Iran Uprising -No. 227 Angry workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane and Ahvaz Steel factories rallied on Monday, November 19th, in protest at the arrest of a large number of sugar cane workers.
Analysis by PMOI/MEK Iran, Nov. 20, 2018 - The workers of Haft Tapeh sugar mill have been protesting for more than two weeks to get their due rights and their unpaid salaries.
Analysis by PMOI/MEK Iran, Nov. 20, 2018 - The workers of Haft Tapeh sugar mill have been protesting for more than two weeks to get their due rights and their unpaid salaries.
Analysis by PMOI/MEK Nov. 20, 2018 - Over the past few months, every time Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani was in the spotlight, he talked about a prospering economy that would become
Analysis by PMOI/MEK Nov. 20, 2018 - Over the past few months, every time Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani was in the spotlight, he talked about a prospering economy that would become
We are very worried about the deteriorating situation of human rights and repression of women in Iran. The country has maintained the highest number of executions in the world per capita during the presidency of the so-called “moderate” Hassan Rouhani. According to Amnesty International’s Global Report on the Death Penalty, more than half of all recorded executions in 2017 took place in Iran. It is also the leading executioner of underage offenders.
Women are frequently harassed by morality police for the way they dress, and hundreds of women are arrested every day for improper veiling or “bad hijab”.
Since late December last year, Iranian cities have been the scenes of major uprisings and anti-regime protests. The social atmosphere is volatile, and people demand fundamental change. The regime’s officials have acknowledged the role of “resistance units” of the opposition PMOIin organizing protests and nationwide strikes.
Unable to defeat the protesters at home, the regime launched a new wave of terrorism against the democratic opposition activists in Europe and in United States. In March 2018, a car-bomb plot targeting the Persian New Year gathering of Iranian dissidents in Tirana was foiled, and two men were arrested by the police. The Albanian government, host to nearly 3000 Iranian opposition refugees, should not permit Tehran’s agents on its territory.
On 1 July 2018, German police arrested an Iranian diplomat from the embassy in Vienna and charged him with terrorist offences. He was later extradited to Belgium, and he is on trial accused of handing over a highly-explosive device to an Iranian-Belgian couple who were planning to bomb the opposition NCRI’s Free Iran gathering in Paris in June. In August 2018, two Iranian agents were arrested by the FBI and charged with spying on the PMOIin the US and preparing assassination plots.
In October, the French government officially sanctioned Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and accused it of being behind the Paris bomb plot. French ministers stressed: “This extremely serious act, which was intended to take place on our soil, cannot go without a response”.
Denmark foiled a new Iranian terror plot on its soil in October. The EU’s silence in the face of brutal human rights violations in Iran and lack of any response to the serious terror plots in Europe is unacceptable.
We must hold the Iranian regime accountable for its terror plots and expel Iranian Intelligence Ministry operatives from Europe. We must also condition our relations with Iran to an improvement of human rights and women’s rights, and a halt to executions.
MEP Signatories: Gérard DEPREZ, Chair of Friends of a Free Iran,…
Demonstration of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers – Shush, Southwest of Iran
Maryam Rajavi: Call for support of the Haft Tappeh and Ahvaz Steel strikers and urgent action to release the arrested
The enemy tries in vain to silence the voice of the deprived workers of Haft Tappeh through arrests and suppression. The cries of “we are hungry” of the children of Shush awaken the conscience of every human being, provoking them to rise up against the oppressive mullahs. #Iranpic.twitter.com/PVom5G4KX3
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, saluted the striking workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane factory and Ahvaz Steel, and said: “Shoosh has risen with the cries of workers, and solidarity and strike of youth, teachers and merchants of bazaar. The enemy attempts in vain to silence the Haft TAppeh deprived workers by suppressing and arresting them, but the cry of “we are hungry, hungry” of the children of Shush, calls the conscience of every human being to rise up against the oppressor mullahs.
Mrs. Rajavi called on all youth, especially in Khuzestan, to support the uprising of Shush and the Haft Tappeh and Ahvaz Steel strikers, and urged international human rights defenders and labor and trade unions to condemn the repressive measures of the religious fascism ruling Iran against the workers and to take urgent action for the immediate release of the arrested.
