April, 2019

• 24 April

  Mixed Reaction To U.S. Pressure On Iran, While Tehran Remains Silent

  

  Radiofarda – Two days after the United States announced the elimination of exemptions for buying Iranian oil, announced April 22, official reactions in Iran have been minimal so far, while Iranians on social media have been debating the expected impact on the country. But Iran’s neighbors and major players on the international stage had mixed reactions to the American decision …

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• 24 April

  Strait of Hormuz: The World’s Most Important Oil Artery

  

  VOA – Iran has said it would block the Strait of Hormuz if it was barred from using the strategic waterway through which about a fifth of oil that is consumed globally passes. The threat from an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander followed a U.S. announcement Monday that it would end exemptions granted last year to eight buyers of …

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• 24 April

  Imprisoned University Student Starts Hunger Strike For Lack Of Medical Care

  

  Iran_HRM – Imprisoned university student Mojtaba Dadashi has started a hunger strike since April 23, in protest against the denial of urgently needed medical care, including for respiratory tract infection he has been suffering since last week. Mojtaba Dadashi was in the last semester of his undergraduate studies in political science at Hakim Sabzevari University in Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi Province, …

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• 23 April

  Saudi Calls For Pressure On Iran After U.S. Ends Oil Exemptions

  

  Radiofarda – Saudi Arabia on Tuesday called for international pressure to be kept up on Tehran after a US decision to end sanction exemptions for Iran’s oil customers. The latest US move was a “necessary step” to hold Iran responsible for its “destabilizing policies and support for terrorism”, Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said in a statement carried by the …

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• 23 April

  Leader Of ‘Deviant’ Iran Sect Freed After Years In Prison

  

  Radiofarda – The leader of a “deviant” spiritual movement whose repeated death sentences drew international condemnation has been freed after almost eight years in prison, Iran’s Judiciary said Tuesday. Mohammad Ali Taheri faced “numerous cases and verdicts” but has been released due to time served, spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told the Judiciary’s official Mizan Online news agency. “The cases were recently …

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• 23 April

  EU Reacts Negatively To U.S. Decision Ending Iran Oil Purchase Exemptions

  

  Radiofarda – The European Union has reacted negatively to the latest U.S. move to increase pressure on Iran. The European Union on Tuesday criticized the U.S. decision to scrap exemptions allowing limited oil purchases by five friendly countries. Washington imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports in November but allowed some countries to continue buying some oil for six months, ending …

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• 23 April

  Iranian parliament labels entire US military as terrorist

  

  Al-Arabia – Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that labels all US military forces as terrorists, state TV reported, a day after Washington ratcheted up pressure on Tehran by announcing that no country would any longer be exempt from US sanctions if it continues to buy Iranian oil. The bill is a step further from the one last …

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• 23 April

  Lebanese FM received Iranian funds in Red Crescent parcels: Ex Justice Minister

  

  Al-Arabia – Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has been accused of engaging in widespread acts of corruption, including receiving Iranian funds as payment for providing a “Christian cover” for Hezbollah. The charges leveled by former justice minister Ashraf Rifi, who was also the general director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces from 2005 to 2013, are certain to inflame political …

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• 23 April

  Oil Prices Spike as US Insists All Countries Stop Iranian Imports

  

  VOA – Oil prices reached a six-month high Tuesday after the Trump administration announced it would no longer exempt countries from U.S. sanctions, if they continue to buy Iranian crude oil, a move aimed at imposing a complete oil embargo on Iran. Waivers granted to eight countries, including big Iranian crude importers China, India, Japan, Turkey and South Korea, are …

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• 23 April

  Workers’ Rights Activists Arrested for Revealing Torture by Intelligence Ministry Held Unlawfully

  

  CHRI – Lawyers representing workers’ rights activists Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qoliyan say the two are being held unlawfully now that their two-month detention orders have expired. “[Bakhshi’s] detention order ended on March 21 without an extension, which makes his detention a violation of Article 242 of the Criminal Procedures Regulations,” Bakhshi’s lawyer, Farzaneh Zilabi, told the Telegram app channel of the Haft Tappeh sugar mill …

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• 23 April

  Prosecutor General’s Cyber Division Launches New Online Censorship Center in Iran

