Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Despite US President-elect Joe Biden’s team expressing interest in rejoining the Iran nuclear deal, Iranian officials are not eager to discuss the idea. During a press conference with Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, a reporter asked about the likelihood of reentering the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Zanganeh said that he had nothing to say about the topic and would not be commenting on …

(Reuters) – Iran’s health ministry reported on Monday a rise of 10,463 in the number of daily coronavirus cases, bringing total cases in the Middle East’s worst-affected country to 692,949. Ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that 458 people had died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 38,749. Iran’s government has imposed …

Payvandnews –Iran’s statistics bureau says number of births in the country fell to nearly 1.2 million in the year ending March 2020. The number of births in Iran fell to one of its lowest in 8 years in year to March 2020 as data provided by the Statistical Center of Iran shows economic problems in the country have dented government efforts to …

Al-Arabia – The United States must “repent” and stop the “economic war” against Iran, an Iranian foreign ministry official said on Sunday, following Democrat Joe Biden’s win over incumbent President Donald Trump in the US presidential election. Iran has prepared a list of demands that Biden must “compensate” the Islamic Republic for, foreign ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told Iran’s Arabic-language …

Al-Arabia – The Trump administration will impose new sanctions on Iran every week during the ten weeks leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, Axios reported on Sunday, citing Israeli sources. The US State Department’s Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams is in Israel to discuss the sanctions plan, according to the Axios …

iranwire.com – Until three weeks ago, Hassan Irloo was a mysterious figure – associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’s Quds Expeditionary Force – who despite frequently being mentioned in the news was never shown in the media. There was even doubt as to whether “Hassan Irloo” was real or a pseudonym. But three weeks ago, on October 18, he came into …

iranwire.com – Further restrictions to help reduce the spread of coronavirus will be imposed in Iran on Tuesday, November 10. The measures have been met by substantial criticism on social media, with many Iranians questioning the motives behind them. Some say the move is political: the anniversary of the widespread protests that were brutally suppressed by authorities is only days …

RFL/RE – U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to stake a new course with Iran, pledging that Washington will rejoin the 2015 landmark nuclear deal if Tehran returns to full compliance.In a September opinion piece published on CNN, Biden said he was “ready to walk the path of diplomacy if Iran takes steps to show it is ready, too.” He also promised …

iranwire.com – Starting on November 10 and lasting for a month, all businesses in Tehran, provincial capitals and populous city, except essential services, pharmacies and food stores must close at 6pm, President Rouhani announced at a meeting of the National Coronavirus Taskforce. Rouhani emphasized that “family gatherings and parties” contribute to the spread of coronavirus and said that, since in winter …

iranwire.com – Emil Filtenborg and Stefan Weichert are independent journalists based in Ukraine. In a weekly series for IranWire, they examine the landscape of disinformation in Russia and some of the false information that has emanated from the country since the outbreak of coronavirus. Russia has tried to influence the United States presidential election this year, and, as usual, social media …