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RFL/RE – New Iranian legislation requiring officials to boost uranium enrichment within the country’s controversial nuclear program is seen as an attempt to hurt moderates and sabotage President Hassan Rohani’s efforts to deal with the incoming U.S. administration. The law — which was passed by parliament on December 1 and quickly ratified by the powerful Guardians Council — comes amid …

RFL/RE – Iran plans to install more advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges at an underground plant in breach of its troubled deal with major powers, Reuters reported on December 4, citing a UN nuclear watchdog report. The confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report obtained by Reuters said Iran plans to install three more clusters of advanced IR-2m centrifuges in the underground plant …

Iran-HRM – An appeals court in the western city of Sanandaj has sentenced Kurdish citizen Foad Enayati, to two years of suspended prison term. He was initially sentenced to 10 months in prison and 74 lashes on the charge of “disrupting public order through participating in illegal gatherings.” The flogging sentence against Mr. Enayati which was issued by the Branch …

VOA – Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Friday a resolution to a bitter dispute with Qatar seemed “within reach” after Kuwait announced progress toward ending a row that Washington says hampers a united Gulf front against Iran. The United States and Kuwait have worked to end the dispute, during which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have …

(HRW) – Iran should address gaps in its long-awaited draft law on violence against women that offers limited protections for survivors of domestic violence, and put it before the parliament for a vote, Human Rights Watch said today. Over the past year alone, several widely publicized instances of violence against women in Iran have drawn national attention and outrage. The authorities should also …