  

  CHRI – Some Internet Users in Iran Warned of Prosecution for Accessing Blacklisted Websites In 2019, Iranian media outlets began reporting on the sudden appearance of branch offices of a “Prosecutor General’s Cyber Division Rapid Reaction Center,” a new state agency that appears to be tasked with monitoring and censoring online content and activities. The center reportedly has offices in …

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• 23 April

  Iranian media hail Tehran-Islamabad joint ‘rapid reaction force’

  

  Al-Monitor – “Iran and Pakistan will form a rapid reaction force to fight terrorism on their shared border,” President Hassan Rouhani announced at a presser in Tehran following closed-door talks with visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan April 22. “We are glad the Pakistani side has branded as terrorists the militant groups that conduct inhumane activities in this area,” Rouhani added. In …

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• 23 April

  Georgia Denies Thousands of Iranians Entry Visas

  

  Radiofarda – The Interior Ministry of Georgia says it has denied 6,400 foreigners, half of them Iranians, entry visa in the first quarter of 2019.  Based on the ministry’s report, 3000 Iranians were denied entry visa from January to April. Georgia — Shota Rustaveli International Airport, Tbilisi In the past, regional countries welcomed Iranian tourists, who prefer cheaper holidays in …

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• 23 April

  Tehran Municipality negotiating to restore Taq Kasra in Iraq

  

  PayvandNews – Tehran Municipality is in talks with Baghdad’s urban planners and authorities to restore a number of aging monuments in Iraq including Taq Kasra, which is an architecturally-important Sasanian-era Persian monument. Related Article: Taq Kasra, A Sasanian-Era Persian Monument, Partially Collapses Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday evening upon an official invitation from his Iraqi counterpart to …

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• 23 April

  ‘A whole new phase of confrontation’: New Revolutionary Guards head shows Iran readying for conflict

  

  RT.Com – Tehran’s appointment of a hardline new commander of its Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) could signal that Iran is preparing for conflict with the US, former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof has told RT.Read moreIran’s army doesn’t threaten regional powers but stands firm against ‘invaders’ – Rouhani Brigadier General Hossein Salami, 58, will replace Mohammad Ali Jafari as the elite …

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• 23 April

  Long Jail Term For Iran Rights Defender Confirmed – 12 Years To Serve

  

  Radiofarda – Imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer and defender Nasrin Sotoudeh‘s 33-year jail sentence is final, and she must serve 12 years, the official IRNA news agency reported. Sotoudeh who was arrested in mid-2018, was sentenced in early March to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes. She was subjected to two trials that Amnesty International has called “grossly unfair”. …

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• 23 April

  U.S. Officials React To Iran’s Threat To Close Hormuz, Assure Market Of Continued Supply

  

  Radiofarda – U.S. officials have strongly responded to IRGC Naval Force Commander’s threat about closing the strait of Hormuz if Iran cannot ship its oil through the strategic waterway. A senior U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told reporters in Washington on Monday April 22 that any move by Iran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz in …

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• 23 April

  India, Japan Say End Of U.S. Oil Waivers Pose No Problems

  

  Radiofarda – A day after the United States ended its waivers to importers of Iranian oil, India said it has secured enough supplies from other exporters and Japan said it will not face significant problems. The U.S. on Monday told eight friendly countries who had received six-month exemptions to import limited quantity of oil from Iran to look elsewhere or …

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• 23 April

  U.S. Puts Up $10 Million Reward For Hezbollah Information

  

  Radiofarda – The United States on Monday offered a $10 million reward for information that would disrupt the finances of Lebanon’s Shiite militant movement Hezbollah. The State Department said it would give the money to anyone who provides intelligence that allows the United States to disrupt Hezbollah in key ways. The areas include information on Hezbollah’s donors, on financial institutions …

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• 23 April

  Israel Deployed ‘New Missile’ Against Iranian Target

  

  Radiofarda – Days after Israel’s air strikes on the Masyaf (Misyaf) missile plant in Hama Province, Syria, Israeli media have reported that a highly advanced “new missile” was deployed during the attacks. According to the reports, the missiles are supersonic and “so advanced” that they can evade Russian-made long-range surface-to-air missile systems. The air strikes were purportedly part of a …

