THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:00 PM CET
Regime Insider Warns Senior Leaders of Increasing Social Rage Against the Regime
Following an increasing trend of violence against state officials and security forces, some of the regime’s insiders are sounding the alarm and warning the highest ranks of the regime against a radical storm on the horizon.
On May 2, in an interview with the state-run Dideban website, Ahmed Bokharaee, a state-affiliated sociologist, explained the social hatred against the ruling clerics and said: “At the head of the country, there is the Velayat al-Faqih, who is a spiritual person. At all powerful institutions and organizations, including the Assembly of Experts, the Constitutional Monitoring Council, and in all key positions, clerics have been appointed by the leadership.”
Describing the officials’ refusal to heed the people, he added: “Due to these reasons, the other option that remains for certain groups of people is unfortunately violent behavior and language. Now this violence sometimes manifests itself in the form of throwing turbans, sometimes it comes in the form of verbal insults, and at other times in the form of physical elimination.”
“This process was predictable and many times, sociologists warned that this kind of confrontation between a part of the political system and a part of the people will not end well,” Bokharaee alerted. “Now, one person prefers to escape and leaves the country, one person tries to terminate himself physically and commits suicide, another person may go into isolation and goes on drugs, and another person may start rioting and violence.”
Azerbaijan Deals Blow To Iranian Agents
Iran’s intelligence attempts against Azerbaijan were once again dealt a major blow. In the special operation organized by the police, many people who were spying on behalf of Iran were arrested. A lot of evidence was seized about the connections of members of the decrypted Iranian spy network and their illegal activities on their social network accounts. Azerbaijani security forces carried out an operation against people who promote radicalism and other illegal activities with the money obtained from the sale of drugs.
As part of the operation, it was announced that 16 people who were determined to be spying on behalf of Iran were arrested. In the statement made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, it was stated that “the arrested persons are mainly controlled from Iran and they are using drug addicts for their dirty purposes”.
Azerbaijan Detains Two Citizens Bringing 112 KG of Narcotics From Iran
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan (MIA) once again resolutely prevented the illegal circulation of large quantities of narcotics sent directly from the Islamic Republic of Iran with the aim of destroying the national gene pool of Azerbaijan, the MIA told APA. Rovshan Zamanov and Royal Baloglanov were detained as a result of the action taken by the employees of the Main Drug Enforcement Department of MIA.
During the inspection of their car and the houses where they lived, 112 kilograms belonging to both persons, including 30 kilograms of heroin, 52 kilograms of dried marijuana enriched with psychotropic substances and highly effective properties, 30 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 2 electronic scales used in the sale of drugs were discovered and seized. Rovshan Zamanov and Royal Baloglanov stated that they delivered the drugs to various addresses in Baku through the Iranian citizen “Hadi” from a hidden place in the territory of Imishli district located in the border region and obtained them in order to earn money.
Iran Uprising at a Glance
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 229
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 675 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
May 1 – Tehran, #Iran
People were protesting in the streets of the capital's Sadeghiyeh district.#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/R8WzIeCvbI— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 2, 2023
Iran marks its 229th day of a nationwide uprising on Tuesday, after a busy day of protests and nighttime rallies by workers and citizens across the country celebrating International Workers Day. In various cities throughout Iran, workers from different industries continued their strikes, while other laborers took to the streets to hold gatherings and launch marches demanding that regime officials acknowledge and respect their rights.
On Monday night, people in Tehran’s Sadeghiyeh, Shahrak-e Bagheri, Chitgar, Tehranpars, Sattarkhan, and Tehransar districts started chanting, “Down with Khamenei! Damned be Khomeini!”
Other slogans included:
“Down with the dictator!”
“Workers are aware and loath oppressors!”
May 1 – Tehran, #Iran
People in the capital's Chitgar district were chanting:
"Down with Khamenei!"#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/CJ6yNwRope— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 2, 2023
Similar nightly protests were also reported in Mehrshahr, Karaj, and Isfahan.
In the cities of Karaj, central Iran, and Behbahan, southern Iran, Resistance Units projected large images of Iranian Resistance Leader Massoud Rajavi and opposition coalition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi.
