historic meeting between the two Gulf countries’ foreign ministers in China. “We …

RFL/RE – Two men were flogged in public in a recreation complex in the southern Iranian city of Sirjan for drinking alcohol, Sirjan’s prosecutor Mojtaba Ghadimi announced on April 9. Ghadimi said the two men have been also sentenced to two months in prison and 280 hours of public service. The official government news agency IRNA said a video of …

Iranwire – Violence was reported in Saqqez on April 9 during street protests sparked by a wave of poisoning attacks that targeted at least six girls’ schools in Iran’s north-western Kurdish city. At least 100 pupils were reportedly transferred to medical centers for treatment, and 24 of them were said to be in critical condition. Angry residents gathered outside Meraj …

Iranwire – The Iranian Foreign Ministry accused the United States of “warmongering” after the US Navy announced it was deploying a guided missile submarine in the Middle East, amid heightened tensions in the region.    In a series of tweets on April 10, ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani also accused Washington of “propagating instability and conflict in the West Asia region.”  The deployment was …