by Azita Carlson

The Iranian Regime’s anger towards Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has made Abadi somewhat of a patriot and has linked his political future to the extent of Iranian influence in Iraq.

In Iraq, there is a rather negative view of Abadi because he belongs to the Islamic Dawa Party, which is seen as a Shiite version of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, since he bravely announced that Iraq is committed to implementing the US sanctions against Iran, he is being seen as the hero who protected Iraq, rather than kowtowing to the mullahs.

by Armin Baldwin

Iran’s economic crisis will only intensify once full US sanctions are re-imposed in early November. In response, Iran’s leadership, such as Ahmad Jannati, chairman of both the Assembly of Experts and the Council of Guardians, are calling for speedy trials and tough sentences for economic criminals. As well, Supreme Leader Khamenei has approved the creation of “special courts” to fight corruption and financial crimes. Iranian leaders and officials are calling for the execution of economic criminals on the grounds of “spreading corruption on earth”.

While measures like this may deter the worst offenders, they are not going to resolve the deep-rooted and apparently irreversible corruption in the Iranian economy.

by Staff writer, SF

A controversial announcement last April that the Iranian regime planned to offer 100 of the country’s journalists unrestricted internet access, sparked criticism over the mandate that The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (MCIG) would vet all candidates for loyalty to the regime’s Islamist ideology.

The move was described as “favoritism and hush money” by several Iranian journalists on Twitter. Others tweeted that access to cyberspace “is a right, not a favor.” Many journalists claimed that they would not apply, using the hashtag “I’m not interested.”