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

Al-Monitor – After nearly four months of protests in the country that were sparked over hijab laws, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed a conciliatory message for the first time Wednesday. Speaking to pro-government women’s activists Wednesday morning, Khamenei said, “The hijab is a religious and inviolable necessity, but this inviolable necessity should not mean that someone with not a …

Shabtabnews – In an open letter to Mr. Josep Borrell , the International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights (IOPHR) , while expressing grave concerns about the disturbing cases of rape and sexual assault by the prison officials of the IRI against children arrested by the regime, requested that “the European Commission appoint a special and independent commission in order to …

Al-Arabia – Iran warned France on Wednesday it would respond after “insulting” cartoons depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were published in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The weekly had published dozens of cartoons on the same day ridiculing the highest religious and political figure in the Islamic Republic. The magazine said the cartoons were part of a competition it …

RFL/RE – Iran’s top Sunni cleric, Molavi Abdolhamid, denounced the deadly government crackdown on months-long anti-establishment protests during a December 30 sermon in Sistan-Baluchistan Province. The outspoken cleric said Iranians want “freedom and justice,” saying demonstrators were protesting against “discrimination, corruption, and lack of freedom.” Abdolhamid also criticized the repression of Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities, including Baha’is, who have …

RFL/RE – An Islamic revolutionary court in Tehran has sentenced civil and labor activist Neda Naji to a prison term and flogging for attending a protest in support of Mahsa Amini, who died while in police custody in September. Naji’s mother, Mehraneh Ghasemi, wrote on her Instagram account on January 3 that her daughter was sentenced to eight months in prison, 60 …