Hail to the workers of the Steel Factory of #Ahvaz who have risen up in solidarity with the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Factory. I call on youths to support the uprising in Shush and the strike of workers of Haft Tappeh and Steel of Ahvaz.#IranProtests#Iran#FreeIran2018
On Sunday November 18, the protest of the brave workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane was held on the fourteenth day of their strike, with extensive support from marketers, teachers, workers’ families, and students from the city of Shush. Following the gathering of protesters in front of the regime’s governorate in Shush, repressive forces arrested at least two workers’ representatives. At least one of the workers was also wounded by the criminal plainclothes agents.
The massive demonstrations of steel and sugar cane workers began on Sunday despite the presence of the oppressive forces. On the protest rally, shopkeepers shut down their businesses and joined the rally. The protesters chanted: “Shaft Tappeh, (Ahvaz) Steel, we will stand together till the end; Steel; Haft Tappeh, happy bond!; honorable marketer, support, support; Worker, teacher, unity, unity; Down with the oppressor, hail to the worker; the worker dies, he does not accept humiliation; Do not be afraid, do not be afraid, we are all together; Neither threat, nor prison, has no longer any effect; No threat, no surrender; we are all together; we do not go to our house until we take our rights; our enemy is here, they falsely say it is the United States.”
The people who joined the workers had handwritten banners in their hands, reading: “I am also a Haft Tappeh (worker).”
It was written on the handwritten banners: Stop illegal labor contracts; stop exploiting workers; a hungry child does not recognize promises; I’m just a worker, I’m not a thug; I love my homeland; but my child is hungry.
Referring to the threats of the repressive forces, the workers’ representative said: “If I die, too, you do not have the right to bury me. You must bring my coffin to the strike. My dead body also chants: “No threats, no surrender, we are all together”. Massive crowds repeated this slogan, reiterating their resolve to continue their protests.
Meanwhile, the Ahvaz Steel courageous workers continued their strike for the second week in protest to non-payment of their four months’ salaries and benefits, and expressed their solidarity with the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane factory. On the protest rally from the factory to the regime’s governorate in Ahvaz, they chanted: “No nation has ever seen this much injustice; The premier and the governor, are collaborators of this mafia; Haft Tappeh Sugar cane, we are present and we stand together; our country is a thief house; it is exemplary in the world!; the worker dies, he does not accept humiliation.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran November 18, 2018
The name Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has been intertwined and synonymous with the current clerical regime of Iran for the past few decades. From the Iran-Iraq War to several regional conflicts, to economic activities and internal crackdown of unrests across the country, the IRGC has had a major role in shaping the Iranian regime’s domestic and foreign policy.
Establishing The IRGC
Following the 1979 revolution, Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini realized the need to have an advantage and apparatus to quell any domestic threats and unrest. Considering the fact that they could not trust the Iranian military, police and other state forces for this purpose, the ruling mullahs began the process of launching their own parallel forces.
The IRGC was established on May 5, 1979, less than three months after the revolution. What started as a paramilitary group of ideologically trained units loyal to the supreme leader has now grown to be the sole protector and backbone of the ruling mullahs in Iran.
The IRGC answers directly to the supreme leader, now Ali Khamenei, and is given unconstrained jurisdiction and authorities. The IRGC is actually above Iran’s classic army in the hierarchy, and provided with enormous economic and political power. The IRGC has now evolved to be a “parallel” or shadow government of Iran, accountable to Khamenei only.
IRGC Role In Domestic Crackdown
From day one, the IRGC spearheaded a campaign aiming to purge dissidents, intellectuals, journalists, writers, opposition figures and organized labor unions. The principal target has consistently been Iran’s main opposition entity, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), highlighted in a gruesome manner during the summer 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, mostly PMOI/MEK members and supporters.
“The orders for the systematic execution of dissidents came from Khomeini himself in the form of a fatwa (religious edict). His intention was to purge the country of any opposition, notable the main dissident organization, the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK),” said Hamid Yazdan Panah, an Iranian human rights activist and lawyer, in a piece published by The Hill.
Throughout the 1980s, the IRGC carried out numerous campaigns targeting dissidents abroad. These efforts included groups across the spectrum, including Kurdish and Baluchi groups, members of the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), among others.
The infamous “chain murders” of the 1990s targeting political opponents and dissident writers inside Iran was carried out by the notorious Ministry of Intelligence & Security (MOIS) and IRGC units without any individual ever facing justice for their murderous roles.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered the IRGC and its paramilitary Basij militia to crush the 1999 student uprisings, enjoying the blessing of Hassan Rouhani, who was then the regime’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and later became the president of the Iranian regime.
