Reuters: Iran on Tuesday rejected an offer by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to give asylum to an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Iran rejects Brazil asylum for woman facing stoning
Brazil’s plea for asylum for Iranian facing stoning seems to fail
New York Times: Iran’s conservative establishment appears to have reacted coldly to an entreaty by Brazil’s president to allow an Iranian woman convicted of adultery to take asylum in Brazil rather than face execution by stoning at home.
US imposes sanctions on 21 ‘Iran-backed’ firms
AFP: The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on 21 firms it believes are front companies for the Iranian government, stepping up pressure on the Islamic republic over its nuclear program.
US lawmaker calls for sanctions on China, Russia
AFP: The United States should immediately impose sanctions on Russia and China under a US law that punishes major investments in Iran’s energy sector, a senior US lawmaker said Monday.
Dissident guards forced to retire in Isfahan
Iran Focus: Isfahan, Aug. 03 – From the Grapevine… Since early July, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the central Iranian city of Isfahan has forced many veteran IRGC officers to retire or relocate to non-military posts in ministries, such as the Post and Telegraph or Agriculture.
A massacre gone unpunished
Iran Focus – Editorial: In 1988, Iranian prisons saw perhaps the most heinous case of state-organised mass murder since the end of the Second World War.
Iran militia murder baker for calling Supreme Leader a dog
Iran Focus: Isfahan, Aug. 02 – From the Grapevine… Witnesses have told Iran Focus that on Sunday members of the paramilitary Bassij and plainclothes security agents murdered a baker in cold blood in the central Iranian city of Isfahan before the eyes of bewildered bystanders after he likened Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to a dog of one his customers.
Iran’s president Ahmadinejad to direct IRNA
Iran Focus: London, Aug. 02 – Iran’s official news agency announced over the week-end that it was giving full editorial discretion to the Islamic Republic’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over all its reporting.
Music fails to chime with Islamic values, says Iran’s supreme leader
The Guardian: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims the promotion and teaching of the artform is not compatible with country’s sacred regime
US backs Brazil asylum offer for Iran woman facing stoning
AFP: The United States urged Iran Monday to accept an asylum offer from Brazil for a Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
