Social and Political

gatestoneinstitute.org – The new agreement with Iran, then, is based on an imaginary assistance from Russia and China, when all three countries are committed to unseating America as the world’s leading superpower and evading US sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The US, in short, is sacrificing significant progress in the Middle East to help the three greatest …

VOA —Iranian intelligence officers arrested three people belonging to a group linked to Israel’s Mossad agency and charged with involvement in releasing classified information, state TV reported Thursday. The report said they were arrested in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan but didn’t identify them or how they had access to classified information. Iran and Israel have long accused …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf faces calls for his resignation after photos that went viral show his family members returning from a trip to neighboring Turkey.   Drawing a wave of rage from Iranians, the pictures were initially posted in a chain on Twitter by well-known whistleblower Vahid Ashtari, who said he had confirmed the identities of Ghalibaf’s wife, daughter and …

Al-Monitor – With talks over the Iran nuclear agreement at an impasse, a group of nuclear nonproliferation experts and former government officials warned Thursday that failure to revive the deal would raise the likelihood of Iran becoming a threshold nuclear-weapon state. The original accord, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), “dramatically reduces the risk posed by Iran’s nuclear program,” read the …

RFL/RE – Teachers have taken to the streets of several cities in Iran, including the capital, Tehran, to demand fair wages, better working conditions, and the release of their jailed colleagues.Reports suggest that the protests on April 21 were held under tight security. Amateur video posted online showed protesters in Shiraz chanting: “Imprisoned teachers must be released.” هم اکنون تجمع معلمان در …

Iranwire – The Iranian children’s rights advocate Atena Daemi was released from prison on January 24, 2022, after five years of arbitrary detention. The 34-year-old has spoken to IranWire about her ordeal and that of others in Qarchak Women’s Prison, where inmates are stripped of their humanity and dignity, seemingly by design. In this Varamin jail, she said, even the clothes the women arrive …

Iranwire – Overseas actors including the Iranian government are fanning tensions that helped spark violent riots in Sweden last week, the country’s justice minister has said. Protests broke out across the country over the news that a Danish far-right provocateur, Rasmus Paludan, who has burned copies of the Quran at events, was planning to come to Sweden. The planned visit …

Iranwire – A Russian tanker impounded by the Greek authorities on Tuesday is reported to have been carrying Iranian oil. The 115,500-ton vessel Pegas was stopped off the island of Evia, just off the mainland near Athens, with 19 Russian crew members on board. Greek shipping ministry officials confirmed the seizure came “as part of EU sanctions”. Last month the …

Al-Arabia – A top Democratic senator who has opposed multiple decisions by the Biden administration again pushed back on Tuesday, warning against any efforts to de-list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Senator Joe Manchin wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding a detailed briefing on the status of the indirect …

RFL/RE -For the past year, Iran and the United States have been locked in indirect talks to restore the 2015 nuclear accord. That deal curbed Iran’s sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. A draft deal to restore the agreement is already on the table. But an unrelated issue — Tehran’s demand that Washington delist the …