The IRGC was once again unleashed during the 2009 uprisings to quell any pro-democracy demands. The Guards went on a spree of arresting thousands, torturing hundreds and secretly executing dozens.
The IRGC has relentlessly targeted the main Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK through the years, following both the 1979 revolution and afterwards when the organization went into exile, mainly in Iraq. MEK members were kidnapped and/or assassinated also in Europe.
Political Interference & Terrorism
The Iranian regime proclaims to have a divine mission of establishing a universally just government across the globe. It therefore considers meddling in other countries’ internal affairs as justified and necessary measures. As a result, the use of terrorism and spreading fundamentalist viewpoints are not policies of mere marginal importance. Alongside the brutal repression of all domestic protests, Tehran’s very survival fully depends on remaining loyal to this practice.
Tehran’s notorious activities have expanded to 13 countries and the IRGC is also known to have launched spying cells or networks in at least 12 different countries, while most have seen authorities apprehend members of such groups.
IRGC Fomenting Sectarian Tension And Violence
One very deadly method explored by the Iranian regime has been aggravating sectarian rifts across the Middle East, especially in its western neighbor of Iraq that continues to remain a very fragile state. A cruel irony, however, is witnessed in the reality that while the IRGC is known to recruit Shiites for militia groups, it has also fueled support for Sunni terrorist groups.
“Indeed, the bipartisan 9/11 commission report, which investigated the Sept. 11, 2001 al Qaeda terror attacks — the largest mass casualty terrorist attack in U.S. history — pointed out that there was ‘strong evidence that Iran facilitated the transit of al Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan before 9/11, and that some of these were future 9/11 hijackers,’” The Washington Times reported.
This is aimed at fulfilling Tehran’s ultimate objective: overwhelming the entire region with chaos, and utilizing such a situation to expand their field of influence. Iran is “securing an arc of influence across Iraq and Syria that would end at the Mediterranean Sea,” according to The Guardian.
The IRGC can be described as the Iranian regime’s arm to establish the first “Islamic Caliphate” by taking first measures in this outline in 1979, long before Daesh (ISIS/ISIL).
In fact, the violence promoted by the Iranian regime across the region under the flag of Shiite Islam, parallel to the atrocious crackdown imposed on Sunni communities in various countries, have encouraged the rise of Daesh.
Hidden Occupation And Expansion of IRGC Abroad
The IRGC Quds Force, the unit’s extraterritorial entity currently commanded by Qassem Suleimani, is tasked to carry out foreign missions across the Middle East and beyond. In the broader picture, the IRGC has never limited its expansion and terrorists to the region.
“The world should rest assured the IRGC will soon establish branches in the US and Europe,” IRGC Brigadier General Salar Anoush said recently.
The IRGC has also launched a massive network of training camps inside Iran and abroad to gain new recruits for its proxy militia groups. Hundreds of future soldiers arrive from Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen each month to undergo such training courses.
The IRGC’s broad meddling makes its involvement in covertly occupying four regional countries undeniable: Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
Scenes in Syria during the past several years have made the IRGC’s deadly role crystal clear. Reports indicate up to 70,000 IRGC foot soldiers and cannon fodders were roaming the Levant, involved in launching killing sprees.
“The Iranian regime’s military incursion in Syria came at a great cost to Tehran. According to reports obtained by the NCRI from within the regime’s own ranks, Iran’s death toll in the Syrian war are estimated to be over 12,000,” according to a research report.
The IRGC has allocated both its human and financial resources to make good on its security threats, in tandem with military attacks. The IRGC has also been establishing cultural centers across the Middle East and throughout Europe and North America, aiming to expand its influence. They have monopolized control of more than 90 ports and loading docks in the Persian Gulf for shipping supplies, weapons and explosives to their preferred destinations. To this day, 14 different countries are known to have been targets of such covert activities.
