The HAND Foundation Sponsors Various Norooz Persian New Year Events and Banners

Azita Raji sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Sweden

Former Iran President Presses Rohani On Detained Opposition Leaders

Iran: Missile Tests Not Violation of Nuclear Deal

The Latest on Non-Nefarious Iranian Behavior

Iran, Up Close, Though Far Away

White House: Iran Committed to Finding Ex-FBI Agent Missing Since 2007

Post-Sanction Iran Remains A Country Divided

Iran's Struggle with Air Pollution

Iranian President's Khatami Comments Officially Fall On Deaf Ears

Photos: Iran test-fires two ballistic missiles during large-scale drills - Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully test-fired two ballistic missiles in line with the country's defense doctrine. The missiles dubbed Qadr-H and Qadr-F were fired on Wednesday during the large-scale drills, codenamed Eqtedar-e-Velayat. 03/9/16

America's Persian and Arabian Wars - Sometime between 460 and 450 B.C.E., Herodotus wrote The Persian Wars, his account of the Greeks' two wars with the Persians, which spanned thirteen years. Even in a time when trends and events unfolded more slowly than they seem to now, that was a famously lengthy conflict. But the ancient Greeks and Persians have nothing on us Americans in that regard. -Chas Freeman, LobeLog 03/9/16

Iran exports 32 tons of heavy water to US - Iran on Tuesday announced that it had exported 32 tons of heavy water to the United States in what could be a landmark progress in the commercialization of the country's nuclear energy program. 03/9/16

Harsh Sentences of Human Rights Activist and Wife Confirmed by Iran Appeals Court - An Appeals Court in Iran has upheld the 15-year prison sentence of the student activist Arash Sadeghi for "collusion against national security," "propaganda against the state," "spreading lies in cyberspace" and "insulting the Founder of the Islamic Republic [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]." 03/9/16

The Bride Wore Green: What a Wedding Says about Iran's Future - Wearing a flowing green gown and a string of pearls that hung, flapper-style, below her waist, Narges Mousavi was married Friday, in Tehran. The bride, a painter, was born into the revolutionary lite. Her father, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, was Iran's Prime Minister for eight years. -Robin Wright, New Yorker 03/9/16

Australia, Iran Said Negotiating Deal To Return 9,000 Iranian Migrants - Australia hopes to send nearly 9,000 Iranian migrants back to their homeland under a new deal with Tehran, Australian media reported on March 9. The deal was reported to cover almost 9,000 Iranian asylum seekers, including about 400 in Australian-funded immigration centers on Pacific islands. Australia has refused to resettle them while Iran refuses to take them back. 03/9/16

Sources: Iraqi Kurdish Officials Sought Emergency Aid From Iran - Facing a massive financial shortfall, Kurdish authorities in Iraq sought emergency economic assistance last year from Iran, according to Kurdish and Iranian sources. The discussion stalled, the sources said, because Tehran demanded a share of Kurdish oil revenues. -VOA 03/9/16

Turmoil in Eastern Saudi Arabia - The January 2 execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a popular Shi'ite cleric from Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, set off angry protests worldwide. From Michigan to London, and from Bahrain to Kashmir, Shi'ite Muslims took to the streets on several continents to condemn the Saudi authorities who beheaded al-Nimr after finding the cleric guilty of "breaking allegiance with the ruler" and a handful of other alleged crimes. -Giorgio Cafiero and Alex Stout, LobeLog 03/9/16

Rouhani's Post-Election Openings and Challenges - Despite their limited choice, Iranian voters opted to back a strategy that diluted the power of radical hardliners within the Islamic Republic rather than conceding the political game to them. Last week's election results strengthened the alignment between Iranian reformists, centrists (government supporters), and moderate conservatives aimed at weakening the hardliners. -Ellie Geranmayeh 03/8/16

Rags To Riches To Death Row: The Rise And Fall Of An Iranian Billionaire - Babak Zanjani, one of Iran's richest men, once attributed his business success to God and luck. But his fortunes began to turn when the presidency changed hands in 2013. And with the death sentence he was given for corruption this week, his luck appears to have run out entirely. -Farangis Najibullah, RFE 03/8/16

