Social and Political

Iranwire – Hundreds of Iranian schoolgirls were taken to hospitals with poisoning symptoms on March 5, as poisoning incidents were reported in more than 80 schools across the country. Over the past three months, thousands of school students, mostly girls, were affected by a wave of illnesses, with symptoms including nausea, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties, and heart palpitations. Some Iranians …

VOA – Iran’s Supreme Leader Monday described a series of suspected poisonings at girls’ schools as an “unforgiveable crime.” According to the state-run IRNA news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said if authorities determine there were deliberate poisonings, “those behind this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them.”SEE ALSO:Crisis Over Suspected Iran Schoolgirl …

VOA – A crisis over suspected poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls escalated Sunday as authorities acknowledged more than 50 schools were struck in a wave of possible cases. The poisonings have spread further fear among parents as Iran has faced months of unrest. It remains unclear who or what is responsible since the alleged poisonings began in November in the Shi’ite …

RFL/RE – Tensions continued in Iran as the number of girls’ schools affected by a wave of illnesses increased and government critics questioned official actions, following protests by the parents of affected students. Female students reportedly fell ill in at least 33 cities across 17 Iranian provinces on March 4, as speculation swirled over what some allege are months of noxious gas …

VOA – Israel rebuffed as “unworthy” on Sunday comments by the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief that any Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be illegal. Having visited Tehran in a bid to loosen deadlocked talks on renewing its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, International Atomic Energy Agency chairman Raphael Grossi on Saturday said “any military attack …

gatestoneinstitute.org – [W]e see that at least part of the predicted clash [of civilizations] is taking place within the same “civilization”. It is in the United States and Western Europe that we witness such phenomena as wokeism and cancel culture while many “emerging nations” are breaking some taboos to open a wider space for discussion and dissent. With the exceptions …

Shabtabnews – In a series of tweets USCIRF Commissioner expressed horror by the egregious assaults on girls and women in Iran and asked the United States and like-minded governments to pressure Iran’s government to take full responsibility for stopping the poisonings and hold perpetrators accountable in a manner . USCIRF Commissioner @Skleinbaum: "USCIRF is horrified by the egregious assaults on …

RFL/RE – A wave of illnesses at girls’ schools under mysterious circumstances has prompted many Iranians to pour into city streets across the country to call for the government to step down as speculation grows that the crisis was brought about by officials who have been slow to react. Protesters in Tehran’s Naziabad neighborhood and others in the capital chanted “Death to …

RFL/RE – Belgium’s Constitutional Court rejected legal challenges to a prisoner exchange with Iran, setting the stage for the possible swap of a Belgium jailed in Iran for a former Iranian diplomat serving a 20-year sentence in Belgium. The court rejected a challenge by an exiled Iranian opposition group to a treaty allowing the swap. Aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, arrested …

Iranwire – Family members of victims of a Ukrainian passenger plane shot down over Tehran more than three years ago have withdrawn their complaint from the Tehran Military Prosecutor’s Office, citing the official’s “incompetence” and “biased” court proceedings. On January 8, 2020, Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired two missiles at Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 shortly after …