Karaj, west of Tehran, #Iran
MEK Resistance Units portrayed large image of Iranian Resistance Leader Massoud Rajavi and opposition coalition NCRI President-elect @Maryam_Rajavi.#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/lNrTRntfTn— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 2, 2023
This morning regime operatives renewed their chemical gas attacks targeting schoolgirls. Reports from the cities of Sanandaj, Baneh, and Kermanshah indicate new deliberate and organized attacks and poisonings specifically targeting schoolgirls. These latest cases include:
- The all-girls Kimia Technical School in Sanandaj, western Iran. At least six students were transferred to medical centers and one student said school security officials were preventing them from leaving the complex, according to local activists.
- The all-girls Saleh Ali-Mohammadi Elementary School in Baneh, western Iran
- The all-girls Elahiyeh High School in Kermanshah, western Iran. Police arrived at the scene and began threatening the students, according to reports.
- The all-girls Fasaie-nezhad Technical School in Tehran
May 2 – Sanandaj, western #Iran
Aftermath of regime operatives launching a chemical gas attack targeting the all-girls Kimia Technical School. At least six students were transferred to medical centers.#IranChemicalAttacks https://t.co/S4ZWAhEfjn— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 2, 2023
Retirees and pensioners of the regime’s telecom industry in the cities of Ilam, Sanandaj, and the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Qazvin, Markazi (Central), Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari, Hormozgan, Sistan & Baluchestan, Kerman, Ardabil, West Azerbaijan, Ahvaz, and Fars rallied to protest their low pensions and poor economic conditions. This continues previous gatherings held during the past few weeks and months in Tehran and other cities across the country.
May 2 – Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the regime's telecom industry from across Khuzestan Province are protesting low pensions and poor economic conditions.#IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/px2i2jMTnG— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 2, 2023
Explosion Reported at IRGC Base in North-central Iran
According to the news acquired on Tuesday evening, two people were killed and several more injured following an explosion that took place at the Hasheminejad compound of the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in Damghan City, Semnan province.
The explosion took place in one of the IRGC logistics and support centers in Damghan.
The public relations of the IRGC in Damghan announced: “This evening, an explosion occurred during the transfer of ammunition in one of the Corps’ logistics and support centers in the outskirts of Damghan city due to an accident.”
“The cause of the accident is under investigation and additional information will be announced later,” the statement concludes.
UPDATE: 11:00 AM CET
Iranians Don’t Trust Regime’s Financial Institutions, Website Admits
Admitting to public distrust in banks and financial institutions while trying to blame and downgrade it on a particular incident, the state-run Eghtesad 24 run an article with the title “Why do people keep their dollars at home”.
The source quoted Mohammadreza Pourabrahimi, head of the Iranian regime’s Economic committee, as saying: “The settlement of foreign currency deposits with Rials, which took place in the 10th government, was a betrayal of the people. People’s minds are still contaminated by that bitter experience.”
“We had a bitter experience in the 10th government, that was Mr. Ahmadinejad’s administration,” Pourabrahimi added. “Following experiencing a currency shock that happened in the country, the banks settled people’s foreign currency deposits with Rials [instead of dollars] and this was the biggest and worst issue regarding the loss of social capital in the banking system.”
He added: “For example, a person had deposited a thousand dollars, and then when he went to the bank to get his money, they told him that we will settle this with you with Rials. They did not fulfill their obligations by changing the exchange rate.”
Annual Report of the American Commission on International Religious Freedom – (Iran Part)
The cover of this year’s U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) annual report honors the Iranian women and girls who have been at the forefront of the ongoing protests for greater freedom in Iran and have faced extreme and violent consequences for their participation. Iranian authorities’ systematic use of sexual and gender-based violence against them represents a purposeful weaponization of religious conceptions of purity, modesty, and gender hierarchy in an effort to shame Iranians out of peacefully asserting their fundamental right to religious freedom.
Iranian authorities’ repression of freedom of religion or belief has been a decades-long campaign targeting both religious minorities and members of the majority Shi’a Muslim community.
Iranian security services also targeted religious minorities who have fled abroad as well as activists in other countries, including on U.S. soil, who opposed mandatory headscarf laws and other religious freedom restrictions. Based on these systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations of religious freedom, in this report, USCIRF is again recommending that Iran be designated by the U.S. Department of State as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
USCIRF urges the administration of President Joseph R. Biden to continue to coordinate international action to lift the veil of impunity under which Iran’s leadership continues to operate.
