Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Turkey and Iran agreed to increase cooperation on Syria on Tuesday amid an ongoing thaw between Ankara and Damascus. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, during his visit to Ankara.  Speaking after the meeting, Cavusoglu said they discussed several bilateral issues and regional developments, including the latest rapprochement between …

RFL/RE – Some 12,000 of members of the Iranian diaspora met from all over Europe on January 16 in the EU Parliament host city of Strasbourg to urge the bloc to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terror group. Pressure is growing among opposition exiles and activists for the EU and Britain follow the United States and …

Iranwire – An Iranian court has sentenced journalist Alireza Khoshbakht to six years in prison, her mother says, amid a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests and the media in the country. Zahra Mohammadi tweeted on January 17 that Khoshbakht was handed five years on the charge of “collusion with the intention of committing a crime” and one year for “spreading …

Iranwire – Elaheh Tavakolian is one of hundreds of Iranians who sustained severe eye injuries after being hit by pellets, tear gas cannisters, paintballs or other objects fired by security forces amid a brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrations. Tavakolian, a PDH student, says she was struck by several pellets during a recent protest and that she lost sight in one …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have arrested at least 96 ethnic Kurds during the first 15 days of the year, activists say, as the Islamic Republic tries to suppress the anti-government protest movement that has rocked the country for four months. Hengaw, a Norway-based group that monitors rights violations in Iran’s Kurdish regions, says those arrested included 13 children and five …

Iran-HRM – Saleh Mirhashemi Baltaghi, a 36-year-old karate champion and bodybuilding instructor from Isfahan, was arrested during nationwide protests on November 16, 2022. The Iranian Judiciary sentenced him to Moharebeh (War on God) and death. Saleh Mirhashemi was born in 1986 and has a 4th Degree Black Belt in Karate. Saleh Mirhashemi had just begun his joint life with his …

VOA – Syria and key ally Iran agreed Saturday to renew an economic strategic arrangement between the two countries as Damascus prepares to welcome Iran’s president in the near future. Since Syria’s uprising turned into civil conflict in 2011, Tehran has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to help President Bashar Assad stay in power amid fighting that killed hundreds of …

gatestoneinstitute.org – The visit to Pyongyang was Khamenei’s the Road to Damascus moment. The lesson he learned was simple: Let others idolize you and, if things turn badly, blame those who idolize you. And, if you are in a position of weakness, just appear as a nobody or play village idiot until the tide turns in your favor. [W]hen Khamenei …

Iran-HRM – Mohammad Mehdi Mohammadi Fard, an 18-year-old from Nowshahr, was detained and sentenced to death twice by Iran’s Judiciary during the nationwide protests on September 30, 2022. Mohammad Mehdi Mohammadifard (Mehdi Mohammadi Fard) is a tattoo artist born on January 5, 2004. This year, however, he spent his 19th birthday alone behind bars. Charges against him: Iran’s state security …

Al-Monitor – Mounting economic pressure on Iranians has been accompanied by an increase in suicides, especially among the workforce. According to the the Iranian daily Etemad, at least 23 workers have committed suicide in the nine months since the start of the Iranian new year on March 21, 2022.   All the deceased were contractual or daily male workers, says the report, noting that …