Social and Political

iranintl – The Deputy UN Commissioner for Human Rights has visited Iran in total media silence after Iranian opposition urged her to cancel or postpone her visit in protest to Iran’s recent executions. Neither the Iranian authorities, nor the UN Human Rights Office have issued statements regarding Nada Al-Nashif’s visit, which took place between 2 to 5 February as scheduled. …

Iranwire – Sweden has reportedly deported an Iranian couple, believed to be acting on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), after being suspected in a plot to kill Jews in the Scandinavian country. Swedish Radio reported on February 6 that the Iranian man and woman, identified as  Ramezani and Fereshteh Sanaeifarid, arrived in Sweden in 2015 pretending to …

Iranwire – The mother of Pejman Fatehi, a young Kurdish prisoner who was executed last week, cannot believe his son was killed, as authorities have yet to hand his dead body over to her.  “I cannot bring myself to believe that Pejman has been executed. If my son had truly been killed, they would have returned his lifeless body to …

VOA – Iranian-backed Houthi militants have once again ignored U.S. calls to stop attacking international shipping lanes or face consequences, this time firing six anti-ship missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea, a U.S. official tells VOA.The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said U.S. naval forces had shot at least one of the missiles …

iranintl – Armed groups backed by Iran have carried out at least two strikes on American forces since Friday, when the United States hit dozens of Iran-related targets in Syria and Iraq. Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder confirmed in a press briefing Monday that two attacks had taken place in Syria and that there had been no casualties. He …

RFL/RE – Iranian women can be detained, fined, or even jailed for simply not covering their hair in public. So, when the authorities permitted an American porn star to visit the Islamic republic, angry Iranian social media users were quick to accuse officials of hypocrisy.Whitney Wright traveled last week to Tehran, where she posted photos of herself covered head-to-toe at …

gatestoneinstitute.org – We were not ready for the seizure of our embassy in Tehran. We were not ready for the Marine Barracks bombings in Beirut. We were not ready for 9/11. We were not ready for the fall of Kabul. We were not ready for the takeover of shipping in the Red Sea near Yemen. What aren’t we ready for …

Al-Arabia – Iran said Monday it “will not hesitate” to respond in the event of US attacks on its territory after the White House declined to say whether strikes on Iran were ruled out. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday the US will press on with its retaliation against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria. Asked whether the United …

iranintl – Several members of US Congress on Sunday slammed President Joe Biden for his failure to directly confront Iran even after its proxies killed three American soldiers in Jordan. President Biden authorized airstrikes on dozens of targets in Syria and Iraq last Friday, five days after a drone attack on US base Tower 22 in Jordan by Iran-allied Kataeb …

iranintl – Iran’s modern public education system, established in the 1930s as one of the first in the Middle East, is increasingly falling under clerical control while suffering from a lack of investments. Over the past decade, several concerning issues have plagued Iran’s public education system, attracting significant attention. Mass recruitment of clerics in public schools, significant dropouts even in …