Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Israel appeared to have been the main topic in a meeting between Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the visiting Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Tehran on May 12. “Wherever they set their feet on, the Zionists [Israel] cause corruption,” Khamenei declared, according to a report published by his official website. “The Arab world …

Al-Arabia – Qatar’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has arrived in Iran, Iranian state media reported on Thursday, as the Gulf state tries to help end a row between Tehran and Washington over revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.While Iranian state media portrayed the visit as proof of Iran’s expansion of ties with regional countries, a source briefed …

RFL/RE – A group of Iranian archeologists have expressed concern over a bill in parliament that calls for measures to turn Iran into a regional hub for trading antiquities, fearing it will turn the country into a marketplace for illegal trade. In a letter addressed to parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, 61 archeology professors called on parliament to scrap the …

Iranwire – Iranian media outlets have reporrted the abrupt “disappearance” of 17-year-old athlete Yekta Jamali in Greece. Days after she won another silver medal at the Youth World Weightlifting Championships, Jamali apparently did not join her team returning home and her whereabouts remains unknown. Zahra Pouramin, acting vice president of the Iranian Women’s Weightlifting Federation, confirmed the situation to IRNA …

HRW – Since May 6, the Iranian authorities have imposed a near-total shutdown of mobile and home broadband data in some cities in Khuzestan Province, amid reported street protests against a potential hike in the price of bread, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)  reported. According to HRANA, authorities have arrested at least 10 people in connection with the protests in …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s judiciary said that it will move forward with the execution of Iranian-Swedish citizen Ahmad Reza Jalali. Judiciary spokesperson Zabiollah Khodaian said that Jalali was arrested and charged with spying for the Israeli Mossad and sharing intelligence about Iran’s nuclear scientists in 2016. He also faces national security charges. Khodaian said that Sweden gave Jalali citizenship after his arrest, but he …

RFL/RE – The Iranian government’s decision to cut subsidies for imported wheat has led to a spike in the cost of flour and flour-based products, including bread, pasta, and confectioneries. The move by the government of ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi has sparked widespread anger. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has supported the measures. Other hard-liners have said that food prices should be controlled, …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) has fired on targets in Iraq’s northern Kurdish regional capital of Irbil, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency has reported. Tasnim said on May 11 that forces from the IRGC launched artillery attacks on “the positions of terrorist groups” in Irbil. No casualties were reported.“Headquarters of terrorist groups in Iraq’s northern region, including the …

Iranwire – IranWire has received information that a new wave of arrests of documentary filmmakers and cinematographers has started in Iran. So far all of the known detainees have been women. “Last night, May 9, Mina Keshavarz and Firoozeh Khosrovani, two documentary filmmakers, were arrested at their homes,” an informed source told Iranwire on Tuesday. The next day, they said, security agents had …

Iranwire – The Iranian Intelligence Ministry confirmed on Wednesday it has arrested two Europeans in the run-up to a visit by European Union envoy Enrique Mora. The pair’s identities and nationalities were not given. In a statement, the Ministry said they were professionals in “creating riots” and had come to Iran to stir up “chaos, social disorder and instability”. It …