Social and Political

Al-Monitor – At the start of 2022, US officials said negotiations with Iran were in their “final stretch,” optimistic that a restored nuclear deal was within reach. One year on, that same deal looks doomed.  President Joe Biden said as much in a newly surfaced video from early November, telling a member of the public that the nuclear accord he campaigned on restoring was …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) arrested seven people with links to Britain on December 25, including some with dual nationality, over anti-government protests that have rocked the country. “Seven main leaders of the recent protests related to the U.K. were detained by IRGC intelligence services, including dual nationals trying to leave the country,” state media said. British …

VOA – Iran’s top general has said that Western claims its drones are being used by Russia against Ukraine show the ‘effectiveness’ of Tehran’s unmanned aerial vehicles, Iranian media reported Sunday. Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones to carry out attacks against Ukraine in the monthslong conflict, causing significant damage to civilian and energy …

VOA – Supporters of a Belgian aid worker being held in Iran staged a Christmas Day protest in Brussels to demand his immediate release, with a spokesman questioning why a prisoner swap treaty was stalled. Around 50 people took part in the demonstration under constant rain in the center of the Belgian capital, brandishing pictures of the aid worker, Olivier …

Al-Monitor – The majority of Iran’s popular political figures, celebrities and sports icons have criticized the state violence against the ongoing wave of protests that began in September. But others loyal to the government have firmly stood by their leaders. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s silence since the beginning of the uprising on Sept. 16 is very curious, exposing his possible intentions to remain …

VOA – There are new indications that Iran’s Islamist rulers have constrained their morality police force that sparked nationwide protests in September, but researchers say the curtailment is not universal and merely reflects a shift in government tactics for suppressing dissent. “In larger Iranian cities like Tehran, a reduced presence of the morality police has been observed and reported to …

BBC – A leading human rights activist in Iran has written from prison to give the BBC details of how women detained in recent anti-government protests are being sexually and physically abused. Narges Mohammadi said such assaults had become more common in recent protests. She is serving a lengthy sentence in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. The protests were triggered by …

RFL/RE – The families of the victims of the recent nationwide protests in Iran have staged protests amid ceremonies marking the 40th day since the death of 10 protesters across the country. With police standing nearby in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz on December 22, people gathered to mark the end of the traditional mourning period following the death …

Iranwire – In the early dawn on the morning of December 15, Iranian security forces knocked on apartment doors in Ekbatan and Apadana, two western suburbs of Tehran. Within two hours, about 40 residents were detained, an informed source tells IranWire. Saghar Ebrahimi, 41, was among them. Her crime: collecting money to buy medical supplies for people wounded by the …

Iranwire – The EU’s foreign policy chief says he had a “tough exchange” with the Iranian foreign minister on the “unacceptable developments” inside Iran and on the country’s “extremely worrying” military support to Russia. Josep Borrell traveled to Jordan earlier this week to attend an international conference focused on bolstering security and stability in Iraq. On the sidelines of the …