THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CEST
Raisi Doubles Down on Tehran’s Demand in the Nuclear Talks
“Research on nuclear energy is accelerating well and we will not make it subject to the wishes or opinions of others,” the Iranian regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi said at the state-run nuclear show today. “Nuclear technology in the Islamic Republic is irreversible. We will not take a step back in the talks and we will not allow nuclear technology to slow down.”
“Our dear scientists were assassinated, our nuclear facilities were blown up, and many threats were made, but none of these explosions or assassinations stopped our nation. We will never allow those who claim to be powerful and dominate the world to stop or to slow down the great industrial and nuclear achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Raisi added.
Iranian Celebrities Refuse to Dine with Raisi
Some state media outlets, including the Sharq newspaper, have reported that a special event where celebrities and artists were invited to dine Iftar with the Iranian regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi was canceled due to a number of artists’ rejection of the invitation. The official IRNA news agency denounced the reports and called them “pure lies”, citing “air pollution” as the reason for the cancellation.
According to the Shargh newspaper, in the past few days, the presidential office and the office of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance were trying to contact and coordinate with famous artists and cinematographers, with “almost 99% of them apologizing for calling off their attendance under the pretext of contracting Covid-19, illness, and travel.”
UPDATE: 3:00 PM CEST
Khamenei’s Representative in Shiraz Doubles Down on Hostility
At his Friday prayer sermon, Lotfollah Dejhkam, the Supreme Leader’s representative in Shiraz said: “A few years ago, the great leader of the revolution mentioned two points. First, he said we do not need an atomic bomb. The Supreme Leader of the Revolution is the source of imitation. He doesn’t do politics and everything he says is true. He does what he says. He said we need nuclear energy but we do not want an atomic bomb and we promised that. Do you know why? Because our enemy is Israel, and in Israel, the Palestinian Muslim population lives next to the Israelis and cannot be bombed. Second, he said that we must arm the Palestinian people. Today, the Palestinian people are armed and there are many weapons inside Palestine. They have started to show the oppressive Zionists that they are not as strong as they imagine. You heard what happened last night and where six people were gunned down. Until now, they only used to talk about ‘Intifada’ and they only had stones.”
Tehran is Among the Most Polluted Cities in the World, Official Says
Following a spike in the number of deaths due to air pollution in Tehran, the regime’s Civil Engineering and Transportation Commission at the Tehran City Council warned: “The risk of air pollution for us and the death of thousands of citizens is greater than we think.”
“With suspended particulates below 10 microns with an index of 500 pm, the city of Tehran has become one of the most polluted cities in the world,” the Commission’s Chief Jafar Tashkari said.
He added: “We have to find a solution before things get worse and closing schools and offices are not and have never been the solution.”
Firing Rockets on Marib, The Houthis Violate the Ceasefire in Yemen
On Saturday morning, April 9, Iranian regime-affiliated Houthi militias fired ballistic missiles at the town of Al-Wadi in Marib Governorate, the site of Yemen’s largest militant camp.
For the second consecutive day, the Houthis carried out large-scale attacks on Yemeni army positions and the national resistance in southern Marib, despite a ceasefire announced by both sides. Houthi militants also targeted the town of Raghwan with ballistic missiles on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the artillery of the Yemeni National Army responded to the attack of the Houthi armored vehicles on the “Lairef” front on Saturday morning, destroying a number of their vehicles and military equipment.
Pentagon Says Iran-backed Groups Behind This Week’s Attack in Syria
The US military has assessed that at least one of the two attacks this week that targeted US forces in Syria and Iraq was carried out by militia groups linked to Iran, a Pentagon official said Friday.
“It’s certainly a tactic that has been used by these militia groups, militia groups that are supported by Iran. It’s right out of their playbook,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said when asked about the attack in Syria. “I think our working assumption would be that that’s the case here, but we want to do the forensics and do it properly.”
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CEST
Home Internet Prices Became 100% More Expensive in Iran
Iranian state media reports and comments by users on social networks indicate that the price of home internet in Iran has doubled. The state-run Entekhab has interpreted the change as the second phase of the implementation of the so-called ‘protection plan’ that intends to restrict the international internet for Iranian users inside the country. Earlier, some media outlets linked the internet slowdown in recent months to efforts to execute the plan and further restrict the Internet in Iran.
