Iran Focus
London, 13 Jan – Much sooner than expected, in fact, during his funeral, the consequences of Rafsanjani’s death appeared, turning the memorial into a fight between the rival bands.
The Rafsanjani-Rouhani band chanted, “these too many people are here for their love for Akbar”, while Khamenei’s responded, “these too many people are here for their love for leader”.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jan – In an article for The Natonal Interest, published January 12, Alireza Nader, senior international policy analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, writes about the alliance between Russia and Iran in the Middle East. She calls this alliance unprecedented, but fragile.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jan – In an opinion piece contributed by Majid Sadeghpour, political director of the Organization of Iranian American Communities in the U.S. (OIACUS) on January 12 in The Hill, he writes about the affect of Donald Trump’s election, and the death on Sunday, of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, on the Iranian regime.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jan – Essential human rights, and particularly the right to free speech, were under attack in Iran in 2016, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday in its World Report 2017.
Unelected bodies, including Iran’s Guardian Council and the judiciary, undermined a number of government officials and members of parliament’s minimal efforts to defend citizens’ rights, and they regularly overstepped their legal mandates in committing these violations, the group said.
Iran Focus
Washington, 13 Jan – Donald Trump’s election as the next president of the United States presents the Islamic Republic of Iran with tremendous uncertainty and, perhaps, anxiety, writes the political director of the Organization of Iranian American Communities in the U.S.
Mr. Trump’s platform included a promise to initiate dramatic shifts in American policies.
Iranian-American dissident Majid Sadeghpour, representing the OIACUS, wrote on Thursday for The Hill:
Iran Focus
London, 12 Jan – President Obama claimed that the Iran nuclear deal (his biggest foreign-policy achievement) would moderate the Iranian regime. Well, it didn’t. And now that the U.S. is in the transition period between two presidents, Iran is becoming more and more aggressive.
Iran Focus
London, 12 Jan – Golrokh Ebrahimi hit the headlines after being temporarily released from prison in Iran at the beginning of January. She was imprisoned because during a raid at her home officers found a short story she had written. Although the story was fictional and unpublished, it was deemed as having dissident sentiments.
Iran Focus
London, 12 Jan – After a tense year of relations between the two countries, the Lebanese President announced that he wished to seek better cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
President Michel Aoun, who is backed by the terrorist group Hezbollah, made this announcement on Saudi television on Tuesday.
Iran Focus
London, 12 Jan – The arms shipments seized off the coast of Yemen in 2016, appear to be Iranian-made according to arms experts.
Iran Focus
London, 12 Jan – As the Iranian sham elections draw closer, infighting within the Regime intensifies and it is revealed that nearly all of the top Regime officials were involved with the epic embezzlement by Babak Zanjani.
