Social and Political

Iranwire – Chief justice Ebrahim Raeesi’s is standing for election as president on a “fighting corruption” ticket. For months now, powerful media outlets close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the office of the Supreme Leader have been portraying Raeesi as a trailblazer against nepotism and embezzlement within the rank and file. The reality, though, is a little different. …

Iranwire – Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh is a teachers’ unionist from Fars province, currently being held in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz after a Revolutionary Court found him guilty of “propaganda against the regime” and “insulting the authorities” and gave him an eight-month prison sentence. He is also a fellow inmate of Habib Afkari, one of three brothers arrested for allegedly taking part in protests in 2018. Habib’s …

VOA – In recent months, Iraqi mediators have been working patiently behind the scenes to try to bring about a diplomatic rapprochement between long-time adversaries Iran and Saudi Arabia. No immediate breakthrough appears on the horizon, though. Iraqi President Barham Salih has told Arab media that improved ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia would be beneficial for Baghdad and the …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Guardian Council held its second meeting May 19 to review the qualifications of 592 candidates who registered to run for president, spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaei said.  The Guardian Council consists of 12 members. Six members are clerics who are chosen directly by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while the other six members are nominated by the judiciary chief and approved …

Reuters – The U.N. nuclear watchdog is still in talks with Iran on how to proceed with a three-month monitoring deal that expires on Friday, it said on Thursday, adding that it will provide an update within days.

Iranwire – On September 28, 2018, reporters across Europe’s Scandinavian countries filed an urgent dispatch: “In an operation unprecedented since World War II, police in Denmark have closed the country’s land, air and sea borders.” Danish police announced in a public statement that they were hunting for a Volvo car whose occupants were wanted in connection with “dangerous crimes”. For …

Iranwire – On Saturday, May 15, IranWire published an audio file related to the shooting of four former generals of the Pahlavi regime in mid-February 1979, shortly after the Islamic Revolution. The recording includes the charges read against General Nematollah Nassiri, the then-head of Savak (the Shah’s secret police), General Mehdi Rahimi, commander of Tehran Police and Tehran’s then-military commander, General Reza …

CHRI – In 1985, my parents were taken to court in Tehran by a tenant who was trying to stop them from selling a property he was renting from them at the time. My parents were surprised to learn about the lawsuit. After all, they had given the tenant several months to vacate. He had no legitimate legal argument. On …

Al-Monitor – Over 230 dissidents and civil society activists in Iran have called on fellow citizens to boycott the country’s presidential election slated for June 18. In an open letter addressing the Iranian nation, the signees described the election as little beyond a “formality.” The activists demanded that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down as the first stage in a peaceful transition …

arabnews – Bahrain’s attorney general said that public prosecutors had uncovered a $1.3 billion money laundering racket linked to officials at Future Bank and other Iranian institutions — including its central bank.Attorney General Ali bin Fadl Al-Buainain said the alleged offenses took place between 2008 and 2012.Al-Buainain said that Future Bank officials, together with other Iranian bank officials and the …