Social and Political

(AP) — Iranian state TV said the country has hit its highest number of daily deaths from the coronavirus, with 239 new fatalities reported on Wednesday. The report quoted the spokesperson of the country’s health ministry, Sima Sadat Lari, as saying that the 239 died since Tuesday. Iran has in the past had 235 daily deaths. The latest death toll …

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement US expressed concern in regards to COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. The U.S. is concerned by the worsening COVID-19 situation in Iran and we reiterate our offer of assistance first made in February. We join @UNHumanRights' call for Iranian authorities to release all political prisoners from their overcrowded and unsanitary prisons immediately.— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines, and Trade (MIMT) Hamid Zadboom called the reconstruction of countries such as Syria a “religious duty,” adding that “Iranian building materials needed to renovate the war-torn country are underway.” Zadboom, who also chairs the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, told the Islamic Republic Arabic-speaking TV, Al-Alam, on Monday, October 5, that Tehran …

Al-Monitor – Iran has seen the rial’s value fall by almost half this year as the currency now stands at a record low against the US dollar, triggered by ongoing sanctions, coronavirus restrictions and, according to some experts, Iran’s foreign policy adventures since the 1979 revolution. Iran’s currency dropped to its lowest value ever against the US dollar last week …

UN.org – The top UN rights official has called on Iran to release imprisoned human rights defenders, lawyers and political prisoners, citing deep concerns over their situation and heightened risk of contracting COVID-19.  According to the UN human rights office (OHCHR), conditions in Iranian prisons, suffering from chronic overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions, have worsened during the pandemic. Shortage of water …

Radiofarda – In the summer of 1988, Iran executed thousands of its opponents who were serving their sentences behind bars. At the time, Mir Hossein Mousavi was at the helm of the government as the Prime Minister, with Mousavi and his supporters insisting that he was unaware of the extrajudicial mass executions. Recently, Amnesty International (AI) presented documents that say otherwise. Amnesty …

Radiofarda – A former member of the Iranian parliament, Hedayatullah Khademi, says that all residents of a village in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan in southwest Iran have been infected with the coronavirus. Allegedly, no medical treatment or measures have been taken by the Iranian government institutions for the villagers. Khademi, a member of the 10th parliament from Izeh, posted …

Radiofarda – Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr Football Club has filed a complaint with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) over what it called “obvious violations of the International Football Federation’s (FIFA) regulations by Iran’s Persepolis.” According to the Sport 360 news website, Al-Nassr Club is claiming that Iran’s Persepolis football club, known as the Red Jerseys, committed blatant violations of FIFA rules …

RFL/RE – In a rare acknowledgement of past divisions within Iran’s armed forces, a senior commander in the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has shone further light on a decade-old dispute that reached the highest echelons. Speaking on state television, Mohammad Jafar Assadi said the late Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani, failed a decade ago to convince a fellow …

VOA – A  U.S. court has ordered the government of Iran to pay more than $1.4 billion in punitive and compensatory damages to the family of a former FBI agent who disappeared during a visit to an Iranian island in March 2007.  In a decision issued late last week, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said he adopted a special expert’s …