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

RFL/RE – Iranian journalist Masoud Kazemi was exultant when he was released from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison in April 2020. “The nightmare is officially over,” tweeted Kazemi, the former editor of the monthly magazine Sedaye Parsi, posting a photo of the prison where he had been held for 300 days. رسما تمام شد این کابوس.نامه آزادی را گرفتم.#زندانی_سیاسی #اوین pic.twitter.com/b03E3yMu5R— Masoud Kazemi …

Iranwire – As the October 12 match between Iran and South Korea fast approaches, international football federation head Gianni Infantino has expressed hope that Iranian and global officials can reach an agreement on two key issues: the widespread debate over video referee assistance (VAR) and the decades-long argument about women being allowed into stadiums, an ongoing preoccupation of particular significance for …

Iranwire — The Iranian regime’s use of Iranian and Lebanese clerics as “unofficial” agents in Latin America is becoming increasingly well-known. A few documented individuals, strategically distributed and cloaked by benign official activities such as service in mosques and setting up cultural centers, have serve a dual purpose of recruiting regime sympathizers to serve its foreign policy objectives.  But it …

Iranwire – This time, it was the rain that would take the most credit for extinguishing the fires consuming vast stretches of Iran’s Anzali wetland. This 20,000-hectare haven for wildlife is situated next to the Caspian Sea in the northern province of Gilan. The blaze broke out on  Monday, August 30 and raged until September 3, when it was finally …

VOA – UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will fly to Tehran this weekend for talks that may ease a standoff between Iran and the West just as it risks escalating and scuppering negotiations on reviving the Iran nuclear deal, diplomats said on Saturday. Three diplomats who follow the International Atomic Energy Agency closely said Grossi’s trip before next week’s meeting …