Although Iran’s Parliament has expressed its disapproval of a meeting between a European Parliament delegation and Iranians Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi, the latest reports indicate that the visit was organized with the approval of the judiciary and its international advisor. Mohammad Javad Larijani, speaking for the judiciary, has reportedly said that he agreed […]
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Arba’een of Imam Hussain (a.s.)
What is Al-Arba’in? Al-Arba’in (Arabic “forty”) is a commemoration that occurs forty days after Ashura, the martyrdom of Imam al’ Hussain (a.s.), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Imam al’ Hussain (a.s.) and 72 of his faithful supporters were brutally martyred in the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (680 […]
Worker anger hits two Iranian companies
Workers at Haft Tapeh Sugarcane and Isfahan Polyacryl have resumed demonstrations in Iran. ILNA reports that workers from the Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company gathered at the company premises on Saturday December 21 to protest that wages have gone unpaid for two months. Meanwhile, 500 workers at the Isfahan Polyacryl Company also staged demonstrations this […]
Leopards pushed closer to extinction in Iran
Iran’s Department of the Environment reports that 46 leopards were killed in the past six years in Iran. IRNA reports that the deputy head of Wildlife Protection said: “The leopard and its habitat are at risk of extinction.” He added that the majority of the deaths were caused by road accidents and other incidents […]
Iran prepares to relax internet filtering
Iran’s Ministry of Communications and IT announced that it is developing a system to overhaul internet filtering in the country. Mahmoud Vaezi, the Minister of Communications and IT, told the Fars news agency: “Three groups are now working on creating a system of filtering aimed at inappropriate content as opposed to everything on a […]
Prosecutor Prevented Political Prisoners in Ward 350 from Education
Nine political prisoners in ward 350 of Evin prison (including four Gonabadi Dervishes) have been banned from participate in university exam under the order of Tehran Prosecutor General.According to HRANA News Agency, Mohammad Sadigh Kaboudvand, Omid Koukabi, Farshid Yadollahi, Amir Eslami, Omid Behroozi, Afshin Karampour, Mehdi Doulati, Mehdi Fazelifar and Sina Azimi have been […]
Joint open letter to Iranian president Rouhani
We, the undersigned representatives of human rights and civil society organizations, are writing to express our concern at the continuing and systematic state persecution of individuals perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. For at least the past decade, the authorities have used articles of the Islamic Penal Code criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual […]
Pressure on Dervishes to Close Their House of Worship in the City of Nayriz
Recently, threats and pressures on Gonabadi Dervishes and violations of their rights has intensified by Basij militia and extremist religious groups with the aim of closing mystic religious ceremonies of the Dervishes in the city of Nayriz, situated in Fars province, Iran.According to Majzooban Noor, over recent days new efforts by extremist religious groups […]
Yalda Festival (Shab e Cheleh)
Yalda means birth and like other major Iranian celebrations is deeply rooted in Zoroastrianism, the pre-Islamic religion of Iran. Ancient Iranians celebrated seven obligatory feasts, six of them were known as gahanbar (appointed time) and the last was Norouz, the Iranian New Year. The names of the six gahanbars in the late Zoroastrian […]
Obama To Veto Any New Iran Sanctions
The White House has vowed that President Barack Obama will veto any legislation imposing new U.S. sanctions on Iran. The threat was issued December 19 after 26 senators – or more than one-quarter of the Senate – introduced new Iranian sanctions legislation. The measure, backed by 13 Republicans and 13 lawmakers from Obama’s Democratic […]