Social and Political

(AFP) -Nearly one in five Iranians may have been infected with the novel coronavirus since the country’s outbreak started in February, a health official said Tuesday. “About 15 million Iranians may have experienced being infected with this virus since the outbreak began,” said Ehsan Mostafavi, a member of the task force set up to combat COVID-19. This meant the virus …

RFL/RE – A new breakaway Afghan Taliban faction that has close ties to neighboring Iran and opposes efforts aimed at ending the 18-year insurgency in Afghanistan has emerged.The Hezb-e Walayat-e Islami, or Party of Islamic Guardianship, is believed to have split from the mainstream Taliban soon after the United States and the militant group signed a landmark peace agreement in …

VOA – The European Union’s top diplomat said Tuesday that since the United States has already withdrawn from an international agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, it can’t now use its former membership of the pact to try to impose a permanent arms embargo on the Islamic Republic.The accord, which Iran signed with the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia …

Al-Monitor – Iran has built a fake aircraft carrier that resembles a US one for naval drills, The Associated Press reports. Satellite photographs obtained by the AP show a structure that looks similar to US Navy carriers that sail through the strategic Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Iranian officials have not commented on the mock-up, which also carries replicas …

PayvandNews – Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki on Tuesday replaced the ministry’s spokesman who had become a familiar face during the coronavirus crisis. He advised the new appointee to refrain from “political games” and concentrate on the ministry’s expert and specialized activities. Dr. Sima Sadat Lari, the Students Affairs Deputy of the Ministry, who has replaced Dr. Kianoush Jahanpur as …

Radiofarda – Iran has passed a law aimed at protecting children from violence, days after the gruesome murder of a teenager by her father. The legislation, which had been stalled for more than a decade, was ratified on June 7 by the hard-line watchdog Guardians Council, which must approve all bills passed by parliament to make sure they’re consistent with …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Judiciary Spokesman Gholam-Hossein Emaili on Tuesday said a “collaborator” who had provided foreign intelligence services with details of movements of Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, has been sentenced to death. According to Esmaili the death sentence that was passed on Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd earlier has been upheld by Branch 19 of the Supreme Court and will soon …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raeesi has ordered the Prosecutor General and the deputy for international affairs at the Judiciary to take “serious measures” to bring back “financially corrupt” individuals who have fled the country. Raeesi (Raisi) has made the call while a major corruption case involving a former deputy judiciary chief is being investigated at a court in Tehran and …

Radiofarda – The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated the list of Iranian ships subject to sanctions on Sunday, June 7, and added several other Iranian ships and oil tankers to the list. Titled as Iran Non-proliferation Weapons of Mass destruction Sanctions, the new list names 123 Iranian vessels, including cargo ships and oil tankers. However, the U.S. …

Radiofarda – Congressional Republicans are planning to introduce legislation this week to ensure tougher measures targeting Iran that would add to President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure”. Washington Free Beacon first reported the story based on information it received from the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest GOP caucus in Congress. The report says that Iran, Russia and China will be affected by …