Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Twitter suspended Friday an account believed to belong to the office of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The social media giant has taken action against some Iran-related accounts since permanently suspending Donald Trump from Twitter earlier this month when Trump was still president. The account, which had the handle @khamenei_site, tweeted a threat against Trump. The tweet was entitled …

Iranwire – A cleric has accused President Hassan Rouhani of being addicted to opium on state-run television. Speaking on Zavieh [“Angle”], a program broadcast by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Institute of Islamic Culture and Thought representative Ahmad Jahanbezorgi said: ”An official who is smoking opium at home will not go anywhere and his ministers will not be able to contact …

Iranwire – IranWire has seen a copy of an intelligence report received by Iraqi officials on Wednesday which warned ISIS could carry out bomb attacks in the country on Friday, January 22. The report is thought to have been issued by the Falcons Intelligence Cell, a 5,000-strong government counter-terrorism unit comprising intelligence officers, law enforcement and other operatives conducting covert …

Iranwire – A new finding by a delegation of Afghanistan’s parliament shows that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been providing support, both with funds and by supplying weapons, to 22 “dangerous” groups in the country’s Herat province. The delegation, led by Abdol Sattar Hosseini and accompanied by Habiba al-Rahman Pedram, Hamidollah Hanif, and Karamoddin Rezazadeh, traveled to Herat on …

Iran-HRM – Another 11 months of imprisonment has been handed down for political prisoner Saeed Sangar who has already finished serving his 20-year sentence. After various stages of fabricating a new case against political prisoner Saeed Sangar, another 11 months of imprisonment was handed down to him on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. He has already served over 20 years in …

HRW – In light of thestatement by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on January 8, 2021, that the Islamic Republic will not import any COVID-19 vaccines made in the United States or the United Kingdom, we the undersigned organizations call upon the Supreme Leader to rescind this order and allow Iranians to purchase any safe and effective vaccines as soon …

(Reuters) – The United States seeks to lengthen and strengthen the nuclear constraints on Iran through diplomacy and the issue will be part of President Joe Biden’s early talks with foreign counterparts and allies, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Biden has said that if Tehran resumed strict compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement – under which Iran restrained …

Iranwire – Alireza Raeesi, the National Coronavirus Taskforce’s spokesman, has backed down and apologized to the clergy and Friday imams of Qom for criticizing their apparent failure to comply with health protocols at religious ceremonies. The apology came after Raeesi faced several days of sustained attacks and even calls for him to stand trial over the comments. In a recorded message released …

Iranwire – Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was yesterday returned to her cell in the notorious Qarchak Prison in Varamin. It came just days the attorney, who has been jailed for 34 years for her defense of civil rights activists in Iran, underwent a heart angioplasty at Pars Hospital in Tehran. Her husband Reza Khandan announced the news on Twitter, …

CHRI — In light of the statement by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on January 8, 2021, that the Islamic Republic will not import any COVID-19 vaccines made in the United States or the United Kingdom, we the undersigned organizations call upon the Supreme Leader to rescind this order and allow Iranians to purchase any safe and effective vaccines …