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

Radiofarda – The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Court has reportedly acquitted a former member of parliament, Salman Khodadadi, of rape but sentenced him to 99 lashes, and banned him for two years from serving in public positions, for having an “illegitimate affair.” Daily Etemad reported on July 30, that the report has not yet been officially confirmed or denied. …

RFL/RE – Ukraine has reiterated its determination to bring Iran to justice for the downing of a Ukrainian airliner shortly after takeoff in Tehran during talks on compensation over the January air disaster that killed 176 people. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told journalists in Kyiv on July 31 that talks with an Iranian delegation were “constructive” and that Tehran’s readiness …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out negotiations with Washington over Tehran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, calling the United States “Iran’s main enemy.” “America’s brutal sanctions on Iran are aimed at collapsing our economy…..Their aim is to limit our influence in the region and to halt our missile and nuclear capabilities,” Khamenei said on July …

VOA – U.S. envoy Brian Hook’s latest travels aimed at extending a U.N. arms embargo on Iran through a prospective Security Council resolution criticized by veto-wielding world powers are raising questions about why the U.S. is pursuing such a step and what it will do if the diplomacy fails. Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, ended a week of …

VOA – Talks between Iran and China aimed at finalizing a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement are continuing despite what Tehran dismissed as “baseless rumors” about the deal that leaked earlier this month. The draft partnership proposal leaked online to the press calls for China to invest $400 billion in Iran’s energy, telecommunications, infrastructure, ports, railways and other sectors in exchange …