NEWS FROM INSIDE IRAN REPORT 8 PERIOD 20 NOVEMBER 2018 TO 23 NOVEMBER 2018

NEWS FROM INSIDE IRAN

REPORT 8

PERIOD

20 NOVEMBER 2018 TO 23 NOVEMBER 2018

(PLEASE NOTE THAT INFORMATION SOURCES ARE NOT PUBLISHED IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY OF OUR INFORMANTS. UNDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES CERTAIN INFORMATION CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE ON RECEIPT OF A DULY MOTIVATED REQUEST)

(All REPORTS WERE OBTAINED FROM CREDIBLE AND ACCREDITED NEWS AGANCIES INSIDE AND OUTSIDE IRAN)

Stes de Necker

In this report:

1.      UK’s largest education union supports jailed Iranian teachers

2.      Iranian regime executes Kurd political prisoners despite international calls

3.      Haft Tapeh protests: A step forward

4.      Massive demonstration of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane and Ahvaz Steel workers

5.      Wave of assassinations in Basra, Southern Iraq

6.      Rouhani’s hypocrisy exposed by members of his own faction

7.      Protests by victims of corrupt financial institutions in Tehran and Mashhad

8.      International Condemnation of Iran Must Be Backed With Action

9.      Jeremy Hunt warns of Middle East 'first world war risk' on Iran visit

10.  Iran Regime Violates Human Rights & Plots Terrorism in EU

11.  Iranian Regime: The End Is in Sight

12.  19 million people live in Iran’s slums

13.  12 Teachers Detained In Iran and 30 Others Summoned To Court after Teachers’ Strike

14.  (Late Report)

15.  The 17th day of protests by workers of Haft Tapeh sugar cane company

16.  Brussels: PMOI / MEK supporters rally against Iranian regime’s terrorism

17.  Political prisoners declare their support for protesting workers

18.  The lies that Javad Zarif told

19.  Iran Regime Won't Survive U.S. Sanctions

20.  Maryam Rajavi on the Third Option for Dealing with Iran Regime

21.  Iran Publicly Hangs Three Men in Shiraz

22.  U.S. Sanctions and Domestic Pressure Will Provoke Iranian Regime’s Collapse

23.  Iran’s regime suffering from extensive regional isolation, says commerce figure

24.  Iran Had Secret Plans to Build Five Nuclear Warheads

25.  Baha’i women arrested or imprisoned for their faith

26.  85 women executed in Iran under Rouhani

27.  Women Political Prisoner Atena Daemi Summoned to Prosecutor’s Office

28.  Eight Members of Iran’s Baha’i Religious Minority Sentenced to Prison

29.  18th day of strikes and protests by the workers of Iran’s Haft Tapeh sugar mill

30.  Iranian Resistance’s Supporters’ Campaign in EU & Canada in Support Of Iranian Protesters

31.  US welcomes German firms' compliance on Iran sanctions

32.  Iran’s auto parts industry could collapse in a week

33.  Suicide takes lives of seven women in Tehran, north and western Iran

34.  Motocross champion among Baha’i women arrested across Iran

35.  Iran Lobby Silent on Rising Executions

36.  Commerce Figure Says Iran’s Regime Suffers from Regional Isolation

37.  Women arrested in the aftermath of nationwide strike of teachers

38.  US Accuses Iran of Hiding Chemical Weapons

20 November 2018

UK’s largest education union supports jailed Iranian teachers

The UK’s largest education union, in a letter acquired by Iran News Wire, confirmed its strong support of Iranian teachers, especially those who are jailed in Iran.

“I assure you that the plight of the people, and in particular teachers, of Iran is not forgotten by the National Education Union – NUT Section,” 

Samidha Garg, the International Relations Officer of the National Education Union – NUT Section wrote in response to a letter by a human rights activist:

“Just this year, we have written multiple letters to the Iranian authorities demanding the fair treatment and release of Esmail Abdi and Mohammed Habibi, released a statement on the protests in January, and promoted campaigns and petitions for the protection of trade union rights in the nation. We work closely with partners in the UK and abroad to call on the Iranian authorities to protect the human rights of their citizens.”

“We will continue to do everything in our power to support our brothers and sisters in Iran. We understand that their fight cannot be won without the support of the international community, and you can count on ours indefinitely,” the International Relations Officer added.

Amnesty International also issued an urgent action on the plight of jailed teacher Mohammad Habibi saying he was in need of medical attention.

“Imprisoned Iranian teacher and trade unionist Mohammad Habibi is in poor health and is being denied the urgent specialized medical care he needs. He is a prisoner of conscience, serving 10 and a half years in prison solely for exercising his human rights,” Amnesty wrote.

 “He must be immediately and unconditionally released,” the UK based rights group added.

Other prominent detained teachers trade unionists include Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi and Esmail Abdi.

In light of the fact that the line of poverty in Iran is 4 million tomans (around $950), the 1.4 million toman (around $330) wage of teachers puts them squarely under the line of poverty.

As a result, most teachers work more than one shift which directly affects their teaching abilities as they are preoccupied with solving their financial issues and making enough money to survive.

In the past year, Iranian teachers have had 200 acts of protests to urge the government to listen to their grievances. The government has not only ignored their pleas but has brutally suppressed and jailed them.

According to new developments, the Coordination Council of Teachers Trade Unions in Iran called for a general strike on Sunday and Monday in protest to low wages.

They called on teachers to go to school but not participate in classes. 

20 November 2018

Iranian regime executes Kurd political prisoners despite international calls

Ramin Hossein Panahi, a 22-year-old man from Iran’s Kurdish minority was sentenced to death in January after a grossly unfair trial and amid serious torture allegations.

Zanyar Moradi and Loqman Moradi were arrested in Marivan by the agents of the Ministry in July 2009.

After a few months, they were sent to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided by Judge Salavati, where they were sentenced to public execution on the charge of “Moharebeh through action against national security, being a member of Komalah party, assassinating the son of Marivan’s Imam of Friday Prayer, spying for Britain, disturbing security at the time of the presence of the Supreme Leader in Marivan”.

In recent months, the Kurdish human rights activists, in particular his brother Amjad Hossein Panahi, were scheduling several campaigns through social media avoiding Ramin’s imminent execution. 

On September 7th, UN rights experts call on Iran to halt imminent executions of Ramin Hossein Panahi and the other two Kurd prisoners Zanyar and Loghman Moradi.

“We urge the Government of Iran to immediately halt their executions and to annul the death sentences against them in compliance with its international obligations,” the experts said in a joint statement, following reports that they will be executed on 8 September.

Engulfed with domestic and international crises that escalate and deepen every day, the mullahs’ regime has resorted to a new wave of executions in order to intensify the atmosphere of intimidation and terror in the society in a bid to prevent the spread of popular uprising.

This is a criminal process that will only add to the anger of the people who are fed up with the Iranian regime.

20 November 2018

Haft Tapeh protests: A step forward

The workers of Haft Tapeh sugar mill have been protesting for more than two weeks to get their due rights and their unpaid salaries. As a result of the destructive policies of the sugar cane factory’s management and the regime authorities involved, Haft Tapeh is on the verge of total bankruptcy. This will endanger the livelihoods of thousands of workers and their family members who depend on their income to make ends meet. 

The reaction of Iranian regime officials 

During this period, Iranian regime officials from both rivalling factions have either remained silent or have tried to circumvent any measure that would solve the problems of the workers. While they have stood aside, they are the real culprits of the current situation in Haft Tapeh and many other factories across Iran.

The destructive policies of the Iranian regime destroyed the Haft Tapeh factory and made the biggest sugar cane factory of Iran a victim of regime authorities and their rich families. Now, under the pretext of privatization, they will be transferring what little is left of the company’s assets to regime-affiliated individuals and institutions who have a long history of embezzling billions of dollars’ worth of the Iranian people’s wealth.

During the 15 days of protests, government officials haven’t taken a single step to solve the problems of the workers. 

The reaction of the people 

While regime officials have tried to ignore the protests of the workers of Haft Tapeh, the people of Iran have not remained silent and have been very vocal in supporting the workers and their demands. Every day, new groups, communities, unions, and syndicates are expressing their support for the workers and their demands and are joining their protests.

Currently, teachers, truck and bus drivers, students, merchants, and other workers from different areas of Iran are voicing their support for Haft Tapeh. The sugar cane workers have also garnered the support of the steelworkers of Ahvaz, who are leading parallel demonstrations in protest to unpaid wages and poor work conditions. 

International reactions to the protests of Haft Tapeh workers 

On Sunday and Monday, the news of the protests and strikes of Haft Tapeh protest got worldwide attention. At least 35 different news agencies covered the news of the protests. What’s clear is that so far, the continued protests of the workers of Haft Tapeh and the solidarity of the different communities across Iran have shown that resistance against the tyranny and corruption of the Iranian regime is the only way to achieve goals and meet the just demands of the disenfranchised workers of Iran.

And as the workers of Haft Tapeh have shown, they have the resolve to achieve their goals. 

20 November 2018

Massive demonstration of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane and Ahvaz Steel workers

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.

On their fifteenth day of strike, disregarding repressive measures and the tight presence of repressive forces and riot police, Haft Tappeh workers rallied. People from various walks joined them on their path. The protesters chanted in front of the governorate: Imprisoned workers must be freed; Threats and imprisonment do not work anymore. Chanting slogans, the people called for the release of the workers in front of the regime's court.

At the same time, Ahvaz Steel workers rallied in front of the provincial governorate in the second week of their strike and in support of the Haft Tappeh workers. The workers chanted: Haft Tappeh worker must be freed; We, the Steel workers, fight and fight against oppression and tyranny; No nation has ever seen such an injustice; Fellow citizens of Ahvaz, be aware, no one takes care of Ahvaz.

Due to escalation of protests in Shush and Ahvaz, the regime inevitably released a number of detainees on bail on Monday afternoon, but the workers reiterated that they would continue their strike and protest until all those arrested are released.

20 November 2018

Wave of assassinations in Basra, Southern Iraq

A political activist in the city of Basra, southern Iraq, was killed outside his home, police authorities said on Sunday. Wesam al-Qarawi played a key role in organizing demonstrations against poor city services, such as water and electricity shortages.

News agencies cited the police saying unknown armed men killed al-Qarawi, known for being very active in Basra’s summer protests that had a profound impact on the locals.

Despite providing for more than 90 percent of Iraq’s oil exports, the city of Basra is suffering from low water quality and constant power outages.

Al-Qarawi, an Iraqi cleric, was gunned down late Saturday night by a group of unknown men outside his home in downtown Basra, according to the city police.

During the past few days, al-Qarawi had posted a video recently saying there is a possibility cleric will issue a fatwa for protesters to take up arms. The video of this well-known Iraqi activist went viral in various social media platforms.

On September 25, a female human rights activist in Basra was gunned down and murdered in broad daylight. Ms. Saad al-Ali had played a significant role in September’s anti-government protests in Basra. Her husband was wounded in the attack. Ms. al-Ali, who supported the anti-government protests, headed the al-Wad al-Alami human rights organization.

Political and civil activists in Iraq believe Iranian regime operatives are behind these assassinations.

In the past few months, Iraqi demonstrations have attacked and set fire to the Iranian regime’s consulate in Basra. 

It is worth noting the people of southern Iraq, including the cities of Basra, Karbala, Samawa, and others, rallied this summer protesting poor state services, constant power outages, very low water quality and high unemployment especially for the youths. Waves of these protests even reached the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Demonstrators in southern Iraqi cities set fire to the offices of al-Hekma, ad-Dawa and Fazilat offices and the office of Badr paramilitary forces in Mothana Province. These parties are all linked to the Iranian regime.

Covering the demonstrations at the time, Sky News reported the protesters focused on [Iranian regime founder Khomeini] and condemned the Iranian regime. These demonstrations were attempting to send a message to the Iraqi government and political parties that the Iraqi people oppose the Iranian regime’s presence in their country.

20 November 2018

Rouhani’s hypocrisy exposed by members of his own faction

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 even better. He also specifically declared the new sanctions against his regime as having no impact.

In his most recent statements in a government cabinet session on November 14, Rouhani said: “The regime is more stable than ever before.”

