By: Ted Poe, Member of U.S. House of Representatives
Source: Poe.house.gov
Washington, Feb 2, 2009 - Mr. Speaker, there's a grim update coming out of the nation of Iran. Last week, the Government of Iran executed two of the 11 people who had been arrested and sentenced to death for peacefully protesting the government.

NCRI/2010-02-08 - Rome, – Iran cannot be negotiated with and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) must be blacklisted in the EU because “they are akin to Hitler’s brown shirts,” says Andrea Ronchi, Italy’s European Policy Minister. She made the comments as part of a delegation accompanying Prime Minister Berlusconi during bilateral meetings with the Israeli government.

NCRI/2010-02-08 - Norwegian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs: “I am profoundly worried about the deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran after last year’s elections.”

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran/2010-02-08 - The 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, who heads Center for Human Rights Defenders in Iran, was interviewed by International Campaign for Human Rights. Regarding Iranian Judiciary’s recent actions including executions of two political dissidents and group execution sentence for several other protesters she said: “Unfortunately, the Iranian Judiciary has fallen short of justice and politics are determining its core and actions now.

LA Times/2010-02-08 - Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is filled with rage over the treatment of her client, 20-year-old Arash Rahmanipour, who was not defended in court and then was quietly put to death.Reporting from Tehran and Beirut - The defendant met with his lawyer once for 15 minutes before he was sentenced to death and hanged.

Xinhua/2010-02-08 - TEHRAN, -- Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said the country's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr is only one test away from operation, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday.

Reuters/2010-02-08 - TEHRAN - Iran's reformist leaders Monday rejected the authorities' accusation that the opposition movement had links to foreigners and urged people to attend rallies Thursday marking the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Condemn widespread, planned, and systematic violations of Human Rights in Iran
Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America (IHRAG)

BBC/2010-02-08 - An Iranian opposition leader has been jailed for six years for his role in the unrest following June's disputed presidential election, reports say.

Reuters/2010-02-08 - TEHRAN - The total number of journalists in detention in Iran has risen to at least 55 after the arrest of 10 in recent days, reformist websites reported on Monday.

Iran Focus/2010-02-08 - Tehran - An earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale struck the town of Garash in the southern province of Fars, state media reported.

RadioZamaneh/2010-02-08 - Reformist Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Dastgheib criticized the activities of government institutions run by the Supreme Leadership claiming “it is not possible that one single person takes control of everything in the country while the law is put aside.”

RadioZamaneh/2010-02-08 - A group of Iranian Members of Parliament called for the dismissal and prosecution of Saeed Mortazavi, former Prosecutor of Tehran and all other perpetrators of the “Kahrizak catastrophe.”

RadioZamaneh/2010-02-08 - Iranian opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi announced once more that he will participate in the February 11 demonstrations and also that he has no faith in a religious government that uses the Friday Mass Prayers for jubilation in the death of its nation’s children.

AFP/2010-02-08 - TEHRAN – Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a "punch" that will stun world powers during this week's 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

CNN/2010-02-08 - The United States and the European Union on Monday called on Iran to "end its abuses against its own people" amid mounting concerns about a potential rise in violence later this week.

Reuters/2010-02-08 - TEHRAN – International pressure for new sanctions against Iran grew on Monday after Tehran announced plans to make higher-enriched uranium and add 10 nuclear sites in a year, raising Western fears it wants to develop atom bombs.

AP/2010-02-08 - VIENNA – Iran moved closer to being able to produce nuclear warheads Monday with formal notification that it will enrich uranium to higher levels, even while insisting that the move was meant only to provide fuel for its research reactor.

Reuters/2010-02-07 - TEHRAN - Iran has established an energy fund backed by the Central Bank and other Iranian banks to help finance investments in the sector, Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi said on Sunday.

IHRV/2010-02-07 - Mehdi Islamian, 30, is a political prisoner who was detained by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence on May 3, 2008.  Mr. Islamian spent 14 days in an Intelligence detention center located on Artesh Square in the city of Shiraz, where he went through grueling physical and psychological mistreatment. 

IHRV/2010-02-06 - Ms. Farzaneh Zaynali, 53, is married with two children, and is an ardent supporter of the organization Mourning Mothers.

IHRV/2010-02-06 - Ebrahim Yazdi, Chairman of Nehzat Azadi, in spite of his advanced age and his struggle with cancer, has been held in solitary confinement since his detention, and he is under persistent pressure to call for an end to the political organization Nehzat Azadi.

Sunday Telegraph/2010-02-07 - Shirin Ebadi, 62, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her long career as a human rights lawyer in Iran. She spoke to The Sunday Telegraph during a stay in London.

telegraph.co.uk/2010-02-08 - Ahmad Vahidi, the Iranian defence minister, opened two production lines for the manufacture of the aircraft, the Fars news agency reported.

Guardian.online/2010-02-08 - Iran has greeted last week's news of United States plans to station missile defences in neighbouring Arab states with a stony official silence. But there are fears that the move could strengthen the hardliners in Tehran.

Radio Free Europe/2010-02-08 - Iran's state media says Tehran has arrested seven people allegedly linked to RFE/RL's Radio Farda and accused some of them of working for U.S. spy agencies.

Reuters/2010-02-07 - TEHRAN - Iran has successfully tested a radar-evading aircraft, a commander said on Sunday, in the country's latest announcement of technological advances as it marks the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.