Photos: Miankaleh Wetland in Iran's Caspian Region - There are several national and international wetlands in Iran in which Miankaleh is on of the most important one and is considered as a wild life sanctuary and was listed as a preserved area in 1969. Furthermore, regarding its ecological characteristics, this wetland has been chosen as a maternity site by many endangered animal and herbaceous species, specifically aquatic migrant birds. 02/3/12
Iran launches newest satellite into space - Iran successfully launched a new domestically manufactured satellite into orbit on Friday morning. The research satellite, called Navid-e Elm and San'at (Promise of Science and Technology), has been manufactured by Iran University of Science and Technology. It was sent into space aboard the Safir rocket. 02/3/12
Iran: Stop Holding Reporters' Relatives Hostage - "Detaining a BBC reporter's relative seems to be part of a wider campaign to harass Iranian journalists by putting pressure on them and their families," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. 02/3/12
2nd Annual National Iranian American Day of Service - In the spirit of the Iranian New Year, Norooz, we will be organizing teams of volunteers in cities throughout the U.S. to participate in a variety of service projects. This is our chance to give back to those communities in which we live and work, while also sharing a piece of our rich culture and philanthropic spirit. 02/3/12
Cultural Highs And Lows For Iran - International recognition of Mr. Farhadi's work comes at a tense time for many filmmakers and other artists in Iran, who have been subjected to government censorship for decades. 02/3/12
BBC Reporter Interrogated Online By Iran's Revolutionary Guards - Security officials with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have used the Internet to interrogate an employee of the London-based BBC Persian service, according to a February 2 report on the opposition website "IranGreenVoice." 02/3/12
Iran's Baha'i community targeted with more arrests - The Human Rights Reporters Committee announced on Friday that several Baha'is were arrested at their homes today in Shiraz. Details of the arrests have not yet been released, except that the arrests were carried out during sudden and simultaneous raids on the homes of the targeted people. 02/3/12
Passing the Torch of Success Rocks San Diego - Billed as an event which would educate, inspire, and empower, the PTT in San Diego more than delivered. As one audience member noted: "What an incredible panel of speakers....so inspiring...everyone left empowered with an amazing sense of pride as Iranian Americans." 02/3/12
EU's Ashton says 5+1 is ready for talks at venue suggested by Iran - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has announced that the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany) is ready to hold talks with Iran at any venue suggested by the Islamic Republic. 02/3/12
Iran, IAEA to meet again in Tehran Februaray 21-22 - Meetings between the IAEA and Iran were held in Tehran from 29 to 31 January 2012, aimed at resolving all outstanding substantive issues. Another meeting will take place in Tehran from 21 to 22 February 2012. 02/3/12
Petition: "No To Military Strikes Against Iran" - The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) invites citizens of the world to join a global campaign aimed at averting a colossal catastrophe in West Asia. 02/3/12
Scrappage scheme, subsidy cuts slash gasoline consumption in Iran - A scheme launched in 2005 to dispose of old and inefficient vehicles has contributed to the reduction of gasoline consumption in Iran by around 3.4 million liters per day, an official with the Fuel and Transportation Management Organization said. 02/3/12
How Obama became vulnerable on Iran - By downplaying his diplomacy, he undermines a peaceful solution and encourages the false charge of weakness -Trita Parsi, Salon 02/3/12
Security Council Members Consider New Syria Resolution - Members of the United Nations Security Council are considering Friday a new draft resolution to end the bloodshed in Syria, with an amendment designed to overcome Russian objections. 02/3/12
Iran: Wave of arrests in run up to parliamentary elections - Amnesty International is concerned that an ongoing wave of arrests of media workers and bloggers is intended to limit freedom of expression in the run up to parliamentary elections in Iran scheduled for 2 March 2012. 02/2/12
Photos: Zoroastrians Celebrate Sadeh Festival in Kerman - Sadeh festival was celebrated by the Iranian Zoroastrians in Kerman on Monday night. Sadeh is an ancient Iranian tradition celebrated 50 days before Persian New Year Norouz. 02/2/12
Iran: Political Prisoners's Ward at Evin Prison Raided by Security Forces - Following this illegal act that took place in the presence of the special prosecutor's assistant, the prisoners broke out in slogans such as "Ya Hossein... Mir Hossein" , "Mahmoud the Traitor" and "Death to the Dictator" and sang the national anthem "Ey Iran" and other songs such as "Yareh Dabestani". 02/2/12
Death penalty announced for "disruptive" currency traders - The head of Iran's judiciary announced on Wednesday that the courts will readily "issue death penalties" to the "disruptors" of the country's foreign currency market. In recent weeks, Iran's foreign currency and gold markets have experienced sharp fluctuations, which many analysts have linked to the intensification of international sanctions against Iran. 02/2/12
Cardboard Khomeini Returns To Iran From Exile - Iranians have been faced with many unusual and absurd events in the past three decades of the rule of the clerics. The February 1 ceremony, however, may have topped them all. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE 02/2/12
