Social and Political

iranintl – Reports about a money-losing foreign currency trading scheme at the central bank of Iran has surfaced as the media is abuzz with another large corruption case. The Central Bank of Iran issued a statement Monday rejecting reports that the bank bought foreign currency at a higher rate and sold it to a cabal of insider businesspeople. The government’s …

Iranwire – The European Union has imposed sanctions on six Iranian individuals and five entities it says are involved in Iran’s “development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) used in Russia’s illegal war of aggression.”  “These are the first listings under the newly established framework for restrictive measures in view of Iran’s military support of Russia’s war of aggression …

VOA – An Austrian national went on trial Monday in London for allegedly spying for a group that may have been preparing to attack an Iranian TV station in the British capital. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, 31, who is originally from Chechnya, was detained by counterterrorism officers in west London on Feb. 11. He was charged with possession of records containing information …

VOA – A legal complaint called Monday for Swiss authorities to arrest Iran’s president during an expected visit and charge him with crimes against humanity connected to a 1988 purge of dissidents. The complaint asks Swiss federal public prosecutor Andreas Muller to ensure the arrest and prosecution of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi “over his participation in acts of genocide, torture, …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Child Bride Samira Sabzian who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of her husband, is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, 13th of December. Her two children visited her in prison for the first time to bid goodbye and she has now been transferred to solitary confinement in Qarchak Prison.  Iran Human Rights calls on …

alarabiya – The only thing Iran and Israel share is that both do not believe in a two-state solution, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Monday via translation at an international forum in Doha. During the forum, Amir-Abdollahian reiterated Iran’s proposal that a referendum be held to determine the fate of Palestine, with only descendants of those who lived …

alarabiya – Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Monday the Nordic country demanded that Iran immediately release Swedish EU employee Johan Floderus from prison. Kristersson told a news conference Floderus, who was arrested in Iran 2022, was arbitrarily detained. Iranian authorities have accused Floderus, held in a Tehran prison for more than 600 days, of conspiring with Iran’s arch-enemy Israel to …

iranintl – Iranians are posting dance videos on social media in support of a man who is being prosecuted for singing and dancing in the street and posting the videos on Instagram.  The fishmonger, Sadegh Bagheri (aka Boughi) in his late sixties, became an Instagram celebrity in recent months after videos of his folk songs and dance at the bazaar …

iranintl – Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, imprisoned in Tehran, has criticized Western governments for their half-hearted support for Iranians who fight for democracy and human rights. In her acceptance speech –sent from the notorious Evin prison, read by her teenage daughter in Oslo– Mohammadi said the Islamic Republic is in a state of “unstable equilibrium” with very little popular …

iranintl – The IRGC is indifferent to who becomes Iran’s next president or the outcome of parliamentary elections in March, its deputy commander Ali Fadavi has said. During a speech at Jondi Shapur University in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Fadavi emphasized that the crucial aspect for the IRGC is that the Iranian people heed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s directive to participate in the elections. …