Iranian regime minister addresses UN rights body despite harsh criticism 2/28/2018 9:46:19 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print Alireza Avaei, Iran regime Minister of Justice delivers a speech at the 37th session of the Human Rights Council, GENEVA, Washington Post, Feb. 28, 2018  — Iran’s justice minister, a sanctioned human rights violator, unapologetically took the podium at the U.N.’s top human rights body Tuesday to berate U.S. and Saudi policies, defying calls for him to stay away in a visit a top U.S. diplomat said made a “mockery” of the body. Justice Minister Alireza Avaei’s visit has been criticized because he’s faced EU sanctions for six years for his role in arbitrary arrests, denying prisoners’ rights, and increasing executions in Iran. Switzerland, which hosts a key U.N. office and the council, has also handed him economic sanctions — but not banned him from visiting. U.N. Geneva spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci said Avaei did not face...

ANALYSIS: Will new sanctions change the balance of power in Iran? By Heshmat Alavi Special to Al Arabiya English Monday, 15 January 2018 Text size  A   A   A US President Donald Trump is calling for new sanctions on Iran in his Friday decision, while providing Tehran with sanctions relief “for the last time” under an accord he himself describes as the “worst deal ever.” The President is stepping into this verdict after consulting the all-important Iran question with his national security team. The factor changing the playing field now is the nationwide protests that continue to threaten the very pillars of Iran’s regime. New scenario The law obliges the US administration to announce every 90 days whether Iran is complying with a 2015 agreement the international community aiming to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. The fact that Iran is shaking under the feat of tens of thousands of protesters in over 140 cities across the country raises ...