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RFL/RE – Iran tipped off Russia about the possibility of a major “terrorist operation” on its soil ahead of the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month, three sources familiar with the matter said. In the deadliest attack inside Russia in 20 years, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall, killing …

iranintl – The MAHSA Act, a bill that strengthens US sanctions against Iran’s rulers, will be going to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 14 months after it passed the House. The Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act) was first introduced to the US Congress in January 2023, four months after the start of nationwide protests in …

Iranwire – Sara Hossain, a Bangladeshi member of the United Nations fact-finding mission on suppression of Iran’s 2022-23 protests, has called the deliberate targeting of protesters’ eyes at close range “one of the most shocking” crimes committed by the Islamic Republic.  “The most shocking, I think, was these cases of blindness of protesters being shot at very short range, directly targeted into …

Iranwire – Behnaz Amani, a poet, writer, and assistant professor at Tehran University, endured 46 days of detention in Qarchak prison following the nationwide protests in 2022.  Reflecting on her experience, she hopes the recent report from the UN fact-finding mission will compel the Islamic Republic to be held accountable. Amani’s ordeal began on October 20, 2023, when security forces …

iranintl – Iran has sentenced Jamshid Sharmahd, a dual national abductee sentenced to death, along with the US, to $2.5 billion in fines, signaling Tehran’s new attempt at hostage diplomacy. A court in Tehran ruled Monday that German-Iranian Sharmahd and the United States government should pay the amount as a compensation for the families of the victims of a terrorist …

iranintl – Princeton University controversial academic, Hossein Mousavian, who is currently being investigated by the US Congress for his pro-Iran regime activities, now faces a grassroots Iranian-American campaign to secure his dismissal. The campaign Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) wrote in its Wednesday statement that “In the seven years Mousavian served as IRI’s ambassador in Germany, more than 23 …

Iranwire – Peruvian authorities arrested Iranian national Majid Azizi on March 6 on charges of plotting a terrorist attack on the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) summit. According to the Peruvian Police’s Counter-Terrorism Directorate, he was collaborating with two Peruvian citizens for the planned attack, but only Azizi has been apprehended so far.  Azizi was arrested after he withdrew …

Iranwire – An Iranian MP who lost her re-election bid last week has revealed that the elections were marred with violations. Somayeh Mahmoudi said that peoples’ national ID numbers were used to cast votes without their knowledge. “I heard reports of national ID cards being taken from my city and used for voting in neighbouring areas,” she said in an …

iranintl – Iran’s parliament speaker has found himself in a weak political position after ranking fourth in the number of votes received in elections on March 1, dominated by radical right wingers. However, as a seasoned veteran of the IRGC and a relative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ghalibaf still enjoys significant political support. The editor of the IRGC-affiliated Javan …

Al-Arabia – Israel must complete its military objectives in Gaza and “(remove) the threat of Hamas” on the country, Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz told US Vice President Kamala Harris, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and other senior officials in the administration and the Senate on Monday. “In the meeting, I iterated the imperative of completing the mission of removing the threat Hamas …