Iran news in brief, May 15, 2019

Iran news in brief, May 15, 2019

No More Women on Bicycles in Isfahan, Orders Prosecutor

The prosecutor of Isfahan has banned women's cycling in public by pronouncing it "a prohibited act" which will entail punishment based on the "Islamic Penal Code."

The official news agency IRNA quoted Ali Esfahani as saying that "As per the attestation of Muslim scholars, and based on the law, cycling by women in public is prohibited."

The prosecutor said the police have been ordered to warn women against cycling in Isfahan, and if they insist on riding, police may confiscate the cyclists' ID, and in some cases their bicycles.

He said the Municipality of Isfahan has been advised to design a special "covered bicycle for women," but he did not elaborate how that would look like.

New Report Shows How Iran Regime Spread 'Fake News' Online

The Iranian regime has been caught once again spreading misinformation and 'fake news' online, according to a report published on May 14 by a research group at the University of Toronto.

'Endless Mayfly' is an Iran-aligned network of inauthentic websites and online personas used to spread false and divisive information, according to the report published by Citizen Lab.

Endless Mayfly publishes divisive content on websites that impersonate legitimate media outlets.

In total, the research group identified 135 inauthentic articles, 72 domains, 11 personas, 160 persona bylines, and one false organization.

The Iranian regime has published a host of misinformation and 'fake news' reports against the leading Iranian opposition group People's Mojahedin or MEK on IUVM Press, AWD News, Whatsupic, Yemen Press, and Liberty Fighters. All five websites were among the top ten domains listed by Citizen Lab that most frequently referenced the inauthentic articles.

Nuclear Deal Increased Terrorism, Malign Behavior From Iranians

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that all kinds of bad things happened during the nuclear deal and that it increased terrorism and led to a radical increase in malign behavior from the Iranian regime.

In an interview with CNBC, Pompeo said: “there were more missile launches and a radical increase in malign behavior from Iranians toward entities that range from the Houthis to Hezbollah”.

He said: “All of that occurred while we were in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and President Trump is determined to change that behavior from the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

US State Department Releases Video on Quds Force Training Facility in Lebanon

The Iranian Quds Force is the regime’s primary military actor in the Middle East and trains, advises, and equips sub-state forces in countries such as Lebanon, the US State Department said.

In an Arabic language tweet on Tuesday, the State Department said that those being trained at these sites include militias in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In one video, Joseph Bermudez Jr., Senior Fellow for Imagery Analysis at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, explains an image purportedly showing a training facility on the eastern border of Lebanon.

Seth Jones, Senior Advisor at the CSIS, says Iran’s goal with a base like the one in Lebanon is to improve the capabilities of its local allies. He said: “It also has them in Iran itself where it can bring individuals from all of these locations,”.