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• 23 April

  Why Khamenei Changed The Guards’ Commander And What It Means

  

  Radiofarda – Who is the new chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and why did Iran’s Supreme Leader decide to appoint a new leader now? Why did he choose Hossein Salami instead of another senior officer? These are questions that three prominent Iranian analysts have answered on Radio Farda’s Persian website. Hossein Salami, they say is a …

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• 23 April

  Brian Hook: Countries can either work with US or Iran, but not both

  

  Al-Arabia – The United States has denied the Iranian regime over $10 billion in revenue and expect that number to increase dramatically, US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told Al Arabiya English after Washington declared it would start ending waivers to Tehran’s oil customers. Hook also said that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates share a lot of …

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• 23 April

  Saudi Arabia welcomes US move to end all Iran sanction waivers

  

  Al-Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Dr. Ibrahim al-Assaf on Tuesday welcomed a US decision to end all Iran sanction waivers by May, saying it was a necessary step to halt Tehran’s “destabilizing” policy in the region. “Saudi Arabia fully supports this step taken by the United States as it is necessary to force the Iranian regime to end its …

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• 23 April

  Sufi Woman Beaten by Inmate in Gharchak Prison

  

  CHRI – Sufi political prisoner Sima Entesari was beaten by an inmate who claims she was promised a case review if she carried out the attack, a source with detailed knowledge of the event informed the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “One of the prisoners convicted of drug-related offenses initially got into an argument with Ms. Entesari,” said …

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• 23 April

  Court Of Appeal Upholds Deportation Of Human Rights Attorney Mohammad Najafi

  

  Iran-HRM – An appeals court upheld a 13-year prison sentence of human rights attorney Mohammad Najafi who was jailed in 2018 after voicing support for people detained during anti-government protests, the state-run IRNA news agency reported on Sunday, Aril 14, 2019. Mohammad Najafi was sentenced in December to 10 years for “conveying information to a hostile country” through interviews with …

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• 23 April

  China Lashes Out At Washington’s Decision On Iran Oil Sanctions

  

  RFL/RE – Beijing has lashed out at a U.S. decision to impose sanctions on countries that buy Iranian oil, warning that it will intensify turmoil in the Middle East and in the international energy market.“China firmly opposes the U.S. implementation of unilateral sanctions and its so-called long-armed jurisdiction,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at an April 23 press briefing.The …

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• 23 April

  Detained Defense Attorney to Be Tried on Four Charges for Peaceful Activities

  

  CHRI – Detained defense attorney Amirsalar Davoudi is facing four charges for running a Telegram app channel for lawyers in Iran and giving interviews to foreign news organizations, attorney Vahid Farahani told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on April 16, 2019. Two of the charges brought by Branch 1 of the court of Evin Prison are “propaganda against the …

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• 23 April

  IRGC commander leaves sooner than expected

  

  Al-Monitor – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Hossein Salami as the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). After nearly 12 years at the head of Iran’s most influential military force, Mohammad Ali Jafari will head the Hazrat Baqiatollah al-Azam Cultural and Social Headquarters. Khamenei thanked Jafari for his service to the IRGC and “introducing the Islamic revolution,” stating that …

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• 23 April

  US cuts Iran oil waivers in move to force Tehran out of nuclear deal

  

  Al-Monitor — The Donald Trump administration will not renew sanctions waivers next month for eight countries to continue imports of Iranian oil, it announced today, in a move key American allies interpreted as an effort to get Iran to quit the 2015 nuclear deal that the United States withdrew from last year. “The goal remains simple: to deprive the outlaw …

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• 23 April

  Iran Celebrates National Day Of Poet Sadi

  

  PayvandNews – Persian literature aficionados and literati from across Iran came together at the mausoleum of Persian poet Sadi in Shiraz on Sunday to celebrate Sadi National Day. Sadi(artwork by Bozorgmehr Hosseinpur) The director of the Center for the Study of Sadi, Kurosh Kamali Sarvestani, delivered a speech, which was followed by recitations from Sadi’s poetry.Sadi enthusiasts also visited exhibits of …

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