Iran Focus
London, 7 Mar – The European Union has decided to leave sanctions that are imposed on dozens of Iranian human rights abusers in place until 2020.
Ambassadors from EU-nations met in Brussels on Wednesday to debate the matter, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity, and agreed that the asset freezes and visa bans on 82 Iranian citizens and the Iranian Cyber Police should be upheld.
By Pooya Stone
A leading Iranian human rights lawyer who has defended people for protesting the country’s forced veiling of women faces up to 34 years in prison and 148 lashes after being convicted on bogus national security charges.
The conviction of Nasrin Sotoudeh, who previously spent three years in prison for her work, shows how insecure the ruling system is to any peaceful challenge and how false the promises by so-called moderates to repeal the law were.
By Pooya Stone
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned from his position on 25th February amid apologies about the “shortcomings” and failures of the government. However, his resignation was rejected by President Hassan Rouhani and he is now back to work.
By Jubin Katiraie
The nationwide teachers’ strike in Iran entered its third day on Tuesday, with teachers holding sit-ins in their principals’ offices to demand basic rights, like better pay, the right to form unions, and the freeing of all jailed teachers’ rights activists, as well as an adequate response to their demands from the government.
Iran Focus
London, 6 Mar – The fishing industry is the latest indicator of widespread and systematic corruption in Iran, with local anglers losing their livelihoods after the Government granted dubious licenses to Chinese fishing boats engaged in deep-sea trawling.
The policy, which would result in increased unemployment and poverty, gathered intense criticism when it became public two years ago, but the relevant government authorities have failed to address the grievances.
By Mehdi
The Netherlands recalled its ambassador to Iran and summoned the Iranian ambassador to its Foreign Ministry for talks after Tehran expelled two Dutch diplomats in a dispute over an alleged plot to assassinate Iran’s political opponents in the European country.
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said: “The government has decided to recall the Dutch ambassador in Tehran for consultations.”
By Pooya Stone
On Sunday, it was announced that Ebrahim Raisi has been appointed as the Judiciary Chief, replacing Sadeq Amoli Larijani. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei told Iranian media that Raisi will be officially introduced as Judiciary Chief on Thursday March 7th.
According to Yahya Kamalipour, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s judiciary committee, the head of the Judiciary is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader for a five-year term, which can be renewed. Indeed, the spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary has confirmed that Raisi is considered a person trusted by the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran Focus
London, 5 Mar – Last July, months after the US exit from the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, and the reimposed sanctions that accompanied it, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned his government that they could not rely on Europe for protection against U.S.
By Jubin Katiraie
Experts are warning that a global response is necessary to repel the rising wave of cyberattacks on government and communications infrastructure worldwide by the
leading state sponsor of terror, Iran.
Iran Focus
London, 4 Mar – Just over a year ago, information about Iran’s secret nuclear programme was uncovered during a raid on an undisclosed facility near Tehran and presented to the US, so that the Donald Trump administration could use it to crack down on the mullahs’ malign activities.
Sceptics dismissed the archive as “nothing new”, but careful analysis showed that Iran was far closer to obtaining nuclear weapons than the international community thought.
