December, 2019

• 10 December

  Iran Promises Under Pressure To Reveal Casualty Toll of November Protests

  

  Radiofarda – Under massive pressure from public opinion, the Iranian government has promised to reveal the number of those killed during the mid-November protests in Iran. Iran-Graves belonging to pepople who died in recent protest The Rouhani administration’s spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Monday December 9, that the administration will provide a list of those killed in individual provinces as …

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• 10 December

  BBC Persian Appeals to UN As Iran Escalates Harassment Of Journalists’ Families

  

  Radiofarda – BBC’s Persian section says harassment directed at its journalists and their relatives who are in Iran has intensified and is appealing to UN bodies. BBC Persian appealed to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Monday to stop Iran’s harassment of journalists’ family members in Iran who have been subjected to various threats and even been put in “degrading prison …

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• 10 December

  Jailed Rights Defender Demands Full Investigation Of Iran Protest Deaths

  

  Radiofarda – Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of the most prominent Iranian human rights defenders has published a statement from prison demanding a full independent investigation of government’s bloody crackdown on November protests that killed hundreds. Sotoudeh, a lawyer, is serving a 38-year sentence for defending women’s right to reject compulsory hijab. She was arrested in 2018. More than one million people …

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• 10 December

  New EU Foreign Policy Chief Condemns Iran’s ‘Disproportionate’ Use Of Force In Protests

  

  Radiofarda – The newly chosen High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, says, “For the European Union and its Member States, the widespread and disproportionate use of force against nonviolent protestors (in Iran) is unacceptable.” Borrel, who succeeded Federica Mogherini on December 1, lambasted the Islamic Republic for its deadly response to widespread …

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• 10 December

  Outspoken Female Lawmaker Delivers Fiery Speech In Iran Against ‘Grim Despotism’

  

  Radiofarda – In a fiery speech on Monday an outspoken female Iranian lawmaker criticized the Islamic Republic for “grim despotism” and the ever-increasing powers of parallel, unelected centers of power. In her speech Parvaneh Salahshouri who is a representative of Tehran in the Majles (Iranian parliament) said the concentration of power in unelected bodies is destroying the “republican nature of …

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• 10 December

  In A Letter To Rouhani 160 Lawyers In Iran Ask For Investigation Into Protest Deaths

  

  In a letter to the Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani, 160 prominent Iranian lawyers have called for an investigation of the deadly mid-November protests in Iran and punishment of those responsible for killing protesters. Attributing the protests to “foreign plots”, as well as “ignoring the causes and the objective reasons of people’s dissatisfaction,” would have no result other than recurrence …

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• 10 December

  King Salman says Gulf unity is needed against Iran at GCC Summit

  

  Al-Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz, during his opening speech at the 40th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit held in Riyadh on Tuesday, stressed that the Gulf region must unite against the Iranian regime’s aggression in the region. “The Iranian regime has continued its aggressive policies in the region that undermine the stability of neighboring countries,” King Salman …

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• 10 December

  Iraq demonstrators set to gather in Baghdad for day of action

  

  Al-Arabia – Protesters were set to gather in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Monday in response to a call for Iraqis to head to the capital on Victory Day. Images had been circulated on social media calling on Iraqis from across the country to gather in Baghdad on December 10, which is a public holiday commemorating the Iraqi government’s victory over …

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• 10 December

  Iran Human Rights Monitor Monthly Report – November 2019

  

  Iran-HRM – November saw angry protests across Iran over fuel price hike which overshadowed all other issues. The protests began on 15 November after the tripling of fuel prices and rapidly spread to 189 cities in just a few days. In the days that followed the eruption of protests, the regime cut off access to internet across the country to hide the scale …

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• 10 December

  Russia, Turkey, Iran Hold 14th Round Of Talks On Syria War In Kazakhstan

  

  RFL/RE – The delegations of Turkey, Iran, and Russia have arrived in Kazakhstan’s capital, Nur-Sultan, for two days of trilateral talks, Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov has told reporters. The meetings are designed to find a permanent solution for the eight-year Syrian civil war and include ongoing talks on drafting a postwar constitution, political transition, security, and resettlement of …

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• 10 December

  Iran Says Ready For ‘Comprehensive’ Prisoner Swap With U.S.