“After the U.S. sanctions, people are more optimistic. People may have complaints about the regime, that’s no problem, they should speak out their complaints and criticism loud and clear.”

Let’s forget about the fully equipped riot police that was sent to Iran’s Haft Tapeh just a few days ago to intimidate, brutalize, and jail the sugar factory workers who were outraged and were asking for their unpaid wages, their most basic right.

The picture that Rouhani paints of the Iranian economy is so detached from the hard truth that even supporters and leaders of his own faction speak out against it.

Hossein Kamali, former labor minister and a supporter of the so-called moderates, said: “I once told the president that we suffer from losing the trust in us. Trust is the greatest social asset. Our officials have talked but acted differently.”

According to a Keyhan newspaper report on November 16, Hossein Kamali acknowledged the widespread discontent among the Iranian people about the regime and described the next Iranian revolution without particularly mentioning it: “Where else in the world [do you witness that] when problems and issues occur, and protests happen, it targets the ideologic foundations of the country. Why do our officials allow the problems and issues to be blamed on Islam, the regime and the leadership [meaning specifically the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei]?”

While Rouhani and his minions try to show a stable currency and gold market as proof for the ineffectiveness of the sanctions, Arman newspaper, also close to the so-called moderate faction, exposes their game plan and writes: “Some analysts believe that at the time when [U.S. President Donald] Trump threatened to leave the JCPOA, the government implemented measures to pave the way for an increase in currency and gold prices [writer’s emphasis]. The goal was to spread the negative news before sanctions were implemented to create a bubble in the market so that prices become even higher than the sanctions can make them and the government [subsequently] by bursting this bubble after the sanctions show that the Iranian economy is not dependent on other nations.”

Majid Hariri, a government official in the Iranian trade chamber also considers the reasons behind the increase or decrease of currency values the result of “oscillations in political issues” and says: “Economic factors don’t have much of an impact here.”

Another newspaper close to Rouhani’s faction, Jahan-e Sanat, reiterates the government’s role in playing with prices and warns about its consequences: “It’s always the government’s political play that has the last say and the economy always surrenders to the country’s politicians’ desires. Therefore, controlling the currency value isn’t an inspiring policy and can even be a sign of the country’s damaged economic climate.”

In contrast to Rouhani’s and his first vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri’s, claims, the newspaper further writes: “All of the steep oscillations of value in the markets indicate policies that defend the government’s interests and the economy had never a share of these governmental policies.

Mohammadqoli Yousefi, an economist close to Rouhani’s faction, sums it up and says: “There is neither a sign of economic stability in the country nor a movement to relieve the international tensions. Therefore, the government, in tandem with the instability in its income, faces high costs. 

The economic face-off with the U.S. and Europe can also be a serious challenge when it comes to providing some consumer goods which also disrupts the currency sector and import and export.”

He also challenges Rouhani’s claim that the Iranian people have become more optimistic after the sanctions kicked in and say: “Since the government’s economic policies aimed at circumventing the people… and since [the people] don’t see any benefits from the government’s economic war, they won’t be willing to share enough of the current situation and bear this much of economic hardship.”

20 November 2018

Protests by victims of corrupt financial institutions in Tehran and Mashhad

On Monday, the customers of the Caspian Credit Institution gathered in front of the judiciary’s office to protest against the plundering of their investments by the IRGC-affiliated financial institution. The protesters demanded the return of their deposits.

“Caspian committed theft with the government’s support,” the protesters chanted.

“The money you hold is everything we have,” they also said, protesting that the government-backed institutions have ruined their lives. The demonstrators criticized government officials for giving false promises and lying for the past two years.

The IRGC affiliated Caspian has been officially recognized and authorized by Iran’s Central Bank and has absorbed the savings of thousands of Iranians across the country. However, last year, the institution filed for bankruptcy, taking away all the investments of its customers. Caspian is one of several credit institutions with shady backgrounds and disastrous outcomes that have stolen the savings of middle-class Iranians. All of these institutions have close ties to government officials and institutions and have been running Ponzi schemes for years. 

At the same time, in Mashhad, the customers of the Badr Toos, another financial institution with ties to the IRGC, demonstrated in protest to the theft of their deposits. The protesters demanded the return of their deposits.

20 November 2018

International Condemnation of Iran Must Be Backed With Action

The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on November 15, condemning the Iranian regime’s systematic human rights violations. The censure goes next to the UN General Assembly for a vote in December.

The regime’s record of severe abuse stretches back over decades. During Iran’s “summer of blood” in 1988, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini launched a campaign to wipe out the opposition, ordering the execution of leftists and members of the principal opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK). Over a period of just five months, some 30,000 Iranians were slaughtered.

This year’s resolution, the 65th such U.N. censure of Iranian abuse, referenced various accounts and reports of Tehran’s breaches, some produced by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and UN Special Rapporteur Javid Rehman: “The reports of the UN Secretary-General and his Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran indicate that the human rights situation in Iran has worsened since last year and the systematic repression of demonstrators, journalists and users of social networks has increased.”

The UN experts were referring to the violent repression of demonstrators in the protests which have enveloped hundreds of cities in all of Iran’s 31 provinces since December 2017. Acts of protest and strikes have been unprecedented in scale, demands, courage, and persistence.

For example, over 500,000 truck drivers angry over rising prices for spare parts and demanding better working conditions, staged four separate rounds of massive nationwide strikes in over 300 cities. Teachers, workers, merchants, students, nurses, defrauded investors, farmers, and other social sectors have staged multiple demonstrations against the regime as recently as last week.

Economic hardships are also fueling unrest. The value of Iran’s national currency has dropped by 70% since last year, unemployment and inflation are in the double digits, and even the regime’s own officials acknowledge that the ranks of the poor are swelling. The regime apparatus is itself under intense pressure after the imposition of a second round of sanctions targeting oil exports and access to the international financial system.

The protestors are targeting the regime in its entirety, not just its factions. “Reformer, hardliner, the game is now over,” has become a popular chant, indicating that the people are overwhelmingly demanding fundamental democratic change.

In response, the mullahs have once again turned their wrath toward the opposition, resorting to suppression at home to fend off the daily challenges to their rule, arresting, imprisoning, torturing, and executing dissidents in Iran, many of whom have staged hunger strikes in a solid show of resistance.

In addition, Tehran has shown a strong proclivity to conduct major acts of terrorism abroad. This year at least three major plots were uncovered against the opposition MEK alone. The first, in March, was in Albania, where thousands of MEK members reside. Albanian authorities arrested agents of the regime trying to bomb a New Year’s gathering in Tirana.

In June, another plot was exposed in France. A regime “diplomat” in Austria was arrested and later extradited to Belgium where he will be tried for organizing a cell to bomb a major gathering of the opposition in Paris of tens of thousands of Iranians and dozens of U.S. VIPs, including former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani.

And finally, in August, two regime agents were arrested by the FBI in the U.S. Their indictments reveal them to be professional intelligence operatives who were trying to identify and assassinate officials of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Washington, D.C.

In lockstep with its terrorist plots, the regime has also stepped up its demonization and vilification campaigns. In September, Twitter closed hundreds of accounts tied to Iran regime bots spreading misinformation against the MEK and NCRI. Other data released by Twitter shows that anti-MEK tweets by the regime's intelligence agents in 2018 jumped to a total that was six times higher than the previous six years combined. More recently, Tehran has employed the services of pseudo-journalists working for the pro-engagement western media outlets and so-called analysts to spread lies and misinformation, which have been debunked time and again.

Despite such efforts to sever the growing relationship between the protestors in Iran and the MEK, the movement's organizational prowess is growing. MEK "resistance units" made up of young women and men across Iran, organize and guide the uprisings, ensuring the persistence and expansion of the protests.

Iran’s people are demanding democratic freedoms and an end to the extremism, corruption and mis-management that have devastated their living conditions. The clerical regime’s only response has been to attack the opposition via mis-information and terrorism abroad, and systematically repress the demonstrators in Iran. The mullahs appear to have gotten the old adage wrong; it’s not supposed to be “if you don’t like the message, shoot the messenger.”

The international community cannot remain nonaligned. It is time to side with the Iranian people in their quest for democracy and a brighter future. The case of the regime’s growing human rights violations must be referred to the UN Security Council for urgent action. This would be the clearest sign yet that the international community supports the Iranian people’s right to resist a tyrannical regime that systematically violates their human rights.

20 November 2018

Jeremy Hunt warns of Middle East 'first world war risk' on Iran visit

The Middle East is a tinderbox where one small event could lead to a catastrophe on the scale of the first world war, Jeremy Hunt has warned, as he pushed for the release of the Iranian-British dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on his first visit to Iran as foreign secretary.

Hunt’s visit to Tehran, the first by a foreign minister since the US re imposed sanctions on oil exports earlier this month, included talks to persuade Iran to back a UK-sponsored peace settlement in Yemen and not to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal with the west over Europe’s apparent inability to circumvent the US sanctions.

After talks with the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, Hunt privately met Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family, including her four-year-old daughter Gabriella and her brother. He had pressed to go to the prison to see Zaghari-Ratcliffe, but was refused. 

He told the Guardian: “She is an incredibly brave woman who has been in prison for half her daughter’s life. She is suffering terribly and I think if Iran wants to be a country accepted in the world they cannot be imprisoning people like her. This is perverse.

“On 26 December, it will be her 40th birthday and at that point she will have spent nearly three years in prison. She has to be reunited with her family and come home.”

He added: “If Iran has a policy of detaining dual nationals as a tool of diplomatic leverage then there will be consequences for Iran. We will not let them get away with it scot-free. They have to understand this is not a sustainable situation.”

Hunt had been hoping to meet figures from the justice ministry, acknowledging that his counterparts in the foreign ministry would not determine her fate. “The people I speak to report into the supreme leader, but the judiciary and the military independently report into the supreme leader – so outside of the control of the people I talk to.”

The US imposed the final round of economic sanctions, including on oil exports, earlier this month in a bid to force Iran to renegotiate the nuclear agreement.

Hunt said the region was now a tinderbox. “We have the issue of sanctions. There is the regional rivalry between Saudi and Iran that is getting more and more dangerous, leading to proxy wars. There is the need for recognition of Israel’s borders.

“Put this together, and what you have is the first world war risk – that any small event can trigger a chain of events with utterly catastrophic consequences.”

Hunt was speaking to the Guardian from the British embassy at which the three allied war leaders – Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt – met 75 years ago to plot the victory over Nazi Germany. Hunt insisted that the UK retained an influence in the Middle East. “We are not a minor power in the Middle East, we are a significant player,” he said.

The foreign secretary is hoping that the UK is finally on the brink of a breakthrough to wind down the civil war in Yemen and has tabled a UN resolution that allows for a cessation of hostilities leading to the start of peace talks in Stockholm at the end of this month.

He admitted a meeting last week with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh pressing the case for a UN ceasefire resolution had been “frank and difficult”, but insisted both sides had to make concessions to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.

The combination of war exhaustion, the imminence of renewed famine and the diplomatic disaster of a Saudi hit squad being exposed as behind the murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi has conspired to put the Saudis on the back foot in Yemen.

“The truth is this wording of the UN resolution has challenges for Saudis because it is saying that it has got to agree to confidence-building measures, for example, money being paid to central government employees, a humanitarian evacuation of the wounded and not bombing any of the areas necessary for aid to get through,” Hunt said. “The Saudis see risks in this because Houthis have got a track record of exploiting things that have got a humanitarian label.”

Hunt stressed that Saudi, and not Iran, remained the UK’s strategic partner in the Middle East, but his faith in Riyadh is clearly shaken. He insisted a Saudi inquiry into those ultimate responsibility for the actions of the hit squad might yet shape the future UK attitude to the country. But he stepped back from accusing the crown prince of masterminding the murder. “The Turks have said publicly they do not have a smoking gun, and I have not seen anything to contradict that view,” he said.

Hunt also said he disagreed with the US on the nuclear deal, saying Washington was entitled to change its mind “but it does not mean that their allies automatically have to change their minds”.

Zarif claimed the US sanctions would only increase Iranian resolve, but acknowledged they would hit ordinary people in an economy already reeling from inflation, a declining currency and high unemployment. He admitted all sides – Iran and Europe – were frustrated at the slow pace with which Europe was constructing counter-measures designed to revive trade links.

