Social and Political

Radiofarda – Iranian social media users pushed the hashtag created in support of Kurdish tansborder porters (kolbar) to the top of trending hashtags in Persian on Sunday. During the so-called “Twitterstorm” Sunday evening tweets with the hashtag “Don’t Kill Kolbars” were retweeted more than 100,000. The Twitter storm or protest by hashtags was spurred by several new reports about the …

Al-Arabia – The opening of an Iranian supermarket in Venezuela has drawn criticism from Iranians online who say Tehran should prioritize providing for its people at home, according to reactions on social media. https://vid.alarabiya.net/2020/08/01/iranvenez4dea405e/iranvenez4dea405e___iranvenez4dea405e_video.mp4 An Iranian supermarket named Megasis opened its doors to Venezuelans in the capital Caracas on Wednesday. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel …

Radiofarda – Workers in various industrial sectors in Iran, including oil, gas and petrochemical industries, continued their strikes on Sunday and Monday, amid worsening economic condition and high inflation. According to reports published on social networks and unofficial trade unions, the workers at several refineries and petrochemical companies in the provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan, and Fars entered their second …

Radiofarda – South Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to establish a working group on expanding humanitarian trade as part of efforts to maintain bilateral partnership within the scope of a U.S.-approved sanctions exemption, a South Korean source close to the matter said Sunday, August 2. Seoul says it is seeking to expand humanitarian exports to Iran, …

Radiofarda – Referring to a $400 billion 25-year trade deal between Iran and China U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on August 2 said the United States will apply all Iran sanctions also to the “Chinese Communist Party and their businesses and state-owned enterprises”. The comments on the Iran-China deal were made during an interview with the Sunday Morning Futures program …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organization is planning to build a second “national museum” in the basement of Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini’s mausoleum, which is one of the most venerated sites for the clerical rulers of the Islamic Republic. The website of the organization says “2-3 thousand ancient artifacts” will be placed in the new museum and will make the mausoleum …

Radiofarda – The Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry on Sunday, August 2 sanctioned Richard Goldberg, a member of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington D.C. A statement issues by the ministry’s spokesman’s office accused Mr. Goldberg of “effective participation” in “economic terrorism against the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its citizens.” The statement says the decision …

Radiofarda – Remarks made by Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi and a report by IRGC-linked newspaper in Tehran have cast more doubt on the Ministry’s claim about arresting the leader of “a US-based terrorist group.” Alavi said on the Iranian state TV Saturday night that Jamshid Sharmahd was arrested in Iran. The remark was made after Persian-speaking media outside Iran …

Radiofarda – In an interview with reformist daily Etemad on Sunday August 2, A Tehran City Councillor, Mahmoud Mirlohi, has revealed that the case of illegal sale of properties by the Tehran Municipality under Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf is still open for investigation. Qalibaf (Ghalibaf), who is currently the Speaker of Iranian Parliament (Majles) was the mayor of Tehran for 12 …

RFL/RE – Despite an upsurge in coronavirus infections in Iran and a ban on weddings and large funerals, the country’s famed gatherings of mourners during the Shi’ite month of Muharram will be held. The controversial decision was announced earlier this week by Iranian President Hassan Rohani amid speculation he would bend under pressure from hard-liners who oppose any limits on …