January, 2020

• 16 January

  Republican Senators Introduce Resolution To Support ‘Iranian People’

  

  Radiofarda – Leading republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced January 15 that he and several other Republican senators have introduced a resolution to express support for the “Iranian people who are demanding their freedom…”. Senator Graham released a statement that his senate colleagues, Martha McSally (Arizona), James Lankford (Oklahoma), Marco Rubio (Florida), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Ted Cruz(Texas) and Mitt Romney (Utah) have joined …

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• 16 January

  Pro-Regime Friday Rallies Planned In Iranian Cities, Except In Tehran

  

  Radiofarda – The Islamic Propaganda Coordination Organization (IPCO) on Thursday announced that planned pro-regime demonstrations will be held after Friday Prayers nationwide with the exemption of the capital Tehran. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will lead the prayers in Tehran and deliver a sermon. Exempting Tehran from “nationwide” rallies is unprecedented when Khamenei will be leading the Friday prayers for the …

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• 16 January

  Rouhani Under Attack For Not Being Informed About Crucial Developments

  

  Radiofarda – President Hassan Rouhani has tried to defend himself against accusations of not being well-informed about crucial developments that impact the country in significant ways. During the past week, Iranian politicians as well as members of the public have criticized him for not being aware why a Ukrainian airliner crashed near Tehran on January 8. Rouhani said Tuesday on …

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• 16 January

  US Envoy In Germany Warns Iran Over Call To ‘Chop British Ambassador Into Pieces’

  

  Radiofarda – The United States Ambassador to Germany warned Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif on Wednesday about a threat made against the British ambassador in Tehran. The United States envoy, Richard Grenell, in a tweet reacted strongly to an Iranian cleric’s threats against the British ambassador and said this should be “loudly and widely condemned in the United States, throughout …

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• 16 January

  Iran Security Forces Prevent Continuation Of Student Protests In Tehran

  

  Radiofarda – Iranian social media users on Wednesday reported that warning issued by intelligence and security forces and heavy riot police presence on the streets has forced students to call off planned rallies in Tehran on the fifth day of protests in the country. Since early afternoon social media users posted pictures and videos of large groups of security forces …

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• 16 January

  Exiled Prince Says Negotiations With Islamic Republic Must End

  

  Radiofarda – Iran’s exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi, a prominent opposition figure, has called for maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic and maximum support for Iranians demanding change in their country. Speaking at Hudson Institute in Washington D.C., the exiled Prince insisted that the behavior of the Islamic Republic authorities would never change. He also emphasized that negotiation with Tehran without …

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• 16 January

  Three Republican Senators Ask For Investigation Of Iranian Lobby Group In US

  

  Radiofarda – Three Republican senators, Mike Braun (Ind), Ted Cruz (TX), and Tom Cotton (Ark) have called on the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a lobby group they believe acts as a “foreign agent of the Islamic Republic.” The senators sent a letter on Tuesday, January 14, to Attorney General William Barr, …

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• 16 January

  Injured protesters are facing life threatening infections

  

  HRANA – The nationwide protests of November are one of the most significant events of 2019. During the November protests that lasted more than 10 days simultaneously in 719 parts of the country. At least 7133 people were arrested, hundreds died on the streets, and many protesters got gunshot wounds. This report is compiled by HRANA from field investigations of …

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• 16 January

  15 years imprisonment for two of the arrestees of last November protests

  

  HRANA – On January 13, 2020, Mobin Moradi was sentenced to a six-year prison term by Kermanshah Revolutionary Court on the charge of “cooperation with an opposition group”. He was arrested during November protests in Kermanshah and was released on 200 million Tomans [approx. 20 thousand dollars] bail on December 9, 2019. In addition, on the same day, Poshtivan Afsar …

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• 16 January

  US sentences two Iranian agents to prison for spying

  

  Al-Arabia – Two Iranian agents were sentenced to prison in the US Wednesday on charges of spying on American citizens and US nationals, the US Department of Justice announced.Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 39, a dual US-Iranian citizen and Majid Ghorbani, 60, an Iranian citizen living in the US, aided the Iranian government in targeting Americans in the US who oppose the Iranian …

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• 16 January

  Iran Says Uranium Enrichment At Higher Level Than Before 2015 pact

  

