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

RFL/RE – Iran has reported a record daily 709 deaths from COVID-19 as the country struggled with yet another surge in infections, this time fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant. The new Health Ministry figures, cited by state-run ISNA news agency on August 24, add to the woes for Iran, which has long been the worst-hit country in the Middle …

Iranwire – President Ebrahim Raisi starts his presidency this month as Iran’s inflation rate has exceeded 45 percent – a record over the past year according to the Statistics Center. If the Central Bank had published its own data, perhaps the figure would have been even higher; but Iran’s Central Bank stopped publishing inflation reports almost three years ago, and the Statistics …

Iranwire – The Minister of Health of Hassan Rouhani’s former government, Saeed Namaki, said in a letter on his last day in office that his ministry had only a “minimal” and “ineffective” role in Iran’s delayed Covid-19 vaccine rollout, limited to providing the infrastructure to administer doses. But he added that he would explain other reasons for the delay only …

VOA – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is expected to urge his American counterpart to take a hard-line stance on Iran in the first meeting between the two leaders Thursday.  Bennett, elected to office two months ago, is making his first visit to Washington this week. Before he left Israel, he reiterated that he would push President Joe Biden on …

amnesty.org – Leaked surveillance footage from Evin prison showing appalling abuse of prisoners serves as a chilling reminder of the impunity granted to prison officials in Iran who subject those in their custody to torture and other cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, Amnesty International said today. The organization has analysed 16 leaked video clips, obtained from Iranian independent media outlets, …