May 28 -- U.S. Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Gregory Schulte says the organization's just-released report "is a direct rebuttal of Iran's claims that it has closed the nuclear file" [text in Persian]. "The longer Iran's leaders delay any cooperation with the IAEA, refuse to suspend the sensitive activities; the longer that they are denying Iran access to the world economy, to the International financial system, the more Iran's leaders will be isolating and sanctioning Iran. We would hope that they would take an entirely different course," he said
New Parliament Faces Challenges
May 27 -- The most important challenge Iran's recently elected parliament must face is a government that consistently breaks the law, according to political analyst Mohsen Sazegara. "The least the parliament should do is to make President Ahmadinejad's government respect the law," he says. [text in Persian].
Fourteen Feminist Websites Shut Down by Government
May 23 -- Iran's government seeks to create an atmosphere of suppression, according to Reporters Without Borders researcher Reza Moini, following the banning of 14 pro-women's rights websites. Moini notes that "web writers Maryam Hosseinkhani and Jelveh Javaheri were summoned to court numerous times during the past year, mostly because of their writings" [text in Persian].
Ten Christian Converts Arrested in Shiraz
May 25 -- A spokesperson for ten Iranian converts to Christianity says two were arrested at the airport in Shiraz as they were preparing to fly to Dubai to attend a conference, two more were detained in a park, while another covert and his three children were taken from their home following a police raid. The spokesperson says, "The arrested are obliged by the security forces to remain silent about their interrogations" [text in Persian].
Reform in Iran: Can the Past Shed Light on the Future?
May 27 -- The legacy of former President Ayatollah Mohammad Khatami's 1997 election on the "2nd of Khordad" is examined by former parliamentarian Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, political analyst Dariush Homayoun and Georgetown University professor Mehrdad Mashayekhi on Radio Farda's weekly roundtable "Viewpoints" [text in Persian].