Social and Political

RFL/RE – French President Emmanuel Macron has held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss postelection violence in Belarus and the situation in Lebanon following a devastating blast in Beirut. Macron on August 12 also spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rohani, urging Tehran to avoid interfering in Lebanon or escalating tensions. Iran wields influence …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Nasrin Sotoudeh, lawyer and human rights activist currently behind bars in Evin Prison, has started a hunger strike demanding the release of political prisoners. According to Iran Human Rights, Nasrin Sotoudeh went on hunger strike by issuing a letter on August 11. A part of her letter reads: “The appellate process, parole, suspending execution sentences …

gatestoneinstitute.org – “Presumed to have been issued by Iranian religious leaders, the fatwa reportedly read: We are making drugs for Satan — America and the Jews. If we cannot kill them with guns, we will kill them with drugs.” — Matthew Levitt, Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God, Hurst Publishers, 2013. According to an FBI report, declassified in …

atlanticcouncil.org – The upcoming US presidential elections in November will likely determine whether the Iran nuclear deal survives. If Donald Trump wins re-election, Iran is likely to quit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and alter its nuclear doctrine to give it more leverage in any future negotiations. If Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is elected, both Iran …

Radiofarda – The Iranian Parliament on Wednesday turned down President Hassan Rouhani’s candidate to head the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade. In an open session of the Parliament this morning 140 of the 254 lawmakers present refused to give a vote of confidence to Hossein Modarres-Khiabani, the caretaker of the ministry. He received 104 votes in favor and 10 …

Radiofarda – The United States streamlined its bid on Tuesday to get the U.N. Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Iran, a move that could win Washington more support in the 15-member body but is unlikely to overcome opposition by veto-powers Russia and China. The new text, seen by Reuters, is just four paragraphs and would extend a …

Radiofarda – At least two explosions have hit convoys supplying U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq in the last 24 hours, security sources said, the first on Monday evening near the southern border with Kuwait and the second on Tuesday north of Baghdad. The explosions, which caused no casualties but did some material damage, are the latest in a string of …

Radiofarda- Judiciary Spokesman Gholam-Hossein Esmaili on Tuesday announced that a former lawmaker has been arrested in connection with a massive corruption case in which the current Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf allegedly paid 650 billion rials (around $25 million at the time) in bribes. Esmaili did not disclose the name of the lawmaker or his role in the corruption case. The …

Radiofarda – Owj Arts and Media Organization is one of many institutions affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), aiming at propagation of its hardliner ideology and shaping Iran’s culture to fit the agenda of the Islamic Republic. Ehsan Mohammad-Hasani head of Owj Cinematic organization (C) alongside with IRGC’s commanders during the referral ceremony of IRGC’s Commander in Cheif, April 24, …

aljazeera.com – Iranian courts sentenced two men to 10 years each in jail for spying on the country for the United Kingdom, Germany and Israel in separate cases. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said one of the men, Massud Mossaheb, had been “spying for Mossad and Germany in the guise” of the general secretary of the Austrian-Iranian Society. Mossaheb was found …