Video

RFL/RE – A debate over the potential return of one of Iran’s greatest classical singers for a prayer recitation has provided a fresh test of the hard-line domination of state TV nearly a decade after unrest that roiled the country’s establishment. The performance of Rabbana by Mohammad Reza Shajarian was a Ramadan fixture for three decades before it was eliminated …

HRW  – Laws and policies that discriminate against women interfere with Iranian women’s right to work, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Women confront an array of restrictions, such as on their ability to travel, prohibitions on entering certain jobs, and an absence of basic legal protections. The 59-page report, “‘It’s a Men’s Club’: Discrimination Against Women in Iran’s …

VOA – U.S. President Donald Trump visited Israel on Monday, where he reaffirmed Washington’s close ties with Israel, slammed mutual rival Iran, and spoke optimistically about the possibility of peace with the Palestinians. VOA White House correspondent Steve Herman reports from Jerusalem.  

RFL/RE – While elections in Iran look like slug-it-out campaigns, with many of the trappings of competition — government critics, disagreement on high-profile issues, and televised public debates — they are kept tightly in check by unelected officials under the country’s clerically dominated system. There is careful vetting by the Guardians Council, which routinely disqualifies all but a small fraction …

Iranhumanrights.org –The candidacy in Iran’s upcoming presidential election of Ebrahim Raisi, who played a leading role in crimes against humanity during the 1980s, is a serious setback for a country striving to rejoin the international community. In 1988, Raisi was part of a four-man commission that implemented the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners. Current President Hassan Rouhani, Raisi, …

Dr Mehdi Khazali conducted his first presidential campaign interview via the global television network, DorrTV. Less than forty days remains until the twelfth presidential election in Iran, and the candidates of different parties have been somewhat confirmed. President Hassan Rouhani has been confirmed as the sole reformist candidate in Iran’s twelfth presidential election. There is however the talk of a …

Amnesty – Amnesty International has renewed its criticism of the US travel ban ahead of a special screening of an Oscar-nominated Iranian film in Trafalgar Square this weekend. Richard Ratcliffe to raise awareness of his wife’s detention in Iran Photo-call with activists holding placards – ‘Stand Together Against Hate’, ‘Free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’ and ‘Free Kamal Foroughi’ – at 2.30pm Asghar Farhadi, …

VOA – Iran sits on what are thought to be the world’s largest gas reserves, yet can barely supply its own domestic demand. Since the nuclear deal lifted sanctions, the country has sought foreign investment in exploration and infrastructure. But will the hawkish stance of U.S. President Donald Trump put them off? Henry Ridgwell reports from the CWC Iran Gas …

VOA – The son of Iran’s last monarch is appealing to U.S. President Donald Trump to distinguish between the Iranian people and their Islamist rulers as the president considers whether to impose new restrictions on immigration to the United States. In an exclusive studio interview with VOA’s Persian Service, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi said Iranians are sensitive to being “confused” …

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran has been “formally put on notice” for its ballistic missile launch, and warned that “nothing is off the table” in dealing with Tehran. In a tweet early Friday morning, Trump said Iran “is playing with fire” adding that “they don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!” Follow Donald …