Iran Sets New Restrictions On University Concerts - Iran has set new restrictions on concerts held at universities, as hard-liners dig in their heels after election gains for moderates who might seek to ease some of the Islamic republic's harshest limits on cultural life. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE 03/8/16

Iran's Prospects and a Role for Europe - At this point nuances of interpretation in relation to the outcome of the first round of 2016 elections to Iran's parliament (Majles) are possible, and the results of a second round are awaited. Nonetheless, it can be asserted with confidence that these elections have been a victory for President Hassan Rouhani - not only in Tehran but also in many provincial cities, including those usually considered to be rather conservative. -Francois Nicoullaud and Peter Jenkins, LobeLog 03/8/16

Former Iranian Political Prisoner Gets One-Year Prison Sentence On Recycled Charges - Navid Kamran, a former political prisoner, has been sentenced to one year in prison without any new evidence supporting the charge against him of "propaganda against the state," he told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 03/8/16

Iranian forest ranger spared from death sentence - Asadollah Taghizadeh, a forest ranger who was arrested and sentenced to Qesas seven years ago for killing an illegal hunter in the Dena forest region, was released on Monday March 7 after the family of the deceased gave their consent. 03/8/16

Ex-ambassador: US Met Secretly With Iran Before 2003 Iraq Invasion - A new book by a former high ranking U.S. official says the U.S. held confidential talks with Iran about Iraq's future ahead of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. 03/8/16

FT Iran Summit 2016: London, March 9, 2016 - The Financial Times will host an exclusive summit examining the opportunities and challenges surrounding Iran's reintegration into the global economy. Bringing the political and commercial leadership of Iran together with major international investors, corporations and civil society organisations, the FT Iran Summit will explore Iran's potential as an economic powerhouse as well as the political, geo-political and cultural forces shaping its future. 03/8/16

Norooz Celebration at San Francisco City Hall - You're invited to the celebration of Norooz 1395 at the San Francisco City Hall hosted by Iranican on Friday, March 25th! Join us for an evening filled with cultural delights, music, dance, and celebrations - all from Iran's great heritagel 03/7/16

Iran warns cautious European banks - Several Iranian officials have warned European banks that they might miss out on opportunities provided by the lifting of sanctions if they continue to dawdle on returning to the country. Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takhtravanchi said European banks are overcautious in forging renewed connections with Iran, warning that they "will fall behind under the new situation." 03/7/16

Iran female ping pong players shine in world championships - Iranian female ping pong players have impressed the spectators in the final match of the Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Malaysia, winning it and standing on top of the podium. 03/7/16

China irate as US targets Iran trade - China is outraged as the US government plans to punish its largest telecom equipment maker ZTE Corps for alleged violations of sanctions on Iran. China and Iran have close diplomatic, economic, trade and energy ties. Beijing played a key role in a nuclear agreement which came into effect in January and lifted sanctions on the Islamic Republic. 03/7/16

IAEA Chief Says Iran Must Comply With Deal 'For Many Years' - The head of the UN's nuclear agency has suggested that Iran's initial compliance with a nuclear deal is only a first step, saying Tehran must continue to honor its commitments in the years ahead. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano made the remark at the opening of the organization's 35-nation board meeting in Vienna on March 7. 03/7/16

Investing in Iran? Frontier Market Opens Up - Investing in these funds is broadly prohibited for U.S. investors, and there is no indication that will change soon. But for Europeans, it can be done--within limits--following the lifting on Jan. 16 of the nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by an international coalition. And the strong showing of Iranian moderates in national elections last month may encourage interest in the country. -WSJ 03/7/16

Iranian Billionaire Babak Zanjani Sentenced To Death For Corruption - Iranian tycoon Babak Zanjani, the country's wealthiest person, has been sentenced to death after being convicted on corruption charges. Iran's judiciary announced the death sentences for Zanjani and two fellow defendants in Tehran on March 6. 03/6/16

US investors warned they will miss on Iran deals - Hans Humes, the head of US hedge fund Greylock Capital Management LLC, says US investors are at risk of getting shut out of billions of dollars of deals in Iran while their European competitors get a head start in the country's post-sanctions opportunities. 03/6/16

