After weeks of escalation and threatening language, the Defense Department is sending mixed messages as the anniversary of the death of an Iranian general nears. Eric Schmitt By Eric Schmitt Published Jan. 1, 2021 Updated Jan. 5, 2021 WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has abruptly sent the aircraft carrier Nimitz home from the Middle East and Africa over the objections of top military advisers, marking a reversal of a weekslong muscle-flexing strategy aimed at deterring Iran from attacking American troops and…

Iran Human Rights (IHR); January 3, 2020: Elias Ghalandarzehi and Hassan Dehvari, two Baluch prisoners on death row, have been executed at Zahedan Central Prison. A third prisoner named Omid Mahmoudzehi, on death row for the charge of “moharebeh” (enmity against God), was also executed along with the men. According to state-run ISNA, three prisoners were executed at Zahedan Central Prison in the early hours of this morning. Their identities are reported as Hassan Dehvari, Elias Ghalandarzehi and Omid Mahmoudzehi.…

Iran’s central bank says it received backing from the US to transfer money to a Swiss account to pay for the vaccines. 24 Dec 2020 Iran has secured an approval from the United States to transfer funds for coronavirus vaccines from overseas, the central bank chief has said, as its daily death toll fell to a three-month low. Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said an Iranian bank had received backing from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to…

Source: Xinhua| 2020-12-23 03:23:08| TEHRAN, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran started registration of volunteers for the first phase of human trial of its COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, the official IRNA news agency reported. "By the license of the Ministry of Health and after the successful stages of vaccine testing, the registration of people who wish to participate in the (human) testing phase of the Iranian novel coronavirus vaccine begins today," Mohammad Mokhber, chief of the Executive Staff of Imam Command,…

Tens of millions are reeling under an unholy trinity of pandemic, US sanctions, and government misrule. By Ahmad Jalalpour – 21 December 2020 There are indications that Iran could be among the worst-affected countries in the world by the coronavirus pandemic and its associated problems. Accurate pandemic numbers are hard to come by because of the opacity of the Islamic regime. However, based on sporadic statements by government officials as well as direct testimony from members of the country’s beleaguered…

Despite reports of a major Chinese-Iranian trade deal, Beijing won’t jeopardize the possibility of better relations with Washington in order to cozy up to Tehran. BY WANG XIYUE | DECEMBER 18, 2020 In June 2020, a draft of the China-Iran Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was leaked to the media by an Iranian source. In this purported deal, which ostensibly covers bilateral cooperation in economic, political, cultural, and military spheres for the next 25 years, China pledged a maximum investment of $400…

By JON GAMBRELL - 19th December 2020 Although Iran faces crushing U.S. sanctions, there are still ways for Tehran to obtain coronavirus vaccines as the country suffers the Mideast’s worst outbreak of the pandemic. After earlier downplaying the virus, Iran has since acknowledged the scope of the disaster it faces after 1.1 million reported cases and over 52,000 deaths. Getting vaccines into the arms of its people would be a major step in stemming the crisis. But while Iran is…