Social and Political

Radiofarda – A top Iranian official on Sunday warned that a nuclear deal the US withdrew unilaterally from would “die forever” if an arms embargo on Tehran is extended. The United States is campaigning to extend the ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran, which is set to be progressively lifted as of October. The ban’s lifting is part of …

Radiofarda – Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s approach to news dissemination about the epidemic has been one of chaotic management, secrecy and lies. Iranian officials first denied the existence of the disease, then refused to quarantine Qom and its religious sites. This behavior was followed by the dissemination of fake news and all …

gatestoneinstitute.org – “Germany was again Europe’s largest trading partner with Iran by far, exporting $1.64 billion worth of goods in 2019. While German banks have been largely reluctant to finance Iran trade, there are at least five banks – all owned/operated by Iran and all operating inside Germany – that are more than happy to step in.” – Daniel Roth, …

Radiofarda – More than 12,000 Iranian lawyers have protested to a draft bill that undermines their independence and in effect replaces the Iranian Bar Association with a group of judiciary officials appointed by the government. Based on the draft the Judiciary will form a new body named the “Supreme Council for the Coordination of Lawyers’ Affairs” that will be based …

Radiofarda – A prominent dissident jailed in Iran attempted suicide in prison to protest the situation of political prisoners and possibly the harassment of his family by security and intelligence organs. Mohammad Nourizad signed a petition along with fourteen other dissidents in June 2019 demanding the resignation of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. They were all arrested and eight individuals …

Radiofarda – The Foreign Ministry of Afghanistan says “a comprehensive investigation” is underway about Afghans being mistreated and allegedly pushed into a river by Iranian border guards. Earlier, reports said that Iranian guards had mistreated a group of Afghan citizens, drowning them in Harīrūd River, on the Iran-Afghanistan border. The Islamic Republic of Iran has categorically denied the allegations. Several …

Radiofarda – President Hassan Rouhani’s spokesman says Tehran will show a “hard reaction” to the extension of the arms embargo against Iran due to end in October. The spokesman said signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement and the UN Security Council members know that extending the arms embargo against Iran will entail “serious consequences not only for the nuclear agreement …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s annual Quds Day rallies are “unlikely” to be held this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the spokesman of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ramezan Sharif said on Sunday. For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page. Al-Quds is the Arabic name for the city of Jerusalem, and the IRGC’s external operations branch is named the Quds …

RFL/RE – The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 244,000 with 3.4 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the new respiratory illness. Here’s a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL’s broadcast regions. Russia Russia on May 3 registered more than 10,600 new coronavirus infections, marking a fresh …

gatestoneinstitute.org – “No War on Iran” placards are appearing where “No wars by Iran” would make more sense. In other words, the Islamic Republic doesn’t need medical and technical help; it needs crisp greenbacks that could be spent on Hezbollah, Bashar al-Assad, the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Houthis, Hamas and other members of the “Resistance Front”. And, then, not to …