Social and Political

Iranwire – In a powerful act of defiance, Iranian singer Khatereh Hakimi has shared a video of herself singing “Safarnak,” accompanied by three women journalists imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin prison. The video, which was posted on social media, shows Hakimi playing the guitar and singing. The journalists Nasim Sultanbeigi, Elahe Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi can also be heard singing over …

RFL/RE – Record temperatures, prolonged droughts, and the drying up of rivers and lakes are displacing tens of thousands of Iranians each year, experts say. Many of the climate migrants are farmers, laborers, and fishermen who are moving with their families from the countryside to major urban areas in Iran in search of alternative livelihoods. To mark International Migrants Day …

RFL/RE – A Swedish appeals court will announce on December 19 its verdict in the trial of a former Iranian prison official handed a life sentence in a lower court for crimes committed during a 1988 purge of dissidents. The verdict could have repercussions on the fate of Swedish prisoners in Iran, including EU diplomat Johan Floderus, who has been …

Iranwire – Tension was reportedly high in two predominantly Baluch cities in the southeastern Iranian province of Zahedan after armed forces stormed at least three Sunni mosques there and arrested an undisclosed number of people. The Campaign of Baluch Activists reported that two mosques were raided in the provincial capital of Zahedan on December 18, resulting in the arrest of …

Iranwire – One of the lesser-known facts about Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, is his relationship and his close associates’ with the deputy commander of NATO before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and Heydar Aliyev, who later became the president of Azerbaijan.  Aliyev was reportedly associated with Khomeini during his time as an agent of the Soviet spy …

Iranwire – While the United Kingdom and other democratic nations are holding their officials accountable for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to deflect blame for its delayed and restricted vaccine imports.  The Iranian authorities’ negligence, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iranians, can partially be attributed to political reasons.  …

VOA – The Western powers in the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran accused Tehran on Monday of developing and testing ballistic missiles, transferring hundreds of drones to Russia, and enriching uranium to an unprecedented 60% level for a country without a nuclear weapons program — all in violation of a U.N. resolution endorsing the deal. Iran and its ally, Russia, …

iranintl – Jailed Iranian dissident Zohreh Sarv, who ended her hunger strike following a call from Iran’s exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi, has sent a message of unity for the opposition. In a letter from the women’s ward of Evin Prison in Tehran to Prince Pahlavi, Sarv thanked him and expressed her gratitude to her fellow inmates, including Nobel Peace Laureate Narges …

iranintl – Amid reports of a possible US strike on Iran-backed Houthis, IRGC’s commander-in-chief taunted Americans on Sunday, claiming that they’d leave the region soon. “The US and Israel are reliving their bitter experiences,” said Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami. “Did they find victory in their occupation of Afghanistan? Were they able to stay in Iraq after its occupation? They are …

iranintl – A prominent reformist in Iran says hardliners are “tearing each other apart” over financial gains after pushing reformists out of the upcoming parliamentary elections. Ali Soufi, a minister and top-level official in reformist President Mohammad Khatami’s fist government (1997-2005) told Rouydad24 website that “There is an escalation in infighting over financial gains among Iran’s conservatives now that they do not …