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

iranintl – Iran’s government has required all cell phone importers to obtain a formal letter of representation from foreign manufacturers, risking a market shortage. The latest move will force people to buy and use Chinese and Iranian cell phones, likely also to cause a monopoly for certain importers with strong lobbying power amidst Iran’s global sanctions, and in turn, raising prices. Peyvast, …

iranintl – Videos have shown trucks around Lake Urmia allegedly carrying titanium, sparking fears its mining may be destroying the Middle East’s once largest lake. Iran Briefing, a group of investigative journalists, have speculated that authorities have been mining titanium, present in the northwestern lake, which could explain why the once thriving salt-lake has dried up.  Although there has been no official response …

iranintl – Davoud Abdollahi, a Sunni prisoner sentenced to death, has been transferred to solitary confinement in Karaj near Tehran, a sign of imminent execution in Iran. Abdollahi was moved to solitary confinement on Tuesday, heightening anxiety among his family and loved ones in light of his death sentence. The Hengaw Human Rights Organization, a Kurdish rights group, expressed deep …

iranintl – School teachers have claimed regime reforms have turned the country’s schools into “religious and military bases”. In an interview with Khabar online on Monday, teachers expressed concern about the plans to “shift schools away from their primary function”, resulting in a “dead end” for children. Teacher Mohammadreza Niknejad told Khabar Online that “authorities have failed in the education sector” as students do …

RFL/RE – Imprisoned Iranian civil rights activist Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb has reportedly begun a new hunger strike to protest what he describes as the authorities’ “fabricating” new charges against him. Ragheb, a former employee of the fire department, is one of the 14 civil and political activists who in June 2018 called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Criticism …