UN Nuclear Experts Plan Another Visit to Tehran - The United Nation's nuclear agency's chief inspector says he had a "good" visit to Iran and plans to make another trip in the "very near future" to discuss Iran's controversial nuclear program. 02/2/12
"A Separation" wins two awards in JIFF - Asghar Farhadi's A Separation has won the Golden Camel award for the best director at Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF). 02/2/12
Revoke Execution Sentence of Iranian Web Programmer - Iran should immediately suspend the death sentence for web programmer and Canadian resident Saeed Malekpour and investigate allegations of his torture, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. 02/2/12
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Iran denounces UN human rights rapporteur - The head of Iran's judiciary has denounced the United Nation's special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, saying Ahmad Shaheed's report is all "lies." 02/2/12
US Lawmakers Propose Tougher Sanctions on Iran - U.S. lawmakers have proposed tighter economic sanctions on Iran, as senior intelligence officials say measures already in place are having an effect. 02/2/12
Call For Film Submissions: 5th Annual Iranian Film Festival in San Francisco - The 5th Annual Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco, a showcase for the independent feature and short films made by or about Iranians from around the world, is inviting the filmmakers from all over the world to submit their films to the next edition taking place September 2012. 02/2/12
Ahmadinejad presents budget to Parliament after delay - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented Parliament with his budget for the next Iranian calendar year after a delay of nearly two months. Iranian media report that more than 46 MPs spoke out against the president's lengthy delay. 02/2/12
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Divining the Truth About Iran - Watching top U.S. intelligence officials present the annual "Worldwide Threat Assessment" before the Senate Intelligence Committee, I found myself wondering if they would depart from the key (if politically delicate) consensus judgment that Iran is NOT working on a nuclear weapon. -Ray McGovern, Antiwar 02/2/12
The Ongoing War on Iran - The way in which the growing confrontation with Iran is being sold by the US, Israel and West European leaders is deeply dishonest. The manipulation of the media and public opinion through systematic threat exaggeration is similar to the drum beat of propaganda and disinformation about Iraq's non-existent weapons of mass destruction that preceded the invasion in 2003. -Patrick Cockburn, Counterpunch 02/2/12
Iran and the US: from words to war - Judging by recent rhetoric, and implied threats, from Washington, predictably echoed in London, anyone would think they wanted any excuse for a military conflict with Iran. -Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian 02/2/12
Hawkish Group Report Pushes for Military Action Against Iran - A report released today from the neoconservative Bipartisan Policy Center's National Security Project calls for stepped-up rhetoric and military actions against Iran. -Common Dreams 02/2/12
Photos: Ayatollah Khomeini Returns To Tehran, Again! - The return of Ayatoollah Khomeini to Tehran was reenacted in Tehran's Mehrabad airport on Wednesday. On the Air France flight on his way to Iran, Khomeini was asked by ABC News reporter Peter Jennings: "What do you feel in returning to Iran?" Khomeini answered: "Hichi" (Nothing). 02/1/12
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Iranian Opposition Group Calls For Silent Rallies - An Iranian opposition group has called for silent rallies to be held in Tehran and other Iranian cities on February 14, accusing the government of wasting the country's interests and resources. 02/1/12
Senior Iranian Cleric Calls For Release Of Opposition Leaders - Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Dastgheib, a senior Iranian cleric and a chief critic of the Islamic Republic's recent domestic policies, has called on the establishment to end the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, the two opposition leaders who have been detained since last February. 02/1/12
Chief UN Nuclear Inspector Says More Work Needed With Iran - The United Nations nuclear agency's chief inspector says there is "still a lot of work to be done" with Iran after three days of "intensive" talks about its atomic energy program. 02/1/12
Actress Katayoun Riahi assigned Iran charity ambassador - The award-winning Iranian actress Katayoun Riahi has been assigned as the new ambassador of the country's Mehrafarin Charity Society. Mehrafarin Charity Society also introduced Tehran Wind Instruments Orchestra as the Co-Ambassador at the event. 02/1/12
Iran reserves: $120 billion in cash, 907 tons of gold - Iran has $120 billion stored in its foreign exchange reserves and possesses 907 tons in gold reserves, according to the chairman of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce. The chairman said: "We don't have any shortage of foreign currency or gold to meet the local demand". 02/1/12
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US Intel Chiefs Assess Iranian Threat - America's top intelligence official says Iran is increasingly willing to conduct attacks in the United States or against U.S. interests overseas, but does not appear to have decided to build a nuclear weapon. -Michael Bowman, VOA 02/1/12
Iran actress wins Henri Langlois award - Renowned Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Aria has been awarded at the 2012 edition of Annual Prix Henri Langlois's International Awards in France. 02/1/12
