EU demands that Russia, Iran, Turkey halt Syria fighting 3/1/2018 7:29:00 PM Federica Mogherini wrote that a solid ceasefire could bring momentum to UN-brokered peace talks. Orient News, Feb. 28, 2018  - The  European Union  is demanding that Russia, Iran and Turkey take responsibility for ensuring that the fighting stops in Syria and that a real 30-day halt in fighting is respected. In a letter to the countries’ foreign ministers, seen Wednesday by The Associated Press, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini wrote that a solid ceasefire could bring momentum to UN-brokered peace talks. She urged them 'to take all the necessary steps to ensure that the attacks stop, that the Syrian people are protected' and that humanitarian aid can get in and medical evacuations take place. Russia claim it has ordered a five-hour daily humanitarian pause, which started Tuesday, to allow civilians to exit the region. But no humanitarian aid has gone in ...

Blacklisted Iranian Official Stirs Outrage at U.N. Human Rights Council 2/28/2018 8:55:19 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print A speech by Seyyed Alireza Avaei, Iran’s minister of justice, at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday caused an uproar because of his role in human rights violations. GENEVA, New York Times, Feb. 27, 2018  — He was a prosecutor of Iran’s Islamic revolution and acquired a notorious reputation for the arbitrary executions of thousands of opponents. A few decades later he oversaw the judiciary’s 2009 trials of anti-government protesters and was denounced overseas, not least by the  United Nations  . But on Tuesday the former prosecutor, Alireza Avaei, now Iran’s minister of justice, appeared at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, one of nearly 100 ministers and dignitaries to speak at the start of its main session this year. The reaction inside and outside the council was outrag...

An End to the Iranian Regime Is Coming 1/30/2018 9:10:41 AM Protests in several Iranian cities 30 January 2018-  Iran’s so-called Assembly of Experts recently expressed concerns about the consequences of the widespread Iranian uprising in a meeting of its senior board. In this meeting assembly chief Ahmad Jannati and spokesman Ahmad Khatami highlighted three crises facing the Regime in response to the protests; the legitimacy of the people's demands, the blowback that the Regime is facing internationally because of its crackdown against the protests, and the Regime’s failure to censor and control the internet. The truth is the Regime were unprepared for the Iranian people’s protest which clearly demanded regime change and they were also unprepared for the international community to largely support the Iranian people. Mehdi Abrishamchi, Chair of the Peace Commission in the Iranian opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( ...

Iranian cleric leaves Germany under threat of prosecution 1/11/2018 9:40:47 PM A protester raises her fist during a demonstration in support of the Iranian people amid a wave of protests spreading throughout Iran, on January 5, 2018, in Paris. Berlin, Reuters, January 11 2018  - A senior Iranian cleric under investigation in Germany for alleged crimes against humanity left the country on a homeward-bound flight on Thursday, cutting short his stay at a Hanover clinic, a German official said. Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, a former chief justice, was in Germany for treatment at the clinic of Iranian-German neurosurgeon Majid Samii when activists referred him to prosecutors, citing what they called his record of passing death sentences. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (  NCRI  ), an exiled opposition group, said his issuing of “thousands” of death sentences amounted to a crime against humanity and urged German prosecutors to investigate...

Senior Iranian officials acknowledge IRGC control on economy 11/2/2017 4:41:38 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print National Council of Resistance of Iran Major concerns over the Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC) terrorist designation and the implementation of new U.S. sanctions, known as CAATSA, has engulfed the entire Iranian regime, seen in remarks resorted by senior officials. “Implementing CAATSA means sanctioning the establishment’s official military force and they can even sanction the government under the pretext of its cooperation with the IRGC,” said judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani. (Vatan-e Emrooz daily, October 31st) “Based on the policies instructed by the leader, our missile ranges are 2,000 kilometers… This is enough for now,” said IRGC chief Mohammad Ali Jafar on October 31st, signaling a step back considering the seriousness of these sanctions. Whereas on October 18th he is known to have said, “Our influence in the region and the power ...

Iran asks UN nuclear chief to confirm it still follows deal 10/30/2017 7:41:46 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano (file photo) TEHRAN, Iran, AP, Oct 29, 2017  - The visit by Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, comes as the U.S. Congress weighs the deal. Trump's refusal this month to re-certify the agreement has sparked a new war of words between Iran and the United States, fueling growing mistrust and a sense of nationalism among Iranians. In a statement issued by his office, Rouhani said Iran's adherence to the deal 'has been complete and remarkable.' 'We hope that, given the full cooperation of Iran in recent years, the IAEA announces the final report on the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program as soon as possible,' Rouhani said. 'We should not allow the (nuclear deal), as an important achievement, to be undermined, and we must...

Iran Dominates Third Committee Discussions on Human Rights 10/27/2017 10:39:16 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print Justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran October 26, 2017 -  ASMA JAHANGIR, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, said the report she was presenting was her first since assuming the mandate and covered the first six months of 2017.  She expressed concern over the rate of executions, with at least four juvenile offenders executed since the beginning of the year, and 86 more known to be on death row.  Reports of torture were also deeply concerning, as were those of harassment, intimidation and prosecution of human rights defenders. She continued to receive reports of violations against the freedom of expression, with numerous journalists describing harassment and intimidation by State agents.  There was an emerging pattern of arbitrary deprivation of liberty...

US House of Representatives unanimously passes sanctions on Hizbollah 10/26/2017 12:13:24 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print The US Congress voted through measures designed to curb Irans ballistic missile programme Democratic and Republican members of Congress unanimously voted through measures designed to curb Iran's ballistic missile programme and Hizbollah’s funding The National, Oct. 25, 2017  - In a move that marks further US escalation directed at the Iranian government and the Lebanese armed group Hizbollah, US Congress took first step on Wednesday in approving unanimously three resolutions that tighten the economic screws on Tehran and the Shiite militant party. After almost six months of deliberations and amendments, the US House of Representatives passed a bundle of bills with measures designed to curb Iran’s ballistic missile programme and Hizbollah’s funding. A unanimous majority of Democratic and Republican members of Congress ...