IRGC Influence In Iran’s Foreign Policy
With Khamenei’s approval, the IRGC enjoys special and powerful dominance over the regime’s foreign policy and agenda. For example, the Guards have taken full control over Iran’s embassies in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. While having prominence in the affairs related to Armenia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
In view of the significance to IRGC operations, the Iranian regime’s ambassadors and diplomatic missions to Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria are appointed directly by the IRGC and not the Foreign Ministry of Iran. It is worth noting that Iran’s current ambassador to Iraq, Brigadier Iraj Masjedi, was formerly in charge of the IRGC’s Iraq desk, as its chairman and a senior Quds Force advisor. The Quds Force is overseeing the Iranian regime’s operations in Syria and Iraq.
Masjedi himself supervised and coordinated attacks against U.S.-led Coalition forces in Iraq, leaving scores killed and wounded.
Growing Grip Of IRGC Over Iran’s Economy
The IRGC quest to gain full control over Iran’s economy began following the Iran-Iraq war. This grip grew significantly during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, himself a former IRGC commander, from 2005 to 2013.
The IRGC has gained increasing influence in major sectors of Iran’s economy, such as oil and gas, and the construction industry. The exact number of IRGC-affiliated front companies remains unknown, simply due to the fact that they seek to evade sanctions through the use of various front companies and institutions in different countries.
Ironically, the IRGC benefited enormously from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) the regime signed with the world powers.
Of nearly 110 agreements signed since the JCPOA’s signing, worth at least $80 billion, 90 counts of these deals have been with companies owned or controlled by Iranian state entities, according a Reuters analysis.
The IRGC is now considered a huge conglomerate of different companies and assets. Parts of its holdings include controlling Iran’s missile drive and the controversial nuclear program.
The IRGC owns and controls dozens of companies, involved in procuring the technology needed to develop ballistic missiles and sensitive nuclear products. The IRGC has been entrusted to develop and pursue the ballistic missile program and all its aspects. A senior Iranian official once boasted about Iran having a sixth missile production line, including the Shahab-3/3B, with a range of over 2,100 kilometers.
Terror Designations
The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted the IRGC Quds Force back in 2007 for “Proliferation Activities and Support for Terrorism.” The Quds Force is known to provide material support to terrorist groups such as the Taliban, the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other such entities.
In 2017, the Treasury designated the Iranian regime’s IRGC as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” for the “activities it undertakes to assist in, sponsor, or provide financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of the IRGC Quds Force.”
As the U.S. State Department has designated the IRGC Quds Force as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” there are growing calls in Washington calling for similar damning measures against the mother IRGC entity to deliver a crippling blow to the mullahs’ regime.
The Iranian regime considers this a declaration of war.
Final Words
The mullahs’ regime of Iran is a dictatorship on a mission to agitate and expand its influence throughout the region and beyond. The IRGC is the main apparatus and the leverage for this regime to continue its aspirations and existence through domestic crackdown and export of terrorism abroad, whether through proxy wars, terror attacks or spreading its extremist ideology.
“The IRGC is dedicated to protecting the Islamic Revolution, not the state of Iran. As guardians of the Islamic Revolution, it supports terrorist activities by the Quds Force and its other military divisions. The IRGC finances these terrorist activities through its business activities, making the overall o simply the paymaster for terrorist activities by its constituent elements,” wrote Raymond Tanter and Ed Stafford in The Hill.
The cancerous and unchecked growth of the IRGC throughout the region is a threat to not only the Middle East but also Europe. A dangerous fundamentalist ideology drives this armed (military) entity. The world needs to take this threat seriously before it is too late.
Masoud Dalvand: I read a good and informative article on Iran Freedom website about the terrorism of the Iran mullahs regime, which also invite you to read it.
Indeed, the failure of another terrorist plot planned by Khamenei’s dictatorship (the godfather of terrorism) in European soil, not only does not surprise any observer but also proves that the mullahs regime is truly the godfather of terrorism in the world.
In this regard, the DW website quoted the Danish foreign minister in a report of the foiled terror plot on Oct. 31, 2018:
“I decided to recall the Danish ambassador to Tehran for consultations. The plot of an Iranian intelligence agency to assassinate a person on Danish soil is completely unacceptable.”
The European Union, sunk in its malign appeasement policy, did not show much tendency to confront the terrorist acts of the regime before Assadollah Assadi, regime terrorist diplomat was arrested in Germany in relation to a foiled bomb plot in Paris against the grand gathering of the Iranian Opposition in Villepinte.
For this reason, Khamenei considered this unconcerned state as a green light for continuing the regime’s terror policy, which has always served as a “crutch” for the clerical regime as the godfather of terrorism, a policy that is still on its agenda.
