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

VOA – A recording of Iran’s foreign minister offering a blunt appraisal of diplomacy and the limits of power within the Islamic Republic has been leaked, providing a rare look inside the country’s theocracy.  The release of the comments by Mohammad Javad Zarif set off a firestorm within Iran, where officials carefully mind their words amid a cut-throat political environment …

Iran-HRM – The state security forces raided the homes of 13 Baha’i citizens today in the Baharestan city in central Iran’s Isfahan Province. Security forces arrested at least eight Baha’i citizens. They were identified as Sara Shakib, Firouzeh Rastinejad, Sanaz Rasteh, Azita Rezvani, Mojgan Pourshafi, Nasrin Khademi, Afshin Vajdani, and his wife Noushin Hemmat. They have been taken to an …

Iran-HRM – An appeal court in Iran has upheld prison and flogging sentences against two Azerbaijani Turkic activists. The Branch 10 of Ardabil Court of Appeal, has upheld a total of eight months in prison and 40 lashes against Meysam Jolani and Ali Khairjou. Their trial, presided over by Judge Sajjad Habibi, was initially held on December 1, 2020. They …

gatestoneinstitute.org – “The connection between the BRI and the strategic partnerships it creates in the region… allows it to gradually take over the region without creating tensions with the U.S. or the West. In other words, the BRI is a sophisticated Chinese plan to transfer hegemony from the West and the U.S. to China without war or conflict”. — Dr. …

gatestoneinstitute.org – It is precisely on Afghanistan that Biden has adopted Trump’s hare-brained scheme for total troop withdrawal in exchange for a vague promise by the Taliban, one of the larger terrorist groups, to tone down their deadly attacks. Interestingly, this is precisely the policy that Biden, as Obama’s vice president, opposed as “premature.” His [Biden’s] cheerleaders in part of …