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

CHRI – A senior Iranian judicial official has publicly defended the state’s mass executions of political prisoners and extended incarcerations of dissidents in the 1980s. In an interview on July 2, 2017 with Tasnim, a news agency that maintains close relations with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Judge Ali Razini, the head of Branch 41 of the Supreme Court, described …

CHRI – Despite resistance from security organizations, a bill that could drastically reduce death penalty sentences for petty drug-trafficking crimes in Iran is scheduled to be debated in Parliament in July 2017. If passed, it could save thousands of prisoners currently on death row.

Al-monitor – Business is increasingly intermixed with politics in Iran’s relations with the world — to the potential detriment to both. For instance, recent developments in bilateral ties indicate that Iran’s longtime economic partner Germany is keen to take advantage of the opening provided by the nuclear deal. At a June 27 meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Sigmar …

Al-monitor – Nearly a month after the Islamic State’s simultaneous attacks on Iran’s parliamentary building and the shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has made personnel changes for security and intelligence in Tehran. AUTHOR Arash Karami On July 4, IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari appointed Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Yazdi as commander of Greater Tehran’s Mohammad Rasulallah Guard Corps. Yazdi …

CHRI – Iran’s supreme leader is continuing his public criticism of newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani, this time accusing him of not doing enough to aid the judiciary in protecting the “dignity of the Islamic system.” “The judiciary should be a pioneer in establishing public rights within the society … and confront anyone who violates laws,” said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei …