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

RFL/RE – Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, once in line to become Iran’s supreme leader, has come back from the grave to haunt the Islamic establishment that punished him for openly criticizing the regime’s mass killing of political opponents in the late 1980s. The release of an audio recording made in 1988 of Montazeri lashing out against the authorities for …

Iranhumanrights.org – In less than a month, between August 2 and August 27, 2016, at least 37 prisoners were executed in Iran. Shortly afterwards, the head of the Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Council, Mohammad Javad Larijani, claimed Iran was doing members of the international community a favor by executing drug traffickers. Many, though not all, of the victims were convicted …

Al-monitor – Recent revelations that the Barack Obama administration paid Iran $1.7 billion in cash just as four American-Iranians were released in January have caused a Republican furor in Washington. In Tehran, by contrast, all political factions seem to agree that the settlement over a decades-old unfulfilled arms deal was a great deal — for Iran. AUTHOR Arash Karami Iranian …

Al-monitor — Tensions appear to be mounting again in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen in a video released by the US military Aug. 23. The footage shows four patrol boats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) approaching a US destroyer in the narrow waterway. US military officials say two of the patrol boats came within 300 yards …

PayvandNews – The conservation of Darugheh House in the city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran was among the 13 winning projects of UNESCO 2016 Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Darugheh House in Mashhad, Iran A total of 13 winning projects from six countries – Australia, China, India, Iran, Japan and Pakistan – have been recognized in this year’s Heritage …