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The sea change in the composition of the Majlis came about after many reformist lawmakers were barred by the theocracy’s Guardian Council from standing for re-election by the authorities. That left many voters with a choice between hardline and conservative candidates. The latter push for more engagement with the outside world than their hardline counterparts.
The Majlis has represented a cross-section of the Islamic elite in the past 40 years, including a growing number of female representatives. It reserves five seats for ethnic minorities including the Assyrians, Armenians, Jews and Zoroastrians, as per the constitution written in 1980, the year after the Islamic Revolution.
2.6​ ​Twitter blocks pages of several diplomatic missions of Iran
Twitter has blocked the official accounts of Iranian embassies in several countries including Russia, IRNA reported on May 27.
Iranian embassies recently began using social network services including Twitter to promote Iran and push Tehran’s foreign policy. But Twitter has removed several accounts including @IraninRussia.
"The issue of blocking Iranian social networks does not concern only the diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation. According to the information that we have, the accounts of several Iranian embassies in other countries were also blocked without any explanation," a source at the Iranian embassy in Moscow said.
The source observed that Twitter blocked the Russia account on May 22 during Jerusalem Day (al-Quds Day), during which the regime in Tehran focuses on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian lands.
"We sent a request four times through the Twitter scheme to find out the reason for the block, but so far we have not received any specific answer," the Iranian embassy in Russia stated.
More than two dozen Twitter accounts of the Iranian government appear to remain active including those of several embassies and consulates in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Word of the move by Twitter against the Iranian account spread just as US President Donald Trump was finally flagged by the social media giant for making dubious claims on its service. Trump demanded the social media company remove its warning, which directed those reading the Trump tweet to a fact-checking page.
2.7​ ​US sanctions Iran’s interior minister over “lethal” response to riots
The US on May 20 sanctioned Iran’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, accusing him of serious human rights abuses committed against Iranians during the protests that swept the country last November.
A sudden hike in the price of petrol brought thousands of people to the streets
10​ IRAN Country Report June 2020 www.intellinews.com