Iran's March 1 elections will usher in a new parliament and Assembly of Experts, a body that picks the country's supreme leader. But in dozens of audio and written messages sent to RFE/RL's Radio Farda from inside Iran, many people said they will not vote in what they said will be unfair elections.
Jailed Iranian dissident rapper Saman Yasin, who was detained in 2022 and has detailed harrowing accounts of physical and psychological torture he has endured, has made a plea from prison to Iran's judiciary to "issue my death sentence" rather than continue holding him indefinitely without a trial.
Most forces could likely be withdrawn or moved to the Kurdistan Region without harming U.S. interests in fact, Washington might have more leverage in Baghdad without a troop presence.
Documents leaked by the hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) appear to show clandestine actions against journalists of Persian-language media operating outside of Iran, including those affiliated with RFE/RL's Radio Farda, by the Iranian judiciary.