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

Radiofarda – In a rhetorical, discursive letter addressed to the people of the United States, the Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani has lamented that the victims of the sanctions Washington imposed on Tehran are not the country’s political camps, but the ordinary people. Commemorating the new Persian year (Nowruz, beginning March 20), the mid-ranking cleric has called on American people …

Radiofarda – Finns have once again been ranked first in the World Happiness index, while Afghans dropped to the bottom of the global table, earlier occupied by Sudan. The clergy-dominated Iran finished at 118th, the U.S.A. 18th, and Tajikistan on 106th spot, the report says. The World Happiness Report (WHR) says it is a landmark survey of the state of global …

RFL/RE – U.S. President Donald Trump has used an annual message to Iranians and others celebrating Norouz, the Persian New Year, to call for a “brighter, freer future” for Iran. “On behalf of the United States, I extend my warmest greetings for a joyous and peace-filled Norouz,” which marks the first day of spring, Trump said in his message on March 20. …

RFL/RE – Iran has released a French researcher held since last year in an apparent prisoner swap for an Iranian engineer held in France for more than a year, Iranian state media report. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported on March 20 that Jalal Rohollahnejad, who was detained by France in February 2019 under a U.S. extradition warrant, had been released.The …

RFL/RE – Iranians are marking a somber Norouz amid one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks that has officially killed over 1,400 and spread to all of the country’s 31 provinces. Norouz, which marks the beginning of the Iranian new year, is the most important and joyous event in the country when families come together and exchange gifts. But this …