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

RFL/RE – Iran and Afghanistan have officially inaugurated their first railway link, an achievement the two countries’ presidents said would help enhance trade across the region.The 130-kilometer line running from Khaf in northeastern Iran into Rosnak in the western Afghan province of Herat is seen as providing a crucial transport link for the landlocked country where decades of war have hindered …

RFL/RE – The ultraconservative former chief of Iran’s judiciary, Mohammad Yazdi, has died at the age of 89, the official IRNA state news agency reported. Yazdi, a student of Islamic republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini, died on December 9 due to “illnesses of the digestive system,” IRNA said. Yazdi was named to head the judicial authority in 1989, shortly after Supreme …

RFL/RE – In early December 2005, Nshan Topouzian, an ethnic Armenian bishop living in Iran, received an alarming tip-off. According to Iranian border guards, a demolition crew had arrived at the Armenian cemetery of Julfa, in the Azerbaijani exclave of Naxcivan. The Armenian cemetery of Julfa. This is one of several photographs of the ancient cemetery that were taken by …

Payvandnews – The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 10,223 COVID-19 infections and 295 deaths due to the respiratory disease in the past 24 hours. Health Ministry Spokesperson Sima Lari made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the total coronavirus cases in the country have so far reached 1,072,620 with the death toll standing at 51,620. Funeral for a coronavirus victim …

Al-Arabia – A United Nations analysis of photos of four anti-tank guided missiles in Libya found that one “had characteristics consistent with the Iranian-produced Dehlavieh” missile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported to the Security Council. However, he said in his biannual report – submitted to the council late Monday – that the UN secretariat was “unable to ascertain if this …