Iranian women violently dragged from streets by police amid hijab crackdown

Harrowing first-hand accounts of women being dragged from the streets of Iran and detained by security services have emerged as human rights groups say country’s hijab rules have been brutally enforced since the country’s drone strikes on Israel on 13 April. A […]

Iran’s Israel strike coincided with crackdown on dissent at home

By Parisa Hafezi April 23, 2024 DUBAI, April 23 (Reuters) – The same day Iran launched its first ever direct attack on Israel it embarked on a less-noticed confrontation at home, ordering police in several cities to take to the streets to arrest […]

Iran seems like it’s in escalation mode – but all-out war with Israel is the last thing it wants

Lina Khatib The country is on the defensive. While Israel has ironclad support from its allies, Tehran is vulnerable and isolatedMon 22 Apr 2024 11.13 BSTShare Tit-for-tat confrontation between Israel and Iran has sparked concerns about escalation dragging the Middle East into […]

Iran: Security Forces Rape, Torture, Detainees

Kurdish, Baluch, Azeri, and Other Ethnic Communities Apparently Targeted (Beirut) – Iran’s security forces raped, tortured, and sexually assaulted detainees while repressing widespread protests in 2022 and 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The grave abuses are part of a broader pattern […]

CODIR Bulletin April 2024 is published!

CODIR has published a bulletin. The bulletin covers the following:

 

Iran – give diplomacy a chance

31st January 2021 The major foreign policy challenge facing new US President, Joe Biden, is that of the relationship of the United States to the Islamic Republic of Iran and how this will impact upon the wider geo-political balance of […]

Iran: International action needed to break authorities’ cycle of protest bloodshed

Amnesty International Public Statement 20 January 2021 On the third anniversary of the nationwide protests of December 2017 and January 2018, Amnesty International renews its calls for justice for the dozens of protesters, including children, who were killed by Iran’s […]

A #MeToo Awakening Stirs in Iran

The #MeToo movement has hit a nerve among Iran’s women. Now accusations against a politically connected celebrity artist are testing the movement in a sexually conservative society dominated by men. By Farnaz Fassihi Oct. 22, 2020 Three years into the global […]

UN human rights chief ‘appalled’ at Iran execution, questions trial process and verdict

Iran’s decision to hang media activist Ruhollah Zam on Saturday was an appalling violation of human rights that followed a deeply flawed trial process, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement on Monday.   “I am appalled at the execution […]

17 Days and Counting to Trump’s Departure, Yet Signs of a Planned US-Led Attack against Iran Mount

The United States flew strategic bombers over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, December 30, for the third time since the second half of November. According to Haaretz, senior officers in the Israel military have met in recent days with their counterparts at […]

In Brazen Threat to Iran, US Sends Heavy Bombers to M.E. via Israel

Last Friday, November 20, Channel 13 reported that Israel and the US were planning to increase pressure on Iran with “covert operations” and economic sanctions during Trump’s final weeks in office. The next day, the United States rapidly deployed several heavy bombers […]

As Trump’s Ruses Fail, US Deploys Additional Bombers to Persian Gulf

“Lame duck” US President Donald Trump’s legal challenges to the validity of the November presidential election have chalked up more than fifty defeats in the courts in the past weeks, the most recent one (“the big one,” in Trump’s own […]

Iran execution of child offender breaks international law: UN rights office

The execution of an Iranian man for a crime allegedly committed when he was 16 years old has been condemned by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and raised concerns over violations of his right to a fair trial. In […]

Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year!

Iran nuclear deal: ‘Heated rhetoric and the heightened risk of miscalculation’ widen differences

Although the landmark Iran nuclear deal could improve regional stability if fully implemented, increased tensions have highlighted the risks posed by escalation, the UN’s Political and Peacebuilding Affairs chief told the Security Council on Tuesday.  Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo was speaking […]