Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.

Iranwire – The mother of Soheil Arabi, a photojournalist, blogger and former political prisoner of conscience, has been sent to Evin Prison to begin serving an 18-month custodial sentence. Farangis Mazlum, 55, was summoned to Evin Prison’s Judgement Enforcement Unit on Tuesday. Last October a deputy prosecutor declined to imprison her due to her age and asked for a doctor’s note to excuse …

Iranwire – On the evening of Wednesday, 3 August, preliminary results of Iran’s nationwide university entrance exam were announced and Baha’i citizens were once again denied entry to higher education. According to a report published by the Human Rights Organization in Iran, at least three Baha’i citizens named Hiva Badiei, Hana Movafaghi and Behzad Barati received results claiming that their …

Al-Monitor – Iran will launch a new satellite into orbit next week.  The Iranian Space Agency said Aug. 3 that the Khayyam satellite will be launched via the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces. The satellite will work to improve agricultural productivity, monitoring water sources and natural disaster management, the official Islamic Republic News Agency …

Al-Monitor – Iranian negotiators landed in the Austrian capital Vienna for a new round of indirect talks with their US counterparts to try to restore the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The talks are also attended by representatives from other JCPOA parties, namely Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, held …

Shabtabnews – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today condemned the Iranian government’s increased crackdown on religious minorities in the country. In recent weeks, Iran has arrested scores of Baha’is and raided their homes and destroyed Baha’i houses in Mazandaran province. In addition, Iranian authorities have escalated their targeting of women who do not conform to the government’s endorsed version of …