New York Times: In 2011 he narrowly escaped when Revolutionary Guards raided his underground Evangelical church. He watched as his friends disappeared into Iran’s prison system; Mori suspects they’ve been killed.
Iran’s oppressed Christians
Rouhani has not stopped Iran suppressing human rights: U.N. envoy
Reuters: President Hassan Rouhani has made only “baby steps” to improve human rights in Iran where forces loyal to the supreme leader are “working to suppress the rights of people,” a United Nations investigator said on Friday.
Exiled Iranians urge to lift Iraq camp ‘blockade’
Middle East Online: An exiled Iranian opposition group on Friday urged the international community to help lift the “blockade” of a refugee camp near Baghdad and called for an investigation into killings at a second camp.
US ‘hopes’ Ukraine crisis will not hit Iran talks
AFP: Washington hopes any fallout from the Ukraine crisis will not undermine unity between the US, Russia and other powers in ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, a senior US administration official said Friday.
Leaked documents purport to reveal Turkish graft allegations
Reuters: A Twitter account behind a string of leaks in a Turkish corruption scandal has posted what it presented as prosecution files accusing former government ministers of involvement with an Iranian businessman in a bribery and smuggling racket.
UN Syria envoy to Iran on Sunday
AFP: The UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will travel to close Damascus ally Iran for meetings with senior officials, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said Friday.
Iran faces ‘tough decisions’ at nuclear talks: Kerry
AFP: Iran has to take some “tough decisions” as world powers seek to hammer out a nuclear deal, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday with negotiations due to resume next week.
New hope for Iranian women
UPI: For Iran’s populace and women in particular, however, there have been only two real changes: a change in the regime’s rhetoric and a change in domestic abuses, which have deteriorated even further since Rouhani’s tenure.
U.S. has made clear Iran ‘not open for business,’ Kerry tells senators
Reuters: U.S. sanctions against Iran remain undiluted and Washington has sent a clear message to other countries that Iran is not open for business, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday.
Iran says it’s not an EU colony
UPI: Mahdi Kouchakzadeh, a member of the Iranian Parliament, said Ashton’s meetings were frustrating because she held talks with dissidents convicted of “sedition.”
