Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Iranian members of parliament have pushed ahead a controversial bill that would essentially cut off most Iranians from the internet and hand over the country’s internet infrastructure to the armed forces. On Feb. 22, a special parliamentary committee approved the general outline of the “Bill to Protect Users in Cyberspace,” first introduced three years ago. Last July, members of parliament …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bageri Kani, is leaving Vienna for Iran for what might be the final sign-off on a deal which would restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran has been negotiating in the Austrian capital with the other JCPOA signatories — the UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China — and indirectly the United States, …

Al-Arabia – While the world’s attention has been focused on Ukraine, the Biden administration also has been racing with world powers toward restoring the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran. After months of negotiations in Vienna, the various sides have indicated a new deal is close, perhaps in the coming days. But instead of the “longer, stronger” agreement originally promised by …

Iranwire – Three days ago members of the Iranian Shooting Federation elected Morteza Ghorbani, a long-standing commander and officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as its new president for the next four years. Ghorbani secured the top role with 32 of the 57 votes cast and is now set to head one of Iran’s most important sporting bodies until …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – The repression of civil society and human rights defenders has intensified with the revival of the JCPOA talks. Prominent human rights defender, Narges Mohammadi’s eight-year sentence has been upheld. Human rights defender, Zartosht Ahmadi-Ragheb has been arrested and his and at least one other family seeking justice’s homes have been raided and searched. Iran Human …

Iranwire – Two more horrific so-called “honor killings” of women and girls came to light this month. The patriarchal belief system that underpins these murders can sometimes be hard to unpack. But there are signs that it is beginning to lose its grip on the younger generation of men and boys in Iran. Two recent studies by Iranian universities found that male students in …

Iranwire – The mother of a young man killed in Iran’s 2009 pro-democracy protests has gone public about a recent raid on her home by as-yet unidentified security forces. Shahnaz Akmali, whose son Mostafa Karimbeigi was shot dead on the streets of Tehran on December 27 that year, said in a short video message that four male officers and one …

Iranwire – Thirteen years ago, a 24-year-old man appeared on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting’s Glass Triangle program alongside his father and talked about his work as a “freelance” professional. The young man in question was Hossein Shamkhani: his father, the Iranian military general, ex-IRGC naval commander and sitting secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani. In the same interview, …

Iranwire – A little over a month ago, Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s current Vice President of Economic Affairs and one of several officials accused of having orchestrated the 1994 AMIA bombing in Argentina in 1994, walked with his head held high as part of a delegation to Nicaragua. Rezaei was attending the swearing-in of the Sandinista dictator Daniel Ortega, and did so while subject …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Foreign Ministry said talks in Vienna on reviving Tehran’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have made “significant progress,” although there are still unresolved issues. Under the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran agreed to curb sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Former President Donald Trump pulled the United …