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Conservatives appeared to be ahead as ballots were being counted in Iran’s February 21 parliamentary elections. The poll was certain to favor conservative candidates following the pre-vote disqualification of thousands of reformists or relative moderates. Initial results were expected on February 22 after authorities three times extended voting by a total of five hours to allow more people to cast …

RFL/RE – The Pentagon has raised to 110 the number of U.S. service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries during an Iranian missile attack on an air base in Iraq last month. The total figure announced on February 21 is one higher than the toll announced on February 10. It represented the sixth time the U.S. military has raised the …

RFL/RE – Iranian officials have reacted to an outbreak of the coronavirus by announcing emergency measures amid public distrust over the government’s handling of the disease and concern that the number of infections is much higher than reported. A total of 18 cases have been confirmed in the country, including four deaths in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom, where …

VOA – Lebanon confirmed its first coronavirus case Friday, a 45-year-old woman who had arrived from Iran and was being quarantined in a hospital. “We confirmed the first case today,” Lebanese health minister Hassan Hamad told a news conference, adding that two other suspected cases are being investigated. The woman arrived Thursday on a flight from the city of Qom …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Two prisoners were hanged on February 12, 2020, at the central prison of Qom, a city located around 140 km south of Tehran. Iranian authorities have not yet announced the executions. According to IHR sources, on the morning of Wednesday, February 12, death-row prisoners Naeim Zavareh and Ali Dadkhah were hanged at Qom prison.  They …