Social and Political

Iranwire – In 1978, shortly before the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was living in exile in Neauphle-le-Château, Paris. Mohsen Sazegara was one of his companions then, and was later given important positions after the Islamic Revolution. After Khomeini was succeeded by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, he gradually lost faith in the regime. He wrote critical letters to Khomeini and paid the price: …

iranwire – Criminals conscripted by the Iranian regime to provoke riots during civilian protests are “executed” after they have exhausted their use, a unit commander has told the Aban Tribunal. Witness 399 was introduced to the court in London as a major in the security forces who led a battalion during the November 2019 protests. The special unit’s function was broadly defensive, …

VOA – Human rights activists holding a tribunal in London to investigate Iran’s deadly suppression of protests in 2019 say they have learned that Tehran is threatening to partially suspend upcoming nuclear talks with world powers if the tribunal continues. A Persian-language tweet posted Friday by the tribunal organizers cited unnamed European sources as saying Iran’s deputy foreign minister and …

timesofisrael — The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said Friday it was “astonishing” that he has had no contact with the new Iranian government over several important outstanding issues since it took office. Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), had been hoping to visit Iran before the next meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors starts …

Iran-HRM – Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence have launched a spree of arrests of the residents of Baneh, in Kurdistan province. Security forces in Baneh have arrested at least 18 Kurdish citizens in Baneh, in Kurdistan province, and taken them to an unknown location. The security forces ransacked the residences of the arrestees and confiscated some of their personal belongings. The …

Al-Monitor – An Iranian diplomat said today that his country’s goal during upcoming nuclear discussions is to remove sanctions.  “The main purpose of these talks from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s standpoint is to remove the illegal sanctions imposed on the Iranian nation by the US government,” deputy foreign minister Ali Baqeri-Kani told the semi-official Press TV.  Baqeri-Kani is Iran’s chief negotiator …

RFL/RE – Former empress Farah Pahlavi first published her memoirs two years before the events of 1979 collapsed her world, deposing her husband, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and bringing an end to Iran’s monarchy.Pahlavi was 38 when she penned her accounts of her charmed life as a queen, known to Iranians as Shahbanou, to whom the idea of an Islamic …

Iranwire – Two teachers have been arrested in Tehran during nationwide rallies calling for better education and for the rights of educators and students to be upheld. Teachers took to the streets in more than 50 cities on November 11 as part of a planned action organized by the Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Unions. Later, union spokesman Mohammad Habibi announced that two …

Iranwire – At a time when the officially-recorded death toll from Covid-19 in Iran is still at more than 100 a day, a group of Qom seminary students staged a protest against vaccination in the holy city. On Thursday, November 11, pictures of the gathering in front of the Qom Seminary Teachers Association building were posted online. The group reportedly then moved …

Iranwire – Young Iranians, shot in the heads and necks by police firing birdshot and live ammunition. Children hauled out of classrooms by plainclothes agents with stun guns. An order, issued to police via walkie-talkies, that was tantamount to “shoot to kill”. The second day of hearings at the Aban Tribunal, which aims to shed light on crimes committed by the …