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VOA – The Biden administration is contrasting its criticisms of Iran’s poor human rights record from those made by former President Donald Trump, with a senior official saying the U.S. is trying to make its Iran critiques more credible by stressing a need to also solve rights problems at home. “President Joe Biden has made clear … that human rights …

Iranwire – Sweets and nuts are always among the most popular items on the table at Nowruz, Iranian New Year. But this year, skyrocketing prices have meant few Iranians have been able to buy enough. Three days before the dawn of the Persian calendar year 1400, our citizen journalist visited the markets of central Tehran to find out more. *** …

Iranwire – With days to go until the dawn of the new Persian calendar year on March 21, hundreds of innocent people in Iran are facing the prospect of spending Nowruz behind bars. They include activists, journalists, lawyers, prisoners of conscience, political prisoners and dual nationals: some are being held hostage, but most are there because the insecure Iranian regime …

VOA – The family of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran after being abducted in 2007, says it is encouraged by the Biden administration’s latest vow to press Tehran for answers on his fate, but also wants U.S. officials to do more than make public appeals for Iranian authorities to act. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken …

indiewire.com – Jafar Panahi, the Iranian filmmaker behind 2015’s “Taxi,” recorded a message in support of imprisoned human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh. Jafar Panahi, the outspoken Iranian filmmaker behind 2015’s acclaimed “Taxi,” has recorded an International Women’s Day message in support of imprisoned lawyer and human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. IndieWire is exclusively premiering Panahi’s message to Sotoudeh, which can be …

Al-Monitor – The US Defense Department released aerial surveillance video of a ballistic missile attack launched by Iran early last year on an Iraqi military base used by American personnel. The footage, first aired by CBS News on Sunday, shows a barrage of more than one-ton missiles smashing into maintenance and dining facilities at Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq. …

Iranwire – For decades, the Islamic Republic has regarded the Baluchi people and Baluchistan as an irritation at best, a serious security threat at worst. The tensions and discrimination have once again come to the fore: On Monday, February 22, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC ) fired on Baluch fuel smugglers at the Askan border crossing in the city of …

RFL/RE – Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny’s time as an Amnesty International “prisoner of conscience” was short-lived — but not because he was released from detention. Navalny received the designation on January 17 following his arrest at a Moscow airport by Russian authorities who said he had violated the terms of a suspended sentence stemming from a 2014 embezzlement conviction. …

Al-Monitor Israel has won a small victory against Iran — at least on the judo mat. While the international community is all riled up arguing over Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s opposition to it, a sporting event introduced a smidgen of optimism to the longstanding quarrel. Exiled Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei arrived in Tel Aviv last week to take part in the international judo community’s Grand …

BBC – Golnoush Khaleghi, first Persian woman conductor and daughter of legendary composer Rouhollah Khaleghi, passed away on February 14. She was 80. Golnoush Khaleghi in Tehran, 1975 Golnoush Khaleghi was the conductor of the NIRT (National Iranian Radio & Television) Choir in the 1970s. Shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution Ms. Khaleghi moved to the United States and founded the …