Iran Focus
London, 18 May – Amnesty International have made an urgent appeal for action regarding the Iranian political prisoner Omid Kokabee. Kokabee is a physicist who was diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer in 2016. Without specialised post-operative care Kokabee’s life is in grave danger; even more so should he be returned to prison, the human rights group said on Tuesday.
Iran Focus
London, 18 May – Former Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson has penned on op-ed for the United Press International setting out his frustration at Western government’s engagement with Iran’s despotic government.
Stevenson, who currently heads the European Iraqi Freedom Association, attacked Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, for not mentioning any of the human rights violations that are rampant in the country.
Iran Focus
London, 18 May – The Maldives’ government announced on Tuesday that they have decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Iran.
The Maldives foreign ministry said that the Iranian regime’s policies were a threat to peace in the Middle East, which was why they needed to end the 40-year-old pact.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 18 May – At least 21 people were hanged by Iran’s fundamentalist regime on Tuesday, according to the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) which quoted state media reports.
Two men were hanged on Wednesday in the Central Prison of Urmia (Orumieh), north-west Iran. They were identified as Dariyoush Farajzadeh and Ghafour Qaderzadeh.
Iran Focus
London, 17 May – A Syrian human rights organisation has denounced the invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to Tuesday’s meeting of the International Syrian Support Group (ISSG) in Vienna.
Iran Focus
Paris, 17 May – The head of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Maryam Rajavi met with a senior Syrian opposition figure George Sabra on 12 May, the NCRI has reported.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 17 May – Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif poured praise on a Hezbollah commander who was killed in Damascus last week. Mustafa Badreddine, 55, died in a “huge explosion” near the Syrian capital. Speaking to state-run news agency IRNA Zarif said Badreddine was “was full of spirit and heroism in defending the righteous values of Islam and the combatant people of Lebanon”.
Iran Focus
Vienna, 17 May – Senior politicians from around the world met in Vienna on Tuesday, to discuss an end to Syria’s civil war.
The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting, chaired by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, focused on how to end the bloodshed and provide immediate access for humanitarian aid into besieged communities.
Iran Focus
London, 17 May – Protests continue across Iran over the derisory treatment workers and students are facing from the Iranian government. From street painters to doctors, the whole spectrum of occupations are voicing their unhappiness.