The arrest of two terrorist agents of the mullahs in Albania who tried to target the MEK headquarters by an explosives truck, as well as two assassinations in the Netherland carried out by the mercenaries of this godfather of terrorism in recent years, and the discovery of half a kilo of explosives and detonators in Belgium, which was supposed to target the largest gathering of Iran’s resistance in Paris, are fully affirming this fact.
DW report also quoted the Denmark prime minister saying Denmark is trying to put the issue of the mullahs regime’s terrorism on the agenda of the European Union.
In this regard, Rasmussen emphasized in a tweet: “Further actions against Iran will be discussed in the EU”.
Rasmussen, who had partaken at Nordic leaders meeting in Oslo and met his British counterpart, Theresa May, said: The United Kingdom will support Denmark in this case.
He added: “In close collaboration with the UK and other countries we will stand up to Iran”.
Pointing to the deception campaign by Iran regime’s lobbies abroad, the president-elect of the Iranian resistance, emphasized:
“The Iranian regime has already carried out hundreds of extra-territorial terrorist operations. Do not believe the fallacy of rogue groups. The people of Iran rose up and cried out, “Hardliners, reformists, the game is over”.”
The people of #Iran rose up and cried out, “Hardliners, reformists, the game is over.” Now, the European Union must immediately place the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) on its terror list.
Every terrorist attacks and their agent in our nations shall be arrested in Jesus name amen! I prayed for God’s intervention particularly in the Nation of Iran, peace in thy name of Jesus…
Every year, thousands of Iranian university graduates leave their country to find job and life opportunities abroad. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime continues to give important jobs and government posts to people who are loyal to the ruling dictatorship rather than qualified for their jobs. Iran’s brain drain, which is becoming an escalating problem, is the direct result of the policies of the ruling regime.
Human rights violations and massive repression of youth, students, women, university professors, journalists and environmental activists, as well as severe living conditions under severe economic pressure and high educational costs in Iran under the Mullahs regime, for scientific elites, university students and university professors, and specialists It has not remain a different path, except for leaving Iran and migrating to advanced industrial countries in Europe, America, Australia and Canada. This problem has become so acute in Iran that Iran under the rule of the mullahs has ranked first in brain drain. When we look at the Iran’s brain drain, the measure of the catastrophe becomes clearer.
IRNA news agency: … We are unable to maintain our experts inside the country and are incapable of creating the conditions necessary for them to find safe and decent living conditions in Iran, like in the United States.
Fars News Agency affiliated to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: More students and university professors who left Iran have caused irreparable damage to the country.
Official News agency of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Tasnim: The number of Iranian Iranian students applying for immigration to the United States has more than doubled.
Official reports in recent years have shown an increase of 220 percent in the number of Iranian immigrant students. This bracket has reached the point where around 150,000 people leave the country annually.
The damage caused by the brain drain problem for the country
It is estimated that the effects of the brain drain phenomenon are exerted economically on the country. For example, it is estimated that the damage caused by the brain drain and students from Iran to the United States is more than the frozen assets of Iran in the United States.
Another factor contributing to the increase in the number of university students and academics leaving Iran is the lack of appropriate educational conditions and low levels of universities and other educational facilities throughout the country.
As a result, more students are looking for better education and opportunities for scientific and research abroad. When their education ends, they are no longer willing to return to Iran, and this is a serious damage to Iran’s scientific fund.
Unemployment and the inability to attract graduates and specialists in Iran are another reason for people with a high degree of excellence who leave the country.
More than 50 percent of Iranian educated people are unemployed or forced to do things that have nothing to do with their specialty, even some university professionals and university graduates are forced to do construction work and clean up public places. Also, the conditions of the oppression and dictatorship of the mullahs in Iran make any expert and intellectual to leave the country and reach the place where freedom is.
It is a bitter fact that, as long as the religious dictatorship exists in Iran, the process of brain drain will continue to rise alongside other social and economic crisis of Iran, and only in conditions where freedom, democracy and respect for human rights rule in Iran The problem will be solved.
A comprehensive masterpiece.. Well written and presentable.. We have been praying for God’s intervention in the Nations of Iran.. And we are still praying that the Iranians Nations shall experience freedom and peace of mind…
The Iranian regime faces an increasingly heated internal debate and factionalism over Europe and how to engage it.
