Iran has responded to a threat by the US president to “shoot down and destroy” Iranian ships. Donald Trump’s initial message was sent over Twitter on April 22; the full tweet said: “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at…
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Vice President of Iran diagnosed with coronavirus
Among the many countries affected by the coronavirus, Iran has been one of the worst-hit. Last week it had been confirmed that several officials, including the Vice-President for Women’s Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar, and Deputy Health Minister of Iran, Iraj Harirchi, had contracted the disease. A widespread video of Deputy Health Minister, Iraj Harirchi, shows him…
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Confusion over black boxes in Iran
Iranian forces recently admitted to ‘unintentionally’ shooting down a Ukraine International Airlines flight from Tehran, killing all 179 passengers. But still, few are aware of the exact location of the aircraft’s black box, causing fresh concern. Canadian President Justin Trudeau has promised ‘justice’ for the victim’s families, insisting the black box be sent to France,…
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Canadian sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling will appeal
Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was tried, convicted and sentenced to death on Monday 14 January 2019. He was accused of attempting to smuggle almost 500 pounds of methamphetamine into Australia. However, both at the appeal hearing and the retrial, Mr Schellenberg said that he was in China for tourism purposes and that he had unknowingly became…
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Iran: protests threaten status quo
On 28 December protests began across Iranian cities, with crowds chanting varied slogans expressing their frustration, both political and economic. Some cities saw explicitly anti-government chants, such as “bring back Reza Shah”, a cry for the return of Iran’s deposed monarchy, whereas others saw anger at Iran’s foreign involvement, with the line “not Gaza, not…
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Boris Johnson’s Iran remarks
Boris Johnson is under renewed pressure this week after a mistake in wording potentialy doubled the prison sentence of a British citizen in Iran. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been on holiday, visiting her children, when she was arrested last year. Held on charges of espionage, she faced five years in Iranian prison, and the Foreign Office…