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

Al-Monitor – After Israel, the United States and the UK blamed Iran for an attack on an Israeli-linked ship in the Persian Gulf and vowed a “coordinated response,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to respond to any retaliatory strike. IRGC Commander Hossein Salami said, “The enemy should remove false thoughts and ideas from their head.” Speaking on a TV …

iranintl.com – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday endorsed the election—some say selection—of Ebrahim Raisi as his next president. In a traditional ceremony—the thirteenth such gathering under the Islamic Republic(link is external)—Khamenei was flanked by the heads of major branches of government—including Chairman of the Expediency Council Sadegh Larijani, Secretary of the Guardian Council Ahmad Jannati, outgoing President Hassan …

Iranwire – The number of reported coronavirus cases in Iran surpassed 4 million on August 4 amid a vicious wave of infections driven by the highly contagious delta variant.Iran registered 39,357 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total since the pandemic started to 4,019,084, the Health Ministry said.It recorded 409 deaths over the same period, bringing the …

Iranwire – Four Christian converts have been charged with “propaganda against the regime” and “conspiracy and gathering against national security” after appearing in court on August 3. They were released on bail after being informed of their charges. Alireza Varak-Shah, Mohammad Kayidgap, Esmaeil Narimanpour and Mohammad Ali (Davoud) Torabi were summoned along with four other Christian converts in the city of Dezful in Khuzestan …

Iranwire – In the wake of reports that the Iranian authorities have set extortionate bails for children arrested during protests in Khuzestan, Sadegh Moradi, head of the province’s Justice Department, reiterated on Wednesday, August 4 that many of the detainees had been released “unconditionally”. It came even as human rights activists in Khuzestan reported that more civilian protesters had been arrested and taken …