Rouhani’s supposedly moderate faction considers Europe the only escape the Iranian regime has. But Europe does not hide that in order to legitimize its engagement with the ruling theocracy in Iran, the union needs to have an office in Tehran from where it can monitor the human rights situation in the country.
Khamenei’s faction meanwhile, knowing that oppression and censorship are the artery of the regime, vehemently opposes the idea of such an office and doesn’t want to pay such dear a price for a package that doesn’t entail anything tangible.
On October 21, after a meeting with foreign minister Javad Zarif, Falahatpishe, chief of the security and foreign affairs commission in the Iranian parliament, said: “In two days the document related to the economic relations between Iran and Europe after the US left JCPOA should be ready and we are waiting to receive this document.”
Falahatpishe also announced that Europe’s financial special purpose vehicle will be finalized before November 4, but was still skeptical about the practical outcome.
“We believe that Europeans have the necessary resolve to maintain the JCPOA and give a positive response to Iran’s engagement politics, but we still need to wait and see how much power they have.”
“Unfortunately, the type of behavior we witnessed in small and large European companies and even banks shows that they don’t have the necessary power for a confrontation,” he added.
Mahmoud Vaezi, Rouhani’s chief of staff, referred to a developing cooperation with the European Union and said: “Especially in the current climate, we have made some arrangements with the EU in regards to JCPOA.” He added that, “the opening of EU’s office can be beneficial for our economic cooperation with the union.”
But opponents of the plan are vocal about their concerns. Mashreq website writes: “Mr. Vaezi! The European Union wants the office for infiltration and sabotage.”
Even proponents of EU’s plan to circumvent the new sanctions have their doubts about how effective and practical the measures can be.
On October 21, Fararu website quotes Beheshtipur, a pundit close to Rouhani’s faction, saying that Europe won’t be the savior of Iran’s economy.
“I think, what Iran and Europe intend to do is sort of a shoestring channel for trading. In fact, Europe is very much tied-hands when it comes to doing much for Iran… We need also consider Europe’s ability, capacity, and situation.”
Iran’s fears and hope and the internal tensions between different factions in the ruling elite about Europe’s package have root in the simple reality that without the US, Europe can’t provide much tangible economic benefits to Iran.
That’s why sources close to Rouhani’s faction call it “shoestring” while Khamenei’s faction is blunter in saying that it is a “damaging” relation.
But there is also a less apparent reason why Europe’s plan is not so attractive with Iran’s ruling mullahs: A European office for monitoring the human rights situation. In fact, for the past 20 years, Iran has not allowed any reporter or monitoring team on human rights issues to enter the country.
For those not very familiar with the power structure in Iran and the ideological hegemony the ruling mullahs exert over the country’s population, the reasoning behind Iran’s outright fear of human rights may not be very obvious.
About opening a European office in Tehran, Abolfazl Zohrevand, Iran’s former ambassador to Italy and Afghanistan, says: “Now by opening an office the EU is sending an ambassador to our country who has no embassy and yet can report about us in terms of human rights issues.”
He adds that, “we have problems with the EU in normal circumstances, especially with regards to the JCPOA. They are following and advancing their policies in Tehran and by opening this office we are actually empowering them to do so… This is a pressure on us and puts us in a position of answering to questions.”
The dilemma the Iranian regime faces can be described as follows: A hope for relief to make up for decades of economic mismanagement to decrease the population’s rising discontent and the risk of popular uprisings on the one hand and the fear of the accompanied opening up that could endanger the very oppressive structure that the mullahs rely on to crack down on popular discontent in the first place.
I hope in their decisions that they consider the needs of the Iranian people. The support of the people over the regime is to the benefit of every country.
The IRGC’s Basij militia recruits, trains, and deploys child soldiers to fight in IRGC-fueled conflicts across the region
In a recent tweet, US State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, “U.S. Treasury sanctioned a vast financial network supporting the Iran regime’s despicable practice of using child soldiers —as young as 12. The regime uses Afghan children as the ‘first wave’ in Syria, resulting in higher casualty rates.
Today, @USTreasury sanctioned a vast financial network supporting the #Iran regime’s despicable practice of using child soldiers—as young as 12. The regime uses Afghan children as the “first wave” in Syria, resulting in higher casualty rates. Read more: https://t.co/iTNc689Icppic.twitter.com/RNM00dOg8R
The U.S. sanctioned a vast financial network supporting the Iranian regime’s paramilitary Basij force for human rights abuses and other criminal practices
The U.S. Treasury sanctions encompassed 20 of the regime’s banks and companies, imposed under counter-terrorism regulations.
