Social and Political

RFL/RE -An Iranian-German citizen imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison has been released on a furlough, though she has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet that her daughter said makes the situation more like house arrest. Mariam Claren said in a social media post on January 9 that her mother, Nahid Taghavi, was on temporary release, which she hopes “is an important …

RFL/RE – A rocket barrage on a strategic air base in northern Israel sent from Lebanon by Hizballah is the latest in a growing string of events in the Middle East that analysts say could boost China’s standing in the region and create new opportunities for it to expand its influence.That January 6 attack adds to other intensifying violence — …

iranintl – In an event to mark four years since Iran’s Revolutionary Guards downing of Flight PS752, Canada’s premier reiterated his resolve to label the IRGC a terrorist organization. During the Monday ceremony, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is looking at ways to list the Guards, which shot down the Ukrainian airliner by two missiles shortly after taking …

Iranwire – Authorities in Tehran are using children to enforce mandatory headscarf rules for women in the city’s metro stations, IranWire has learned.   The information was confirmed by Ali Shafakhah, the head of the Skoda Children’s Rights Committee, who said that “the authorities have now hired children as hijab enforcers.” Shafakhah wrote on the social media platform X that he …

Iranwire – Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Ukraine have filed a complaint with the United Nations aviation agency in their bid to hold the Islamic Republic of Iran accountable for the downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner over Tehran four years ago. “Today we have jointly initiated dispute-settlement proceedings before the International Civil Aviation Organization against the Islamic Republic …

VOA – Iran on Monday threw its weight behind calls from neighboring Iraq to oust the U.S.-led anti-jihadi coalition from its territory after a U.S. strike killed a pro-Iran commander in Baghdad. “Regarding Iraq and the actions that the American government took recently, the Iraqi government has clearly announced its position,” foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani told a press conference. …

VOA – Iran hopes technical problems preventing Iranian Muslims from making the Umrah pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia will soon be resolved, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday. Iran initially announced in December that the first Umrah pilgrims would travel on December 19 following an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to allow the pilgrimage to take place after a …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah revealed in a speech that his terror militia had conducted around 670 armed attacks against Israel since October 8. Instead of blaming Hamas and Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into another war, the Lebanese government is rushing to accuse Israel of killing a Hamas fugitive and violating Lebanese airspace to attack Syria. Instead of criticizing …

iranintl – Iran’s hardliners retreated somewhat last week, and authorities approved the candidacy of a few Reformists for the March parliamentary elections to save face. As partial results of the vetting of Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections emerged, the official news agency IRNA has confirmed that the Guardian Council, which has the final say in the process of vetting, approved the candidacy of …

iranintl – The Israeli army says it has found evidence in Gaza that shows Iran helped Hamas make precision-guided missiles, something the group was thought not to have. It’s unclear what the proof was of Iranian involvement in manufacturing and operating of the missiles, although a photo has been presented along with the announcement, which Israel army says is a …