AP: Authorities held a commemoration Sunday for a commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who was killed in Syria. The death of Gen. Abdollah Eskandari underscores Iran’s high-level, hands-on involvement in the Syrian conflict.
Iran holds ceremony for commander killed in Syria
Iran execution a reprisal for prison unrest: opposition
AFP: Iran on Sunday executed a political prisoner. Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani was convicted of “waging war against God” (moharebeh) by helping the People’s Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) and then hanged, state media reported.
Iran announces execution of dissident for ‘enmity against God’
Fox News: The execution of Gholamreza Khosravi Savajani for “enmity against God” was announced Sunday on the website of Tehran’s Revolutionary Prosecutor’s office, according to Ali Safavi, a spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Amnesty says Iranian dissident faces imminent execution
Reuters: Amnesty International urged Iran on Saturday not to execute a political dissident convicted of “enmity against God” in what it said had been an unfair trial, as his family said they feared he would be hanged within hours.
Iran says Syria vote will boost legitimacy of ally Assad
AFP: Iran said that next week’s presidential election in Syria, branded a farce by Western governments, will boost the legitimacy of its ally Bashar al-Assad. “This election will strengthen the legitimacy of the Bashar government” said Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign policy adviser to Khamenei.
Iran’s cyber spies’ dubious techniques
Daily Beast: Hackers believed to be connected to the Tehran government are posing as Bolton on social media platforms in a scheme to get human rights activists and national security wonks to hand over their passwords and user names.
Iran cyberspies created fake news website
AFP: Spies based in Iran created a bogus news organization used for espionage since 2011. A report released this week by iSight Partners says that more than 2,000 people are or have been targeted in the operation dubbed Newscaster, which uses a “front media outlet” called NewsOnAir.org.
Iran must change to improve ties with Gulf: analysts
AFP: Iran must prove through actions that it is willing to make key policy changes to mend fences with Gulf Arabs, analysts said ahead of a visit by Kuwait’s emir. The weekend visit of Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is an opportunity for Tehran to turn over a new leaf in Gulf ties, they said.
Iran reports its first death from MERS virus
AP: The IRNA news agency quoted Health Ministry official Mohammad Mahdi Gouya as saying the virus killed a 53-year-old woman in Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran. On Wednesday, the daily newspaper Hamshahri quoted Gouya as saying two sisters in Kerman contracted the virus.
Sudan says it declined Iran air defence offer after attack
Reuters: Sudan turned down an Iranian offer to set up air defences on its Red Sea coast after a 2012 air strike Khartoum blamed on Israel, fearing they would upset Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia, Sudan’s foreign minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.