According to an AFP report, the U.S. sanctioned these banks and companies because of their support for the regime’s militias.
The list of sanctioned entities includes Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company (ITMC), Isfahan’s Mobarakeh Steel Company, Bank Mellat, Mehr Eqtesad Bank, Parsian Bank. It is worth mentioning that Mehr Eqtesad Bank, which was previously named as Gharz-al Hasana Mehr Basijian, is associated with Bonyad-e Taavon Basij, which translates as Basij Cooperative Foundation.
Mehr Eqtesad Iranian Investment Company owns shares in Esfahan’s Mobarakeh Steel Company, the largest steelmaker in the Middle East and North Africa region. Mehr Eqtesad Iranian Investment Company had also purchased shares in the ITMC in 2008.
In addition, Mehr Eqtesad also had shares in many other companies such as Iralco, Sadra, Jaber Ebne Hayyan Pharmaceutical Company.
The Treasury says that the IRGC’s Basij militia recruits, trains, and deploys child soldiers to fight in IRGC-fueled conflicts across the region.
“The Bonyad Taavon Basij network is an example of how the IRGC and Iranian military forces have expanded their economic involvement in major industries and infiltrated seemingly legitimate businesses to fund terrorism and other malign activities. This vast network provides financial infrastructure to the Basij’s efforts to recruit, train, and indoctrinate child soldiers who are coerced into combat under the IRGC’s direction,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The below list contains names of firms went under sanctions:
The Iranian regime must not be permitted to take advantage of diplomatic immunity to pursue terrorist objectives
The Iranian regime has taken measures seeking to inflict a severe blow to the Iranian opposition through terrorist attacks. To this end, Tehran dispatched a sleeping cell, consisting of an Iranian-Belgian couple, to receive 500 grams of the dangerous TATP explosives from their Vienna-based diplomat by the name of Asadollah Assadi.
The couple were then instructed to go to Paris from Belgium and target an Iranian opposition rally on June 30th held in Villepinte, a town near Paris.
Tens of thousands of people and hundreds of prominent dignitaries from across the globe were attending the event, and the casualty figures of this attack could have been enormous.
#Brussels – Press Conference on #Iran's foiled terror plot in Europe At a press conference on Wednesday, August 8th, prominent Belgian and European lawyers announced new points regarding the Iranian regime's foiled terror plot in Europe,…#ExpelIranDiplomatTerroristspic.twitter.com/xxhbOK3Hys
By taking advantage of diplomatic immunity, the Iranian regime has a long history of carrying out espionage measures and terrorist attacks abroad. The Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has a long history of exposing these measures.
For the past three decades the NCRI, with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) at its core, has emphasized domestic crackdown and exporting terrorism/warmongering are the two pillars guaranteeing this regime’s ongoing existence. All key officials are involved in these two initiatives.
The decision to carry out this operation targeting the Iranian opposition was made by the most senior regime officials.
Three months later, the French government’s recent decision to conduct a raid on October 2nd targeting a religious center tied to the Iranian regime, accusing the individuals in charge of terrorism. This was a firm measure by the French authorities, aiming to prevent terrorist attacks in the future. Over 200 police officers from various units took part in this raid.
The al-Zahra Center in northern France was involved in directing and providing logistics for a number of Shiite associations linked to the Iranian regime. French authorities believe these entities have links to terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
French Foreign, Interior, and Finance ministers issued a joint statement emphasizing the plot targeting the Iranian opposition rally on June 30th was foiled and a number of other such events on our soil cannot go unanswered.
The Iranian regime’s embassies across the globe, and especially in Europe, are literally centers of terrorism and espionage. As a result, to prevent the Iranian regime’s terrorism, the Iranian opposition has called upon European countries to implement the European Union’s 29 April 1997 statement regarding the Iranian regime’s intelligence operatives.
From this day forward, the Iranian regime must not be permitted to take advantage of diplomatic immunity to pursue its malign and terrorist objectives.
