Iran wants indirect talks with US, warns regional countries over strikes against it

By Parisa Hafezi (Reuters) – Iran is pushing back against U.S. demands that it directly negotiate over its nuclear programme or be bombed, warning neighbours that host U.S. bases that they could be in the firing line if involved, a […]

Iran: pressure mounts from outside and within

As tensions rise in the Middle East, the role of Iran in the region’s political balance becomes ever more significant. STEVE BISHOP assesses the current situation N HIS first term as US president, Donald Trump tore up the Joint Comprehensive […]

US builds mass force around Iran to support Israel’s genocide and expansionism

By SKWAWKBOX (SW) 06/04/2025 Air and sea force build-up as terror state aids terror state The US has continued its build-up of forces against Iran as the Trump looks to neutralise all resistance to Israel’s genocide in Gaza: The same […]

CODIR calls for urgent solidarity with beleaguered Iranian trade unionists

Islamic Republic regime has declared war on teacher unionists Teacher trade union activists struggling for fair pay, decent conditions of service, and quality education provision have long been targets of arrest and imprisonment in Iran.  Despite the empty platitudes and […]

Iran: Authorities target women’s rights activists with arbitrary arrest, flogging and death penalty

PRESS RELEASE 17 March 2025 Iranian authorities have escalated their crackdown on women’s rights defenders, journalists, singers and other activists demanding equality or who defy compulsory veiling using arbitrary detention, unjust prosecution, flogging, and even the death penalty in a […]

 

Nasrin Sotoudeh on Temporary Leave from Prison

On Saturday 7 November, imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was given temporary leave from Gharchak Prison in the Iranian city of Varamin, south of Tehran, according to her husband Reza Khandan. Sotoudeh, who has been jailed a number of […]

Iran: UN expert urges accountability for violent protest crackdowns

NEW YORK (26 October 2020) – The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran must conduct an independent, impartial and transparent inquiry into the violent crackdown against protests in November 2019 and January 2020, and bring human rights violators to […]

Iran’s beloved voice of protest falls silent!

Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Iran’s most famous singer, a voice celebrated across all generations in the country, died on Thursday 8 October after a long struggle against cancer that had prevented him from performing during the latter years of his life.  […]

Iran: Horrifying plan to amputate fingers of four men convicted of robbery must be stopped

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE The international community must do everything in its power to stop Iranian authorities from amputating the fingers of four men convicted of robbery following forced “confessions” and grossly unfair trials, said Amnesty International today. According to […]

Three members of the Writers’ Association of Iran were sent to prison

From left: Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, Reza Khandan Mahabadi

On Saturday, September 26, 2020, Baktash Abtin, Reza Khandan Mahabadi, and Keyvan Bajan, three members of the Writers’ Association of Iran, were summoned to the Evin Prison Prosecutor’s Office on Saturday and transferred to evin prison to serve their sentences. […]

Interview: Protest, equality, and the challenge of the pandemic for women in Iran

The Democratic Organisation of Iranian Women (DOIW) has been for decades at the forefront of the struggle for social justice and equal rights for women in Iran.  The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown up new challenges.  CODIR invited Dr Azar Sepehr […]

DEFIANT WOMEN: VOICES OF RESISTANCE

Women have often played pivotal roles in the struggle for human rights and civil liberties in Iran. Despite their prominence within the movement, the courage and activism of Iranian women remain arguably underreported. Attention remains focussed almost exclusively on protests […]

DESPERATE NURSES DESERVE BETTER

As the people of Iran struggle to survive the biggest COVID-19 outbreak in West Asia, Liz Payne examines the plight of thousands of the country’s nurses serving at the front line. On 26 July 2020, a large demonstration gathered outside […]

Iran: Secret execution of wrestler Navid Afkari a ‘travesty of justice’

The secret execution this morning of wrestling champion Navid Afkari, without prior notice to him, his family or lawyer, after a grossly unfair trial, is a horrifying travesty of justice that needs immediate international action. “Navid Afkari was a young […]

Iran: Journalist sentenced to more than four years in prison

A court in Teheran sentenced journalist Mohammad Mosaed to four years and nine months in prison and banned him from any journalistic activity for two years, ordering the confiscation of his communication devices. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly […]