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

Al-Monitor – The United States and Iran have never been closer to an agreement to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal, even as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that he is “not overly optimistic” it will get done. But whether the parties to the agreement can reach a signing ceremony in Vienna may …

RFL/Re – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has ordered the Intelligence Ministry to investigate a knife attack on three clergymen in the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad that left at least one dead. Raisi said on April 6 that the ministry should identify and prosecute all perpetrators of the incident, which took place the day before. Raisi …

RFL/RE – Three clerics were stabbed by an unknown attacker at a religious shrine in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, killing two, media reported on April 5. The semiofficial Tasnim news agency said one of the clerics had died following the attack. Tasnim identified him as Mohammad Aslani. Meanwhile, the semiofficial Mehr news agency said a second clergyman, identified …

Iranwire – Iranian artists, sports stars and relatives of people killed in street protests have signed a joint letter to the Iranian national football team calling on players to boycott the 2022 Qatar World Cup if women are still not being allowed to attend matches in stadiums at home. The missive is the latest public reaction to events in Mashhad …

Iranwire – A former student of Oscar-winning Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi says Farhadi has now been summoned to court in Tehran over a case of alleged plagiarism. Azadeh Masihzadeh has accused the director of lifting a storyline she developed for use in his 2022 Oscar entry, A Hero. Her own documentary, All Winners, All Losers, was researched and created at a 2014 …