News Digest

August 28 Domestic: Pop singer Mehdi Yarrahi was detained by police for criticizing the mandatory hijab ban in his song “Roosarito”, Farsi for “Your Headscarf.” The song encouraged women to remove their headscarves and featured the slogan “Woman, life, freedom,” often chanted by protesters. “Don’t…

August 21  International: The U.S. Defense Department rejected Tehran’s claim that the Iranian Navy had intercepted U.S. Navy vessels, based on edited footage. “That report is not true,” said Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh. “So I don’t know where that’s coming from, but we’ve seen…

August 14 Diplomatic: Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will visit Saudi Arabia “in the near future,” the foreign ministry announced. Spokesman Nasser Kanani did not provide a specific date but said that “the relations between the two countries are progressing step by step” since they…

August 7 Domestic: Iran opened candidate registration for the March 2024 parliamentary elections. They were the first national elections since protests rocked the country in 2022. Candidates for the 290-seat parliament could register online.   Military: More than 3,000 American military personnel…

July 31 International: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said that Iran would “never hold talks with the U.S. on the basis of trust” and would only enter negotiations “to fulfill the country’s national interests.” At a press conference, Kanaani added, “we are making efforts to have the…

July 24  Domestic: Authorities closed a Tehran office of Digikala, Iran’s largest e-commerce site, after the company published pictures of female employees without hijab at a company gathering. Iran’s judiciary announced that legal proceeds would begin soon.  Security: Iran’s Intelligence…

July 17  International: Finance Minister Ehsan Khandouzi announced a series of joint trade and cooperation projects between Iran and China. “China is Iran’s largest trading partner and the most important for the export of Iranian goods and an important part of our imports are also from China,”…

July 10 Military: Ramazan Zirrahi, a Revolutionary Guards commander, criticized the U.S. Navy for interfering when Iran intercepted a ship allegedly smuggling fuel on July 6. “The Americans sought to prevent [the interception] through a series of unprofessional and risky actions,” he said. …

July 3  Domestic: The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group reported that Iran had executed at least 354 people in the first six months of 2023. Some 36 percent more people were executed compared to the same period in 2022. Nearly 20 percent of all executions were members of the Baluch, a Sunni…

June 26 International: The European Council sanctioned seven individuals in Iran for human rights violations. They included judiciary officials, provincial governors, and leaders of security forces responsible for harsh sentences, arbitrary detentions, and violence against protesters.  A…