“Iran sentences journalist to death, months after he was detained in mysterious circumstances,” Nada AlTaher, Ramin Mostaghim, and Amy Woodyatt, CNN, July 1, 2020.

“Release of Pro-Iran Militants Signals Governance Challenge in Iraq, Experts Say,” Namo Abdulla, VOA, July 1, 2020.  “Defying state power, a group of 14 pro-Iran militiamen clothed in khaki military fatigues trampled over doctored portraits of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. The images, which have been widely circulated on Iraqi media since Monday, showed over a dozen young men holding small Iraqi flags in one hand and burning Kadhimi’s crossed-out posters, along with Israeli and U.S. flags, in the other. The men were members of Kataib Hezbollah (KH), who were released Monday shortly after their arrest in a rare anti-terrorism raid ordered by Kadhimi last week. A judge with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) released all 14 men, citing a “lack of evidence” for any wrongdoing. KH is an Iran proxy militia designated as a terrorist group by the United States for its involvement in deadly attacks on U.S. military bases and diplomatic facilities in Iraq. The swift release of the militants, experts say, highlights major challenges facing Iraq’s elected leaders as they attempt to restore one of the key functions of a modern nation-state: the right to enjoy, what scholars call, “the monopoly over the use of violence,” in a country where irregular militia groups continue to carry out violent attacks.”

Another funny if not hypocritical story, with the Supreme Leader trying to distance himself (via help from a friend) from his authority which he exercises regularly over the economy.  “Tehran’s Friday Prayer Imam and member of the influential Assembly of Experts (A.E.), Ahmad Khatami, has stepped in to defend the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader’s economic record. Khatami known as a hardliner and a close ally of Ali Khamenei insisted that the Supreme Leader has no responsibility in Iran’s economic affairs, adding that the executive branch of power manages the country’s economy. Khatami, 60, was responding to a letter by a politically influential cleric, Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha, where he had harshly criticized Khamenei for the deteriorating economic situation in Iran. However, the three branches of power in Iran, as well as many national economic entities and others impacting the economy are directly supervised by the Supreme Leader and comply with his wishes and decisions.”  See the story at “Khamenei’s Allies Attack His Critic, Defend His Record,” Radio Farda, July 1, 2020.