Amnesty International: An Iranian woman facing execution by stoning for adultery is believed to still be alive, even though the sentence was reportedly due to have been carried out on Tuesday 21 December. Hajieh Esmailvands death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court last month. Her unnamed co-defendant is at risk of imminent execution by hanging.
Iran: Woman sentenced to be buried up to chest and stoned to death
Iran closes Iraq border for security
UPI: Iran closed its border with Iraq Wednesday and banned its citizens from traveling to the war-torn country where the Shiites’
holiest shrines are.
The Iranian News Agency, IRNA, quoted an official statement as saying the border closure and the travel ban were dictated by the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.
2 antique smugglers sentenced to death in Iran
Iran Focus: Tehran, Dec. 22 Two antique smugglers had
their death sentences upheld yesterday by an Islamic revolutionary court in the southern town of Jiroft.
The religious judge, Dadkhoda Sallari, also ordered the confiscation and sale of their personal property to cover the cost of trial.
Iran’s air force ready to defend nuclear sites: army chief
AFP: The Iranian military led by the air force has been ordered to stand ready to defend the country’s nuclear sites in case of attack, army chief General Mohammad Salimi said Wednesday. “The air force has been ordered to protect the nuclear sites, using all its power,” Salimi said, quoted by the government daily Iran.
2 antique smugglers sentenced to death in Iran
Iran Focus: Tehran, Dec. 22 Two antique smugglers had
their death sentences upheld yesterday by an Islamic revolutionary court in the southern town of Jiroft.
The religious judge, Dadkhoda Sallari, also ordered the confiscation and sale of their personal property to cover the cost of trial.
Iran says arrests atomic spies
Reuters: Iran has arrested more than 10 people this year for spying on its atomic programme for Washington and Israel, three of them working within the state nuclear programme, the intelligence minister says.
Iran said in August it had arrested dozens of spies, several of them for nuclear espionage, but Ali Yunesi gave further details about their alleged paymasters.
Iranian meddling
Boston Globe – Editorial: It may be a positive sign that when campaigning began for elections scheduled for Jan. 30 in Iraq, the first hot-button issue raised by Iraqi politicians was the specter of Iranian influence. US officials as well as Arab leaders are breaking no new ground when they warn in public about Iranian meddling in Iraq. They are fearful of Tehran for geopolitical reasons. They don’t want Iranian-style theocracy to spread beyond Iran’s borders.
Iran Using Loophole in Nuclear Agreement
AP: Iran is continuing with a key process used to enrich uranium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons, but it is not violating an agreement to stop such activities because of a loophole in the deal, diplomats said Tuesday. The diplomats told The Associated Press that Tehran is still turning tons of raw uranium into uranium metal. The metal is a precursor of uranium hexafluoride – a substance that can then be used to produce weapons-grade uranium.
Iran atomic work challenges accord
Reuters: Iran’s decision to keep preparing raw uranium for enrichment, a step on the way to making nuclear weapons, breaks the spirit though not the letter of its pledge to freeze all such activity, diplomats say. Under a deal Iran reached with three EU nations to freeze all enrichment activity as of November 22, preparing “yellowcake” uranium for enrichment is strictly prohibited.
Iran: Rights Groups Shine Spotlight On Capital Punishment In Iran
RFE/RL: Along with China and the United States, Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world. In the last two decades, thousands of political prisoners, drug traffickers, and drug addicts have been executed in the Islamic Republic. In 2003, more than 100 executions were recorded in Iran. Human rights groups, however, say the real number of people put to death is much higher. “Unfortunately, every year there are
some 300 to 400 executions in Iran ,” said Abdolkarim Lahiji …
