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

VOA – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are vowing to counter what they call Iran’s aggression in the Middle East. “We need to increase it, we need to expand it, and together the United States and Israel are working in close coordination to roll back Iranian aggression in the region and around the …

CHRI – Lengthy Prison Terms Shows Effort to Deter Rights Advocacy The prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh’s draconian sentence for her peaceful activism shows the threat posed by Iran’s revolutionary courts to human rights work, the Center for Human Rights in Iran and Human Rights Watch said today. Iran should immediately and unconditionally release Sotoudeh and other human rights defenders who are …

Al-Monitor – The reimposition of secondary US sanctions and the consequent hesitation of international banks, European export credit agencies and enterprises to engage Iran have severely undermined the potential for Iran-EU trade. The establishment of the Instrument to Support Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) can be seen as a positive step forward, but it is yet to become operational. In the meantime, …

Al-Monitor – Alarmed by losing viewers to home videos or online broadcasts, Iranian state TV has found a not-so-original way to keep Iranians interested: copycatting popular Western shows. The controversial move has brought both praise and criticism. In recent years, state TV has lost many of its viewers for different reasons. The public broadcaster, controlled fully by hard-liners, is often accused of not being objective in …

Radiofarda – The trial of Esmaeil Bakhshi, Ali Nejati and other defendants arrested amid protests and strikes at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane industrial complex in the city of Shush, southwest Iran, has been referred to the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The Revolutionary Courts, set up after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, are tasked with trying those suspected of crimes …