Social and Political

Radiofarda – A U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota has charged Payment24, an Iranian online financial services company, its founder and Chief Executive Officer Seyed Sajjad Shahidian and Chief Operating Officer, Vahid Vali, with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. Sajjad Shahidian (L) with his partner Vahid Vali. Undated. Shahidian, 33, who was arrested in and extradited from the UK, was …

Radiofarda – An outspoken member of Iran’s parliament, Mahmoud Sadeghi, says a Tehran court of appeals has upheld a decision, sentencing him to 21 months in prison, and a 100 million rial (roughly $2400) fine. “The court had previously set a date for July 18, but it unexpectedly issued its ruling today,” Sadeqi tweeted on Monday, May 18. The lower …

Radiofarda – The Iranian Parliament (Majles) says the existence of several intelligence agencies in Iran has led to corruption and losses in the country’s automobile manufacturing industry. An investigative report read out at the Majles on Monday May 19, added that parts of these factories including Iran Khodro Diesel and SAIPA Diesel have been turned into backyards for “political outcasts” …

Radiofarda – Iranian epidemiologists say the symptoms associated with COVID-19 in Iran have changed from respiratory to gastrointestinal. They also believe the shift to gastrointestinal symptoms which are often accompanied with no fever or only low fever cause a delay in diagnosis and result in the further spread of the virus by those who are infected but have no obvious …

RFL/RE – The U.S. military has warned Iran that armed vessels approaching within 100 meters of U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf region risk being “interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures.”The maritime broadcast warning issued on May 19 comes after U.S. President Donald Trump warned last month that the U.S. Navy would “shoot down and …

Amnesty – Amnesty International has released details of the deaths of 304 men, women and children killed by Iran’s security forces during last November’s ruthless crackdown, six months after the protests.  The organization found that more than 220 of the recorded deaths took place over just two days on 16 and 17 November. New and extensive research has again concluded …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Arsalan Khodkam, a political prisoner at Urmia Central Prison, who his family say has not committed any acts of violence, was sentenced to death under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. Speaking to Iran Human Rights (IHR), a source close to Arsalan Khodkam said: “Arsalan did not commit …

The New Yorker – Khamenei, at eighty, is beset by unrest. But, a dissident said, “this regime will do whatever it takes to hold on to power.” By Dexter Filkins May 18, 2020 One night last December, the chief resident physician at a hospital in the Iranian city of Gorgan was asked to consult on a baffling case: a patient …

PayvandNews – Iranian Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaeili announced on Tuesday that two of the defendants in corruption cases were sentenced to death. The defendants, a husband and a wife, were involved in manipulating the foreign exchange and gold markets and hoarding cars from Siapa Company. Vahid Behzadi sitting next to his wife Najva Lashidaee at a court session “In a …

Radiofarda – Islamic Republic’s President Hassan Rouhani Monday called for the establishment of a few “main political parties” in the country that could take turns to govern. Iran has dozens of registered political parties and groups but their ability to become nationwide, grassroots influential organizations are curbed by the authoritarian nature of the political system. Rouhani in a meeting with …