Social and Political

Radiofarda – Greeting the coming Iranian New Year the Islamic Republic Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has released a video message saying the lesson he has learned from fighting the deadly coronavirus outbreak calls for the need to “reconstruct the system of governance” and to engage in “capacity building” for non-governmental organizations (NGOs.) “Let me honestly tell you that fighting against coronavirus …

RFL/RE – A U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran for allegedly insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and posting private information online has been released on medical furlough. Michael White (right) poses with his mother in Washington in an undated photo. Californian Michael White had been serving a 13-year sentence following his arrest in 2018, the State Department said in …

RFL/RE – As Iran battles the coronavirus epidemic, people across the country have been working to ease the impact of the crisis. Volunteers are distributing food aid to poor families, sterilizing surfaces in public places, and sewing extra face masks for health workers.

Al-Monitor – Iranian health officials that the country could be fighting the novel coronavirus for at least another two months, if not longer. The head of the Medical Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, said March 18 that while some officials have claimed that Iran has reached the peak of the epidemic, he does not believe it. He …

Reuters – Like many Iranians, Mahnaz left Iran and settled in a western country 10 years ago after political restrictions in the Islamic Republic made it difficult for her to live and work there.An Iranian woman wears a protective face mask, amid fear of coronavirus disease, as she buys flowers, ahead of the Iranian New Year Nowruz, March 20, in …

Radiofarda – With 149 new deaths in the past 24 hours, Iran’s death toll from coronavirus (COVID-19) rose to 1,284 on Thursday. According to the latest official announcement by the Health Ministry, there are now 18,407 cases of confirmed coronavirus infection in the Islamic Republic. The new numbers were announced by Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raeesi. According to him a …

Radiofarda – On Wednesday the President of Iran Medical Council said that the number of people infected by coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iran is “definitely” much higher than what the country’s Ministry of Health announces. Dr. Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi who heads the licensing and regulatory body for Iranian healthcare professionals also dismissed the authorities’ claim that coronavirus infection has reached its …

Radiofarda – On Thursday the Spokesman of Iran’s Judiciary said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will pardon about 10,000 prisoners “more than half of who are serving security-related jail terms”. Iranian media on Wednesday reported that Khamenei had agreed with the request of the Chief Justice Ebrahim Reesi to pardon some prisoners excluding those serving terms of more than five years …

Radifarda – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Tuesday March 17 that Tehran may be considering releasing some Americans it has been keeping in jail for several years. Iran has still not officially reacted to Pompeo’s statement. Nevertheless, there may be indications that the Americans in jail may see the light of the day outside prisons sooner rather than …

Radiofarda – In a video message on the occasion of the Iranian New Year (Nowrouz) on March 21, the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has said that he considers the Islamic Republic the “primary impediment in remediation and containing the [coronavirus] crisis”. Coronavirus has claimed at least 1,135 lives and infected more than 17,000 so far. Many believe that the numbers …