NIAC's 6th Annual Norooz Day of Service: Saturday, March 12, 2016 - Join Iranian Americans nationwide in honoring the Iranian New Year (Norooz) tradition of beginning a good year through acts of kindness. During NIAC's 6th Annual Day of Service on Saturday, March 12, we look forward to reining in a wonderful new year by cleaning parks and beaches, serving food to those less fortunate than ourselves, and caring for the ill and elderly. 03/6/16

Call For Submissions: Iranian Mural Competition - Farhang Foundation is calling on aspiring and veteran artists to submit original designs that conceptualize aspects of Iranian culture. Eligible designs will be considered as the central artwork featured on a series of murals in prominent areas of Los Angeles. 03/6/16

Police keep former Iranian president from wedding of opposition leader's daughter - Iranian security forces prevented former president and prominent reformist figure Mohammad Khatami from leaving his home to attend the wedding of the daughter of Mir Hosein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, the Iranian opposition leaders who have been under house arrest since 2011. 03/6/16

Obama and Congress Square Off on Israeli Settlements - The campaign to legitimize Israeli settlements - through U.S. legislation conflating settlements and Israel - continues. In tandem with this campaign is a steady stream of reports about U.S. policy vis-a-vis settlements and the West Bank since 1967. Many of these reports - either out of incompetence or a deliberate effort to mislead - misrepresent the facts (to say the least). -Lara Friedman, LobeLog 03/6/16

UNICEF Expresses Worry About Health Of Staffer Jailed In Iran - The United Nations Children's Fund on March 3 expressed concern about the health of an elderly former staff member who was jailed in Iran last week. Baquer Namazi was arrested on February 22 and taken to Tehran's Evin Prison, where his son Siamak has been jailed since October. Both Namazis are dual U.S.-Iranian citizens. 03/5/16

Nine Takeaways From Iran's Elections - Iran's moderates and reformists have had nearly a week to celebrate their return from a decade of political marginalization in elections that recast the ranks of the parliament and the clerically dominated Assembly of Experts, which selects and oversees the supreme leader. But how much has really changed? -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL 03/5/16

Iran president, Turkish PM hold key talks in Tehran - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and visiting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hold talks in Tehran on mutual relations and the latest developments in the Middle East, particularly the Syrian crisis. Davutoglu arrived in Tehran at the head of a high-ranking political and economic delegation Friday night for a two-day official visit. 03/5/16

Iranian Lawmaker Says Parliament Is No Place For Women, Donkeys - A hard-line Iranian lawmaker has come under fire for declaring that women should not be allowed to serve in parliament. "The parliament is not a place for women, it's a place for men," lawmaker Nader Ghazipur said in a video posted online in which he appears to suggest that women can be abused and places women in the same category as "donkeys," a term used to insult a person's intelligence. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL 03/5/16

Iran invites Boeing for commercial talks - Iran says it has invited US plane manufacturer Boeing for talks with Iranian companies on modernizing its fleet. The announcement was made by Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi. Boeing said on February 19 it had received authorization from the US administration to study the commercial plane market in Iran, in the wake of the lifting of nuclear sanctions in mid-January. 03/5/16

Campaign 2016: Where do the Presidential candidates stand on Iran? - In President Obama's final year in office, after seven years of engagement with Iran that took place in fits and starts, the United States and Iran secured a multilateral agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions. The sustainability of this historic agreement, as well as the scope of this new engagement between the two countries and the direction that the U.S. and Iran now take in relation to one another, will soon be in the hands of a new President. -NIAC Action 03/5/16

How Iran's Reformists Found Their Center - FOR decades, Iran's politics have centered on a contest of visions that pitted democratic reformists against hard-line theocrats. Under President Hassan Rouhani, that binary has begun to give way. Last week's elections showcased a coordinated movement toward the center of Iran's political spectrum. -Laura Secor, New York Times 03/5/16

Metallica and their secret 'Persian Magnetic' fans ignoring the ban on metal music in Iran - 'Radio Dreams' follows an Iranian writer's attempt to bring his heavy-metal heroes, Metallica, to Iran. Michael Griffiths meets fans trying to do the same in real life -Independent 03/5/16

Iran Vote: Political Freedoms Must Be Rouhani's Top Priority - In the elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts held across Iran on February 26, the Iranian electorate handed the country's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and the hardline candidates he openly supported, a significant setback, voting in moderate candidates in many cities and provinces across the country, including sweeping all the seats in the capital of Tehran. 03/3/16