  RFL/RE – President Hassan Rohani says Iran is now enriching more uranium than the country did before it agreed to a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, as Tehran gradually scales back its commitments under the agreement.“Pressure has increased on Iran, but we continue to progress,” Rohani said in a televised speech on January 16, insisting that Tehran is …

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• 16 January

  Trump, Erdogan Discuss Iran, Syria, Libya In Phone Call

  

  RFL/RE – U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed Iran, Syria, and Libya during a phone call, both administrations said in separate statements.Neither administration provided specifics of the January 15 call.Tensions are rising between the West and Tehran following Iran’s admission that its forces “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian airliner on January 8, angering many around …

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• 16 January

  Iran’s New Quds Force Leader Has A Long, Shadowy History With Afghanistan

  

  RFL/RE – It was in the late 1980s when Ismail Qaani — then a local commander in Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) — first became active in Afghanistan.It was to be the start of Qaani’s decades-long involvement in Iran’s eastern neighbor, where Tehran has carved up influence by arming and offering political and economic backing mostly to the …

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• 16 January

  Zelenskiy, Merkel Discuss Situation In Donbas, Plane Crash In Iran

  

  RFL/RE – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed the situation in Ukraine’s east, where Russia-backed separatists continue to control some part of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.Ukraine’s presidential website said on January 15 that Zelenskiy thanked Merkel for Germany’s participation in the Normandy peace format summit in Paris on December 9.Zelenskiy expressed concern about the failure to …

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• 16 January

  Albania Orders Expulsion Of Two Iranian Diplomats

  

  RFL/RE 0 Albania has ordered the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats for activities “not in line with their status.”Foreign Minister Gent Cakaj said on Facebook on January 15 that the two diplomats, Mohammad Ali Arz Peimanemati and Seyed Ahmad Hosseini Alast, were declared persona non grata and asked to “immediately” leave Albania.No further information was immediately available.Albania in December 2018 expelled two …

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• 16 January

  Will the Latest Iran Protests Spark a Popular Uprising?

  

  VOA – Days of protests against Iranian leaders over the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner appear to indicate public anger has been redirected away from America’s targeted killing of a top Iranian general.  But foreign policy analysts say it is too early to tell if this is the beginning of a broader popular movement. “My expectation is that the …

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• 16 January

  Students Assaulted, Arrested in State Crackdown on University Protests

  

  CHRI – Protesters were physically attacked and arrested at universities in Tehran and other Iranian cities on January 14, 2019, the fourth consecutive day of protests that had erupted in the country after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) admitted to accidentally downing a Ukrainian passenger plane. “The front entrance of the University of Tehran was full of security agents,” one eyewitness who requested anonymity …

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• 15 January

  US Ambassador states he is monitoring the treatment of Gonabadi Sufis after on the passing of Dr Noor Ali Tabandeh

  

  Shabtannews -– Ambassador Sam Brownback , the US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom , stated in a Twitter message that he is watching the the treatment of Gonabadi Sufi’s by the Iranian regime, after the recent passing of the Sufi’s spiritual leader, Dr Noor Ali Tabandeh. Tweets by IRF_Ambassador Tweets by IRF_Ambassador Tweets by USAdarFarsi

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• 15 January

  Mnuchin Says US Expects U.N. Sanctions On Iran To ‘Snap Back Into Place’

  

  Radiofarda – Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday the United States believes international sanctions on Iran will be swiftly reimposed now that France, Britain and Germany have formally triggered a mechanism to help enforce Iran’s nuclear agreement. European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday announced that Germany, France and the UK have launched action under the Iran nuclear …

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• 15 January

  ‘Leave Mideast!’ Rouhani Tells Europe After EU-3 Resort To Trigger Mechanism

  

  Radiofarda – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has once again sent mixed messages to the West, reiterating that the reductions in Tehran’s obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal are reversible but indirectly threatening Europe. Rouhani on January 15 called on Western forces to leave the Middle East and warned that “the Middle East could become unsafe for European soldiers in the …

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• 15 January

  Rouhani And Hardliner Watchdog Spar Over Mass Disqualification Of Candidates

  