Europe has failed so far to find a means of sheltering European firms trading with Iran from the effect of intrusive sanctions. An increase in trade with Europe was always seen by Iran as the lure for signing the nuclear deal in 2015.

Despite his frustrations with Tehran, Hunt said: “It is still worth talking to Iran to see if there is a way through and to prevent the huge rivalry between Saudi and Iran turning into another version of the Iran-Iraq war. That is what all countries that have influence have to be thinking about.”

20 November 2018

Iran Regime Violates Human Rights & Plots Terrorism in EU

Following issuing  a joint statement by 150 Members of the European Parliament on condemning Iranian regime’s human rights abuses at home and its terrorist plots in Europe, MEP Gérard Deprez, chair of Friends of a Free Iran send a message stressing: “Human rights in Iran cannot be compromised or marginalized on the excuse of political considerations.”

He pointed out that the signatories were from the six major political groups in the European Parliament and represented 27 EU Member States. They include 4 Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament and 14 Committee and Delegation Chairs.

Gérard Deprez recalled that the signatories have expressed concerns for deteriorating situation of human rights and repression of women in Iran.

Regarding the volatile social atmosphere in Iran since late December last year, Mr. Deprez said: ‘Iranian cities have been the scenes of major uprisings and anti-regime protests, and people demand fundamental change.”

He emphasized: “Meanwhile the regime’s officials have acknowledged the role of “resistance units” of the opposition PMOI (MEK) in organizing protests and nationwide strikes. Tehran spends millions on a massive smear campaign throughout the western world, disseminating false news and misinformation against this main opposition movement.”

Gérard Deprez Concluded: “Unable to defeat the protesters at home, the regime launched a new wave of terrorism against opposition activists abroad. In recent months, several Iran regime’s terror plots have been neutralized by European and American Security agencies. An Iranian diplomat arrested in Germany is now facing trial in Belgium.”

Gérard Deprez cited: “France has officially sanctioned Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and accused it of being behind the bomb plot targeting the opposition NCRI’s Free Iran gathering in Paris on 30 June 2018, and last month, Denmark recalled its ambassador from Iran over a foiled assassination plot targeting Iranian dissidents living in Denmark,” he added.

Mr. Deprez recited that the MEPs criticized the current EU approach towards Iran, quoting: “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,” the EU lawmakers emphasized that “we must hold the Iranian regime accountable for its terror plots and expel Iranian Intelligence Ministry operatives from Europe.”

“They also urged Albanian government which is hosting several thousand Iranian opposition refugees “not to permit Iranian agents on its territory” after an Iranian bomb plot was foiled near Tirana earlier this year,” Gérard Deprez, chair of Friends of a Free Iran – an informal intergroup with a large following in the European Parliament, stipulated.

20 November 2018

Iranian Regime: The End Is in Sight

Domestic tension in Iran is still high.

Since the end of last year, the people of Iran have been taking to the street in protest against the Iranian regime. They have been calling for regime change for a number of reasons, in particular because of the dire economic situation, rising unemployment, poor employment conditions, the disregard of human rights and the widespread corruption.

While domestic pressure is rising, international pressure is also on the increase. The latest round of U.S. sanctions has taken effect and the Trump administration has not ruled out further sanctions. The aim of the sanctions is to cut the regime off from the funding that it uses to finance terrorist proxy groups and militias in the region.

The Trump administration has been very clear that pressure will continue to mount unless the regime drastically changes its behaviour. It has recognised Iran as the number one threat to peace and security in the region and it is determined to hold the regime accountable for its bad choices.

When crippling economic sanctions had previously been lifted, Iran decided to spend the billions of dollars that were freed up on malign activities abroad rather than on the people of Iran and the deteriorating social services and infrastructure.

Many sectors of society are taking to the street in major nationwide protests. Truck drivers, with the respect of the people of the country, have been particularly active. They are joined by workers in other sectors such as the steel industries, teachers and shopkeepers. Truck drivers have been holding their protests in more than 75 cities across the country, showing that the social discontent is not just limited to a few parts of the country.

As usual, predictable as ever, the Iranian regime responds to the discontent by further suppressing the people. But it is playing a dangerous game because it is doing nothing but making the people even more determined in their quest for regime change. The more the regime carries out mass arrest of minorities, the more it suppresses women, the more it tortures political prisoners, the more it executes prisoners of conscience, the more the people want to fight back against the regime.

Years ago, it would have been unheard of for the people to speak out about the Supreme Leader and the regime, but now the brave people of Iran have realised that they have nothing left to lose. They are risking arrest, torture, imprisonment and even execution to guarantee a future Iran that is free from clerical rule.

And it is certain that the day the people have been longing for, a day in which freedom, human rights and democracy are restored, is coming soon.

The people are certainly going to be the regime’s downfall and it is essential for the international community to maintain pressure.

Even internally things are not going well for the regime. Regime MPs are speaking out in Parliament and asking Hassan Rouhani how he is going to deal with the issues.

They too know that nothing will be done.

20 November 2018

19 million people live in Iran’s slums

A large number of people live in Iran’s slums as poverty grow at an unprecedented speed in a country riddled with economic and social crises.

Official numbers put the number of slum dwellers in Iran at 19 million, (out of a population of 80 million) who live in 3,000 slums all over Iran.

This means that from every four people in Iran, one is a slum dweller.

The slums are highly populated urban residential areas with closely packed, decrepit housing units that have deteriorated or have incomplete infrastructure, and are inhabited by impoverished, mostly uneducated persons.

Most of Iran’s slums lack reliable sanitation services, supply of clean water, reliable electricity, and other basic services.

Recently, Tasnim state-run News Agency detailed the condition of slum dwellers in Sistan and Baluchistan, the most underdeveloped, desolate, and poorest of Iran’s provinces, in a November 10 report.

“Sistan and Baluchestan has the most number of slum dwellers in Iran.

From the 2.7 million inhabitants, 500,000 live in slums,” the news agency wrote.

The state-run media went on to write that the town of Chabahar, which is on the coast of the Gulf of Oman with a predominantly Baluch population, had the most slum dwellers with half the population living in slums.

“From the 112,000 inhabitants of Chabahar, 56,000, which mean half of the population, live in the fringes,” it said.

According to Tasnim, slum dwellers are deprived of minimum living standards including electricity and plumbing. Not even one meter of piping has been installed in the Chabahar slums and according to the inhabitants, they buy water from tankers at very high prices, sometimes up to 100,000 tomans.

But their most important problem is electricity which has even taken the lives of the slum dwellers.

All the marginal areas of Chabahar lack standard electricity and power grids. The inhabitants have connected nonstandard wires from electricity sources from nearby streets to their homes to provide minimum lighting at nights and get rid of the heat during the day.

The electric company not only does not address the lack of electricity but actually charges more than usual for the nonstandard wiring.

The residents say that there have also been casualties due to the electricity wires when children who were playing around the wires died due to electric shocks.

 “56,000 have been deprived of minimum services including electricity. And when they do receive electricity permits, they are charged more than normal despite their poverty and still have nonstandard wiring,” the Chabahar representative in Iran’s Parliament Abdul Ghafour Iranjad said, adding that slum dwellers had lost their loved ones as a result.

It was not clear from the report how many children had lost their lives as a result of electric shocks.

21 November 2018

12 Teachers Detained In Iran and 30 Others Summoned To Court after Teachers’ Strike (Late Report)

At least 12 teachers have been detained wile 30 activists were summoned and interrogated during a nationwide teachers’ strike on November 13 and 14.

In a November 15 statement published on Telegram the Teachers’ Trade Organizations’ Coordination Council said that more than 12 teachers were arrested since Sunday while at least 30 activists were summoned and interrogated.

“Activists were summoned to the Intelligence Agency, Revolutionary Guards Corps Intelligence Department, Protection Agencies and Security Police in almost all the provinces that participated in the strikes,” the statement said.

“At least 30 activists including Eskandar Lotfi, a member of the Iran Teachers’ Coordination Council were summoned and interrogated, while more than 50 threatening messages were received by activists.”

The Council said that more than 12 teachers were arrested since Sunday.

“Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh, the Secretary of the Iran Teachers’ Trade Association in North Khorasan Province, who was detained after the October strike and was just recently released, was arrested again after intelligence agents raided his home on Monday. Following his arrest, five other members of the Managing Board of the North Khorasan Teachers’ Association were detained. They have been identified as Saied Hagh Parast, Ali Forotan, Hamidreza Rajaie, and Hossein Ramezanpour and were all taken to an unknown location,” the Teachers’ Trade Organizations’ Coordination Council said in its statement.

The Council reported that Pirouz Nami and Ali Korushat, two other activists were detained in Khuzestan Province. Security forces confiscated Mr. Nami’s phone and sent fake messages to other teachers saying that the strike had been cancelled.

Reports also indicate that another activist Mohammad Robati and Ms. Vaezi were arrested in Shirvan, northeast Iran.

Teachers and activists were also arrested in Fars and Arak. They include Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh, Mohammad Kord and Fatemeh Bahmani.

While condemning the crackdown and arrests, the Teachers’ Trade Organizations’ Coordination Council warned the authorities against the consequences of arrests.
The council also urged the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the detainees, put an end to crackdown on trade unionists and framing up against them.

“It is obvious that if the suppression continues, the Coordination Council deems necessary the right hold legal protests based on the constitution,” the Council said.

Iranian teachers have went on a nationwide strike on November 13 and 14 to demand better working conditions for their poorly paid profession, one month after their last mass protest.

In a statement published on Telegram, the Coordinating Council of Teachers Syndicates in Iran said it was staging its “second round” of strikes since October to pressure the government to carry out educational reforms and end mismanagement. It said teachers also were protesting low wages and perceived violations of the educational rights of students and minorities.

The strikes and sit-ins were held despite various forms of threats and harassments by the regime’s repressive organs and forces and the summoning and arrests of a number of teacher activists.

The second day of the second round of strikes and sit-ins of teachers took place in more than 40 cities including Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Yazd, Kermanshah, Ilam, Hamedan, Ardebil, Jolfa, Babol, Sari, Noshahr, Langrood, Karaj, Shahriar, Shahr-e Ray, Saveh, Sanandaj, Baneh, Saqqez, Marivan, Ivan-e Gharb, Sirvan, Chaboksar, Kazerun, Lamerd, Homayounshahr, Jam, Asaluyeh, Bushehr, Qazvin, Zanjan, Shahr-e Kord, and Charmahal-e Bakhtiari.

21 November 2018

The 17th day of protests by workers of Haft Tapeh sugar cane company

On Wednesday, the workers of the Haft Tapeh sugar cane company in Shush, Khuzestan, began the 17^th day of their demonstrations in protest to unpaid wages, the arrest of their colleagues and the government’s lack of response to their demands.

The protesters were chanting, “Imprisoned workers must be freed.” The protesters were holding pictures of imprisoned workers.

Last week, the Iranian regime’s security forces arrested several of the protesters and their spokespersons. On Monday, under the pressure of mounting tensions and expanding protests, regime officials released all but four of the protesters and a local reporter.

The regime has yet to respond to the demands of the workers.

Haft Tapeh is the largest sugar cane factory in Iran and one of the largest in the Middle East. But due to the destructive economic policies of the Iranian regime, the company is on the verge of bankruptcy. This will negatively affect the livelihoods of the thousands of workers who work at the factory and their families who depend on their income.

During Wednesday’s protests, the families of the workers accompanied them in the demonstrations. The just cause of the disenfranchised workers has earned widespread support in Iran and across the world.

Yesterday, students in Tehran held a gathering in support of the workers of Haft Tapeh, saying, “We are all from Haft Tapeh and we will stand with you till the end.”

According to the Haft Tapeh workers syndicate, the Union of England’s school teachers published a statement, calling for the release of the imprisoned workers.

The Iranian regime has tried to quell the protests with repression and empty promises. But the workers of Haft Tapeh are determined to continue their protests until their demands are met.

21 November 2018

Brussels: PMOI / MEK supporters rally against Iranian regime’s 

terrorism

Coinciding with the session of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday November 19, during which the Iranian regime’s export of terrorism to the Green Continent was discussed, a large number of Iranian supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK) rallied outside the European Union headquarters condemning Tehran’s terror plots.

