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

Al-Monitor – CIA Director William Burns on Thursday warned about security ties between Iran and Russia, especially if Russia were to provide combat aircraft to Iran. The warning comes as the US this week deployed a Marine expeditionary unit, Air Force F-16 and F-35 fighter jets , and a missile destroyer to the Persian Gulf, as Jared Szuba reports.   In response, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, …

RFL/RE – Officials in Iran’s Gilan Province have shut down a yoga club and detained one male instructor and five female participants in the city of Rasht because they were practicing the exercise regime together. The state-run news agency IRNA reported on July 19 that police launched an investigation after receiving a tip about the operation of a mixed-gender yoga club. The …

Iranwire – Iman Valdbeigi is among the thousands of victims of the Islamic Republic’s brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that swept Iran last year. Valdbeigi is a 42-year-old mechanical engineer from Tehran who has been missing for nearly eight months. According to his father, Mojtaba, his son participated peacefully in anti-government protests in Tehran. The man disappeared on November 30, …

Iranwire – Top Iranian officials have expressed support for the recent resumption of street patrols by Morality Police, despite growing public criticism over the enforcement of the Islamic Republic’s compulsory headscarf rules on women. “Let it be known that we perceive this path and mission as irreversible, owing to the benevolent impact it has even on our audience, and we …

VOA – Iran’s offer to host a maritime event in October has been rejected after a proposal led by the U.S. to rescind the bid was approved in a vote at the U.N. shipping agency’s council, an agency spokesperson said Thursday. The move is likely to further raise tensions between Washington and Iran after Tehran tried to seize the Richmond Voyager tanker, …