  

  RFL/RE – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Tehran is ready for more prisoner exchanges with the United States, days after the two countries exchanged two of their detained nationals.“After getting our hostage back this week, fully ready for comprehensive prisoner exchange,” Zarif tweeted on December 9, adding: “The ball is in the [U.S.’s] court.” The December 7 prisoner exchange between …

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• 10 December

  A Child, a Single Mom and a Bookseller: the Stories of those Killed in the Gasoline Protests of Iran

  

  Radiozamaneh – Media and human rights organizations are still working on the documentation of cases of arrests, injuries and deaths of protesters who took to the streets in Iran after a hike in the price of gasoline was announced on 14 Nov 2019. The Islamic Republic of Iran has not been transparent about the death toll. Body count projects outside …

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• 10 December

  IRAN: JOINT CSO LETTER URGING SUPPORT OF RESOLUTION A/C.3/74/L.27

  

  Amnesty – Amnesty International issues a joint letter urging members of the United Nations General Assembly to support resolution A/C.3/74/L.27, adopted by the General Assembly’s Third Committee on 14 November 2019, when it comes for adoption by its plenary later this month. As the situation in Iran has been marked in recent weeks by another human rights crisis, in addition …

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• 10 December

  Mother of Slain Protestor: “Why Did They Shoot at My Son’s Head?”

  

  CHRI – “My son was only defending the rights of his people” The family of Pouya Bakhtiari, a 27-year-old man shot and killed by security forces in the Mehrshahr district of Karaj, west of the capital Tehran, on November 16, 2019, during the recent protests that gripped Iran, will seek justice through domestic and international channels, his mother told the Center …

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• 10 December

  Interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: Iranian Art in the Shadow of a Crackdown

  

  Interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: Iranian Art in the Shadow of a Crackdown CHRI – Violent state repression of protests in Iran is not unique, yet the lethal means government forces used to repress recent protests that broke out across dozens of cities reached new heights this year, resulting in at least 208 deaths between November 15, 2019, and December 2, according …

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• 10 December

  Iran braces for harsh times under new budget

  

  Al-Monitor – President Hassan Rouhani presented his administration’s proposed budget to parliament on Dec. 8, and while Rouhani’s subsequent speeches after the budget presentation were upbeat, they belie difficult economic times ahead. The administration appropriately named the budget for the following calendar year “Standing and persevering in the face of sanctions.” Rouhani said that this time last year, when the previous budget was presented, …

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• 10 December

  THE REAL DEAL BEHIND THE U.S.–IRAN PRISONER SWAP

  

  newyorker.com – Donald Trump celebrated a surprise prisoner exchange with Iran in a tweet on Saturday, just hours after a Princeton graduate student and an Iranian scientist were traded on the tarmac of Zurich’s international airport. “Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation. See, we can make a deal together!” he wrote. The swap was a rare moment of …

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• 10 December

  An Arrest for the 1988 Prison Massacres in Iran Puts Universal Jurisdiction to the Test

  

  responsiblestatecraft.org – Sweden’s detention of an Iranian allegedly involved in the 1988 prison massacres is both the latest attempt at universal jurisdiction and a reminder of what historian Ervand Abrahamian calls “the most despicable as well as the most bizarre event in modern Iran.” The arrested man, named by campaigners and by London’s Sunday Times as 58-year-old Hamid Nouri, is due to …

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• 9 December

  IOPHR Condemns Iranian Regimes’ crimes against humanity

  

  Shabtabnews – IOPHR ( the International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights ) in its December statement condemned the recent Iranian regimes’ crackdown on protesters and called the blatant shooting down of protesters as ‘crimes against humanity’ that needed to be addressed by international courts. In its statement it also called the EU to stop all its diplomatic and trade relations …

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• 9 December

  Israeli Ministers Warn Iran, As Netanyahu Says IRGC Ordered Killings In Iraq

  

  Radiofarda – Warning the Islamic Republic against its continued military presence in Syria, the Israeli Defense Minister, Naftali Bennett said on Sunday December 8, that Syria would be “Iran’s Vietnam.” Bennett’s warning echoed the Israeli Foreign Minister’s earlier comment on the same subject. “An Israeli attack on Iran is an existing possibility that is under discussion,” Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz had asserted …