UPDATE: 9:00 AM CET
Iran’s Workers Mark International Labor Day as Anti-Regime Protests Continue
Workers and people across Iran are marking International Labor Day as protests continue against the mullahs’ regime that has been plundering the country’s hardworking laborers for decades. As strikes continue in over 110 industrial sites throughout Iran, and different workers and employees continue to hold protest gatherings for their rights, workers in the city of Asaluyeh, southern Iran, wrote in graffiti: “Workers are aware and hate the mullahs and the Shah! Down with Khamenei! Down with the Shah!”
Protests in Iran have to this day expanded to at least 282 cities. Over 750 people have been killed and more than 30,000 are arrested by the regime’s forces, according to sources of the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The names of 675 killed protesters have been published by the PMOI/MEK.
Iranian Activist To Face Trial for Insulting the Regime
Hashem Khastar, a 71-year-old teacher, political prisoner, and one of the signatories of an open-letter signed by a number of activists inside Iran calling for the resignation regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, says he will be facing another trial. In an open letter that Khastar has sent from Mashhad’s Vakil Abad Prison, he explains that this hearing, presided by Judge Yazdankhan, was held online and he will be denied legal representation on April 25. Khastar will be facing charges of “insulting the leadership and [regime founder Ruhollah] Khomeini, and propaganda against the regime”.
A Baluch Woman Is Hanged in the Central Prison of Zahedan
A Baluch woman was hanged in the Central Prison of Zahedan on Sunday, April 30, 2023. No information is available on the identity and charges of the woman who was executed. The Baluch woman was hanged alongside a young man, Gol Mohammad Narouii, 31, married and convicted of murder. The hanging of the Baluch woman on April 30 brings the number of women executed in Iran to 210 since 2007. The Iranian Judiciary executed at least 624 persons, including 15 women, in 2022. The number of executions was 1.7 times the 366 executions carried out in 2021.
How the Iranian Regime Tries To Normalize Evil
Corruption can only be orchestrated by individuals with a malevolent disposition and nature, who endorse the decline of ethics and perceive criminal behavior as customary. Since its inception under Ruhollah Khomeini’s leadership, the mullahs’ regime has made it their primary responsibility to promote the erosion of moral consciousness, the normalization of degenerate behavior, and the devaluation of human life. It would not be an exaggeration to say that there is no other government in the modern world that has formulated a strategy centered around the normalization and promotion of evil and criminality to the extent that it has become the foundation of its political structure and ideology.
Workers’ Strikes and Uprisings in Iran: The Threat to the Regime’s Existence in 2023
Iranian labor strikes and uprisings gain international attention as workers from all industries and social classes protest against the corrupt and repressive regime. In particular, the strike of petroleum employees poses a major threat to the government’s existence, as thousands of employees in the South Pars Oil project and other sectors demand better wages, working conditions, and job security. According to reports, the strikes have been going on for more than a week, with workers calling for a 79% increase in their salaries, which they consider fair given the 40% inflation rate and the rising cost of living. They also demand shorter working hours and a more balanced work-rest schedule. Despite the Supreme Labor Council’s recent approval of a 27% increase in minimum wages, many workers view this as inadequate and unfair.
Workers’ Rights Violations Continue in Iran Ahead of May Day Celebrations in 2023
As workers around the world are celebrating the Labor Day, workers in Iran are experiencing more suppression, layoffs, arrests, and lack of basic job security. Iran, a country where the rights and interests of its workforce are routinely and commonly abused and sacrificed, sits on top of the list of nations that do not protect the welfare of the country’s workforce. The purpose of an economy is to provide people with goods and services that are produced or manned by the country’s workforce. To protect the workforce, unions are formed, and countries have adopted different labor laws.
Stockholm—April 29, 2023: MEK Supporters Rallied to Celebrate International Workers’ Day, Supporting the Iranian Workers’ Strike
Stockholm, Sweden—April 29, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in front of the Swedish parliament in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. They celebrated International Workers’ Day and expressed their solidarity with the Iranian workers’ strike across the country.
Berlin—April 29, 2023: MEK Supporters Rallied to Celebrate International Workers’ Day, Supporting the Iranian Workers’ Strike
Berlin, Germany—April 29, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution.
San Francisco—April 29, 2023: MEK Supporters Held an Exhibition to Support the Iran Revolution
San Francisco —April 29, 2023: Members of the Iranian communities and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held an exhibition of the martyrs of the nationwide protests killed by the mullahs’ regime in Union Square in support of the Iranian Revolution.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – May 1, 2023
