Social and Political

Iranwire – One of the accused in the assassination of Massoud Molavi Vardanjani, an Iranian ex-intelligence officer turned regime critic killed in Istanbul in November 2019, has been temporarily released pending trial by the Turkish authorities. A court in the capital has agreed to release Siavash Abazari Shalamzari and postponed the trial for three more months, until March 2022. Meanwhile the lawyer …

RFL/RE – Saudi Arabia and Iran have held a new round of talks aimed at mending badly strained ties, the Jordanian state news agency reported on December 13, as the Saudi envoy to the United Nations accused Tehran of playing “games” in its dialogue with Riyadh.Shi’ite-led Iran and Sunni-controlled Saudi Arabia are bitter rivals in the struggle for influence in …

Iranwire – In recent weeks, the Ministry of Education has been trumpeting the proportion of vaccinated school pupils: a reported, underwhelming 35 percent. Concurrently, health officials are warning that Covid-19 cases among both students and their teachers are rising, while fears abound over the new, highly transmissible Omicron variant. Between September and November all schools across Iran gradually reopened, even …

Iranwire – Kazem Mousavi, deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament’s Economic Committee, has said people trying to buy musical instruments in defiance of a ban on imports “can leave Iran”. Earlier this month Mehdi Mirasharfi, the head of Iran’s customs, musical instruments would no longer be imported into the country. Shortly afterward Gholam-Ali Ahankoob-Nejad, head of the Ahvaz Spectacle Manufacturers …

RFL/RE – Naftali Bennett has announced a trip to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on December 12 for a meeting with that Gulf state’s leaders in the first-ever visit by an Israeli prime minister. It is the most senior mutual visit since a U.S.-mediated formalization of Israeli-Emirati relations was achieved last year through the so-called Abraham Accords. “I will be …

gatestoneinstitute.org – This may be an exaggeration, but the Kayhan editorial says that without the “Resistance Front” there would be no Iran and, of course, no Iraq, no Syria, no Lebanon, and no Yemen. Control of the four Arab countries is vital for protecting the Islamic Revolution. In that context, Tehran has been pumping cash and weapons into regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua …

VOA – The G-7 on Sunday said time was running out for Iran to agree a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions and warned Russia about the consequences of invading Ukraine. Foreign ministers from the world’s richest nations have held a two-day meeting in Liverpool, northwest England, seeking to present a strong, united front against global threats. On Iran, G-7 …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says Tehran is serious in its nuclear talks with world powers in Vienna, the official IRNA news agency reported on December 11. “We are serious in the negotiations and if the other side is also serious about the removal of the sanctions, we will achieve a good agreement. We are definitely after a good …

Iranwire – A lesbian has been arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in West Azerbaijan, according to information received by Iranian LGBT+ organization Shesh-rang (Six Colors). The incident took place in Urmia on October 27 of this year, while the woman, named Sarah, was trying to cross the border to Turkey. On November 6, Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the security forces, …

VOA —The Pentagon said Thursday that officials will discuss shared concerns about Iran with visiting Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz later Thursday, but it declined to comment on a Reuters report about discussions on possible Iran-focused military drills. Reuters exclusively reported Wednesday, citing a senior U.S. official, that U.S.-Israeli discussions would include possible military exercises to prepare for a worst-case scenario to …