Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Iran urged its citizens to take social distancing “more seriously” on Friday as it announced more than 1,500 new cases of coronavirus infection in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country. Since reporting its first cases in mid-February, the Islamic republic has struggled to contain the spread of the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour …

atlanticcouncil.org – The Iran-China bilateral relationship has been gaining strategic significance for more than a decade and the coronavirus pandemic appears to have solidified this trend. While US President Donald Trump is offering medical supplies while refusing to lift sanctions on financial transactions with Iran, the Chinese are airlifting supplies and medical personnel to Tehran. A recent social media spat …

theguardian.com – New coronavirus infections in Iran have risen sharply since the country relaxed its restrictions on movement, while France has said it will reimpose strict lockdowns if cases surge when it begins to emerge from confinement next week. Tehran on Wednesday reported 1,680 new infections, nearly double the figure four days ago and the highest daily figure since 11 April when it allowed …

Radiofarda – Hamed Tarhib, a distributor of camel products in Iran, says he sells camel urine to Iraqi travelers for $ 50 a liter. Tarahib has also exported 370 liters (approximately 97.7 US gallons) of camel urine in eight months. He has also applied for an export license but says officials at agriculture ministry have laughed at his request. However, …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Judiciary Spokesman on Tuesday said they have advised authorities to deal with labor protests leniently while new charges of “propaganda against the regime” were brought against a prominent jailed labor activist. Speaking about the latest developments in Haft Tapeh Sugar Mill privatization case that has led to labor unrest for the past two years, Gholam-Hossein Esmaili said: “We think …

Radiofarda – An Iranian news agency with close ties to the Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday reported that the Intelligence Ministry has “tracked down and destroyed two terrorist cells”. According to Tasnim News Agency the two cells were affiliated with “separatist groups that had entered the country from the neighboring eqlim [the Iraqi Kurdistan] to carry out harassment and terrorist activities”. …

RFL/RE – U.S. President Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution to prevent military action against Iran without first receiving permission from Congress amid rising tensions in the Middle East. In a statement on May 6, Trump described the attempt by lawmakers to curtail a president’s war powers as “very insulting” and based on “misunderstandings of facts and law.” In a rare …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has threatened a “crushing response” if the United States continues efforts to prolong a UN Security Council arms embargo on Tehran that is set to expire later this year. A landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers provided for Tehran to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Majid Esmaeilzadeh, a juvenile offender who was executed at Ardabil prison on April 18, 2020, “was tortured to confess at the time of arrest”, his father told IHR. Majid was 17 at the time of committing the alleged crime. His family was poor and could not afford to pay for lawyers and his public defender …

gatestoneinstitute.org – At the same time that the airline [Iran’s Mahan Air] was flying to China, it also continued operations to other countries in the Middle East, with the result that it has now been accused of spreading the virus to a number of countries including Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Lebanon. Mahan Air has so far declined …