Social and Political

VOA – Germany has warned Iranians living in the country who have been critical of the Iranian government to be careful about traveling to Iran. Thomas Haldenwang, head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, told the Germany Press Agency that for some years the Iranian government has worked to identify critics, and that those people could …

Iran-HRM – On Thursday, December 29, 2022, in Semirom, Isfahan Province, people attended funeral ceremonies. They had participated in large scales to commemorate Ali Abbasi who was killed by Iran’s security forces during protests on November 2022. On the next day, Iran’s security forces torn down photos and posters of Semirom’s slain protesters. This event provoked outrage among the people. …

RFL/RE – Iranian journalist Keyvan Samimi has been released from prison after being jailed last year owing to his presence at a protest rally in May 2019, according to a reformist newspaper. The Sharq daily on January 1 reported Samimi’s release from Semnan prison, 200 kilometers east of Tehran. It did not say on what date the 73-year-old, who is a member …

RFL/RE – Iranian authorities have arrested soccer players who attended a mixed party east of Tehran, local media reported on January 1 without identifying them or giving their exact number. “Several current and former players of one of Tehran’s prominent football clubs were arrested last night (December 31) at a mixed party in the city of Damavand,” Tasnim news agency …

VOA – Politicians in several European countries and Canada are sponsoring Iranian prisoners. The lawmakers’ sponsorship means they are using their political heft in communicating with Iranian ambassadors, other politicians and human rights organizations in bringing attention to the plight of individual Iranian prisoners. The hope is that the attention given to the prisoners will prevent Iranian judges from handing …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Since the revolution, the percentage of Iranians living below “absolute poverty” has increased from 7 percent in 1977 to 18.4 percent in 2022. The nation’s labor market has plunged from one crisis to another. There are several areas in which the Iran is world number one. According to International Monetary Fund, with over 150,000 highly-educated Iranians choosing exile …

VOA – An Iranian writer-illustrator has been sentenced to death by the country’s Revolutionary Court. Mehdi Bahman was arrested in October for a television interview with an Israeli TV station in April. He was reported to have been critical of Iran in his interview with Channel 13. Details about his sentence have not yet been released, according to VOA’s Farsi …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Evidently the lethal nuclear deal that will enable Iran to have all the nuclear weapons it wants and missiles with which to deliver them — and for which the Obama and Biden administrations have been pining for nearly a decade so that, most likely, Iran will not try them out on their watch but wait for somebody else’s …

Iran-HRM – Milad Armoun, a 24-year-old citizen of Tehran’s Ekbatan area, has been arrested since November 3, 2022, for taking part in nationwide protests. Milad has been sentenced to death by Iran’s judiciary. One friend who knows him well said, Milad is just about the gentlest person you find in Ekbatan. He works in a garment boutique here and his …

Al-Monitor – A ‘dead’ Iran deal is a good deal for Netanyahu If the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is “dead,” as US President Joe Biden said in an off-the-cuff remark last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands to cash in. Among Netanyahu’s immediate priorities is addressing concerns in Washington and the region about Israel’s new far-right government. US national …