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

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Moghaddam Alizadeh, Hamdollah Ghanbari, Feiz Allahmoradi and Hossein Abbaszadeh, who were all sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, have been executed in Urmia Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were executed in Urmia Central Prison on 31 December 2021. Sentenced to qisas for murder, their identities have been established as Moghaddam Alizadeh, Hamdollah …

Al-Monitor – Iranian officials and media outlets have been paying tribute to the former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated by a US drone strike two years ago. Speaking at an event in Tehran commemorating Soleimani’s death, President Ebrahim Raisi said that Soleimani was “not just an individual, but a doctrine, and that …

Al-Monitor – Iran is not ready to formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday, citing the importance of an inclusive Afghan government.  “Today, we are basically not at the point of recognizing,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a news conference. “We hope that the governing body of Afghanistan will move, through its actions, in a …

RFL/RE – Two armed drones were shot down as they approached a military facility hosting American forces at Baghdad’s international airport, security sources said on January 3, amid heightened regional tensions on the second anniversary of the killing of a top Iranian general in a U.S. drone strike. A counterrocket system at a compound used by the U.S.-led coalition fighting …

VOA – Negotiations resume Monday in Vienna about restoring the 2015 international agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, after the parties took a break for the new year. A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday the talks are “entering an in-depth phase.” Though Iran and the United States have cited some progress, Iran has …