Social and Political

Iranwire – It has been more than a year since coronavirus spread around the world and since it was classified a pandemic. Although long-term quarantine policies to control the virus in some countries have reduced the spread of the virus and reduced the number of deaths, in many other countries, this is not the case. At the same time, governments and …

VOA – The Biden administration is signaling that Iran shouldn’t expect major new concessions from the United States as a new round of indirect nuclear talks is set to resume. A senior administration official told reporters Thursday that the U.S. has laid out the concessions it’s prepared to make in order to rejoin the landmark 2015 nuclear deal that former …

Al-Monitor – “Israel could be blown up in a single operation,” said the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami. Known for his harsh anti-Israeli rhetoric, Salami downplayed the Jewish state’s defenses as a security “bulb” that has been “burst” following a series of recent incidents. The Iranian commander enumerated Israel’s “vulnerabilities” in “domino-style” attacks, for which …

freebeacon – The Biden administration is considering granting Iran significant economic sanctions relief, according to U.S. and Iranian officials, confirming that Iran is making headway in its demand that America unwind many of its most crippling measures. Negotiations with Iran in Vienna are centered around the scope and scale of sanctions relief, a State Department spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon, …

Al-Arabia – Residents in Baghdad have been captured on camera cheering after billboards of Iran’s former and top leaders were torn down in the Iraqi capital, a Twitter video posted on Thursday showed. Protesters gathered in the Sunni-majority neighborhood of al-Adhmaya in Baghdad and chanted at the removal of large advertising structures featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, former Supreme …

RFL/RE – Iraqi President Barham Salih says his country has hosted multiple rounds of talks between Saudi and Iranian officials, confirming reports of diplomacy to defuse tensions between the Middle Eastern rivals. Talks were held “more than once,” Salih told an online discussion by the Beirut Institute think tank on May 5. He added the discussions were “important and significant,” …

Iranwire – With 44 days to go until the Iranian presidential election, the country’s powerful Guardian Council has abruptly intervened in proceedings in an act contrary to the Constitution. Without approving or notifying the Iranian parliament, the oversight body set new conditions on those who can stand as candidates. It communicated these apparent orders in a message to the Ministry of Interior, which manages the …

Iranwire – The name of Khavaran, a cemetery southwest of Tehran, has long been associated with the criminal history of the Islamic Republic. Many victims of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, whose bodies were never identified or returned to their families, are buried here in unmarked, mass graves. The Iranian regime has tried time and again to wipe out any trace …

Iranwire – The bizarre QAnon conspiracy theory flourished online throughout the pandemic, with proponents co-opting Covid-19 disinformation to fuel an ever-changing narrative. Followers of this baseless conspiracy theory believe a cabal of global elites are secretly running an international child trafficking ring. Adherents have been linked to a number of violent incidents including January’s deadly attack on the US capitol. …

Iranwire – In recent days, news of the alleged suicides of three young doctors at Iran University of Medical Sciences tore through social media and horrified many observers. With the cases now being investigated, other medical students have spoken out about their experiences of constant strain, exploitation and isolation working under the Iranian Ministry of Health. IranWire spoke to three health workers …