  Radiofarda – The Spokesman of Iran’s election watchdog on Wednesday blasted President Hassan Rouhani for criticizing its mass disqualification of would-be candidates for the February 2020 parliament elections. Iran’s Guardian Council which must approve the all candidates running for parliament, has rejected thousands of applicants, including 90 members of the current parliament. “Brawling to [force the Council to] qualify the …

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• 15 January

  IOPHR calls for international committee to investigate all aspects of the downing of Ukrainian Airliner

  

  Shabtabnews – The International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights (IOPHR) in a statement called for ” international committee to be set up which consists of impartial experts, to investigate all aspects of this tragedy and in particular any  violation of Human rights that has occurred due to the actions of the Iranian regime by shooting down the Ukraine airliner “ …

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• 15 January

  IRAN: SCORES INJURED AS SECURITY FORCES USE UNLAWFUL FORCE TO CRUSH PROTESTS

  

  Amnesty – Verified video footage, photographs and testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses on the ground obtained by Amnesty International confirm that Iranian security forces used unlawful force against peaceful protesters who gathered across Iran following the authorities’ admission that they had shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane on 8 January. The evidence indicates that on 11 and 12 January security …

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• 15 January

  Israeli Army Says Iran Will Have Enough Material For A Bomb By End Of 2020

  

  Radiofarda – The Israeli army estimates that the Islamic Republic of Iran will be capable of producing enough fissile material to make a nuclear bomb by the end of 2020 and a missile capable of carrying a nuclear bomb within the next two years. If Iran continues its nuclear program at the current rate; it is estimated that Tehran will …

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• 15 January

  Iran Military Suggests US Disruption Of Radar Caused Downing Of Airliner As New Video Emerges

  

  Radiofarda – Several high-ranking officials have made statements about possible American “disruption of Iran’s radar network” and “cyberattacks” that appear to be in preparation of a new official scenario to explain the missile attack on a Ukrainian airliner on January 8. Ahmad Jannati, the hardliner Chairman of the Guardian Council on Wednesday said the possibility of “enemy sabotage” is being …

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• 15 January

  Iran Student Protests Continue In Universities On Fourth Day

  

  Radiofarda – Reports and videos on social media on Tuesday show students in several universities in Tehran continuing their protests against the regime on a fourth day with slogans against the Supreme Leader, the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij militia. A video from Shahid Beheshti University showed pro-regime students on one side and the protesting students on the other chanting …

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• 15 January

  Newly Released Photos Show A ‘Missile City’ In Iran

  

  Radiofarda – Iran’s Tasnim news website close to the Revolutionary Guard has published new photos it claims to show “missile cities”, where “solid fuel” rockets are housed. Tasnim also said that out of 15 missiles fired at U.S. bases in Iraq on January 8, two fell on Iranian territory, apparently due to technical malfunction. The release of photos by Tasnim …

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• 15 January

  Why Did the Elimination of Qassem Soleimani Decrease US-Iran Tensions?

  

  Radiofarda – When the specter of war is on the rise between two or multiple nations, there are two general ways to deescalate and reduce tensions: use of diplomatic channels and employing a policy of deterrence. The channels of diplomacy are currently closed between the United States and Iran. Even if some diplomatic channels were available, the necessity of deterrence …

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• 15 January

  Iran arrests person behind viral plane attack video: Report

  

  Al-Arabia – Iran said it has arrested the person who filmed the footage showing a Ukrainian passenger plane being shot down by a missile, the BBC reported on Tuesday. https://vid.alarabiya.net/2020/01/15/iranplanee24a2d80/iranplanee24a2d80___iranplanee24a2d80_video.mp4 Iran announced on Saturday that its military “unintentionally” shot down the Ukrainian jetliner on January 8, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it …

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• 15 January

  Iranian cleric says UK ambassador better expelled than ‘chopped into pieces’

  

  Al-Arabia – Prominent hardline Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda said expelling the UK ambassador would be “the best thing that can happen to him” as otherwise loyal supporters of slain IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani would “chop him to small pieces.” https://vid.alarabiya.net/2020/01/15/irancleric3e23edc8/irancleric3e23edc8___irancleric3e23edc8_video.mp4 Alamolhoda is the leader of Friday prayers in the eastern Shia Muslim holy city of Mashhad. His remarks were …

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