Social and Political

RFL/RE – U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to respond to the killing of three U.S. service members in a drone attack on American forces stationed in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, which he blamed on Iran-backed militant groups. Biden said the attack took place late on January 27. He did not specify the number of those injured in …

RFL/RE – Pakistan and Iran on January 29 agreed to work together to improve security cooperation in the wake of deadly air strikes by Tehran and Islamabad earlier this month that killed at least 11 people, marking a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors. The development came after Iran’s top diplomat, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, held talks in Islamabad with …

Iranwire – “Tehran doesn’t laugh at anyone, but death. It doesn’t enjoy anything, except death.” This is an excerpt of the poem “Taran” by Shirko Bekas, dedicated to Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died while in police custody in September 2022, triggering months of nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic. The poem gained popularity on social media.  The execution …

Iranwire – The execution of four Iranian Kurdish prisoners accused of being “saboteurs” with links to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service has prompted widespread condemnations, both within and outside of Iran. Mohammad Faramarzi, Mohsen Mazloum, Wafa Azarbar and Pejman Fatehi were hanged on January 29, a day after being granted a final meeting with their relatives. Available documents and published reports …

Iranwire – The Islamic Republic of Iran denied any involvement in a January 28 attack that killed three US service members and wounded scores of others in Jordan, after President Joe Biden blamed Tehran-backed groups for the unmanned aerial drone strike. The overnight attack in northeast Jordan follows months of strikes by such groups against American forces across the Middle …

VOA – Iran on Monday hanged four members of its Kurdish minority on charges of spying for Israel, defying a campaign for their lives to be spared by rights groups who had described their trial as grossly unfair. The four men were executed at dawn after they were convicted of collaborating with Israel on a plan to sabotage an Iranian …

VOA – The trial of a Swedish EU diplomat wrapped up in Tehran on Sunday, with Iranian prosecutors seeking the maximum penalty for the man accused of spying for Iran’s arch-foe, Israel. The prosecutor said that 33-year-old Johan Floderus — who works for the European Union diplomatic service — was charged with “very extensive intelligence cooperation with the Zionist occupation …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its forces seized a “foreign vessel” carrying two million liters of smuggled diesel in the Gulf on Sunday. Citing an IRGC commander, the Tasnim news agency reported that the vessel displayed the flag of an Oceania country, without specifying the country. The vessel was seized 60 miles off the coast of …

iranintl- Iranian graduates seeking higher education in the US are facing significant delays in obtaining visas, even with letters of admission from top universities. Iran International has spoken to some students who have been waiting for much longer than the 6-month limit, after which a prospective student can pursue legal action under current advice of the State Department. The delays are …

iranintl – Iran International has learned that the US and its European allies are considering boosting sanctions on Iran due to Tehran’s recent regional behavior, particularly its support for Houthi forces. “Following the threats posed by the Islamic Republic in the region, especially its support for the Houthis and proxy groups in Iraq in recent months, which led to the …