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rferl.org – Iran will reportedly resume so-called morality police patrols aimed at enforcing the country’s laws on women wearing head scarves, or hijab. Iranian police spokesman Saeed Montazerul-Mahdi said on July 16 that the patrols will crackdown on those wearing “extraordinary clothing” in public and who “insist on breaking the norms.” The statement came amid a flurry of unconfirmed social …

voanews – Iran got a small measure of relief from its isolation by the West this month by joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of Eurasian nations. But analysts based in Iran and the U.S. say Tehran faces significant obstacles to benefit from its SCO membership. Tehran became the SCO’s ninth member on July 4, when Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi participated …

hrw.org – On Monday, July 10, Hasti Amiri and Zia Nabavi, students and activists from Tehran’s Allameh Tabatabai University, appeared before Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, according to United Students Union Telegram channel, a news channel related to the Islamic student association in Iran. Amiri and Nabavi are being charged with “propaganda against the state,” according to Harasswatch, based …

voanews – In a coordinated action, several branches of Iran’s judicial system have recently issued “controversial” rulings targeting opponents of the country’s mandatory hijab regulations. The verdicts have affected many professions and sparked outrage, leading to widespread condemnation. In a recent case, a woman in the city of Varamin was sentenced by a public court to a supplementary punishment of …

voanews – The U.S. is beefing up its use of fighter jets around the strategic Strait of Hormuz to protect ships from Iranian seizures, a senior defense official said Friday, adding that the U.S. is increasingly concerned about the growing ties between Iran, Russia and Syria across the Middle East. Speaking to Pentagon reporters, the official said the U.S. will …