Social and Political

VOA – Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken has signaled that U.S. sanctions on Iran will remain in place for some time as Washington waits to see if Tehran verifiably stops violating a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers before potentially rejoining the deal that the prior U.S. administration quit. Speaking Wednesday in his first news conference since being sworn in …

VOA – Ongoing talks about restoring ties between the Syrian government and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are part of a new attempt by Iran to revitalize a regional alliance, some experts say.   Iran and its proxy militia groups in the Middle East refer to their alliance as the “Axis of Resistance.”   In a recent interview with the pro-Iranian television …

Al-Monitor — International air traffic has resumed at Aleppo International Airport, with the first departing plane touching down in Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Jan. 15, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported. “The resumption of flights to neighboring countries contribute to setting the wheel of the economy back in motion and restoring the glory of the touristic city of Aleppo,” Bassem Mansour, …

RFL/RE – Iran has sentenced the brother of First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri to two years in prison on finance-related charges. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said on January 26 that charges against Mehdi Jahangiri included “currency smuggling” in the amount of $847,200. Mehdi Jahangiri He was ordered to return the funds and fined four times the amount in question, Esmaili …

RFl/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has criticized Iran’s judiciary over the prosecution of the country’s telecommunications minister after he allegedly refused to block Instagram and impose restrictions on other foreign social media and messaging platforms. Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi was summoned for prosecution last week but Rohani, seen as a moderate, challenged the Islamic nation’s judiciary during a cabinet …

Iranwire – The Islamic Republic of Iran was born in 1979 following a wave of popular uprisings against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah’s policies were modernizing yet his regime was repressive; many Iranians felt his reforms were failing to reach them or were disrupting life for the worse. The Revolution was led by Muslim clerics and the founder of …

Iranwire – An old building sits in Mostafa Khomeini Street, near the Sirus crossroads. Outside, a large sign indicates a medical center is housed there. Several cars are parked in the yard and a guard and several men talk to each other, standing next to one of the cars. Often in the past, the old building has attracted the attention of …

Radiofarda – Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s website has published a series of exclusive interviews with seven top-ranking officials in Iran. Published from January 11 to January 18, and titled “Decisive Word,” the interviews reflect attitudes of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and two of his predecessors, Ali Akbar Velayati and Kamal Kharrazi; the speaker of Iran’s Majlis parliament, …

VOA – Senior leaders of Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgency traveled to Iran Tuesday to “exchange views” on U.S.-brokered peace negotiations between warring Afghan parties. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the insurgent team had been formally invited to Tehran for bilateral meetings “to review (the) Afghan peace process.” Iran’s official media quoted Khatibzadeh as saying that the Taliban’s visit was “part of …

VOA – Two Americans and a U.S. permanent resident whom Washington says were held hostage by Iran for years until it freed them during the term of former President Donald Trump have urged his successor Joe Biden not to make gestures toward Tehran until it frees other U.S. hostages.  In messages to VOA Persian in recent days, U.S. Navy veteran …