Social and Political

Iran-HRM – All residents of a neighborhood in the city of Izeh have contracted the novel coronavirus because the city was not quarantined. Some 400 people have been infected in Gonjeshgir neighborhood in Izeh, in southwestern Khuzestan Province, because they are deprived of the most basic medical and hygienic resources due to the callous policies of the clerical regime and …

RFL/RE – The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 100,000 with over 1.7 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. Iran Iran has reopened some “low-risk” businesses in most parts of the country with …

Radiofarda – A directive by Iran’s health authorities asking families to coordinate Covid-19 burials with the military authorities has led to questions and controversy. A letter by a health official leaked to social media April 8, showed that for obtaining death certificates “for Covid-19 victims or people suspected of having died because of coronavirus” families must contact the Islamic Revolution …

Reuters -Iranian-backed militia pose a “significant” threat to U.S. forces in Iraq, the State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East said on Thursday, about a week after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of an attack by Iran or its proxies. David Schenker, assistant secretary of Near Eastern Affairs, did not give details about the threat, but told reporters in …

Radiofarda – Following a war of words between the Islamic Republic Ministry of health and Beijing’s Ambassador to Tehran, a prominent member of Majles (Iranian parliament) has called on the country’s Foreign Ministry to summon the Chinese envoy to protest his actions. The lawmaker in question is Ali Motahari, who is ending his term in parliament but in the last …

Radiofarda – After weeks of delays the Iranian government has offered workers a relatively small salary adjustment, which is half of the country’s 41 percent inflation rate. The government announced the minimum net monthly wage for the next 12 months to be a little more than 18 million rials. That sounds big, but according to the real, free market exchange …

HRANA – The nationwide protests of November are one of the most significant events of 2019. During the November protests that lasted more than 10 days simultaneously in 719 parts of the country. At least 7133 people were arrested, hundreds died on the streets, and many protesters got gunshot wounds. HRANA has earlier published reports about the sentences of some of …

RFL/RE – Representatives of OPEC, Russia, and other oil-producing countries have outlined a plan to cut production, a move meant to stabilize the global oil market shaken by the coronavirus pandemic.The group, known as OPEC+, said on April 9 after a nine-hour negotiating session that the plan calls for a cut in output by more than a fifth — about …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed Iranians for the first time since March 22, which marked the Iranian New Year, or Nowruz. In his live speech today, on the occasion of the birth of Imam Mahdi, Khamenei spoke about the country’s efforts to combat the coronavirus. Khamenei said that the efforts of health care workers who worked through the …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a speech on Thursday said the coronavirus situation should not cause distraction from “enemy plots”. “The [world] arrogance is an enemy of the principle of the Islamic Republic. What some people think – that they will not be hostile if we do not show hostility – is not a sound judgement,” the …