Al-Jazeera closed
The week's news at a glance.
Ahvaz, Iran
The Iranian government closed local offices of Al-Jazeera this week, saying the Arabic-language satellite station was encouraging violent protests among the Arab minority in Iran. Some 200 Arab-Iranians were arrested during a weekend of rioting sparked by a false report that Iran was considering relocating ethnic Arabs, most of whom live in the oil-rich region near the Iraqi border. Iran’s government officially controls all TV and radio, but many Iranians have illegal satellite dishes to receive news from abroad. Only about 3 percent of Iranians are Arabs; most are Persians or Azeris.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo