London — Film director Mohammad Rasoulof made an “exhausting and extremely dangerous” walk across a mountainous borderland to avoid being jailed in Iran on national security charges, he told The Guardian newspaper. Rasoulof said Monday he had fled Iran after a court sentenced him to eight years in jail, of which five were due to … Read more
Barcelona, Spain — French Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi, whose graphic novel “Persepolis” tells the story of a girl growing up in post-revolutionary Iran, was awarded Spain’s prestigious Princess of Asturias Prize for Communication and Humanity on Tuesday. The prize jury praised the 54-year-old as “one of the most prominent names in international comics, author of … Read more
Tehran, Iran — Iranian authorities have banned an Egyptian TV series depicting a medieval Persian figure over historical “distortions” and “a biased approach,” state media reported Sunday. “The Assassins,” or “El-Hashashin” in Arabic, recounts the story of Hassan-i Sabbah, the controversial founder of an offshoot Shiite Muslim sect known for bloody political assassinations during the … Read more
Washington — Iran’s handing of a death sentence this week to dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi has drawn outrage from the Islamic republic’s domestic and international critics, including a German lawmaker who says Tehran risks fueling the backlash if it moves toward executing the artist. In an interview for the Friday edition of VOA’s Flashpoint Global … Read more
Washington — Iranian civil society organizations and professionals say suicide rates have reached crisis levels among school students and recent medical school graduates in the past month, with no sign of solutions from the government. Iranian state news agency IRNA acknowledged the worsening of the Islamic republic’s suicide problem generally in a January 6 article. … Read more
JERUSALEM — Iran said Sunday it successfully launched three satellites into space, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles.The state-run IRNA news agency said the launch also saw the successful use of Iran’s Simorgh rocket, which has had multiple failures in the past. The launch comes as heightened tensions … Read more
Singer Mehdi Yarrahi has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison plus 74 lashes, his attorney Zahra Minoui said on Tuesday. Yarrahi, 42, was arrested in August on multiple charges in connection with a song that criticized the mandatory wearing of a headscarf for women. He was sentenced by the Tehran Revolutionary … Read more
tehran, iran — Iran said Wednesday that it had sent a capsule into orbit capable of carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in coming years. A report by the official IRNA news agency quoted Telecommunications Minister Isa Zarepour as saying the capsule was launched 130 kilometers into orbit. Zarepour said the launch of … Read more