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• 9 December

  Rouhani Pledges Stronger Domestic Intranet To Cut Need For The Internet

  

  Radiofarda – President Hassan Rouhani has said the National Information Network (NIN) or Iran’s intranet will be bolstered as ordered by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei so that “people will not need foreign [networks] to meet their needs.” Rouhani who was addressing parliament pointed out that one of the policies of his administration was strengthening infrastructures including the Internet bandwidth. …

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• 9 December

  Air Strikes Kill Five Pro-Iran Fighters In Syria: Monitor

  

  AFP -Air strikes by unidentified warplanes have killed five pro-Iran fighters in Syria’s eastern province of Deir Ezzor near the Iraqi border, a Britain-based war monitor said on Sunday. The strikes late Saturday targeted “positions of Iranian forces and allied militias” on the edge of the town of Albukamal, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “Five non-Syrian fighters were …

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• 8 December

  US Agrees To Japanese Mediation With Iran And Rouhani Trip

  

  Radiofarda – The United States has indicated its approval with Japan’s plan to host a visit by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to Tokyo, Kyodo news agency quoted “diplomatic sources” as saying. Apparently, Rouhani is seeking Japanese mediation in breaking a deadlock with Washington over the 2015 nuclear deal also known as the JCPOA. According to the sources quoted, the Trump administration is …

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• 8 December

  Mysterious Foul Odor In Tehran To Be Investigated But Jokes Abound

  

  Radiofarda -Tehran Mayor on Sunday said results of the investigation to find the source a foul odor periodically plaguing various areas of the capital since January have been sent to the Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization. In an interview with the state-run television (IRIB) last night the mayor Pirouz Hanachi said there is still no definite answer about the source …

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• 8 December

  On The Same Day Trump Thanked Iran, He Accused It Of Funding ‘Violence’

  

  Radiofarda – On the same day President Donald Trump thanked the Islamic Republic for “a very fair negotiation” in the mutual release of prisoners, he accused Tehran of funding “violence, chaos and mayhem”. At the annual conference of the Israeli-American Council, Trump addressed the participants Saturday night saying that “the greatest victims” of Iran’s policies “are its own people”. Since …

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• 8 December

  Iran Lawmaker Says She Will Not Run Again As Protest To Brutal Suppression

  

  Radiofarda – The leader of women’s faction in the Iranian parliament (Majles) has announced she will not run for a seat in the upcoming elections as protest to the bloody suppression of protests in November. Parvaneh Salahshouri, 54, representing Tehran districts says she also objects to policies that restrict the parliament’s power and authority. “Regarding the structures that restrict Majles’ …

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• 8 December

  Exiled Actress Farahani Decries ‘Massacre’ In Iran

  

  AFP -Exiled Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani has condemned what she called a “massacre” in her homeland, which has been rocked by a wave of deadly protests. Farahani, Iran’s first actress to star in a Hollywood film since the 1979 revolution, told AFP in an interview that the Iranian people were “suffering economically, politically and democratically.” The United States said Thursday …

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• 8 December

  Rocket hits Iraqi cleric’s home following deadly Baghdad attack

  

  Al-Arabia – A rocket fired from a drone targeted the home of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday, lawmakers from his Saeroon party said, following one of the capital’s bloodiest nights in recent weeks. The drone attack, which caused little damage and left no casualties, followed a deadly attack by armed men near Baghdad’s main protest site on Friday night, which left …

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• 8 December

  RFE/RL President Sees Iran Internet Shutdown As Harbinger Of Things To Come

  

  RFL/RE – International broadcasters are increasingly concerned about their ability to reach audiences in Iran as the authorities there crack down on journalists working for foreign media outlets and hamper access to the Internet, the president of RFE/RL said in an interview with its Persian-language service, Radio Farda.“We are very concerned about the targeting of our journalists here at Farda,” …

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• 8 December

  Iran Says New Budget Bucks US Oil Embargo, Uses Russian Loan

  

  VOA –  Iran’s president said on Sunday his country will depend less on oil revenue next year, in a new budget that is designed to resist crippling U.S. trade embargoes.Iran is in the grips of an economic crisis. The U.S. re-imposed sanctions that block Iran from selling its crude oil abroad, following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from Tehran’s 2015 …

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