THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:00 PM CET
State Media Raise Alarm Concerning Financial Crises
Iran’s financial calamity has reached a point where the tightly controlled state media acknowledge some aspects of the country’s economic crunch and the regime’s failure and unwillingness to address them.
“In just the past two years, the escalation of housing prices, rental costs, automobiles, and essential commodities has reached unprecedented levels, leaving one astonished. The sheer magnitude of these exorbitant prices, coupled with the apathy exhibited by government officials towards the economic sector, will undeniably leave a lasting imprint in the nation’s collective memory,” the state-run Sharq daily wrote on May 17.
“What is glaringly evident on the forefront is the distressing reality of a misery index surpassing 40%, accompanied by an alarming inflation rate of 50%, aspects that seem doesn’t need economists and analysts to understand it!” the paper adds.
“The soaring cost of living is not limited to everyday expenses alone. Even after one’s passing, burdensome financial obligations befall the grieving families. These families, predominantly from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, find themselves unable to bear the costs associated with funerals, burials, and interments,” the state-run ILNA News Agency wrote on May 17.
UPDATE: 8:30 PM CET
Iran Protests at a Glance
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
Protests and strikes continued in several cities across Iran on Wednesday, as the mullahs’ regime has escalated executions.
Brave youths across Iran have launched a new campaign of anti-regime attacks and measures in the capital Tehran and at least eight other cities, responding to the mullahs’ brutal wave of executions. These attacks and measures include:
- Attacking a branch of the regime’s so-called judiciary in Mashhad
- Attacking IRGC paramilitary Basij bases in the cities of Tehran, Arak, Kermanshah, and Urmia
- An attack on the so-called “Khomeini Relief Committee” in Urmia
- Attacking a branch of the regime’s bonyads (economic foundations) in Bandar Anzali that are involved in plundering the locals
- An attack on a so-called “Islamic Cultural Center” in Isfahan that the regime uses to promote the mullahs’ ideology of hatred, misogyny, and fundamentalism
May 17 – Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
More footage of retirees and pensioners of the regime's Social Security Organization holding a gathering demanding their rights while protesting their low pensions.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/bcoRMpRoAP— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 17, 2023
Pensioners and retirees of the regime’s Social Security Organization in Ahvaz, the provincial capital of Khuzestan, held rallies on Wednesday, protesting poor living conditions.
In other news, natural resources workers in the city of Shiraz, south-central Iran, who have placed down payments for housing projects, held a protest demanding the houses they have long been promised.
May 17 – Shiraz, south-central #Iran
Natural resources workers who have placed down payments with housing projects are demanding their promised houses that they have been long neglected.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/7Z7corzFGa— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 17, 2023
People in the city of Ilam, western Iran, who have placed down payments for homes, protested the authorities’ refusal to deliver on their promises.
May 17 – Ilam, western #Iran
People who have placed down payments for homes are protesting the authorities' refusal to deliver on their promises. Some of these people have been waiting for 12 years.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/GJaGd4ZJBf— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 17, 2023
Locals in different districts of Isfahan, a large city in central Iran, the Jannat Abad district of the capital Tehran, and Shiraz in south-central Iran were chanting anti-regime slogans on Tuesday night, including:
“Down with Khamenei!”
“Down with the republic of executions!”
“Down with the child-killing regime!”
“Protests will not stop!”
May 16 – Tehran, #Iran
Locals in the capital's Jannat Abad district began chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
"Down with Khamenei!"
"Down with the dictator!"
"Down with the republic of executions!"#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/gNnfdlvvnF— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 16, 2023
State Can’t Crackdown on Hunger, State-affiliated Expert Warns
In an interview that was supposed to address the different aspects and problems of Iran’s educational system, a state-affiliated sociologist acknowledged the huge inequality in society and warned that discrimination will eventually become dangerous for the ruling class.
Discussing religious non-profit schools, Ahmad Bokharaee told the state-run Dideban Iran website on May 16: “After the revolution, the long span of this type of education in Iran created a gap and lead to discrimination. Due to the inequality in the distribution of wealth, a new class emerged… Now the educational system has become the property of the emerging religious class.”
“The uprising of the weak sections in society is not like the protest against the hijab, which diminishes with strictness and threats because the demands are different,” he further explained. “The issue of veiling was affected by cultural and social issues and some people got what they wished for, but a hungry person cannot be restrained.”
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET
US House Members Draft Plan to Expose Khamenei’s Financial Resources
Two Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Joe Wilson (R-SC 2nd District) and Kevin Hearn (R-OK 1st District) have proposed a bill that would mandate the U.S. Secretary of State to disclose the estimated wealth and financial resources of Khamenei and his family members.
Once the plan receives approval from Congress and is signed into law by the President, the U.S. government will be obligated to compile a report detailing Khamenei’s wealth no later than 180 days after the bill’s approval and make it publicly available on the official U.S. government website.
