Social and Political

RFL/RE – Thousands of young women and girls in Iran continue to be subjected to “virginity tests” before marriage despite there being no medical basis for such examinations. Those who fail the tests can be forced to undergo hymen reconstruction or, in some cases, have been the subject of “honor killings.” https://www.rferl.org/a/young-iranian-women-still-being-forced-into-virginity-tests-ahead-of-marriage/31896130.html

RFL/RE – Pensioners and retired public employees have again taken to the streets in the southern city of Ahvaz amid growing discontent over living conditions in Iran and the government’s failure to address the problem.Videos released from the June 14 rally in front of the Ahvaz governor’s office showed demonstrators chanting against what they called the “lies” and “hypocrisy” of the Islamic …

Iranwire – One of the guerrilla hackers responsible for high-profile takedowns of municipal IT systems last year has reportedly been arrested in Iran. Fars News Agency, which is managed by the IRGC, reported on Tuesday that the unnamed “saboteur” had been “in contact with foreign services”. There were several high-profile hacks of Iranian state infrastructure over the past year. Digital …

Iranwire – The last decade has seen the assassinations of several Iranians involved in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile programs. Now, it seems, a series of less marked “suspicious deaths” are following them. Late on Sunday, June 12, and then the next day, Iranian state media reported that two men working in tthe aerospace industry had been killed in separate incidents. The circumstances of their …

VOA —Iran appeared to be readying for a space launch Tuesday as satellite images showed a rocket on a rural desert launch pad, just as tensions remain high over Tehran’s nuclear program. The images from Maxar Technologies showed a launch pad at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s rural Semnan province, the site of frequent recent failed attempts to put a …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s labor minister resigned on Tuesday amid daily nationwide protests by pensioners, merchants and workers against soaring living costs. While it was not clear if Hojatollah Abdolmaleki’s resignation was directly related to the month-long protests, a senior MP blamed his “incompetence” for the unrest. The semi-official Tasnim news site said his resignation followed “mounting criticism for his handling …

Al-Arabia – Israel and Arab countries that share its worries about Iran should build up a joint force under a US aegis, the Israeli defense minister said on Tuesday ahead of a visit to the region by US President Joe Biden. The Iranian nuclear program, and so-far fruitless international negotiations to revive a 2015 deal capping it, are among issues …

RFL/RE – Oil-tanker-tracking companies estimate that Iran’s oil and natural gas exports have halved due to competition with Russia in Asian markets, as most countries in the West shun Moscow over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The data company Kepler, which also provides tanker tracking services, told Radio Farda on June 13 that preliminary estimates showed that Iran’s crude oil and gas …

RFL/RE – Merchants and shopkeepers at bazaars in some Iranian cities have protested a tax increase as the economy reels from U.S. sanctions and the rial weakens to historic lows against the dollar. A day after the rial fell to 33,200 per dollar and rallies were held in Tehran’s bazaars, merchants in Kazerun in Fars Province closed their market on June 13 …

Iranwire – A leak from an ammonium tank in a Fars province chemical factory on Monday night caused a massive explosion that led to scores of injuries, according to state TV. The blast yesterday night took place in the southern city of Firouzabad. According to the IRIB, 133 people, mostly workers at the plant, were taken to local hospitals. The …