Social and Political

RFL/RE – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says Ali Motaghian, the chief of Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency, has been convicted over the publishing of an article quoting a former Iranian diplomat who criticized Tehran’s “arbitrary” intelligence operations in Europe. It was not immediately clear what sentence was handed down in the case and whether Motaghian was in custody …

RFL/RE – Facebook says it has begun to label state-controlled media organizations such as Russia’s Sputnik, Iran’s Press TV, and China’s Xinhua News so that people know whether the content they read is coming from an entity that may be under the influence of a state. The social media company announced plans to create a state media label in October …

VOA – A U.S. Navy veteran, whose family said his only crime was falling in love, left Iran on Thursday after nearly two years of detention, winning his freedom as part of a deal that spared an American-Iranian physician any more time behind American bars. Michael White flew from Tehran to Zurich, where he was met by diplomat Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy …

Al-Monitor – By opening two border crossings with Iran and Iraq, Turkey is seeking to boost the economy, and many businesses resume operations in the country this week.  Trucks are seen at the Habur border gate in this still taken from video in Habur, Turkey, Oct. 31, 2017. Photo by REUTERS TV/ via REUTERS. Turkey will reopen two border crossings with Iraq and …

Radiofarda – The Public Relations Department of Tehran Oil Refining and Distribution Company on Wednesday said a fire caused by a gasoline leak at Shahid Tondgouyan Refinery has killed one worker and injured another. A spokesman of the refinery in the south of Tehran on Wednesday told reporters that the fire which was caused by a gasoline leak has been …

Reuters – Iran has signed a two-year contract with Iraq to export electricity to the neighbouring country, Iranian state news agency IRNA on Thursday quoted the country’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian as saying. The agreement comes amid sanctions reimposed on Iran since 2018 which forbid countries from purchasing Iranian energy. U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear …

Radiofarda – President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said restrictions will be restored if warnings are not heeded and the coronavirus outbreak peaks again. “People and businesses must take officials’ warnings very seriously that there will be another peak if regulations and social distancing are not observed,” Rouhani said and warned that restrictions will be restored wherever the virus spreads quickly. …

Radiofarda – Iran’s regular Army on Tuesday claimed that “envious and hostile enemies” misrepresented the remarks of its Coordinating Deputy in an interview to damage the unity of the Army and the Revolutionary Guard. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei decorated Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari with Fath medal on September 9, 2018. FILE PHOTO The statement released by the Army on June …

Al-Arabia – President Hassan Rouhani ordered the transfer of more than $30 billion through “smuggling gangs” to Iraqi Kurdistan in 2017, an Iranian lawmaker claimed on Tuesday. Rouhani oversaw the transfer of $36.1 billion to the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan through “smuggling gangs” in 2017, MP Javad Karimi Ghodoosi said at a parliament session. “During a meeting at the …

VOA – Israel says it has been considering requests by thousands of Iranians seeking to leave Iran and receive asylum or medical assistance in the Jewish state, a longtime foe of Iran’s Islamist rulers. In recent weeks, Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has told local news outlets that its Persian social media channels have seen a surge in messages from Iranians …