I read a report on the situation of rural women in Iran, which was prepared by the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The report is published on the occasion of the International Rural Women’s Day. In this comprehensive report, which I put the PDF link at the end of the article for full study, the main violations of the rural women’ rights in Iran has been investigated.I draw your attention to the summary of this comprehensive report.
In Iran, the word “village” brings to mind a place without water and electricity, with sheds made of mud and adobe. So, shortages and deficiencies are inherent to the word village.
The burden of such intolerable life, of course, is carried by women and girls who have to respond to the needs of their families despite the fact that their own special needs are never responded to.
The life of Iran’s rural women does not comply with any humane, let alone, international standards. Rural women in Iran are “forgotten” human beings who are deprived of the most basic requirements of a decent life.
The general director of Women and Family Affairs in the Central Province’s Governorate, Zahra Faraji, described the situation of rural women as “disorganized.” She acknowledged that although rural women do not enjoy any resources or opportunities, “The issue of occupation of rural women and girls has not been defined in any of the government plans and programs.”
Albeit tragic, the statement does not reflect the whole truth.
On the one hand, there is no transparency on the situation of rural women in Iran.
On the other hand, the situation of Iranian women in general is deplorable since their rights have not been respected in the law and are discriminated against because of their gender.
According to Article 1210 of the Constitution, a girl is mature when she is 9 lunar years.
Article 1041 sanctions marriage of girl children at the age of 13 and even younger with the consent of their father.
Article 1105 of the Constitution reiterates that man is the head of the household. Article 1117 states that man can prevent his wife from being employed in any profession or industry if doing so contradicts the family’s interests.
According to articles 1123 and 1124 of the Constitution, a man can divorce his wife if she gets sick. Whereas woman faces numerous obstacles in filing for divorce.
The few above mentioned examples violate Iranian woman’s basic rights. Naturally, the situation is much worse in the case of women who live in rural areas as they also have to grapple with absolute poverty and destitution.
Iran, October 14, 2018 – Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani delivered a speech in Tehran University on Sunday while students were holding a rally on campus and chanting college students are ready to die, but will not accept to live in shame.
The protesting college students were seen protesting near the building where Rouhani was delivering his remarks. “High prices, unemployment, Rouhani must provide answers.”
Gravely concerned of Tehran University students using this opportunity to hold anti-regime protests, Iranian regime authorities had previously made arrangements to prevent the students from entering the conference halls.
When Rouhani was in the Tehran University conference hall one female college student was seen shouting: “Why didn’t you provide permission for the students to enter the hall?”
The situation can be described as very tense in Iran.
Javanrood, Iran-teachers nationwide strike
On Sunday, teachers from over 50 cities across the country launched a nationwide strike, protesting poor economic and living conditions. The protesting teachers are also demanding the release of their jailed colleagues. Students in various cities are showing support for their protesting teachers.
Mofatteh school, Isfahan-teachers on strike
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Teachers in dozens of cities across Iran are launching a nationwide strike on Sunday, protesting poor living conditions, problems with their jobs and heavy security measures imposed in their schools.
Nationwide teachers strike in Saghez at Motahhari high school
Teachers in the cities of Paveh, Islamabad-e Gharb, Yazd, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Marivan, Mashhad, Ilam, Gonabad, Torbat-e Heydariyeh, Tabriz, Amol, Garmeh, Lamerd, Sanandaj, Saqqez, Tehran (Quds Town), Sarvabad and a number of other towns and cities are seen to be on strike.
Students in various cities have announced their support for their teachers on this initiative.
Progressive women of Tehran join teachers strike
Other cities also include Mahabad, Khorramabad, Firouzazbad, Zarrin Shahr, Bojnourd, Javanrud, Sari, Karaj, Ivan-e Gharb, and others.
The protesting teachers are also calling for the release of their jailed colleagues.
Teachers of Kazerun on strike too
Since anti-government demonstrations erupted throughout Iran in December, strikes have become a popular way for citizens of different walks of life and social classes to protest against the corruption and inefficiency of the Iranian regime.
Women teachers of Mashhad are also on Strike
This is the second time that Iranian teachers are going on strike. Earlier this year, teachers across the country took to the streets to protest against discrimination, imprisonment of political activists and economic woes. This round of strikes by teachers is happening in parallel to a widespread strike by truck drivers across the country, which has lasted for more than three weeks and has expanded to more than 300 cities across the country. Last week, a separate strike by merchants and shop owners reached dozens of cities.
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