The demonstrators called on the European Union to blacklist the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), closing down all of Tehran’s embassies in Europe that are being used by the mullahs as espionage centers, and expelling the regime’s operatives from Europe back to Iran. 

These Iranians also expressed their solidarity with the protesting workers of Haft Tapeh sugar cane mill in Shush, National Steel Group employees in Ahvaz and people from other sectors of Iran’s society that are continuing their protests against the mullahs’ regime.

The Danish Foreign Ministry has summoned its ambassador in Tehran on Tuesday afternoon following the arrest of an Iranian regime intelligence agent in this country.

At a press conference, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Sameulsen said his country will be seeking to impel the European Union to issue new sanctions against Tehran in reaction to the Iranian regime’s measures to carry out this attack.

Morteza Moradian, the Iranian regime’s ambassador in Copenhagen, was summoned and informed “very clearly” that “how important and unacceptable” this issue is, according to Sameulson.

Iran’s plotting to assassinate on Danish soil is totally unacceptable. Danish ambassador to Tehran has been recalled for consultations.

The Danish intelligence service has arrested an Iranian regime Ministry of Intelligence agents intending to carry out a terror attack in Denmark, according to Danish security service chief Finn Borch Andersen. The Iranian regime had plotted a terror attack in Denmark and intended to assassinate a member of an Ahvazi group.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen also reacted to this issue, emphasizing the subject will be raised with the European Union.

During a televised press conference, Borch Andersen noted that the Iranian regime already was suspected of targeting opposition groups abroad, according to the Associated Press. He cited a foiled bombing attack that targeted a June rally organized by an Iranian opposition group near Paris.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen on Tuesday both described an alleged Iranian attack in Denmark “totally unacceptable.” The country will respond and speak with European partners about “further steps,” they said in separate statements, according to the Associated Press.

In a recent video message to a session held on October 4 focusing on the Iranian regime’s new wave of terrorism and reactions from Europe and the United States, Iranian opposition President Maryam Rajavi emphasized how the mullahs have said time and again that their victory relies on spreading terror. As a result, forcing Western governments to remain silent would be a major victory for them.

The most destructive type of appeasement in the face of the Iranian regime’s religious dictatorship is remaining silent following terror attacks, she added. Unfortunately, this policy is widely witnessed today in Europe. This is a mistake and Iranian refugees and Europe’s security will be paying the price. 

Mrs. Rajavi highlighted the following on behalf of the Iranian people:

- A firm policy is necessary against the Iranian regime.

- Their terrorist dossiers must be made public.

- Close this regime’s embassies, known espionage/terror centers.

- Don’t do business with companies linked to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and other state-controlled firms. Any such deals with these entities will be tantamount to financing terrorism.

- Do not remain silent in the face of executions, prisoners being tortured and human rights violations in Iran.

- Perpetrators of Iran’s crimes against humanity in the past 40 years must face justice.

And to prevent the Iranian regime’s terror plots in European countries, the European Union should implement its 29 April 1997 initiative on the Iranian regime’s operatives and intelligence agents.

- Stop all bilateral meetings and visits to Iran by ministers and senior government officials

- Confirming the EU member states’ policy of not providing weapons to the Iranian regime

 - Cooperation aimed at guaranteeing visas not being issued for Iranians related to the regime’s intelligence and security apparatus; focusing on expelling the Iranian regime’s intelligence operatives from EU members states.

21 November 2018

Political prisoners declare their support for protesting workers

As the workers of Haft Tapeh sugar cane mill in Shush and Ahvaz Steel company respectively entered the 17th and 12th day of their strikes and protests, they are garnering increasing support from different communities inside Iran. In an open letter, the political prisoners of Gohardasht prison declared their support for and solidarity with the workers who have stood up for their most basic rights.

“The glorious resistance and persistence of the hardworking workers of Haft Tapeh sugar mill and Ahvaz steel factory is the echo of enraged shouts of the workers and oppressed people who are fed up from the plundering and tyranny of a regime that is engulfed in corruption and thievery,” the letter of the political prisoners reads.

Both the workers of Haft Tapeh and Ahvaz Steel are protesting to months-long unpaid wages and poor working conditions.

Haft Tapeh is the largest sugar cane company of Iran and one of the largest in the Middle East. It accounts for thousands of jobs and the main source of income of thousands of families. Yet due to the destructive policies of the Iranian regime, the factory is on the verge of bankruptcy. The workers blame local and national government officials for the current situation. In other parts of the country, similar protests and strikes are ongoing.

“The people [of Iran] who have been witness to the plundering of their possessions and labour on a daily basis, and whose wealth and assets are being spent on warmongering and suppressing their protests are now fully aware of who the real enemy is,” the letter of political prisoners continue.

As protests that started in December continue to rage across different parts of Iran, the Iranian regime has tried to lay the blame of the country’s economic woes on foreign states. But the protesters, who have seen the regime spend billions of dollars’ worth of Iran’s wealth, all paid out of the people’s pockets, to fuel wars and sectarian violence in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, know pretty well who is the real culprit for Iran’s bankrupt economy. In their protests, the Iranian people have criticized the regime for its costly foreign intervention and have clearly called the regime with all its factions the true enemy of the people. 

The political prisoners finish their letter by reiterating their support for the workers of Ahvaz and Shush.

“While stressing our support for the noble workers of Haft Tapeh and Ahvaz Steel, we the political prisoners of Gohardasht hail their commitment and call on all other suppressed communities to unite with them,” the prisoners write. “We believe that the only solution against the tyranny is uprisings and protests. The national unity of all walks of life and suppressed communities will eventually defeat the tyrants.”

21 November 2018

The lies that Javad Zarif told

Recently, there was a Twitter quarrel between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in which each accused the other of lying.

In the wake of that, it is reasonable to put Zarif’s sincerity into perspective.

In 2015, in an interview with Charlie Rose, Zarif said of Iran’s regime, “We do not jail people for their opinions."

That is a lie!

Since the beginning of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian people have been imprisoned for their religion, political affiliations, and for expressing their opinions about the regime itself.

Just recently, May Kholousi and her daughter Saghi Fadaei, two Baha’i women living in Mashhad, were put in prison simply for practicing their faith. Sattar Beheshti of Robat-Karim was a blogger who died in November 2012 while jailed for criticizing the regime on Facebook. He had merely expressed his opinion.

And there are countless other examples easy to find.

In December 2017, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., unveiled debris from an Iranian-made ballistic missile that the Houthi rebels in Yemen had launched into Saudi Arabia. Zarif responded by going on a rampage on Twitter, accusing Haley of presenting fabricated evidence. A regime foreign ministry spokesperson later said Iran had "no arms links with Yemen” and that "weapons used by the Yemenis today are leftovers in the bases of previous governments.”

Not a year later, on Nov. 4, 2018, the Fars News Agency, a media platform close to the Revolutionary Guard, boasted that Iranian-designed Zalzal-2 missiles were used by Houthis to attack Saudi military positions in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a. Of course, Fars added that the missiles were “home-made” by the Yemeni army.

Notwithstanding, the components and the instructions for production of these missiles were likely supplied by the regime. So again, Zarif lied.

In an interview with Aljazeera last month, when he was asked whether Iran should be considered a democracy if it has been ruled by a supreme leader for 29 years, Zarif said that the Iranian people actually elect the supreme leader. Zarif claimed, "The supreme leader can be removed any day by a body that elected him. And that body was elected by the people."

Well, not exactly. The “body” Zarif is referring to is the Assembly of Experts. Members are “elected” after a vetting process by another body called the Guardian Council, and ultimately have to be approved by the supreme leader before gaining membership. The Assembly of Experts so far has never removed any leader.

To quote a 17th century English diplomat, an ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.

Zarif, however, does not lie for the benefit of his country, but rather for the good of the regime.

He puts on a spurious front for the regime to appear innocent and harmless before the international community.

That is why, this past spring, in reaction to Zarif’s dishonesty, Iranian dissidents created a hashtag on Twitter that said, ZaifIsALiar.

So if the Iranian people see Zarif as a swindler, how can the rest of the world view him otherwise?

21 November 2018

Iran Regime Won't Survive U.S. Sanctions

If you have any doubt that US sanctions on the Iranian regime will achieve the objectives that Donald Trump wants, then you should think again. While the immediate impact of the latest sanctions, targeting Iran’s oil and gas industry amongst other things, is likely to be minimal, the longer-term effects could be significant. Some are even predicting that they could make it nearly impossible for the Iranian Regime to sustain its current oil production.

On November 4, the US re-imposed bans on Iran regime’s oil exports, something that Trump had vowed to do after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal in May. This 2015 agreement between Iran and six world powers, including the US, agreed to lift international sanctions on the Regime in exchange for limitations on Iran's nuclear development program; something that Trump said never came to pass.

Some were sceptical about how much good sanctions would end up doing, especially after the US gave sanctions waivers to eight of Iran's largest energy customers, including China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Turkey.

Some have even speculated that a drop in Iran’s oil volume could increase the price of oil, which might mean that Iran’s oil revenues remain steady. Thankfully, the US push for other countries to increase their oil production will tamper this in time.

Others cited that the European Union and other signatories to the Iran deal have agreed to stay committed to the deal, with the possibility of a “special purpose vehicle” to bypass US sanctions, which would effectively render sanctions all but useless.

However, the SPV has major problems from the start, not least that no one is willing to host the headquarters and that it would still violate US sanctions. Many European companies have already seen the light and pulled out of Iran, including Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk and French energy giant Total.

Even if Iran can deal with the sanctions currently, it paints a completely different picture down the road, especially when the oil fields’ production falls off, especially due to the wasteful recovery techniques used, and Iran lacks the investment to develop more. So eventually Iran's energy sector will become less tenable.

In fact, Iran already uses just over 50% on their natural gas production domestically, for their household, commercial, and small industries sectors, and consumption there is only rising. While another 14% goes to the production of petrochemical products to export, like ethylene and propylene, which are the building blocks for manufacturing plastics, fibres, and other chemicals, and make up a large proportion of Iran’s non-oil exports to China.

This will soon mean that the Iranian Regime is forced to choose between exporting energy and quite literally keeping the lights on at home.

21 November 2018

Maryam Rajavi on the Third Option for Dealing with Iran Regime

In the West, it is widely believed that there two ways to deal with the Iranian Regime: appeasement or war. Since 1979, appeasement has won out and most countries have bent over backwards to ignore the Regime’s atrocities in order to avoid all-out war, which would have its own problems.

However, there is a third option, put forth by Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, which is supporting regime change in Iran that is brought about by the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance.

Maryam Rajavi advised that no concession would stop the mullahs from their disastrous path, as the Regime is “a medieval theocracy that lacks the capacity to reform”.

After all, the principle of absolute clerical rule is a pillar of the constitution that cannot ever be changed, not that the mullahs would allow it anyway.

This principle undermines any notion of democracy and solidifies the unchecked rule of the mullahs.

Maryam Rajavi said: “Let there be no doubt: European policies such as critical dialogue, constructive engagement and human rights dialogue will not change anything as far as the regime is concerned. Appeasement is not the way to contain or change the regime. Nor is the path to avoid another war. Appeasement only emboldens the mullahs.”

“But war with Iran would threaten the lives of everyday Iranians, could leave the country vulnerable to malign groups wanting to take advantage of a power vacuum, and would undermine the legitimate Iranian opposition. After all, the mullahs already accuse the Resistance of being led by foreign interlopers.”

The equation of “either a military invasion or appeasement” is an exercise in political deception. A third option is within reach. The Iranian people and their organized resistance have the capacity and ability to bring about change.

The Iranian people have long been oppressed by the Regime, but as we have seen in the nationwide anti-regime protests of this year, the people are more than willing to fight back against the Regime, despite the inevitable brutal crackdown.

 ”The presence of protests in society reflects the Iranian people yearning for regime change. The presence of an organized resistance with 120,000 martyrs and more than half-a-million prisoners is indicative of the depth and the intensity of society’s rejection of the regime.”( Maryam Rajavi)

The Resistance, which leads most of the protests, has the power to overthrow the Regime and the will to bring democracy and freedom to Iran. This is something the mullahs are terrified of, according to Maryam Rajavi, which explains why the mullahs are so desperate to repress the protests and attack the Resistance abroad.