Mohammad Reza Bidkham, general manager of the telecommunications company, denied the rise in internet prices, saying the company continues to calculate internet costs based on previous rates.
Oppressive Police Force Kills Arab Citizen in South Iran
According to local sources, the Iranian regime’s security forces shot and killed an Arab citizen on the Ahwaz-Sheiban road and fled the scene. On Thursday, April 7, Samir Zargani, son of Majid, 32, was killed by the police, sources confirm. The sources added that Zargani was behind the wheel of his car while being targeted by the police. Consequently, his car was overturned. According to the sources, the officers left the scene after clashes with local people.
Biden Won’t Remove Iran’s Revolutionary Guard From Terror List. He’s Right.
The Biden administration plans to reject an Iranian demand that the United States lift its designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization as a condition for renewing the 2015 nuclear agreement — putting completion of the deal in jeopardy.
A senior administration official told me that President Biden doesn’t intend to concede on the terrorist designation, even though this may be a dealbreaker: “The onus is on Iran as to whether we have a nuclear deal. The president will stick to core principles. The Iranians know our views.”
Bob Levinson’s Daughter and US Congressman Ask Washington to Punish Tehran’s Terrorism
US Congressman Ted Deutsch, and Sarah Levinson Moriarty, Robert Levinson’s daughter, wrote in a joint article for the Miami-Herald newspaper asking the Biden administration to compensate victims of the Iranian regime’s hostage-taking policy from frozen Iranian assets.
“This is not the foreign policy of a nation; It is the behavior of terrorists, the authors write. “The time has come for the international community to show the Iranian regime, once and for all, that this approach will not be tolerated.”
According to the authors, “Iran is still the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world” and its assets should be allocated as compensation to American victims of its hostage-taking policies.
Pence Legislation Would Prevent Biden from Unilaterally Removing Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation
Columbus, IN – Congressman Greg Pence (IN-06) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael McCaul (TX-10) introduced legislation that would give Congress the ability to intervene should the executive branch unilaterally revoke Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designations.
The introduction of the legislation by Congressman Pence comes as President Biden and his Administration consider lifting the FTO Designation on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a part of their newly negotiated Iran Nuclear Deal.
Bipartisan Opposition Gains Momentum Against a Bad Deal With Tehran
As world powers seek to enter a new nuclear deal with the regime ruling Iran, momentum is increasing among those opposing an agreement that does not address all the regime’s threats. In the U.S., Democrats and Republicans alike are voicing more concerns over a deal that will merely put a temporary hold on the regime’s controversial nuclear program, which acts as a known cover for the mullahs’ clandestine nuclear weapons drive.
A group of Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are sounding alarm over the Administration’s intention to reach a nuclear deal with Tehran, emphasizing that the terms of the reported deal are deeply troubling.
Iranian Workers Suffer From Descending Wages
How many women and men are in employment and how productive they are at work has a lot to do with the available opportunities to acquire and maintain relevant skills. Countries, enterprises, and persons all perceive skills development as strategic and consequently seek to step up investments in skills. Equipping the workforce with the skills required for the jobs of today and those of tomorrow is a strategic concern in the national growth and development outlooks of any progressive and developing country. In general, the purpose of an economy is to provide people with goods and services that are produced or manned by the country’s workforce.
Honor Killing by a Brother; Body of a Woman Discovered After 20 Days
The body of a woman was found in the paddy fields of Amol after 20 days. Safdar Eslami, Commander of the State Security Force of Amol, confirmed the news of discovering the body of a woman in the village of Hosseinabad and stated that the body belonged to a woman around 30 years old. Islami added, “The woman had been murdered some 20 days ago by one of her relatives and buried in the paddy fields of Hosseinabad village.”
Some local sources identified the victim as Sara (Razieh) Shadifar, 33. She was a mother of two and resided in Hosseinabad village of Amol. They say her brother killed Sara because she wanted to emigrate to Turkey after two ill-fated marriages.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – April 8, 2022
