Social and Political

Iranwire – In an attempt to attract visitors from across the globe and boost its sanctions-hit economy, the Iranian government has agreed to abolish visa requirements for passport holders from 32 countries. “The government intends to open the country’s doors to the world,” the minister of tourism, Ezzatollah Zarghami, told reporters after a cabinet meeting on December 13. “The Islamic …

Iranwire – As the Iranian population has faced shortages of powdered milk in recent months, publicly available data show that the supplies are 20 to 30 percent higher than the demand, according to new research by Iran Open Data (IOD). The collaborative initiative cites statistics from Iran’s Association of Powdered Milk Producers as indicating that the country produced 200,000 to …

Iran-HRM – Forough Taghipour and Marzieh Farsi, and Nassim Gholami Fard are at risk of execution Forough Taghipour and Marzieh Farsi, and Nassim Gholami Fard , three female political prisoners held in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, have been accused of collaborating with opposition groups against the regime( Bagh-y) on Monday December 11 ,2023, These three female political prisoners …

iranintl – Iran has quadrupled its oil revenue since President Joe Biden took office, helping the regime better fund its malign activities, a Congressional hearing was told on Tuesday. China buys almost three-quarters of the Iranian crude oil shipments, according to experts’ testimony at the hearing, making the most of the Biden administration’s reluctance to antagonize Tehran. “The Biden administration …

iranintl – A former Iranian official, implicated in smuggling 2.4 tons of gold, returned from Canada where many individuals linked to the Islamic government have found refuge. Mostafa Niazazari, recently back in Iran, was a key figure in the Tabari network, named after Akbar Tabari, the Judiciary’s former Executive Vice President and Finance Director for over two decades. His network orchestrated a …

iranintl – Iran’s foreign ministry says there is “sufficient evidence” for the charge of espionage brought against a Swedish EU diplomat whose trial began in Tehran Saturday. Iran’s judiciary on Sunday accused Johan Niels Floderus, a 33-year-old Swedish citizen and EU diplomat of extensive intelligence collaboration with Israel against the Islamic Republic. The foreign ministry spokesman Naser Kanaani on Monday …

iranintl – The scale of the latest financial corruption case in Iran has been so huge that officials and media see no harm in revealing and discussing previous cases. Faraz daily and Rouydad24 are only two of the well-informed and well-connected Iranian news websites that have offered timelines and background on major cases of financial corruption in Iran since 1979. …

Iranwire – A “bank guard” has been executed in Iran after being convicted of fatally shooting a senior cleric earlier this year, according to a news outlet affiliated with the judiciary. The man behind Abbas Ali Suleimani’s killing was executed in Babol in the presence of the victim’s family, the Mizan News Agency reported on December 13. The report said a court …

Iranwire – Prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and other Iranian activists marked International Human Rights Day with renewed calls for more freedoms, equality and justice in the country, despite the Islamic Republic’s ongoing brutal crackdown on any form of dissent. Sotoudeh participated online in a December 10 gathering organized by a coalition of human rights activists in the German …

alarabiya – Russia and Iran will speed up work on a “major new interstate agreement,” the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday. It did not detail the scope of the agreement, which comes amid growing political, trade and military ties between Moscow and Tehran that the United States views with concern. In a statement, Russia said the two countries’ foreign …