 “Why in all their international interactions, the mullahs demand the exertion of pressure on the resistance movement? Are all of these not indicative of the mullahs’ paranoia over the third option?”(Maryam Rajavi)

Maryam Rajavi explained that the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition of democratic forces, represents a majority of the Iranian nation and is the sole guarantee for Iran’s unity after the fall of the mullahs and the peaceful transfer of power. The NCRI has committed itself to arranging free elections for a constituent assembly within six months of regime change and handing over the affairs to the people’s elected representatives, with respect to all international covenants.

Maryam Rajavi said: “We want to rebuild Iran, which the mullahs have ruined, through the people’s participation, the return of our experts and friendship with the rest of the world. We seek neither the West’s money nor weapons. We want them to remain neutral between the Iranian resistance on one hand and the ruling regime on the other.”

22 November 2018

Iran Publicly Hangs Three Men in Shiraz

Iranian authorities hanged three men in public on Wednesday after they were convicted of Moharebeh (waging war against God) for armed robbery in Shiraz, south-central Iran.

The first defendant was also accused of killing a policeman.

The victims who were identified by the state media as Siamak Eslaminia, Kourosh Gholizadeh and Foad Ghanemi were hanged at the city’s Payam square.

“Tens of children between 3 to 10 years old were among crowd along with their parents,” the official IRNA news agency reported.

The video of the scene published by the state media highlights the use of public executions, in which officials publicly hang convicts from a large crane or a high place in front of crowds.
Iranian authorities have acknowledged public executions of at least 10 people so far this year.

Iran is one of the countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty.

In a report released on April 12, Amnesty International said “more than half (51%) of all recorded executions in 2017 were carried out in Iran.”

Iran ranks second in the world after China in terms of executions and has “carried out 84% of the global total number of executions with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.”

22 November 2018

U.S. Sanctions and Domestic Pressure Will Provoke Iranian Regime’s Collapse

The United States’ Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, has spoken about the Iranian regime and the effect the sanctions are having on it.

He said that because of the sanctions that the United States has re-imposed on Iran, many banks worldwide are concerned about dealing with the country. Hook also maintained, like Trump and numerous other officials in his administration, that Iran is the number one sponsor of terrorism around the world.

The Iranian regime, including President Hassan Rouhani, has boasted that it will ignore sanctions on its oil sector and will continue to export oil. However, Hook has advised that sanctions are going to be heavily enforced and the regime will not get away with bypassing sanctions like it has done in the past.

Speaking about the aim of the sanctions, he said: “We will impose our sanctions vigorously…and will deny this dictatorship the revenue it needs to fund malign activities in Europe and around the world.”

Hook also said that the Trump administration’s plan of action is to accelerate the path to ensuring Iran cannot export its oil so that the oil market stabilises.

The people of Iran are often largely ignored in mainstream media but they are putting maximum domestic pressure on the regime. They have been in the streets protesting and holding anti-government demonstrations since the end of last year. They know that the Iranian regime is incapable of reform and they know that it will never change.

The Iranian regime has had many chances over the years to reform and to put domestic issues first, not least when the crippling economic sanctions were lifted when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed.

The billions of dollars that were freed up when assets were unfrozen could have made a significant improvement to the Iranian economy, the country’s infrastructure and the quality of social services. However, the Iranian regime made the decision to spend billions of dollars on supporting terrorist proxy groups and militias across the region.

Although the people of Iran are ultimately the ones to suffer the consequences of the U.S. sanctions, despite them not being the targets, they understand that they are necessary.

If no pressure is put on the regime it will continue to plunder the nation’s wealth on malign activities. It will continue to support terrorist proxy groups and militias. It will continue to provoke environmental disasters in Iran. It will continue to be the number one threat to peace and security in the region. And it will continue to deny the people of Iran the most basic of human rights.

Already, more than a hundred global firms have stopped trading with Iran because they do not want to risk getting caught in the crosshairs of U.S. sanctions.

The regime is losing its grip on power fast and it is only a matter of time before it collapses.

And it will not be a moment too soon – not just for the people of Iran, but for the entire international community.

22 November 2018

Iran’s regime suffering from extensive regional isolation, says commerce figure

The Iranian regime lacks good relations with any of its 15 neighbors, says, deputy chair of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce.

“To say we have 15 neighbors is similar to giving medicine to a dead man,” said Majid Reza Hariri in a recent interview with the state-run ILNA news agency. “We must take into consideration this question of how many neighbours we actually have good relations with? We have no relations with the Persian Gulf countries; Turkmenistan has banned us from using its airspace; Azerbaijan has issues for our support of Armenia regarding the Gharre Baq matter. Therefore, when we claim there’s a market of 400 million people around us, we must not forget we have problems with 70 to 80 percent of this population… The first condition in trade is to establish decent relations. However, we don’t have good relations with our neighbors, especially rich countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.”

Hariri also shed light on a small portion of the Iranian regime’s destructive economic policies.

“We must realize that many of the world’s major cities, such as Hamburg, San Francisco and New York are located near free waters. However, in our country, the port cities are amongst our poor areas and 90 percent of the areas from Abadan (southwest Iran) to Chabahar (southeast Iran) are poor,” he added.

“We have launched a number of factories in the central parts of the country that have resulted in nothing but destroying the environment and wasting our water sources,” Hariri explained.

Asadollah Asgaroladi, a known figure of the mullahs’ economic mafia, heads the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce. 

An open-door session of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament) back in September shed new light on the country’s economy and poor living condition of ordinary Iranians.

“To those government officials who are trying comfort themselves with unreal statistics, our workers and employees, young and old, are all living in conditions with inflation reaching 60 or 70 percent,” said Majlis member Mohsen Bigleri. “Mr. Rouhani, we have five million unemployed people and most of them are college educated, and yet they’re struggling to procure their next meal… The prices of people’s basic necessities, such as meat, poultry, dried goods and fruits have increased more than 70 percent…”

Sedif Badri, another member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament) expressed concerns about the inflation and skyrocketing prices.

“The government’s weak and indefensible economic practices… unbridled inflation increase and skyrocketing prices, are imposing pressures on the lower class of our society and has completely disappointed our middle class… the people are truly being crushed under these conditions…” she added.

Alaedin Borujerdi, a member of the Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Affairs Commission, cited foul practices in Iran’s petrochemical industry.

“The petrochemical industry presents its own products in the stock market. Informed dealers purchase the products instantly… and these products are then sold to needy factories at extremely higher prices. The factories are forced to either not purchase the raw material or as a result increase the prices of their own goods to an extreme extent. This results in inflation; people lack purchasing power and finally workers are fired from factories,” he explained.

Hossein-Ali Shahriari of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament):

“Are you aware that people have no income? Are you aware that the people’s drinking water has serious problems? Are you informed that people are leaving their ancestral homes and resorting to living in city slums…? What crime have these people committed to be punished like this?”

As explained by another Majlis member by the name of Gholamreza Sharafi, social issues in Iran are evolving into security matters.

“People in parts of Abadan (in southwest Iran) haven’t had decent drinking water for 17 years… These innocent people rarely see a blue sky due to air contamination. These people have the sea, yet non-standard laws have made fishing difficult for them. These people once had the best dates production in the region. Today, however, their share of agriculture water is stolen and they are witnessing their date trees being destroyed,” he said. “4.3 million date trees have been lost.”

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the corruption, crimes and theft taking place by Iranian regime officials. It’s strange how various European countries continue to seek appeasement deals with this regime that is engulfed in theft and corruption.

The Iranian people, and the resistance units associated to the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK), are seeking to bring an end to this regime.

This regime’s days are numbered and those companies continuing to seek economic incentives should better plan for the future.

22 November 2018

Iran had Secret Plans to Build Five Nuclear Warheads

A new bombshell report based on a secret trove of seized Iranian nuclear documents shows the Islamic Republic had concrete plans to manufacture and build at least five nuclear weapons and that it was much further along in this scheme than previously known by the international community.

Iran's contested nuclear weapons program was much further along than the international community thought, according to a report based on scores of secret Iranian plans seized by Israel and publicly disclosed for the first time earlier this year.

Information obtained in this raid on Iran's secretive nuclear files has revealed that Tehran was well along the path to building several nuclear weapons by around 2003, including the complex infrastructure needed to produce such weapons, according to a new report from the Institute for Science and International Society, a nuclear watchdog group that has exposed in the past the extent of Iran's nuclear works.

The report is being viewed as a bombshell revelation on Capitol Hill and is seen as validating critics of the Obama administration who alleged the former White House has underestimated the extent of Iran's nuclear weapons progress.

"Iran intended to build five nuclear warheads, each with an explosive yield of 10 kilotons and able to be delivered by ballistic missile," the group disclosed in a new report that shows Iran has retained much of its nuclear infrastructure and could continue using it to clandestinely conduct weapons work in violation of the landmark nuclear accord.

"Iran's initial plans show that it had achieved much more than feasibility and scientific studies relating to nuclear weapons, as the IAEA assessed in late 2015, as the Iran nuclear deal was being implemented," according to the group, which based its report on access it was granted to the seized Iranian nuclear documents, which show the regime allocated millions of dollars to the purchase of nuclear materials, including uranium, the key component in a bomb.

"Iran had put in place by the end of 2003 the infrastructure for a comprehensive nuclear weapons program," according to the report. "The evidence supports that Iran was preparing to conduct an underground test of a nuclear weapon, if necessary. The end goal was to have tested, deliverable nuclear weapons, and Iran made more progress toward that goal than known before the seizure of the archives."

Iran hawks on Capitol Hill say the report confirms warnings from many that the Obama administration downplayed Iran's nuclear activities in a bid to ink the nuclear pact with Iran.

"Republicans have long known that the Obama administration lied to the country about the Iran deal," said one senior Republican congressional official familiar with the report. "Just a few months ago PSI published documents showing they lied to Congress about enforcing sanctions and giving dollar access."

The latest disclosures are fuelling the push in Congress for the Trump administration to re-impose greater economic sanctions on Iran, a portion of which went back into effect earlier this month. Some in Congress have called on the Trump administration to go further in its actions, including by fully cutting off Iran's oil exports and access to international financial markets.

"Now this report shows they also lied about Iran's nuclear weapons work," the source said. "You can expect congressional Republicans to increase pressure on the Trump administration to implement maximum pressure on Iran, which they still aren't doing."

Iran was poised to construct at least five nuclear warheads based on its weapons work at the time, according to the new report, which also found that Tehran's nuclear infrastructure was far more sophisticated than previously believed.

"Iran made far more progress toward its goal of manufacturing five nuclear weapons than known before the seizure of the archives," according to the watchdog group.

Information about Iran's nuclear activities, although far less complete, was kept hidden from the public as the Obama administration pressed the international community to support the nuclear agreement.

"It must be acknowledged that at that time, the IAEA and the JCPOA parties, appeared to be downplaying the Iranian nuclear weapons program so as not to stand in the way of starting the implementation of the JCPOA in January 2016," the report found, noting that international nuclear inspectors have yet to take a stance on the new information.

"Today, the IAEA has in its possession much of the content from the Iranian archive; it should be expected to act on this information, something that is not yet visible, after six months of examining the new information.

This nuclear infrastructure remains intact, further fueling concerns about what Iran has been hiding from nuclear inspectors, who must give Iran advance notice of any inspections and refrain from entering the country's contested military sites.

"The continued existence of the Iranian nuclear archive and warehouse reinforces that the Iranian nuclear program's remains, and likely some activities, may have continued up to today," the group said.

22 November 2018

Baha’i women arrested or imprisoned for their faith

Five Baha’i women were recently arrested or imprisoned for their faith in the cities of Mashhad, Isfahan and Tabriz.

Baha'i women, Monica Alizadeh (Aghdassi) in Tabriz, and Nasrin Khajeh and Mojgan Khoshhal in Isfahan were arrested by intelligence forces.

Mrs. May Kholousi and her daughter, Saghi Fadaii, were also taken to jail to serve their prison sentences.

Monica Alizadeh was arrested in Tabriz on Sunday, November 18, 2018, and taken to an unknown location.

In a wave of persecution of Baha'is in Iran, the regime's troops raided the house of Ms. Mojgan Khoshhal in Isfahan on Thursday, November 15, 2018, arresting 18 Baha'i citizens including two Baha'i women, Nasrin Khajeh and Mojgan Khoshhal.

