THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:30 PM CET
Treasury Sanctions Hizballah Financiers in Lebanon
January 18, 2022
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated three Hizballah-linked financial facilitators and their Lebanon-based travel company. Specifically, OFAC designated Adel Diab, Ali Mohamad Daoun, Jihad Salem Alame, and their company, Dar Al Salam for Travel & Tourism. This action comes at a time in which the Lebanese economy faces an unprecedented crisis and Hizballah, as part of Lebanon’s government, is blocking economic reforms and inhibiting much-needed change for the Lebanese people.
UAE calls for a meeting of UN security council to condemn recent Yemen’s Houthi attack
CAIRO, Jan 18 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates called for a meeting of the UN security council to condemn a recent attack by Yemen’s Houthi on Abu Dhabi, capital of the region’s commercial and tourism hub, state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates on Monday in what it said was an operation using missiles and drones, setting off explosions in fuel trucks that killed three people and causing a fire near the airport of Abu Dhabi, capital of the region’s commercial and tourism hub.
UPDATE: 8:00 PM CET
U.S. Citizen Charged with Conspiring to Provide Electronic Equipment and Technology to the Government of Iran
Defendant Allegedly Conspired to Illegally Export U.S. Goods and Technology without Required Licenses
A dual Iranian-U.S. citizen was arrested Friday in Chicago, on criminal charges related to his alleged conspiracy to illegally export U.S. goods, technology, and services to end-users in Iran, including the government of Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
According to court documents, Kambiz Attar Kashani, 44, conspired to illegally export goods and technology to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which the U.S. government recognizes as an agency of the government of Iran.
UPDATE: 6:30 PM CET
Bad Weather and Mismanagement Are Taking a High Toll in Iran Today
Heavy rains and snow in 31 provinces of the country left four dead and many injured, causing extensive damage and cutting off communication lines to many villages and towns.
In Kerman, Southeast Iran, the number of flood victims reached three. The flood blocked the roads of 45 villages in the county. All the villages in the Reagan Highlands are currently cut off, and 30 villages have been cut off from the power grid.
Also, due to the flooding of the river as well as the collapse of two bridge spans in Kerman, the main road of this city to Iranshahr was blocked. The Tavakul Abad bridge collapsed due to a river flooding, closing Reagan’s Chabahar transit axis.
Following the flooding of the Jazmourian River in the south of Kerman, water entered the homes of 120 rural families living in the village of Kruchan, and people used ropes to reach the rooftops.
Also, the bridges on the Rudbar- Zahkloot route have collapsed due to flooding and now, the water and electricity of this village have been cut off and many damages have been caused on the farmers and ranchers of the region.
In Northern Iran, an avalanche on Chalous Road left one dead and three injured. So far, 12 accounts of avalanches have been recorded on this important road.
In Qazvin province, Central Iran, a bus carrying workers overturned on the Buinzahra Road due to heavy snowfall, injuring 15 workers.
In Lorestan province, west of the country, floods have covered the streets of some cities.
In Kermanshah province, Western Iran, heavy snowfall has blocked the Sarpolzahab route and people are stuck in the snow. Most cars are running out of fuel and there are no facilities to reopen the roads.
In Kurdistan province, due to heavy snowfall, part of the entrance roof of Besat Hospital in Sanandaj collapsed. One person died in the accident.
In Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, Southwest Iran, due to the devastating floods as well as the regime’s failure to dredge the rivers, the only bridge of Chamkhani Mazdak village was destroyed, and the road of this village was cut off.
In Hormozgan province, South Iran, heavy rains blocked 100 rural roads and three highways and cut off drinking water in 70 villages. In the cities of Bandar Abbas, Rudan, Minab, and Hormoz Island, floods have disrupted people’s lives and damaged their properties.
In Zahedan, Southeastern part of the country, a bus overturned on the Zahedan-Zabul highway due to rain and slippery roads, injuring nine people.
UPDATE: 5:00 PM CET
Two More Executions Reported in Iran
The Iranian regime’s judiciary executed two prisoners in Shiraz and Khorramabad on January 16 and 18. The identity of one of the prisoners has been verified as Sajjad who was being held in the Adelabad prison in Shiraz. He was arrested about three years and six months ago and he was executed on Tuesday, January 19.
Another prisoner, Muslim Agha Mirzaei, 30 years old, was executed on January 17 in Khorramabad prison. Muslim was a construction painter and has been in prison for the past two years.
UPDATE: 1:30 PM CET
Protests in Iran on Monday and Tuesday
Based on independent reports from inside the country, many provinces and cities across Iran have been witnessing large rallies and demonstrations.
Today, contract workers of the Khorramshahr Municipality office went on strike and held a rally in front of the governor’s office. The workers have been deprived of their salary for four months.
Also today, workers of the Telecommunication Company in Gilan province, Northern Iran, went on strike to protest against the officials’ refusal to amend their contracts, the incorrect implementation of their job classification plan as well as the existing insurance problems.
According to the protesters, their managers continue to demonstrate their indifference to the ever-deteriorating workers’ living problems. The insurance premiums of the workers have been denied for months. They are also suffering from a miserable state of insurance, unpaid Social Security premiums, and the disruption of health insurance. These problems have deprived the workers and their families of appropriate medical services and they have to pay large sums for treatment.
