THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 8:00 PM CET
Iran Uprising at a Glance
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Monday, April 4, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 201
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 675 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
April 4 – Tabriz, northwest #Iran
More footage of an all-girls school has been the target of a chemical gas attack and at least 20 students have been rushed to a hospital.#IranChemicalAttacks pic.twitter.com/atmdI7GCEH— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 4, 2023
Iran’s nationwide uprising is marking its 201st day on Tuesday with protesters in various cities voicing their outrage, especially regarding the regime’s destructive economic policies. Amid this unrest, the mullahs’ regime has once again launched chemical gas attacks targeting all-girls schools in different cities.
April 4 – Tabriz, northwest #Iran
An all-girls school has been the target of a chemical gas attack and at least 20 students have been rushed to a hospital.#IranChemicalAttackspic.twitter.com/qdxHsYj1U5— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 4, 2023
Reports indicate an all-girls school in the city of Tabriz in East Azerbaijan Province was the target of a chemical gas attack on Tuesday and at least 20 students of the “Hazrate Masoumeh School” were rushed to the city’s Sina Hospital.
In other reports from the city of Naqadeh in West Azerbaijan Province, local activists said that the all-girls Mahdi Elementary School and Moalem High School were targeted in chemical gas attacks on Tuesday. Further reports indicate that an all-girls school in Dowlat Abad of Isfahan has also been the target of a chemical gas attack today and a number of ill students have been transferred to a hospital for medical attention.
April 3 – Naqadeh, western #Iran
An all-girls school has been the target of a chemical attack and at least five students have been rushed to a hospital.#IranChemicalAttacks pic.twitter.com/FTZqpoy0Zy— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 3, 2023
In Karaj west of Tehran, the defiant youth targeted a suppressive IRGC base and set it on fire.
Locals in the Shahrak-e Bagheri district of Tehran chanted anti-regime slogans, last night until the early morning of today, including:
“Down with Khamenei!”
“Down with the dictator!”
“Down with the child-killing regime!”
April 4 – Dowlatabad, Isfahan Province, central #Iran
An all-girls school has been the target of a chemical gas attack and a number of students have been rushed to a hospital.#IranChemicalAttacks pic.twitter.com/PGcsKMoISP— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 4, 2023
In Babol, northern Iran, nurses held a gathering today protesting their poor economic conditions and low paychecks.
In Sistan and Baluchistan Province, southeast Iran, brave women wrote in graffiti: “Down with Khamenei!” referring to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Sistan & Baluchestan Province, southeast #Iran
Brave woman writes in graffiti: "Down with Khamenei!" referring to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.#IranRevoIution pic.twitter.com/U8YwqQw6rN— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 4, 2023
In Semirom, central Iran, protesters torched a large poster of regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
In Chabahar, southeast Iran, workers of the Beheshti port staged a strike on Monday, protesting delays in their paychecks. This site is associated with the IRGC.
April 3 – Chabahar, southeast #Iran
Workers of the Beheshti port were on strike protesting delays in their paychecks. This site is associated to the IRGC.#IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/li93wFhbhr— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 4, 2023
UNHRC Extended Javaid Rehman’s Mandate for Iran’s Human Rights Situation
In a meeting chaired by Ambassador Václav Bálek, the permanent representative of the Czech Republic in the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council approved the resolution to extend the mandate of Javai Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights situation for Iran for the sixth year in a row. In this resolution, the concerns and objections regarding the violation of human rights in Iran have been expressed in detail.
23 council members voted for this resolution, 8 countries voted against and 16 countries abstained. The member states of the European Union, Canada, the United States and several countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia were among the countries that voted in favor of this resolution, while countries such as China and Cuba voted against the resolution.
UPDATE: 3:00 PM CET
UN Rights Council Decries Surge In Iran Executions
AFP- The UN Human Rights Council denounced Tuesday the rising numbers of executions in Iran, including of people who received the capital punishment in connection with protests that have rocked the country.
The top United Nations rights body approved a resolution voicing “deep concern at the reported surge in the number of executions, including of individuals sentenced to death in relation to their alleged involvement in the recent protests.”
The resolution, which also extended the mandate of the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in Iran for another year, passed with 23 of the council’s 47 members voting in favour.
UPDATE: 1:00 PM CET
New Reports of Poisoning in Iran’s Schools
On April 3, the state-run newspaper Sharq wrote in a report: “A source in the Ministry of Education confirmed the poisoning of 5 female students of the ’22 Bahman’ school in the city of Naqadeh.”
Mohammad Amin Valizadeh, the president of West Azerbaijan University of Medical Sciences, confirmed the poisoning of the students and announced: “On the first day of the reopening of schools in the new year [1402 on the Persian calendar], 78 students went to the medical center, 77 students were discharged and one was hospitalized. It has been caused by cough; shortness of breath and anxiety symptoms.”
Mokhtar Nemati, the head of the local office of the Education Ministry in Naqdeh, also announced the poisoning of a number of female students in Mohammadyar High School in Naqadeh and stated: “On April 3, a number of female students were poisoned in the school. According to the students, an unpleasant smell like burning tires has been created in the girls’ school, and after noticing the scent, the students felt nausea, headache, and stomach ache.”
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET
Iran Uprising Marks 200th Day
Sparked by the horrific killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the Iranian regime’s so-called “morality police” while she was in their custody for supposedly “not covering her hair properly,” Iran’s nationwide uprising is Marking its 200th day on Monday with a variety of protests continuing across the country in different forms and methods. Protesters and ordinary people throughout Iran are constantly voicing their hatred of the ruling dictatorship and its apparatus of oppressive security forces, blaming them for their political, social, and economic miseries.
The Unwavering Drive for Democracy in Iran
When considering how tyrants hijacked Iran’s constitutional revolution in 1905 and the anti-monarchy revolution of 1979, it becomes evident that they succeeded largely due to the lack of organized resistance, a popular army, and a democratic coalition as an alternative. Its absence had previously caused the failure of various national uprisings and movements, allowing the ruling tyrants to divert the path of the revolution.
During the anti-monarchical revolution, the leaders and members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and other organized forces were in Shah’s prison. They were not released until January 20, 1979, so Ruhollah Khomeini and the network of clerics took advantage of the situation and hijacked the revolution.
Azerbaijan Arrests 4 Over Attempted Assassination of Anti-Iran Lawmaker
Azerbaijan arrested four people in connection with the attempted assassination of an anti-Iran lawmaker, who was shot and wounded last week, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. Representative Fazil Mustafa, who has been highly critical of Iran, was receiving treatment in a hospital after being shot in the attack. Mustafa’s assistant, Ajdar Aliyev, told Reuters the politician was feeling well and expected to return to his home, which he said was under police guard, in the coming days. The interior ministry spokesman declined to give details of the arrested suspects, saying a statement would be released later.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – April 3, 2023