The news was starkly succinct. On August 27, 2017, Mr. Ismaili, the General Manager of Tehran’s Judiciary announced that Mohammad Ali Taheri, the leader of “the Mysticism of the Circle”, a New Age cult in Tehran, has been condemned to death. The accused’s attorney, Mr. Alizadeh Tabataba’i confirmed the news and vowed to appeal the verdict.

More than 100,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees have fled Myanmar into Bangladesh as persecution and violence against them escalated. Now Shirin Ebadi, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner has voiced her objection to Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar, to stand for the rights of the Muslim minority.

Labour protests have become the order of the day in Tehran and other cities across the country with workers and pensioners demanding payment of their wages; however, employers have come to regard these delays as a matter of course and often express surprise at the workers demands.

With the victory of the Iranian moderates in the municipal elections, many are entertaining the prospect of a reversal of the recent anti-women policies in the workplace. President Rohani’s deputy in Citizen’s Rights Affairs, Shahindokht Molaverdi was quoted demanding a “revisiting of women’s rights” in the context of urban development.