Those Who Hold Talks With Israel Are 'Very Stupid'

REGIME doesn't seem to be too happy about the Middle East peace talks that have resumed in Washington, D.C. - Mahmud Ahmadinejad has dismissed the talks, while the Iranian Foreign Ministry has described them as futile. Today, the head of Iran's Basij force, General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, was quoted as saying that those who hold talks with Israel are ... Read More

Cheerleaders cover up and regime officials turn their heads away at Iran-US basketball game

The United States, including Lakers star Lamar Odom, blew out Iran score-wise in the basketball game between the two teams in the FIBA World Championship in Istanbul on Wednesday with an 88-51 victory over the Islamic Republic. But Iran may have won a smaller victory. It may have prompted the otherwise lightly clad Ukrainian cheerleaders to dress ... Read More

EU urges China to cooperate in sanctions on Iran

The European Union said Thursday it expects China to support tough sanctions against Iran over its suspect nuclear program and not let its companies move into the Middle Eastern country's market as European companies pull out. China has vast energy needs and has large investments in Iran, leading to concerns that Chinese companies may try to set ... Read More

karrubi's Wife Condemns Harassment Of Family in an Open Letter to Khamenei

The wife of Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karrubi has written an open letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemning the harassment of her family by the Basij militia and Revolutionary Guards, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. Fatemeh Karrubi's letter was posted on the Sahamnews website, which is run by Karrubi's Etemad-e Melli party, on ... Read More

Iranian Opposition Launches Its Own Satellite TV Channel

Iran's opposition Green Movement has officially launched a new satellite TV channel, RASA TV (Resan-e Sabz-e Iran or Iran's Green Media), RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. Ebrahim Nabavi, one of the channel's organizers, said their aim is to break the state-controlled broadcasters' monopoly on the flow of information, fight against censorship in Iran, ... Read More

Stoning Lawyer Reunited With Family

Iranian lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei has been reunited with his wife and 7-year-old daughter in Norway. Mostafaei, who defended Sakineh Mohamamdi Ashtiani, the woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, fled Iran after his wife and her brother and father were arrested to put pressure on him. A Norwegian website has posted a video (in English) ... Read More

Author, Financial Analyst Richardson joins Khavari Ticket

MIAMI, SEPTEMBER 1 - Gubernatorial hopeful Farid A. Khavari named his running mate today, announcing that author and financial analyst Darcy G. Richardson of Jacksonville qualified for the ballot for Lieutenant Governor on Wednesday. "Darcy's wealth of political experience and economic expertise are of inestimable value to this campaign," says ... Read More

Release Rights Activist; Guarantee a Fair Trial

Iran's Judiciary should ensure that human rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari receives a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said today, including full access to a lawyer, adequate time to prepare her defense, and the ability to challenge evidence presented against her. The Judiciary should also release her from pre-trial detention, where she is being ... Read More

Zionists Waiting To Kill Hidden Imam, Says Iranian Cleric

Mojtaba Zolnour, deputy representative of Iran's supreme leader in the Revolutionary Guard, has said that "Zionists" are waiting for the Hidden Imam to appear to kill him. Hojatoleslam Zolnour made the comments earlier this week at Qom University. He was quoted as saying that "Zionists" have security plans for Muslim pilgrimage sites including ... Read More

Arrests and Convictions of Rights Activists and Lawyers Escalate

Authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran are continuing to arrest and jail civil society activists while persecuting and prosecuting independent lawyers, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today.
“With a majority of Iranian human rights activists and lawyers already imprisoned or forced into exile, their remaining ... Read More

Are Sanctions Having Their Desired Effect On Iran?

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The United Nations, the U.S. and other nations imposed sanctions on Iran over the summer. Now that they're approved, the challenge is to make them effective. Robert Einhorn, State Department special ... Read More

Political Prisoner, Arjang Davudi 'In Grave Condition'

Iranian political activist Arjang Davudi, who launched a hunger strike in jail 50 days ago, is in a grave condition, his wife has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. Davudi was arrested in 2003 on charges of founding a political group called The Freedom Movement of Iranians. He is currently serving a 10-year sentence in Tehran's Gohardasht prison. He began ... Read More

Baha'i woman "Minoo Vosough" recalls imprisonment in Iran

Minoo Vosough can still hear the guards' boots marching down the cold hallways of Iran's Gohardasht prison. The screams of other inmates burn her ears. She can feel the thud of a fist coming down on her head. And the world going black as she was blindfolded and shoved in a courtroom to hear her fate. She was arrested in Tehran more than 25 years ... Read More

Khamenei backs Iran plan to scrap subsidies

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has backed the Iranian government's plan to scrap subsidies in the coming weeks, despite concerns from some conservatives of its inflationary impact. Khamenei has asked the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to "seriously apply... the plan for removing subsidies," state news agency IRNA reported late ... Read More

Karrubi House "Under Siege"

Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karrubi's website, Sahamnews, says Iranian paramilitaries have surrounded Karrubi's house. The report says "more than 50 members of the Basij [a volunteer force loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and plainclothes men that covered their faces surround his house." Plainclothes officers equipped with tear ... Read More

Courts confirm two more stoning sentences on adultery charges

Amid the controversy and international outcry sparked by the stoning sentence handed down to a 43-year-old Iranian mother of two, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, Iran's supreme court reportedly has sentenced two more people to stoning on charges of adultery. The court's decision came just days after the Iranian judiciary revealed fresh details about ... Read More

Universities That Oppose Values of Iranian Regime 'Should Be Destroyed'

Iran's science minister has said universities that are against the values of the regime and its Basij militia should be razed to the ground, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. Kamran Daneshjou was quoted by Iranian media as saying on August 29 that universities should follow the path of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "If the supreme leader says ... Read More

Carla Bruni 'Deserves To Die,' Iranian Media Says

Iran - Iran on Tuesday sought to distance itself from harsh remarks by a hard-line newspaper, which called France's first lady a "prostitute" for condemning the stoning sentence against an Iranian woman convicted of adultery. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said insulting foreign dignitaries like Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is incorrect and ... Read More

One fifth of Iran's workforce unemployed

One in every five person in Iran's workforce is unemployed according to recent estimates by economic experts. ILNA, Iran's Labour News Agency, reports that while Iran's Statistics Bureau estimated Iran's workforce at 24 million last spring, the new statistics indicates that five million people are currently unemployed in Iran and unemployment, at ... Read More

"After The Crackdown" To "The Point Of No Return"

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In two major American magazines, on newsstands now, there are articles about Iran. Jon Lee Anderson's "After The Crackdown" is in the most-recent issue of The New Yorker, and Jeffrey Goldberg's "The ... Read More