Earlier, two Baha'i women residing in Mashhad, Mrs. May Kholousi and her daughter, Saghi Fadaii, had been taken to the Prison of Mashhad on October 31, 2018, to serve their sentences.

The two Baha'i women had been ordered in March to spend one year in prison by the 3rd Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad for disseminating propaganda against the state. The Revision Court upheld this verdict on August 26, 2018, and the two Baha'i women were finally transferred to the Prison of Mashhad.

Three Baha'i women - Bahareh Zaini (Sobhanian), Sepideh Rouhani, and Foujan Rashidi - were also among some 40 Baha'i citizens who were arrested and jailed in Shiraz in October.

Baha'i women are subject to intimidation, harassment, and dismissal from work and school. Azita Rafizadeh, a Baha'i woman, is serving her years in Evin Prison just for teaching in a college whose Baha'i students have been deprived of education in other universities. Her husband, Payman Kushkbaghi, is also imprisoned on the same charge in Gohardasht Prison. The couple have a 7-year-old son.

Baha’i women and citizens are systematically deprived of their human rights while according to article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, “everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.”

22 November 2018

85 women executed in Iran under Rouhani

According to the data collected from material published by the Iranian state-run press, human rights activists and their websites, or from private sources in touch with the Iranian Resistance, 85 of those executed during Rouhani's tenure have been women.

Nevertheless, the actual figures are definitely higher, as most executions in Iran are carried out secretly without anyone knowing except those who carry it out.

For more information see Schedule A attached to this report

22 November 2018

Women Political Prisoner Atena Daemi Summoned To Prosecutor’s Office

Atena Daemi held at the women’s ward of Evin Prison was verbally notified on November 13, 2018, by the prison authorities that she had been summoned to the Branch 5 of Evin Prosecutor’s Office on November 14, 2018.

Political prisoner Atena Daemi did not appear at the Prosecutor’s Office because she had not received any written subpoena.

In similar cases, such summons has ended up turning into false allegations filed against political prisoners by prison authorities or intelligence agencies.

It is unclear why political prisoner Atena Daemi since she has been in jail.

Women human rights defenders are at particular risk of persecution because they defy traditional gender norms by publicly advocating for human rights.

Atena Daemi is serving seven years in jail for criticising Iran’s death penalty on social media.

She handed out leaflets, and took part in a peaceful protest against the execution of a young woman. These activities have been cited as “evidence” of her criminal activity in a sham trial which lasted just 15 minutes.

During her detention Atena Daemi has repeatedly proclaimed her positions against the death penalty and the regime’s oppressive measures on various occasions. In a letter dated May 25, 2018, addressing the regime’s officials she wrote, “Yes gentlemen, know that however much you resort to violence and oppression, there are many who prefer to die rather than submit to oppression.”

Daemi has been kept in horrific conditions; in a jail which is overcrowded and unhygienic.

She has been denied access to urgent medical assistance. She has been sexually assaulted by prison guards and has undergone a number of hunger strikes to protest the conditions of her detention.

Earlier this year, she went on hunger strike to protest her transfer to a notorious prison.

Her health has deteriorated alarmingly in prison.

Political prisoner Atena Daemi along with two of her cellmates, Golrokh Iraee and Maryam Akbari Monfared, were deprived of family visits for three weeks upon an oral notice by the head of the women’s ward. Prison agents argued that the reason for this illegal measure was the prisoners’ verbal conflict, shouting slogans in the meeting hall.

The three women political prisoners requested to see the written copy of the verdict and the charges stated therein, but the head of the women’s ward said the order had been verbally communicated by Chaharmahali, the prison warden and the prosecutor’s office, and no written document was available.

22 November 2018

Eight Members of Iran’s Baha’i Religious Minority Sentenced to Prison

In a wave of persecution of Baha’is in Iran, eight members of Baha’i community in Isfahan, were sentenced to a total of 42 years behind bars. They had been arrested on September 23.

According to the verdict, Afshin Bolbolan, Saham Armin, Milad Davaran, Farhang Sahba and Anoush Rayneh were each sentenced to six years behind bars while Fozhan Rashidi and Sepideh Rouhani each received four years. 

No information is available on the charges brought against the eight Baha’is.

They were arrested on September 23, following home raids. The state security forces inspected their homes and confiscated their personal items.

Iranian Baha’is Milad Davardan and Fozhan Rashidi, were sentenced to six and four years behind bars respectively.

Recently the government started another wave of crackdown against Iran ’s Baha’is as they are systematically persecuted.

Recently the Iranian government started another crackdown against Iran’s Baha’is as they are systematically persecuted.

In a wave of persecution of Baha’is in Iran, the state security forces raided the house of Baha’i woman Mojgan Khoshhal in Isfahan on November 15, 2018, arresting 18 Baha’i citizens.

Earlier, two Baha’i women residing in Mashhad, Mrs. May Kholousi and her daughter, Saghi Fadaii, had been taken to the Prison of Mashhad on October 31, 2018, to serve their sentences.

The two Baha’i women had been ordered in March to spend one year in prison by the 3rd Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad for disseminating propaganda against the state. The Revision Court upheld this verdict on August 26, 2018, and the two Baha’i women were finally transferred to the Prison of Mashhad.

There are numerous bitter examples of the crackdown on members of Iran’s Baha’i community during the past days.

Most recently, the body of a Baha’i woman identified as Shamsi Aghdasi Azamian was taken out of her grave in Gilandvand, a town in Damavand, few days after she was buried in the Baha’i Golestan Javid Cemetery. 

After Shamsi Aghdasi Azamian died on October 22, 2018, her family buried her in a cemetery in the nearby city of Damavand in Tehran Province. 

Days later, the body of a Baha’i woman Shamsi Aghdasi Azamian, was taken out of her grave and thrown in the surrounding fields.

Though the act of desecration was carried out by unknown persons and no one has taken responsibility, security forces had warned Baha’is in Gilandvand that they were not allowed to bury their deceased loved ones in this graveyard and had to bury them in Tehran.

After the body was found, security forces told her son that he had to transfer the body to the Behesht Zahra Cemetery in Tehran.

“He refused because the distance between Gilanvand and Tehran was more than an hour, because according to Baha’i burial rites, the distance between the place of death and burial should be no more than an hour away,” according to a close source. “Therefore, agents transferred Ms. Azamian’s body to Tehran themselves without the family’s permission”.

The Baha’i community is one of the most severely persecuted religious minorities in Iran. Iran’s Constitution does not recognize the faith as an official religion. Although Article 23 states that “no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief,” followers of the faith are denied many basic rights as one of the most severely persecuted religious minorities in the country. 

22 November 2018

18th day of strikes and protests by the workers of Iran’s Haft Tapeh sugar mill

The unprivileged workers of the Haft Tapeh sugarcane company in Shush, Khuzestan, gathered for the 18th consecutive day of their strikes on Thursday. The workers began their march toward the mayor’s office to protest against months-long unpaid wages and the arrest of their colleagues.

The workers are also demanding the eviction and removal of inefficient and corrupt private owners who control parts of the company and are responsible for the mismanagement and many corrupt practices.

Workers of Haft Tapeh protest for unpaid wages and unrecognized privileges

 The workers of Haft Tapeh began their strike 18 days ago. Since 10 days ago, the strikes have turned into demonstrations and marches in the city proper. The workers have earned the support of other workers, teachers, students, drivers and other communities in Khuzestan and across Iran. Haft Tapeh is the largest sugarcane factory of Iran and employs thousands of workers.

The Iranian regime has not responded to the needs of the workers. Instead, security forces arrested several protesters last week. Under pressure from expanding protests and fearing that the tensions might turn into more direct confrontation between the people and security forces, Iranian authorities released all but four of the detained workers.

Videos obtained from the scene show workers chanting, “Detained workers must be freed!”

Yesterday, the syndicate of the workers of Haft Tapeh called on all workers to gather for a demonstration in front of the mayor’s office in Shush.

“Today, the workers of Haft Tapeh know that it is only through unity and empathy that we can achieve our goals,” the statement by the syndicate reads. “We the workers of Haft Tapeh know that the demands of our imprisoned colleagues, especially Mr. [Esmaeil] Bakhshi, is the dismantlement of the private section of the company. Therefore, tomorrow and as many days as is required, with or without Bakhshi, without or without salary, we will continue our protest until the private section is dismantled.” 

The protest of Haft Tapeh workers has reached national and international scale. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), hailed the workers of Haft Tapeh for their courage and persistence and called on all Iranians and rights activists and organizations across the world to support them in achieving their demands. 

I urge my fellow compatriots, particularly the youth, to lend support to the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Factory and the Steel Mill of Ahvaz. — Maryam Rajavi - November 21, 2018 

Yesterday, in a statement published on it social media channel, the Council of Iranian Students expressed its solidarity with the workers of Haft Tapeh. The council blamed the Iranian regime and its corrupt policies for the bankruptcy of the country’s largest sugar factory and described the protests of Haft Tapeh workers as a big blow to the regime’s destructive policies.

“We students and activists see our destiny tied to that of the hardworking workers of our country, who despite harsh conditions have toiled to keep the country running. We declare our solidarity with the workers of Haft Tapeh and strongly condemn the arrest of protesting workers,” the council’s statement reads. 

The protests of Haft Tapeh workers is happening in tandem with similar strikes and protests by the workers of the Ahvaz steel company, also in Khuzestan province, who have been demonstrating for unpaid wages. The two groups have grown a strong bond in the past days and have become supportive of each other’s demands.

22 November 2018

Iranian Resistance’s Supporters’ Campaign in EU & Canada in Support Of Iranian Protesters

On Friday and Saturday (October 26th and 27th), the Iranian resistance’s supporters rallied in front of the parliament in Oslo, the capital of Norway; as well as in Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital and also in Malmo in Sweden and in Austria, in support of the Iranian protestors, workers, teachers and political prisoners especially the imprisoned teacher Hashem Khastar. They condemned the repressive acts of the mullahs’ theocratic regime.

The Iranian resistance’s supporters carried placards with their demands written on them: “European governments should demand the immediate release of detained Iranian protestors”, “Free imprisoned teachers”, and “Political prisoners must be freed”.

The Iranian resistance’s supporters also rallied in Netherland in front of the parliament. While condemning mullahs regime as the world’s number one executioner per capita, they called on EU and the international community to make their relation with Iran conditional on a halt in executions.

In a demonstration in front of the UN headquarters in Switzerland, the Iranian resistance’s supporters demanded a halt in the execution of the dissidents by the mullahs regime.

The Iranian resistance’s supporters also expressed their support for the Iranian teachers, especially Mr. Hashem Khastar, a known Teachers Union activist in the city of Mashhad, northeast of Iran, who was abducted by the Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC) intelligence and confined in a mental hospital.

It is to be mentioned that the clerical regime’s judiciary in the city of Arak, in a five-year suspended sentence, in order to intimidate protesting and striking workers, condemned 15 Hepco workers to 74 lashes and one to two years in prison for their protest rally in June of last year. The charges against the Hepco workers who were protesting non-payment of their salary and benefits, and failure to implement the deceptive promises of the regime, were mentioned as disrupting public order and propaganda against the regime.

This week, the Iranian resistance’s supporters held a rally in Sydney in support of and in solidarity with the political prisoners, teachers, and truckers.

Iranian resistance’s supporters’ campaign in EU & Canada in support of Iranian protesters

They condemned the suppression of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, in particular, the repression of compatriots in Ahvaz, and called for the unconditional release of all the protest detainees and political prisoners in Iran.

The Iranian resistance’s supporters chanted slogans in support of democracy and against human rights violations in Iran.

The demonstration was held with the support of the Association for the Defence of Freedom and Human rights in Iran-Australia, which was welcomed by passersby.

22 November 2018

US welcomes German firms' compliance on Iran sanctions

US Ambassador to Germany Grenell has welcomed German companies' decision to comply with US sanctions and stop business with Iran. Washington warned firms that do business with Iran that they could face repercussions.

The US ambassador to Berlin on Thursday said he was pleased with the actions of German companies that had stopped trading with Iran after fresh US sanctions were imposed on the country.

"We are very pleased that German businesses have decided to abide by the US sanctions," Grenell told the German news agency DPA in an interview.

