Iran’s chief of police criticised officials on Monday for using blocked social networking sites, an indication that resistance remains against government plans to relax restrictions on such websites. Since his election in June, President Hassan Rouhani has developed a significant presence on Twitter to promote his messages in both English and Persian. Foreign Minister […]
Category: Sufi news
Writers call for more resistance against censorship
The Iranian Writers’ Association has issued an announcement in advance of next Wednesday’s Struggle Against Censorship. The statement indicates that in the past year, many more writers and artists have stood up against censorship. The statement celebrates the impact of this resistance, insisting it has led to the enlistment of government forces in the […]
Leader’s rep says house arrests a result of “mercy”
Ali Saidi, the Iranian leader’s representative in the Revolutionary Guards, says ending the house arrest of MirHosein Mousavi Mehdi Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard is not possible because “the people will not forgive them.” Saidi told Tsnim on Saturday November 30 that the action taken against Mousavi and Karroubi has not been the “maximum”, insisting […]
More Extremist Movements Against Dervishes in Khorramshahr/ Dervishes Were Warned not to Pursue Their Complaint
Despite the Gonabadi Dervishes from the city of Khorramshahr lodged a complaint against religious extremists, anti-Sufis graffiti and assault and battery on a Dervish, the threatening phone calls and text messages warning Dervishes about closing Dervishes ceremonies, continues. After a number of religious extremists brutally beat a Gonabadi Dervish in the city of Khorramshah […]
Rohani gov’t says it’s working to free opposition leaders
An Iranian government spokesman has announced that the Rohani administration is working to end the house arrest of reformist figures and bring about the release of political prisoners. In an interview with Etemad Newspaper on Thursday, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said the public should maintain its confidence in Hassan Rohani’s promises to open up the […]
Rouhani Aide: Inflation will not be Contained Even in Four Years
“Statistics Continue to ConflictSince” last week’s nuclear agreement in Geneva hopes in Iran for the easing of economic pressure on the Iranian people have risen but a senior aide to President Hassan Rouhani dispelled such optimism and said that inflation could not be fully tackled in the next four years. This pessimism was aired […]
Nuclear watchdog to visit Iran next month
The head of International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has invited the agency to visit Arak’s heavy-water plant on December 8, taking a concrete step to ease concerns about its nuclear program. Iran reached a preliminary agreement with the 5+1 on Sunday, and the UN nuclear watchdog is now examining how the agreement will […]
Earthquake Strikes Iran’s Bushehr Region
The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck about 60 kilometers northeast of the Iranian city of Bushehr, where Tehran has a nuclear power plant. Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted local officials as saying that there were no immediate reports of damages or victims, but assessments were still under way. There […]
UN women’s rights resolution passed despite backlash
A UN General Assembly committee has agreed a landmark first resolution on women’s rights defenders such as Malala Yousafzai, despite a hard fought campaign by an alliance including the Vatican to weaken the measure. A Norwegian-led coalition, which has prepared the resolution for months, had to delete language that condemned “all forms of violence […]
Foreign Minister: Nuclear Deal Preserves Iran’s National Interests
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the nuclear deal struck with Western powers over the weekend preserves the national interests of the Islamic republic. Zarif made the remarks while briefing members of Iran’s parliament on November 27 on the interim agreement, which gives Iran some relief from international sanctions. “It has worried the […]