Social and Political

gatestoneinstitute.org – Apparently desperate to revive the nuclear pact, the Biden administration at once began appeasing the ruling clerics of Iran. From the perspective of Iran’s mullahs, Biden’s desperate efforts to resurrect the nuclear deal manifested his weak leadership and therefore a delectable opportunity for Tehran to buy time, get more concessions, advance its nuclear program and become a nuclear …

RFL/RE – The United States has warned that time is running out for a “strict return” to the frayed nuclear deal at the center of negotiations between Iran and world powers. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s injunction came after Iran’s new hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, pushed back on September 8 against a confidential report by the UN’s nuclear watchdog accusing …

Iranwire- Teachers have been coming out on the streets of Tehran and 12 other cities and towns across Iran to express frustration and anger at the ongoing threats to their livelihoods, the result of flawed, inconsistent education policies. Most recently, they say, teacher and education graduates have been forced to sit a new exam, resulting in thousands of people being put out of work.  It’s a …

Iran-HRM – The state security forces shot a man at point black on September 4 in Mehrshahr district in Karaj, west of Tehran. The young man has been identified as Morteza Jafari. In a video circulated on social media, a police officer shot an incapacitated man, who was forced on the ground, at point-blank range. The young man was shot …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani spoke to parliament during a closed session Tuesday about the situation in neighboring Afghanistan. According to Iranian parliamentarian Alireza Soleimani, Ghaani said Iran had a number of priorities in Afghanistan. The first was that Iran’s security in Afghanistan not be “compromised.” Ghaani said the US goal is to have Iran’s government involved in conflicts …

Al-Monitor – Malley on road for nuclear talks. US Iran Envoy Robert Malley visits Moscow and Paris this week for talks on “Iran’s nuclear program and the need to quickly reach and implement an understanding on a mutual return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” according to the Department of State. Background. The Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear …

RFL/RE – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says he is scheduled to meet with the U.S. special envoy for Iran for two days of talks expected to focus on Tehran’s nuclear program. Moscow and Washington have been planning the consultations between Ryabkov and U.S. envoy Robert Malley “for a rather long time in order to discuss the whole situation …

Iranwire – A news presenter based in northeastern Iran says he lost his job with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting after criticizing the expulsion of a distinguished philosopher from Islamic Azad University. Hamid Arun, who works for the IRIB’s Razavi Khorasan Radio and Television, had taken to Twitter to express his dismay after it emerged that Bijan Abdolkarimi, a professor …

Iranwire – As the Covid-19 death toll rises in Iran, people aged between 40 and 60 are most at risk, an infectious disease expert in Tehran has warned. The number of people over 60 getting the vaccine in Iran has increased in recent weeks, meaning middle-aged Iranians are dying from Covid-19 more than any other age group. In an interview with …

Iranwire – In the eyes of Iran’s ruling clerics, music, the arts and youth culture are among the permanent prime suspects in fostering what they perceive to be “deviance” in society, and what might elsewhere be classed as progress. The essence of these suspicions is rooted in tradition, and their reading of Shia Islam, which takes a hostile approach toward …