"German business leaders have told us unequivocally that they will stop doing business with Iran and will abide by the US sanctions," he said. "So we are very pleased that the actions of the German business community have been very clear."

The US re-imposed sanctions on Iranian oil this month after US President Donald Trump pulled out of an international agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

Trump claimed the deal was flawed because it did not include restrictions on the development of ballistic missiles or Iran's support for militant groups in countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

Officials from the European Union and Iran have worked to create a new legal framework to protect companies that conduct business with Iran from US sanctions.

While praising some German firms in his DPA interview, Grenell accused those still doing business in Iran of helping to fund terrorist activities.

"If you are doing business with Iran, you are giving money to the Iranian regime, which spends massive amounts of money on terrorist activities," Grenell said.

Two rounds of US sanctions, the first in August and a subsequent one this month — targeting a broad range of industries and individuals — have been introduced, posing a dilemma for German and other European firms.

Businesses that breach the US sanctions risk being hit by secondary sanctions, including being barred from access to the US financial system.

22 November 2018

Iran’s auto parts industry could collapse in a week

There are reports that Iran’s auto parts industry, the second largest industry in the country, could completely collapse by next week.

The industry has faced numerous problems in the past few years including the sharp drop in production and the high number of employee layoffs.

According to an Iranian news agency, Iran’s auto parts industry has around 550,000 direct employees from which 30% have until now been laid off.

In a report published today, Tasnim added that another 70% had been suspended from work.

“It can be said that in 2018, around 100,000 workers became unemployed”, the news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards Corps said.

“If we do not quickly come up with a solution for the auto parts industry today, we will face a serious crisis next week,” the Secretary of the Part Maker’s Association said.

According to Tasnim, if the current problems in the car industry are not solved, the industry will face another wave of layoffs. The second wave will incorporate around 80,000 to 100,000 workers and will put the number of unemployed workers at 200,000 bringing with it an end to the auto parts industry.

According to a member of the Managing Board of the Supreme Center for Islamic Labor Councils, there are currently 180 large and small auto parts manufacturers in Alborz province which employ around 200,000 workers.

“Almost all the manufacturers are in dire condition mostly because Iran Khodro (IKCO) and SAIPA have not paid them their debts”, Ali Aslani added.

“These debts have gone unpaid even though the price of automobiles have increased,” he said adding that the result would be the unemployment of the 200,000 workers in Alborz province.

22 November 2018

Suicide takes lives of seven women in Tehran, north and western Iran

Seven women committed suicide in Tehran, and in cities of Fereydoon Kenar, Urmia, Sardasht, Oshnaviehand Likak in northern and western Iran, due to poverty and economic problems.

On the morning of Wednesday, November 14, 2018, an 11th grader young woman jumped from the third floor of her high school in Tehran. Attempts to save her life did not prove effective and she died in hospital.

On Tuesday, November 13, 2018, a young girl from Sheikh Tappeh district in Urmia, took her own life.

On Monday, November 12, 2018, Sima Damouri, a female student under 18 years, committed suicide in the city of Likak, Bahmai County, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province.

On Saturday, November 10, 2018, a 32-year-old woman named Troskeh Rasoulian, daughter of Ismail, hanged herself in the city of Oshnavieh and ended her life.

On Friday, November 9, 2018, a woman hanged herself in a village near Fereydoon Kenar, in Mazandaran Province. It was also reported that a 23-year-old woman from Bojnourd, South Khorasan Province, took her own life by taking rice pills in Fereydoon Kenar’s beach.

Saturday, November 4, 2018, Ameneh Ebrahimi, a 45-year-old woman from Sardasht, took her own life due to poverty.

From March to the end of October, 80 suicides of Iranian girls and women have been registered.

According to the annual statistics released by the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine in September 2018, in Iran, women's suicide rates in 2017 alone were more than 1,365 people, at least 4 women per day.

Suicide in Iran rates third highest among Islamic countries. According to the World Health Organization, the suicide rate of Iran in 2014 was 5,3 in every 100,000 people. Iranian women are more vulnerable to suicide than other groups in the society.

In 2007, Iran ranked the third country in which women were outnumbering men in committing suicide. According to a study published in 2008, women's suicide rate in Iran was double that of men.

22 November 2018

Motocross champion among Baha’i women arrested across Iran

Shahrzad Nazifi, a motocross champion, was arrested on Sunday, November 18, 2018, by security forces in Tehran and taken to Evin Prison.

Following the arrest of the motocross champion, security guards went to Ms. Nazifi’s house and after about 5 hours of inspections, they seized some of her personal belongings, including books, cell phone, and laptop.

Ms. Shahrzad Nazifi is a motocross coach of the Baha’i faith and one of the motocross champions in the motocross field in Iran.

In another report on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, Sepideh Keshavarz, a Baha'i woman was arrested by security forces at her house in Tehran and transferred to an unknown location.

During an inspection of her house, the security forces seized some of Ms. Keshavarz's books and her cell phone.

On the same day in Tehran, security forces ransacked the residence of Baha’i woman, Mahvash Edalati (Za’eri), for three hours and confiscated her books and personal belongings. They handed Ms. Edalati an undated subpoena and instructed her to go for interrogation whenever she is told to.

Also on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, Ms. Shabnam Essakhani, was arrested in Tabriz for her religious beliefs. Security forces inspected her house and took her to the Department of Intelligence of Tabriz where she was arrested. There is no news on the fate of Ms. Esakhani and why she was arrested.

In another report from Baharestan, in Isfahan, Ms. Anousheh Rayeneh was sentenced to six years in prison, and Bahareh Zaini, Foujan Rashidi and Sepideh Rouhani were each sentenced to four years in prison.  

Ms. Dori Amri, another Baha'i woman from Mashhad, was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state.” She was transferred to Mashhad Prison on Wednesday, October 31, 2018, to serve her one-year jail sentence, along with two other Baha'i women in Mashhad named Mrs. May Kholousi and her daughter, Saghi Fadaii. Ms. Amri was sentenced to one year in prison by the Third Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad, headed by Judge Soltani, in March 2018. The appeals court, which was held on August 26, 2018, upheld sentence.

Mitra Badr-nejad, a Baha'i woman from Ahvaz, who was previously detained and in an undetermined status, was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Mitra Badr-nejad is a Baha'i woman who was arrested in March and released on bail in April.

23 November 2018

Iran Lobby Silent on Rising Executions

Iran is the world leader in terms of execution per capita and execution of juveniles, but especially frequent are the public hangings of political, ethnic and religious prisoners from a construction crane.

Recently, they have increased their execution rates in response to widespread domestic protests, international pressure and returning US sanctions, which all mean that the mullahs are losing control and facing an economic crisis, brought on by decades of mismanagement and corruption, which has seen the currency dropped 70% against the dollar and led to inflation.

The latest example was the execution of Vahid Mazloumin, also known as the “Sultan of Coins”, a gold dealer who was accused by Iranian authorities of contributing to dramatic price rises by hoarding gold, which was a warning to Iranian merchants and businesses against undermining the Iranian Regime’s policies. He was sentenced to death in October, while his assistant, Mohammad Esmail Qassemi, was hanged last week on similar charges.

According to the state-run Fars news agency, Mazloumin didn’t hold a permit to trade gold and foreign currency and had created the largest illegal network in his area, amassing about 2 tons of gold coins and instructing his team to corner the gold coin market to resell at higher prices. Now, we don’t know how much of the Regime accusations are correct, but what we do know is that these sort of crimes should not carry the death sentence.

In fact, it’s a violation of international law.

The real reason that the Regime has targeted these men and other people accused of “disrupting the economy” is not to punish those responsible for the crisis – that is the fault of the mullahs – but to scare the public into submission and present the false message that everything is fine.

Just last week, 130 illegal currency traders were arrested in large-scale raids by the security forces and they may well receive the same treatment, which is to peg vague national security charges onto economic trials, according to the Independent.

Mazloumin’s trial and subsequent execution received harsh criticism from human rights groups who have long pointed out that Iran uses “kangaroo trials” to imprison large numbers of Iranians and dual-nationals, with Amnesty International calling the trial “grossly unfair”.

Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, said: “Iran’s hanging of people who have been convicted in courts without a fair trial is a blatant violation of the law.”

One group that has remained surprisingly silent though is the Iran Lobby, who supposedly advocate on behalf of the Iranian people, but really just promote the Regime’s view.

Laura Carnahan wrote: “What is notable with these new executions was the silence coming from the Iran lobby, especially groups such as the National Iranian American Council which ostensibly is supposed to advocate for the better treatment of Iranians. It’s too bad that doesn’t seem to apply to those who actions undermine the regime’s efforts to stay in power.”

23 November 2018

Commerce Figure Says Iran’s Regime Suffers from Regional Isolation

Majid Reza Hariri, the deputy chair of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce stated in a recent interview with the state-run ILNA news agency, “To say we have 15 neighbors is similar to giving medicine to a dead man.” He explained, “We must take into consideration this question of how many neighbors we actually have good relations with?

We have no relations with the Persian Gulf countries; Turkmenistan has banned us from using its airspace; Azerbaijan has issues for our support of Armenia regarding the Gharre Baq matter. Therefore, when we claim there’s a market of 400 million people around us, we must not forget we have problems with 70 to 80 percent of this population… The first condition in trade is to establish decent relations. However, we don’t have good relations with our neighbors, especially rich countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.”

In short, Hariri claimed that the Iranian regime lacks good relations with any of its 15 neighbors. He also highlighted a small portion of the Iranian regime’s destructive economic policies. “We must realize that many of the world’s major cities, such as Hamburg, San Francisco and New York are located near free waters. However, in our country, the port cities are amongst our poor areas and 90 percent of the areas from Abadan (southwest Iran) to Chabahar (southeast Iran) are poor,” he said, and added, “We have launched a number of factories in the central parts of the country that have resulted in nothing but destroying the environment and wasting our water sources.”

The Iran-China Chamber of Commerce is headed by Asadollah Asgaroladi, a known affiliate of the regime’s leaders.

Iran’s Majlis (parliament), in an open-door session last September discussed the country’s economy and poor living condition of ordinary Iranians. Majlis member Mohsen Bigleri, declared, “To those government officials who are trying comfort themselves with unreal statistics, our workers and employees, young and old, are all living in conditions with inflation reaching 60 or 70 percent.” Bigleri added, “Mr. Rouhani, we have five million unemployed people and most of them are college educated, and yet they’re struggling to procure their next meal… The prices of people’s basic necessities, such as meat, poultry, dried goods and fruits have increased more than 70 percent…”

Another member of the Majlis, Sedif Badri, expressed her concerns about the inflation and skyrocketing prices. “The government’s weak and indefensible economic practices… unbridled inflation increase and skyrocketing prices, are imposing pressures on the lower class of our society and has completely disappointed our middle class… the people are truly being crushed under these conditions…”

A member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Affairs Commission, Alaedin Borujerdi, cited foul practices in Iran’s petrochemical industry. “The petrochemical industry presents its own products in the stock market. Informed dealers purchase the products instantly… and these products are then sold to needy factories at extremely higher prices. The factories are forced to either not purchase the raw material or as a result increase the prices of their own goods to an extreme extent. This results in inflation; people lack purchasing power and finally workers are fired from factories,” he explained.

Majlis member, Hossein-Ali Shahriari said, “Are you aware that people have no income? Are you aware that the people’s drinking water has serious problems? Are you informed that people are leaving their ancestral homes and resorting to living in city slums…? What crime have these people committed to be punished like this?”

And Majlis member, Gholamreza Sharafi, described the way social issues in Iran are evolving into security matters. “People in parts of Abadan (in southwest Iran) haven’t had decent drinking water for 17 years… These innocent people rarely see a blue sky due to air contamination. These people have the sea, yet non-standard laws have made fishing difficult for them. These people once had the best dates production in the region. Today, however, their share of agriculture water is stolen and they are witnessing their date trees being destroyed,” he said. “4.3 million date trees have been lost.”

This is only a small part of the corruption, mismanagement, and crimes that Iranian regime officials are believed to be perpetrating. Yet, European countries continue to seek appeasement deals with this regime.