EU denounces clampdown on Iranian journalists - The European Union has added its voice to the international chorus denouncing the Islamic Republic's crackdown on Iranian journalists. 02/1/12
Iranian establishment questions international success of "A Separation" - Iranian filmmaker Jamal Shurjeh, a staunch supporter of the Islamic Republic regime, has criticized the internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, saying Farhadi's latest creation is in line with U.S. and Israeli policies. 02/1/12
Opposition group calls on Iranians to join rally on February 14 - The Kaleme opposition website wrote that on the anniversary of last year's February 14th street protests, the Coordination Council for the Green Path of Hope is calling on all supporters of the Green Movement to take part in public but silent demonstrations. 01/31/12
Iran's Cyberpolice Detain Facebook Group Administrators - Iran's cyberpolice say they have arrested four administrators of a Facebook group called "Daaf and Paaf," which had launched an online beauty competition. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE 01/31/12
Iran's Film Community Demands Ban On House Of Cinema Be Lifted - Close to 2,000 members of Iran's film community have voiced their protest against the Iranian government's decision to ban the House of Cinema, an independently run organisation that promotes the film industry. 01/31/12
Rafsanjani criticizes Ahmadinejad's economic policies - Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran's Expediency Council, has slammed the Ahmadinejad administration for failing to reinvest the money it saved by restructuring government subsidies. 01/31/12
Iran: New Arrests of Labor Activists - Iranian authorities should immediately release dozens of labor and independent trade union activists imprisoned for speaking out peacefully in defense of workers, Human Rights Watch said today. 01/31/12
Iranian journalist Hassan Fathi released - Fathi was arrested after being interviewed by the BBC about the controversial explosion in one of the Revolutionary Guards' ammunition's depots near Tehran. 01/31/12
Avoiding a 'Dumb War' With Iran - The media and the punditry have been deliberately misrepresenting facts to persuade the people of the United States to start another war, not unlike in the lead-up to the Iraq fiasco. -Philip Giraldi, Antiwar 01/31/12
Asians Resist Notion Of Iran Oil Cuts - Several Asian countries are expressing an unwillingness to join the United States and Europe Union in blocking oil imports from Iran in order to pressure Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. 01/31/12
Photos: Shemshak Ski Resort North of Tehran - With the beginning of ski season, Shemshak ski resort north of Tehran is welcoming ski lovers! Shemshak is situated to the northeast of Tehran in the Alborz mountain range. -Armin Karami 01/30/12
Parliament criticizes government action on currency market - Iran's Parliament has announced its displeasure with the administration's "unsatisfactory" explanations for recent fluctuations in the value of Iranian currency. Parliament said the government could have prevented the rial's sudden fall through "timely interventions." 01/30/12
What You Can Do to Stop a Catastrophic War against Iran - The US, France and UK prodded by Israel are determined to replay their criminal and illegal invasion of Iraq in order to bring about a regime change in Iran this time under the false pretext of the non-existent nuclear weapons programme in the country. -CASMII 01/30/12
A Question of Methodology: Feminist Studies of Gender and the State in Contemporary Iran - Program at Bernard Center for Research on Women in New York City -- Most feminist studies of post-1979 Iran focus on the legal setbacks that women encountered and their collective strategies for regaining the formal grounds they lost with the establishment of an Islamic Republic in Iran. 01/30/12
U.S. Defense Secretary Says Iran Could Develop Nuclear Weapon Within A Year - Panetta reiterated that the United States does not want Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. He called this a "red line" for both the U.S. and its ally Israel. "If they proceed and we get intelligence that they are proceeding with developing a nuclear weapon, then we will take whatever steps are necessary to stop them," he said. 01/30/12
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Conservative Iranian MP says Supreme Leader can be criticized - Iranian MP Ali Motahari says: "It is every citizen's right to put questions to the leader in person or through a letter." In recent weeks, a number of Iranian political figures have written letters to Ayatollah Khamenei to criticize the country's political situation. 01/30/12
February 4, 2012: Day of Mass Action to Stop War on Iran - The U.S. government is shaping public opinion to accept military intervention in Iran in the name of "national security." Fabricated stories that claim evidence of Iran pursuing nuclear weapons is being blasted through mainstream media and repeated by almost every mainstream politician. 01/29/12
Breaking bread, delivering dreams: The art of hospitality in Iran - If Iranians are known for the excellence of their hospitality the world over, it is not as surprising as they have a long practice and history of guest culture. Ancient Iranian calendars marked numerous festivals and meaningful occasions of merriment in which Iranians had the opportunity to play the good host and the blessed guest. -Maryam Ala Amjadi 01/29/12
Iranian scientists produce new drugs - Iran unveiled 6 new biotechnological medicines Sunday in presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The products include two newly-built drugs and four ingredients required for producing medicines. 01/29/12
