Social and Political

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Islamic Republic authorities have reported death sentences being issued against protesters, some of which have even been upheld by the Supreme Court. At least three children are also facing death penalty charges. Recalling the Islamic Republic’s history of using the death penalty as a tool of repression and intimidation, Iran Human Rights warns of the …

Al-Arabia – Iranian authorities have arrested the two actors behind a viral video where a group of film and theater figures stood silently without headscarves in solidarity with the protest movement, a rights group said Wednesday. The actor and director Soheila Golestani, who appeared without her headscarf in the video, and the male director Hamid Pourazari, who also appeared prominently, …

Iranwire – Reports from Doha say pro-regime Iranian fans attacked anti-government supporters inside and outside the stadium where Iran and the United States faced off in a World Cup match charged with emotion. Some fans wearing T-shirts with “Women, Life, Freedom” written on them as a message for support for the ongoing demonstrations at home were allegedly beaten up at …

Iranwire – Arshia Iman Gholizadeh Alamdari, a 16-year-old Iranian teenager, took his own life earlier this month, a few days after he was released from detention. Security forces arrested him after he knocked the turban off a cleric’s head in a street of Hadishahr, in the western province of Eastern Azerbaijan, a new tactic employed by Iranians to show dissatisfaction …

VOA – As anti-government protests continue in Iran, Tehran is escalating tensions with its neighbors, accusing them of interfering in its domestic affairs. One of those neighbors, Azerbaijan, has Turkey’s support and is pushing back. Iran has recently carried out military exercises on Azerbaijan’s border and warned Baku not to incite Iran’s significant Azeri minority. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has carried …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – At least 448 people including 60 children and 29 women have been killed by security forces in the ongoing nationwide protests. The numbers are a minimum and only include cases verified by Iran Human Rights through documents including death certificates or medical staff testimony, or confirmation through two independent sources. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic is …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei criticized the presence of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan and called on Baghdad to use its power against them.   Khamenei made the request at a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who was in Tehran on Tuesday. Prior to the meeting, according to Iranian state media, Sudani announced at a joint …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s World Cup dreams were crushed Wednesday night when the United States men’s soccer team defeated their Iranian opponents 1-0 in Doha. Iran was seeking to advance to the second round of the tournament for the first time in history.  Why it matters: Tensions between the American and Iranian governments are not new, but the ongoing protests in Iran have clouded …

RFL/RE – The coaches of the U.S. and Iranian soccer teams have said that they do not want to get caught up in a game of political football when their sides clash for a chance to reach the knockout stage of the World Cup. “I envision the game being hotly contested for the fact that both teams want to advance …

RFL/RE – Hard-line Iranian lawmakers have proposed a plan to enact harsher punishments against protesters who they say are cooperating with “hostile” foreign countries. According to the plan, any interaction with any Western institutions and media, including social media, will be considered cooperation and criminalized under the title of “corruption on earth” — a charge that is punishable by death and often …