The Iranian people seeking to bringing an end to this regime with the help of the resistance units associated to the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK). Perhaps this regime’s days are coming to an end, so companies continuing to do business with Iran should find a better plan.

2 November 2018

Women arrested in the aftermath of nationwide strike of teachers

Women joined extensively in the second round of nationwide strikes and sit-ins of teachers and educators held on November 13 and 14, 2018, in schools in over 40 cities in Iran. Women also got arrested in the wave of crackdown on teachers in the aftermath of the second round of their protests.

Following the call from the Coordinating Council of Iranian Educators’ Guild Organization, Iranian teachers refused to attend classes and held sit-ins inside their schools.

The second round of teachers’ strike started despite the repressive security forces’ attempt to intimidate Iran’s teachers by arresting and summoning them and sending threats of various kinds after the first nationwide strike of teachers held last month.

Iranian teachers and educators, however, did not remain silent, and for the third time this year, they resonated their voices throughout the country.

Iranian teachers went on strike protesting the suppression and imprisonment of teachers, their deteriorating living conditions, inflation and excessive high prices and reduced purchasing power. They called for the elimination of discrimination against retired and working teachers.

Women actively participated in this protest movement which spread to more than 40 cities across Iran including Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Yazd, Kermanshah, Ilam, Hamedan, Ardebil, Jolfa, Babol, Sari, Nowshahr, Langarud, Karaj, 

Shahriar, Rey, Saveh, Sanandaj, Baneh, Saqqez, Marivan, West Eyvan, Sirvan, Chaboksar, Kazerun, Lamerd, Homayoun Shahr, Jam, Asaluyeh, Bushehr, Qazvin, Zanjan, Shahr-e Kord and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province.

In some cities, students and their parents joined and supported the strikes and sit-ins of teachers.

As usual, the Iranian regime attempted to suppress the teachers’ strike by arresting, summoning and threatening active teachers including women teachers.

Widespread support for teachers’ demands, however, showed that their righteous calls would not be subdued but are further strengthened.

According to the Coordinating Council of Iranian Educators’ Guild Organization, 12 teachers including two women were arrested, 30 teacher activists were summoned and interrogated, and over 50 threatening messages were sent to protesting teachers.

Ms. Fatemeh Bahmani, a female teacher activist from Arak, was arrested on November 13, 2018, by the Ministry of Intelligence. Ms. Vaezi, a female teacher, is also among the detainees in Shiraz.

Repression and use of brute force are not a way out for the Iranian regime, but will add to its problems each day, because any arrest and imprisonment of teachers will spark a new wave of protests and opposition.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, saluted the teachers and educators who held sit-ins in order to achieve their rights, and called on the nation, especially the youth, to express solidarity with them, saying: "The catastrophic situation of the employed and retired teachers is the product of the repressive policies of the mullahs regime, and as long as this regime is in power, it will even get worse… The clerical regime has only brought about torture and execution, war and terrorism, poverty and unemployment, and corruption and plundering for the people of Iran.”

22 November 2018

US Accuses Iran of Hiding Chemical Weapons

In a trite refrain straight out of the standard Washington regime change playbook, the United States has lodged a formal complaint alleging Iran is developing nerve agents "for offensive purposes".

Like Syria before (and Russia), first comes the "outraged!" human rights violations rhetoric, then come crippling sanctions and international "pariah status", and for the final push comes unfounded chemical attack claims, a charge now being formally prepped and set in motion against Tehran by the West. 

After the AP first revealed a week ago that the U.S. is set to accuse Iran of violating international bans on chemical weapons, an American diplomat has told the global chemical weapons agency in The Hague that Tehran has not declared all of its chemical weapons capabilities. 

On Thursday Ambassador Kenneth Ward told a meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that Iran was in violation of an international non-proliferation convention.

"The United States has had longstanding concerns that Iran maintains a chemical weapons program that it has failed to declare to the OPCW," Ward said at an OPCW conference.

"The United States is also concerned that Iran is also pursuing central nervous system-acting chemicals for offensive purposes," he added. He connected this with the general White House charge and theme that Iran and Russia had "enabled" Syria in attacking civilians with nerve agents, according to claims of officials in the West. 

Specifically Amb. Ward claimed Iran has been hiding a production facility for filling aerial bombs while simultaneously maintaining a secret program to procure banned toxic munitions, include nerve agents. 

While a number of commentators acknowledged the sheer lack of evidence to back the claims — something that's never stopped US officials from making the charge whether it was Iraq, Libya, or Syria — Ward merely cited historical information from the 1980s alleging Iran had transferred banned chemical munitions to Gaddafi's Libya.

Women Executed Under Rouhani Released: November 13, 2018
No.	Name	Last Name	Age	Date of Execution	Place of Execution	Officially Announced
1	unnamed woman			Sep. 10, 2013	Central Prison - Urmia	-
2	unnamed woman			Sep. 19, 2013	Central Prison - Yazd	-
3	unnamed woman			Sep. 19, 2013	Central Prison - Yazd	-
4	unnamed woman			Sep. 19, 2013	Central Prison - Yazd	-
5	Z	S		Sep. 22, 2013	Central Prison - Yazd	Mehr News Agency
6	N	S		Sep. 22, 2013	Central Prison - Yazd	Mehr News Agency
7	S	H		Sep. 22, 2013	Central Prison - Yazd	Mehr News Agency
8	unnamed woman			Sep. 25, 2013	Central Prison - Urmia	-
9	unnamed woman			Sep. 25, 2013	Central Prison - Urmia	-
10	unnamed woman			Sep. 25, 2013	Central Prison - Urmia	-
11	Kobra	Kabiri	48	Sep. 25, 2013	Gohardasht Prison	-
12	unnamed woman			Sep. 26, 2013	Kerman prison	Mehr News Agency
13	Nastaran	Safari	26	Oct. 21, 2013	Dizel Abad Prison - Kermanshah	-
14	Jazi	Darvishzadeh		Oct. 26, 2013	Orumieh Prison	-
15	Mitra	Shahnavazi		Oct. 30, 2013	Gohardasht Prison - Karaj	-
16	unnamed woman			Oct. 30, 2013	Central Prison - Urmia	-
17	unnamed woman			Oct. 30, 2013	Central Prison - Urmia	-
18	A	A		Nov. 21, 2013	Central Prison - Yazd	Justice Department of Yazd
19	R	A		Nov. 21, 2013	Central Prison - Yazd	Justice Department of Yazd
20	unnamed woman			Jan. 26, 2014	Delfan	Fars News Agency
21	Farzaneh	Moradie	26	Mar. 4, 2014	Isfahan Prison	ISNA news agency
22	unnamed woman			May. 10, 2014	Gohardasht Prison - Karaj	-
23	Behjat			May. 10, 2014	Gohardasht Prison - Karaj	-
24	S	T		May. 28, 2014	Amol	Fars News Agency
25	unnamed woman			Jul. 20, 2014	Central Prison - Birjand	-
26	unnamed woman			Jul. 20, 2014	Central Prison - Birjand	-
27	unnamed woman			Jul. 20, 2014	Central Prison - Birjand	-
28	unnamed woman			Jul. 20, 2014	Central Prison - Birjand	-
29	unnamed woman			Aug. 07, 2014	Central Prison - Kermanshah	-
30	unnamed woman			Aug. 09, 2014	Central Prison - Zahedan	-
31	unnamed woman			Aug. 23, 2014	Central Prison - Zahedan	-
32	unnamed woman			Aug. 26, 2014	Shahab Prison - Kerman	-
33	unnamed woman			Sep. 10, 2014	Gharchak Prison - Varamin	-
34	unnamed woman		60	Sep. 11, 2014	Central Prison - Rasht	Iranian state television & radio
35	unnamed woman			Sep. 20, 2014	Central Prison - Zahedan	-
36	unnamed woman			Sep. 20, 2014	Central Prison - Zahedan	-
37	Reyhaneh	Jabbari	26	Oct. 25, 2014	Gohardasht Prison - Karaj	IRNA news agency
38	Akram	Hosseini	43	Dec. 02, 2014	Gharchak Prison - Varamin	-
39	Marzie	Ostovari		Dec. 02, 2014	Central Prison -  Urmia	-
40	F	GH		Dec. 10, 2014	Central Prison - Qazvin	Young Journalists Club
41	Nahid	Ghiasvand		Dec. 16, 2014	Orumieh Prison	-
42	unnamed woman			Dec. 17, 2014	Central Prison - Tabriz	-
43	Nahid			Dec. 24, 2014	Ghezel Hesar Prison - Karaj	Tabnak Website
44	unnamed woman			Dec. 27, 2014	Central Prison - Zahedan	-
45	unnamed woman			Jan. 01, 2015	Bam Prison	-
46	unnamed woman			Jan. 01, 2015	Bam Prison	-
47	unnamed woman			Jan. 01, 2015	Bam Prison	-
48	unnamed woman			Jan. 01, 2015	Bam Prison	-
49	Marzie	Hossein Zehi		Feb. 28, 2015	Kerman Prison	-
50	Mehrnoush	Ghavvassi		Mar. 07, 2015	Ghezel Hesar Prison - Karaj	-
51	unnamed woman			Mar. 07, 2015	Ghezel Hesar Prison - Karaj	-
52	F	Yousefi	48	Apr. 25, 2015	Central Prison - Rasht	Justice Department of Gilan
53	Batool	A		May. 13, 2015	Central Prison - Arak	-
54	Fateme	Mehrabani	39	May. 30, 2015	Qarchak prison - Varamin	-
55	unnamed woman			May. 30, 2015	Qarchak prison - Varamin	-
56	unnamed woman		32	Jun. 09, 2015	announced in the press w/o place	Young Journalists Club
57	Paridokht	Molaie far	43	Jul. 29, 2015	Ghezelhesar Prison - Karaj	-
58	unnamed woman			Jul. 30, 2015	Shahab Prison - Kerman	-
59	Fatemeh	Hadadi	39	Aug. 10, 2015	Qarchak prison - Varamin	-
60	Fatemeh	Salbehi	23	Oct. 16, 2015	Adel Abad Prison - Shiraz	Salamat News - Health Ministry
61	Hajar	Safari		Nov. 12, 2015	Central Prison - Tabriz	-
62	F	Zanjanian		Dec. 06, 2015	Central Prison - Qazvin	Parsineh website
63	Zahra	Nemati		Jan. 06, 2016	Central Prison - Tabriz
64	Ameneh	Rezaiian	43	Apr.14,2016	Prison of Kashmar
65	unnamed woman			Apr. 14, 2016	central prison of Birjand
66	unnamed woman			Apr. 14, 2016	central prison of Birjand
67	Zeinab	Chamani	27	Apr. 25, 2016	Sari Prison	Justice Department of Sari-without mentioning the victim's name or gender
68	unnamed woman			Jun. 02, 2016	Young Journalists Club	Central Prison of Qazvin
69	unnamed woman			Jul.17,2016	Ghezel Hesar Prison - Karaj
70	unnamed woman			Aug. 25, 2016	Central Prison - Yazd	State-run Iran newspaper
71	Moluk Nouri			Sep. 29, 2016	Central Prison - Urmia	.
72	unnamed woman			January 15, 2017	Central Prison - Karaj	.
73	unnamed woman			January 15, 2017	Central Prison - Karaj	.
74	unnamed woman			March 4, 2017	Central Prison - Rasht	.
75	unnamed woman			March 4, 2017	Central Prison - Rasht	.
76	unnamed woman			May/3/2017	Gohardasht Prison - Karaj	-
77	unnamed woman			May/3/2017	Gohardasht Prison - Karaj	-
78	Zeinab  Sa'adanlou			July/1/2017	Central Prison - Rasht	-
79	unnamed woman		25	July/26/2017	Central Prison - Babol	State-run Ganjineh and Shabtab News
80	unnamed woman			July 26, 2017	Central Prison - Urmia	.
81	N A			September 19, 2017	Central Prison - Zanjan	State-run Mehr News Agency
82	Mahboubeh Mofidi		25	January 30, 2018	Prison of Noshahr	-
83	unnamed woman			July 4, 2018	Central Prison - Urmia	-
84	Zeinab Sekaanvand		24	October 2, 2018	Central Prison - Urmia	Kurdistan Human Rights
85	Sharareh           Almassi		27	November 13, 2018	Central Prison - Sanandaj