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

iranintl – An Iranian Wushu champion who had previously presented all her medals to the Supreme Leader has been busted for doping, with the international federation ordering her to return the medals.  Maryam Hashemi, a proud member of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in the Kurdish majority city of Kermanshah, had dedicated her world championship gold medal to Ali Khamenei in 2019 …

RFL/RE – Iran has officially outlawed the use of tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs) designed to bypass Internet censorship following a directive from the country’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace that was endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The secretary of the council, Mohammad Amin Aqamiri, announced the enforcement of the decree, which was initially approved by Khamenei, signaling a …

VOA – Iran is seeing an uptick in labor protests coinciding with annual deliberations on raising the minimum wage to keep up with increases in living costs, yet the actions have elicited no violent government crackdown such as the one that crushed a women’s rights movement one year ago. One of the Islamic republic’s most sustained labor protests of recent …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Behind these seemingly benign economic [trade] transactions… lies a troubling reality: the funds generated from Europe’s trade with Iran are being funneled into activities that are now prolonging violence and conflict, and posing a direct threat to European, Middle Eastern and North American security interests…. Since 2012, the Iranian regime has allocated more than $13 billion to support …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Ahmad Esmaili, a man on death row for drug-related charges, was executed in Hamedan Central Prison. According to Hrana news agency, a man was executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 21 February. His identity has been reported as Ahmad Esmaili. He was arrested around five years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges by …