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RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has urged U.S. President Barack Obama not to sign a 10-year extension of U.S. sanctions approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate. In a speech to Iran’s parliament on December 4, Rohani said the bill violates a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. On December 1, the U.S. Congress voted to extend the …

RFL/RE – Amnesty International has called on Iran to release “immediately and unconditionally” four individuals arrested on December 2 at a gathering marking the 18th anniversary of the killings of two prominent intellectuals. The two men were murdered by agents from Iran’s Intelligence Ministry. Their deaths were part of a series of extrajudicial killings of Iranian dissidents and intellectuals, which …

PayvandNews – Alireza Rahmani, the director of public relations for the governor’s office in Qazvin, 89 miles (143 kms) northwest of Tehran, was arrested on November 29 for inviting friends online to support the release of imprisoned human rights activist Narges Mohammadi. Alireza Rahmani, Director in Qazvin Governor’s office He was released a few hours later after posting 15-million-tomans bail …

Al-Arabia – A US Senate vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years shows the world that Washington cannot be relied upon to act on its commitments, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday. Iran has vowed to retaliate against the ISA extension, passed unanimously on Thursday, saying it violated last year’s agreement with six …

Al-monitor – The resignations of three cabinet ministers in October had raised hope among many women’s rights activists in Iran that President Hassan Rouhani would nominate at least one woman to one of the vacant positions. While Rouhani pledged to incorporate more women into his government during his 2013 presidential campaign, he has yet to fulfill this promise. AUTHOR Zahra …