Scammed clients of Fardadkar Amitis Company, who lost fortunes to the company’s leadership, held a rally in front of the 31st District Court in Tehran on Monday, January 17, to protest against the unfair process of this case.
A group of Ph.D. students in medical sciences in Tehran gathered in front of the Ministry of Health to protest the poor conditions at the campus.
Ph.D. students of Medical Sciences at Shiraz University rallied in front of the central building of the university to protest against the poor living conditions and wages.
Scammed clients of Azerbaijan Azovico Automotive Company gathered in front of the judiciary on Monday, January 17, demanding that Azovico authorities be investigated for not delivering the registered vehicles. The case has been neglected by the regime’s judiciary for years.
UAE Vows To Retaliate Against Iranian Regime Backed Terrorists
UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed condemned the attack that was organized and executed by the Iranian regime-backed Yemeni Houthis against civilian targets in Abu Dhabi, which killed three people and wounded six others. “There will be no impunity,” the FM warned.
“The United Arab Emirates reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and the escalation,” the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said, calling them “heinous crimes” committed by Houthi militants in violation of international and humanitarian law.
The state-run Fars news agency, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, quoted the Houthi Minister of Information, Zaifullah al-Shami, as calling the attack a “punitive message” that “was supposed to reach the UAE”.
A senior Emirati official also told Axios website that Mr. bin Zayed has called US Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken on Monday and asked for a re-designation of the Yemeni Houthi rebels a foreign terrorist organization on the State Department FTO list.
Two Executions in Iran
The Iranian regime’s judiciary executed a prisoner in Zahedan prison at dawn on Monday, January 17. According to the HRANA website, the prisoner was identified as Ghaffar Gargij, 34, son of Sahebdad from Hajiabad district of Zahedan. He was arrested 7 years ago and was kept behind bars in Ward 3 of the same prison.
On the same day, the judiciary executed another prisoner in Qom prison on drug-related charges. The name of this prisoner was Valijan Rahimi, 56 years old, from Shabestar city, East Azarbaijan province.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
International Conference- Holding the Mullahs’ Regime Accountable for Genocide, Terrorism, and Nuclear Defiance
A conference was held on Monday, January 17, 2022, featuring international dignitaries, including Guy Verhofstadt, the former Prime Minister of Belgium; Fredrick Reinfeldt, former Prime Minister of Sweden; John Bercow, former Speaker of the UK House of Commons; and Franco Faratini, former Foreign Minister of Italy who addressed the participants.
What Iran Teachers Taught Us on January 13
“Inshallah (God willing), you thieves, white-collar bureaucrats, white-collar crooks, you dastards of Iran’s history, you will be overthrown!”
These are the words an Iranian teacher chanted during a protest in Shiraz on January 14. The response from his fellow colleagues were enthusiastic shouts of “Inshallah, Inshallah.”
During this latest large-scale uprising, the protests spread nationwide across 116 cities in 30 provinces. The unrest was clearly aimed at the Iranian regime, with protesters chanting slogans such as, “the government is betraying, the parliament is supporting.” They also echoed calls for the rest of society to join them in their demonstrations, shouting “Rise up to end discrimination!”
Regime’s Contradictory Remarks on Sounds of Explosion in Western Iran
Several social media reports and Iranian news sites reported sounds of explosions in several cities in the western provinces of Iran in the late hours of Saturday, January 16th. The reports, although not confirmed by Iran’s officials yet, indicate that the sounds of explosion in western Iran have been heard in four provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Hamedan, and Ilam. People on social media described the blasts, which shook homes, as terrifying.
Iran Court Upheld State Confiscation of Political Prisoners’ Properties
The family of two political prisoners received notice that their family home and only remaining property will be confiscated by the Iranian regime. Last week, the Executive Headquarters of Imams’ decree noticed the families of political prisoners Hassan Sadeghi and Fatemeh Mosanna that the verdict of “confiscation of their house” had been upheld by an appeals court and that they would have to quit the house where they lived.
In May 2020, the house belonging to Fatemeh Mosanna and Hassan Sadeghi (a married couple imprisoned in Evin and Gohardasht Hesar prisons, respectively) was confiscated according to a directive issued by the Executive Headquarters of Imams’ decree.
Ahwazi Arab Man Killed by Border Police in Southwest Iran
The state security forces shot and killed an Ahwazi Arab man in the city of Hoveyzeh, southwest Iran. On January 12, security forces shot and killed Mohammad Obaidawi on suspicion of smuggling weapons in Hoveyzeh, Khuzestan Province. According to local sources, after killing the citizen, security forces did not find any weapons with him.
Obaidawi’s family received his body two days later on the condition of a signed commitment not to file any complaint and to accept the accusation of smuggling weapons.
Iran: COVID-19 Fatalities Surpass 498,300
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) announced on Monday, January 17, 2022, that the COVID-19 fatalities in 547 cities have surpassed 498,300. The number of victims in Tehran has reached 116,385, Isfahan 34,535, West Azerbaijan 18,793, Gilan 17,275, Lorestan 16,470, Alborz 14,523, Kerman 13,452, North Khorasan 6,393, Ardabil 6,350, and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 3,870.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – January 17, 2022
