"Zero Progress" on Iranian Nukes
September 17 -- "If Iranian authorities really want to show that they weren't conducting weaponization, they should open their books," U.S. ambassador to the IAEA Gregory Schulte tells Radio Farda. "They should welcome inspectors into the country instead of keeping them out. And if Iran, in fact, was conducting some weaponization activities, they should provide a full disclosure and allow the IAEA to ascertain that they are not continuing." [text in Persian]
Prominent Activist Fights Against Capital Punishment
September 17 -- Radio Farda's "Special Report" highlights the work of Emadedin Baghi, who spent four years in prison for writing against qesas (retribution) and execution. The program interviewed formerly-imprisoned cleric Ahmad Ghabel and journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin. Also, lawyer Farideh Gheirat talks about Baghi's role as founder of the Society to Defend Prisoners' Rights. [text in Persian]
Minister's Fake PhD Provokes Controversy
September 15 -- In the weekly roundtable "Viewpoints," experts discuss the controversy surrounding the fake PhD of Iranian Interior Minister Ali Kordan. The group discusses the paradoxical nature of a leadership that highlights the importance of academic education while, at the same time, removes university professors from their posts. [text in Persian]
Understanding the "Family Protection Bill"
September 13 -- Farda's weekly program about women's issues, "The Other Voice," examines the discriminatory "Family Protection Bill" being considered by Iran's parliament by interviewing Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi and two women's rights activists, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Mehrangiz Kar. [text in Persian]
Teachers Arrested and Released Without Cause
September 16 -- An activist says around 20 members of the Teachers Trade Association of Iran were arrested by security forces in a Tehran subway station while en route to a rally on Teachers' Day. A statement issued by the association condemns the arrests, saying they "struck fear in the hearts of teachers who are only struggling to improve their rights." [text in Persian]
US Sanctions Iranian Shipping
September 11 -- Economist Kamran Dadkhah tells Radio Farda that such sanctions may hurt Iran, but argues that, for the time being, the Iranian leadership may not be concerned due to high oil revenues. [listen to the interview in Persian]