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Iran: Foreign Exchange Rules Tightened by Central Bank - Iran's Central Bank has announced that all money-exchange services in the country must trade foreign currency only within three to five percentage points of the Central Bank rate. 01/28/12
Sharif University calls arrest of Iranian professor by U.S. "hideous" and "childish" action - Sharif University of Technology in a statement on Saturday lashed out at the US for detaining a prominent Iranian university professor, Seyed Mojtaba Atarodi, for buying laboratory equipment, and said the move proves Washington's monopolistic attempts to prevent the spread and growth of science. 01/28/12
Susa, the eternal city of the East - Some six or seven thousand years ago a tribe, whose name is still unknown, speaking a language of which we have no definite record, and coming from a region which has not yet been identified, wandered through the mountains with women and children until they came to an extensive plain not far from the head of the Persian Gulf. -H. G. Spearing 01/27/12
With the Verve of Words: Learning Foreign Languages in Iran - Dr. Azita Afrashi is an Iranian linguist who is an assistant professor at the Linguistics Department, Center for Humanities and Cultural Studies. She has three books on language and semantics and many research articles in national and international journals to her credit. 01/27/12
Reflections on Obama's State Of The Union Address - Am I an incorrigible optimist? Perhaps I am. But, at least based on my track record, you'd better pray I am right this time, too! -Kam Zarrabi 01/26/12
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Iran: New Assault on Freedom of Information - Journalists, Bloggers Arrested Ahead of Elections - Iranian authorities should immediately charge or release at least 10 journalists and bloggers arrested since the beginning of 2012, Human Rights Watch said today. The arrests appear to be part of the government's most recent campaign to disrupt the free flow of information ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2. 01/26/12
Colour of Love - Artists for Hope: Exhibition in support of the Omid Foundations - Iranian artists have come together to put on an exhibition in support of the Omid Foundations. Show your support by purchasing the donated works of art. Despite their past difficulties, and the obstacles still facing them, the young women at the Omid-e-Mehr center have dreams like all of us. 01/26/12
IAAB Counselor Spotlight: Mazyar Kahali - With the deadline for Camp 2012 counselor applications less than a month away, IAAB's camp planning committee member Sara Mokhtari-Fox spoke with a returning counselor about what the Ayandeh experience means to him. 01/26/12
Photos: Historic Hajij Village Facing A Grim Future - The historic village Hajij is the last village of the border town of Nosoud in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah. 180 families live in the village. But now the village is faced with a grim future. As the construction of the Darian dam which started three years ago is completed, some of the houses in the village will be consumed by water. -Armin Karami 01/25/12
Photos: First Snow Of The Season In Tehran - The first snow of the winter season gave a white cover to Tehran on Saturady. While the snow slowed the traffic and caused some headaches, some people were outdoors to take advantage of the fresh powder 01/21/12
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Wave Of Arrests Reported Ahead Of Iranian Elections - The wave of arrests ahead of the March 2 parliamentary elections appears to signal attempts by the Iranian establishment to prevent any form of dissent. The regime has also been tightening its grip on the Internet by putting new restrictions in place, in what seems to be an attempt to head off protests similar to those that shook the government two years ago. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE 01/19/12
And they saw Golshifteh without a cover! - I love Golshifteh Farahani. When I opened my email in the morning, I saw a message from a kind and thoughtful friend who had sent me a link to the French magazine's website Madame Le Figaro featuring a nude photo by Golshifteh. She was as beautiful as ever, if not more! -M. Bibak 01/19/12
Asghar Farhadi's Violation of "Diplomatic Practices" - Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has been on a roll lately winning the Best Foreign Language Film awards at BFCA and the Golden Globe. And he is on his way to the Oscars! And while many in Iran are congratulating Farhadi and celebrating his success, this has infuriated the hardliners! 01/17/12
Farhang Foundation's 2012 Nowruz Banner Design Unveiled - Navid Ghaem Maghami, a San Francisco-based graphic designer, has been selected as the winner of Farhang Foundation's 2012 Nowruz Banner Contest. His winning design, unveiled today for the first time, will be featured on light pole banners on various major streets across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley 01/14/12
Photos: The Underprivileged people of 49-Dargaz village - The people in the village of 49-Dargaz in Iran's southern province of Hormozgan are living in the most primitive conditions deprived of the very basic necessities such as proper housing, water, sanitation, education and health care. Will any help ever arrive for these underprivileged people? -Amir Hossein Khorgoui 01/9/12
Photos: Gohar Tepe Historical Site - Gohar Tepe historical site, with a 50 hectare area, is one of the most important historical sites of Mazandaran province which carries the secret of an ancient civilization. It is believed that Gohar Tepe once enjoyed a complicated urbanization with a history that goes back to some 5000 years ago. -Mohsen Rezapour 12/27/11
