News Digest: Week of May 3

May 3

Cyber: Iran was likely behind cyber attacks on a logistics company and H&M's Israel branch, JNS reported.  

Diplomacy: The British government denied reports that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual national detained in Iran, was set to be released. “It’s incumbent on Iran unconditionally to release those who are held arbitrarily and, in our view, unlawfully, and the reports," Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said. "I’m afraid, are not yet accurate in terms of the suggestion of her imminent release."

 

May 4

Diplomacy: A Swiss diplomat working at the Tehran embassy died after falling from a high rise building, Reuters reported. Her body was discovered by a gardener. The Swiss government confirmed that her death was a "fatal accident."

Health: Tehran's Food and Drug Administration said that doses of the Sputnik V vaccine produced within Iran would be rolled out within two months, TASS reported

 

May 5

Elections: The spokesperson for the Guardian Council called on Iranian youth to participate in next month's presidential elections. "The entry of young people (into politics) is also important in our view and can be a promise that our youth... play a role at higher levels of the executive branch," he told AFP. 

Health: Iran finished the first phase of human trials for its "Fakhra" coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine, developed by the defense ministry, was named after the assassinated nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. 

Judicial: Prosecutors indicted former Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif for mismanaging tens of billions of dollars worth of gold reserves. Seif was fired in 2018 and has been under investigation for corruption.