Social and Political

iranintl – After nearly 45 years of Ali Khamenei’s rule in Iran, the most important question for many is what will happen after his death, a smooth or a rocky transition. Contrary to what has been presented so far in the discussion on succession after Ali Khamenei, this article will not speculate about the time of his death, the identity …

iranintl – Iran-backed Houthis attempted to hit a US warship in the Red Sea on Sunday, but their missile was intercepted, according to the US military. This latest Houthi attack comes only a few days after the airstrikes by the US and Britain on dozens of Houthi sites in Yemen, signaling that the group, which claims to be acting in …

Iranwire – Five bloggers residing in the southern Iranian city of Zarand have been summoned to the local General and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office on charges of “publishing inappropriate videos and images on social media,” according to media reports.  Local prosecutor Reza Yaqoubi said the office had opened a case against the five individuals after receiving information about their activities from …

VOA – The crew of a tanker seized by Iran’s navy this week in a row with the United States are safe, the vessel’s Greek owners said on Sunday. Empire Navigation said in a statement that an associate had contacted Iranian authorities and reported that “all the crew members on board the St. Nikolas are safe and in good health.” …

Al-Arabia – Iran said on Sunday its security forces killed two “terrorists” who were planning to carry out suicide bombings in the country’s restive southeast. A local security official told state media that the two people were killed in the city of Saravan after being pursued by security forces. The official said that the two individuals were carrying explosives intended …

iranintl – Iran will continue to support the Palestinians and “resistance groups”, President Ebrahim Raisi stated in Tehran on Sunday, emphasizing that compromise is not feasible. “We have repeatedly stated without hesitation that supporting Palestine and resistance groups is on the agenda of the Islamic Republic’s policies,” Raisi stated on Sunday. Raisi’s speech in an Islamic gathering appeared to be the …

iranintl – Media reports have highlighted Iran’s renewed interest in pursuing FATF membership, and recently, the Ministry of Economy sent a protest letter to the financial watchdog. The ministry argued that Iran’s 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal with world powers removed all sanctions, and Iran should not be economically penalized by the FATF. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a …

iranintl – Water management researcher Aida Tavakoli calls the current condition of Lake Urmia “an ecological disaster” as the Middle East’s once second largest lake disappears. Tavakoli blamed the shrinking on several factors including mismanagement, drought, and increased water diversion for irrigated agriculture within the lake’s watershed. “Like all totalitarian regimes, food self-sufficiency has been a core priority of the …

VOA – More than a week after Iran experienced its deadliest terror attack in decades, its Islamist rulers said one of the suicide bombers trained in Afghanistan with the Islamic State group that claimed responsibility for the attack. Iranian leaders have vowed to retaliate against the IS perpetrators of the January 3 suicide bombings that killed at least 90 people …

VOA – India’s Minister of External Affairs will make a two-day trip to Iran starting Sunday, following Western airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels over the Tehran-backed group’s attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. The visit by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar comes a month after a drone attack on a ship near Indian waters that the United States blamed on Iran. A …