Social and Political

RFL/RE – The organization of cemeteries for Tehran Province says it has covered graves that feature images of the deceased not wearing the hijab, as authorities continue to widen their crackdown on a government decree on head scarves. Saeed Ghazanfari, the head of Behesht-e Zahra, the largest cemetery in Iran, said that 98 tombstones that had images of women without a proper …

Iranwire – The dual-national prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd has denied all wrongdoing in the sixth session of his trial at Branch 15 of Iran’s Revolutionary Court. The 67-year-old father-of-two was abducted while on a layover in Dubai in August 2020. Sharmahd, a German citizen and resident of the United States since 2003, is accused by the Islamic Republic of “corruption on …

Iran-HRM – The Islamic Republic of Iran has responded to questions from the United Nations of the death of jailed poet Baktash Abtin by claiming he supported terrorists, documents seen by IranWire show. The 48-year-old filmmaker and man of letters died of Covid-19 on January 8 this year. He had been jailed in September 2020 along with two other senior members of …

Iran-HRM – The Director General of Airports in the southwestern province of Fars said women with “improper hijab” will be denied entry into Shiraz Airport and its terminals. During a meeting on July 25, Gholamreza Karimaghaie said that necessary arrangements have been made with the judicial authority in this regard, adding that the ban on “improperly veiled” female passengers from …

amnesty.org – The Iranian authorities have embarked on an execution spree, killing at least 251 people between 1 January and 30 June 2022, according to research by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre for Human Rights in Iran and Amnesty International. The organizations warned that if executions continue at this horrifying pace, they will soon surpass the total of 314 executions recorded …

Al-Monitor – Russian President Vladimir Putin, on his second foreign trip since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, visited Tehran and met with Iranian officials on July 19. Although his trip brought much joy to hardliners in Iran, it seems that Moscow got the best of the visit.  The Russian president was warmly received during his short stay in Tehran, at a time …

RFL/RE – Iran has collected and sealed cameras used by the UN atomic watchdog to monitor its nuclear program, the Fars news agency reported on July 26, citing the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. On July 25, Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, said 27 cameras installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would not be reactivated until a deal …

RFL/RE – Several Iranian veterans protesting in front of the Iranian Parliament over the government’s failure to pay bonuses and compensation were arrested by security forces over the weekend. The veterans, most of whom fought in Iran’s 1980-88 war with Iraq, gathered in front of the legislature saying they had failed to receive pension bonuses, as well as war compensation and subsistence …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Guidance Ministry has told advertising agencies that under the government’s tightening of the so-called hijab and chastity law, women are now prohibited from appearing in advertisements. The ministry sent a letter to agencies over the weekend following the release of a promotional video by the Domino ice-cream company that featured an actress wearing a sweater donning additional …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Arabs point out that one of Biden’s biggest mistakes was that he took America’s Arab allies for granted while embarking on a policy of appeasement towards Iran’s mullahs. “The behavior of the Obama and Biden administrations regarding Iran and Afghanistan served as a wake-up call for the countries of the region.” — Ali Hamadeh, Lebanese Journalist, Annahar, July 20, …