Iran Last News

  Former Iranian refugee represents the United States as karate world champion Soolmaz fled Iran as a child with her family and embarked on a harrowing journey to safety. She is now a 14-time U.S. Champion and World Champion in traditional karate. Dr. Soolmaz Abooali, a 14-time U.S. Champion and World Champion in traditional karate, hopes that her story will inspire others to play a role in helping refugees around the world. © UNHCR/Ashley Le By Andrea Mucino-Sanchez  |  20 June 2021 In the 1980’s, Soolmaz Abooali’s parents found themselves in a precarious situation. Both were activists and making a future for their family in Iran was becoming increasingly difficult. When she was four, Soolmaz and her mother made the dangerous journey to Pakistan and eventually to Bangladesh in search of safety.  With the help of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Soolmaz and her family received funding and assistance. While the modest support offered was of use, her f...

Raisi butcher of 1988 Massacre in Iran Ebrahim Raisi A return to darker days or a declaration of character by the theocratic regime? On June 19, Raisi was selected as President in the aftermath of a nationwide boycott of Iran’s sham elections. Who is Raisi, and what does his presidency mean for Iran and the world? Dubber butcher of 88, Raisi was one of four members of the death commission for Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran during the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. Geoffrey Robertson: Late in July 1988 as the war with Iraq was ending, prisons in Iran that were crammed with opponents suddenly went into lockdown. All family visits were canceled television and radios switched off. Prisoners were kept in their The only permitted visitation was from a delegation, turbaned and bearded, a religious judge, a public prosecutor, and an intelligence chief. Before them were paraded briefly and individually, almost every prisoner, and there were thousands of them who wer...

   Iran news in  brief, June 30, 2021 UN Expert Calls for Investigation into Iran’s 1988 Massacre On Monday, Mr. Javaid Rehman, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, called for an international investigation into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and Raisi’s role in this crime against humanity. According to Reuters, “The U.N. investigator on human rights in Iran has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988,” and the role played by “Ebrahim Raisi as Tehran deputy prosecutor.” In September, Mr. Rahman and six other UN experts published a letter sent earlier to the Iranian regime in 2020, underlining that the 1988 massacre “may amount to crimes against humanity.” Iran: Coronavirus Death Toll Exceeds 319,700 Over 319,700 people have died of the novel coronavirus in Iran, according to reports tallied by the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Ir...