Social and Political

Iranwire – On Monday, May 17 it emerged that Sina Estavi, CEO of Cryptoland, one of the biggest digital currency exchanges in Iran, had been arrested. The incident caught investors by surprise, and ever since then, the issue of cryptocurrency trading in Iran has been in the news. Estavi’s Twitter account was also seized by Iran’s Organized Cyber Crime Police as well and …

atlanticcouncil.org – The leaked audiotape of Islamic Republic Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has elicited much fanfare in recent weeks. Among the less scrutinized aspects of the tape has been Zarif’s reference to the Islamic Republic’s ongoing support of the Bashar al-Assad regime, including the fact that Iran Air—the flag carrier of the country—continues to transport arms and fighters into the Syrian …

gatestoneinstitute.org – These Arabs evidently understand what the anti-Israel activists around the world fail to see — that Hamas has brought nothing but disaster and despair to the two million Palestinians living under its rule in the Gaza Strip…. [They] also seem to understand that Israel is not waging war on the Palestinians, but against an Islamist terrorist group….. These …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Younes Totazehi and Abdullah Totazehi, two Baluch men who were on death row for drug-related charges, have been executed in Birjand Central Prison. According to the Baluch Activists Campaign, two Baluch men were executed in Birjand Central Prison yesterday morning. Younes and Abdullah Totazehi, both Zahedan natives and uncle and nephew, were sentenced to death …

Al-Monitor – President Hassan Rouhani declared that an agreement in principle has been reached with the United States under which Washington will remove a series of crippling sanctions against Tehran. At a televised Cabinet meeting May 20, Rouhani said the relief will cover oil and petrochemical industries, shipping, insurance and banking sectors. The Iranian president noted there are only some details that need …

newsweek – The Biden administration’s outreach to Iran is in full swing. A third of a year into its tenure, the new White House appears to be pulling out all the stops in its efforts to reengage with Tehran, and to demolish the “maximum pressure” policy of its predecessor in the process. That policy reversal has already entailed major political …

foxnews EXCLUSIVE: Former President George W. Bush told Fox News on Wednesday that Iran is “dangerous” for stability in the Middle East and the world, while warning that a two-state solution amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be “very difficult at this stage.” In an exclusive interview with Fox News about his new book, “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants,” Bush highlighted the story of Mariam Memarsadeghi …

washingtontimes – Iran’s rulers fund, arm and instruct Hamas, which rules Gaza, and has fired more than 3,000 rockets at Israeli cities and villages over recent days. Iran’s rulers fund, arm and instruct Hezbollah, which dominates Lebanon, a state now sinking into abject poverty. Iran’s rulers fund, arm and instruct Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator who has killed hundreds of thousands of …

RFL/RE – Senior diplomats from multiple countries have reported progress in talks to revive the 2015 accord on Iran’s nuclear weapons and persuade the United States to rejoin the landmark agreement.Negotiators held a new round of discussions on May 19 in Vienna to try and find common ground between Tehran and Washington and renew the deal, which was put on …

Iranwire – IranWire has received reports from inside Iran that on Tuesday, May 18, a number of reporters and information activists were contacted and warned against publishing any negative coverage of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raeesi. A former political correspondent told IranWire they had received a call from a man who introduced himself as a member of the judiciary, which is …