Shayan Ghajar
On March 24, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed a special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic amidst concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran. The rapporteur is the first such position created by the UNHRC since its inception in 2006, and required a majority vote. more»
Grand Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani, a prominent Shiite source of emulation, refused to modify his criticism of the judiciary and security forces, which he reportedly made in February and instead told a group of senior clerics that he had more to say about the topic. more»
Shayan Ghajar
The Turkish government announced that for the second time in a week, an Iranian plane has been forced to agree to inspection while at an airport in Turkish city of Diyarbakır. While the first such incident resulted in no confiscation of items forbidden by United Nations sanctions against Iran, the latest inspection turned up a cargo containing automatic weapons, according to Turkish newspapers. more»
Arash Aramesh
A number of well-known Iranian film directors, including Majid Majidi and Ebrahim Hatami-Kia, signed an open letter condemning recent violence in Bahrain and sympathized with their “Bahraini brethren.” In the letter, they asked: “Why, as Iranians in this Eid [referring to the upcoming Persian New Year on March 20] full of mourning, shall we abstain from joining in the sea of blood in Pearl Square?” more»
Shayan Ghajar
For their annual statements marking the Iranian New Year (Norouz), both Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad focused more on the state of Iran’s economy than any other topic. Although rhetoric praising Arab revolutions and decrying foreign interventions peppered the speeches of Iran’s leaders on March 21, the bulk of their addresses dealt with Iran’s faltering economy, high unemployment, and sanctions. Despite the enormity of the changes gripping the Middle East, it is clear that Tehran is more concerned with economic stagnation than regional political upheaval. more»
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