According to the draft, the State Department’s report should encompass various information, including assets, investments, and other financial and business interests held by Khamenei and his family members. Additionally, the draft also addresses the scrutiny of the Khamenei family’s connections and holdings with institutions such as the Mustazafan Foundation and Astan Quds Razavi.
Justice Department Announces Five Cases as Part of Recently Launched Disruptive Technology Strike Force
The Justice Department today announced criminal charges in five cases and four arrests from five different U.S. Attorney’s offices in connection with the recently launched multi-agency Disruptive Technology Strike Force.
The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce to counter efforts by hostile nation-states to illicitly acquire sensitive U.S. technology to advance their authoritarian regimes and facilitate human rights abuses. The Strike Force’s work has led to the unsealing of charges against multiple defendants in five cases accused of crimes including export violations, smuggling and theft of trade secrets.
The fifth and final case involves a Chinese procurement network established to provide Iran with materials used in weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and ballistic missiles. In the Southern District of New York, a PRC national is charged with allegedly participating in a scheme to use his employer to conduct transactions with a U.S. financial institution for the benefit of a purported Iranian entity, as part of an effort to provide isostatic graphite, a material used in the production of WMDs, to Iran.
“These charges demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to preventing sensitive technology from falling into the hands of foreign adversaries, including Russia, China, and Iran,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “We will not tolerate those who would violate U.S. laws to allow authoritarian regimes and other hostile nations to use advanced technology to threaten U.S. national security and undermine democratic values around the world.”
‘No Respect for International Law’: The Nightmare of Europeans Who Are Held Hostage in Iran
Europeans detained in Iran are facing torture, lengthy sentences and for some even the death penalty. Euronews spoke to some of their family members about their hopes and fears. Mariam Claren’s says her life changed forever after her 68-year-old mother Nahid Taghavi was arrested in October 2020 by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Taghavi was charged with disrupting national security and disseminating propaganda against the state. In fact, Taghavi was an Iranian-German activist who had dedicated her life to women’s and labour rights in Iran.
For some exiled Iranians, Europe is now home. This is the case for Massoumeh Raouf. Raouf was only 20 years old when he was arrested in the street in September 1981. Accused of collaborating with the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran, she told Euronews that she was sentenced to “20 years in prison, during a 10-minute sham trial by a judge following Shariah law.”
After eight months in prison, she managed to escape, seeking political exile in France in the 1980s. She has continued her battle for Iranian justice from abroad, with the National Council of Iranian Resistance. “I am thankful France gave me the chance to come here,” she says.
Risch Statement on U.S. Iran Policy
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on U.S. Iran policy:
“It’s been over six months since President Biden declared the JCPOA ‘dead’ and we’re still no closer to a more comprehensive Iran policy. Strategic ambiguity on Iran policy only serves to embolden the regime and push our partners closer to China. As Iran continues to illegally seize vessels, target Americans in the region, and support its terror proxies and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Americans deserve a policy that is more than a failed nuclear negotiation.”
UPDATE: 7:30 AM CET
Iran: Execution of Eight Prisoners in Bandar Abbas, Minab, Khorram Abad Protests Against Cruel Death Sentences
This morning, May 15, five prisoners, including Jalal Rigi, Abdurrahman Musa Zehi, and Mehran Aminifar, were executed in Bandar Abbas and Minab prisons. Mohammad Paydar and Peyman Akbari Birgani were hanged in Khorram Abad prison, and one prisoner was hanged in Lakan prison in Rasht. These executions have resulted in an alarming increase in the number of recorded executions in less than a month, reaching a minimum of 90 prisoners. The actual number of executions is higher than reported.
In Tehran, families of prisoners facing death sentences staged a protest rally outside the regime’s judiciary on Keshavarz Street, demanding an end to the cruel punishment for their loved ones. Similar protests took place in Bandar Abbas, where the families held placards reading “No to execution” and “Don’t execute my father.”
Documents Reveal Details of Tehran’s Campaign To Discredit MEK
On May 7, an Iranian dissident group, Ghiam ta Sarnegouni (uprising until regime overthrow), seized control of 210 websites, apps, servers, and databases belonging to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, obtaining tens of thousands of classified documents. A batch of documents reveal the Iranian regime’s fear of its principal opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), and how the regime mobilized its entire diplomatic apparatus against the organization. One document states that the Supreme National Security Council has assigned the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) as the main entity responsible for combating the MEK.
Iran’s Protests Escalate Despite Regime Increasing Brutal Executions
Iran’s nationwide uprising is witnessing its 243rd day on Tuesday as people from all walks of life are continuing their anti-regime protests. These rallies, gatherings, and strikes are continuing and gaining strength despite the fact that the mullahs’ regime has been increasing the number of brutal executions recently. Eight inmates in the cities of Bandar Abbas, Minab, Khorramabad, and Rasht were sent to the gallows. At least 90 inmates have been executed since April 21. People throughout Iran continue to specifically hold the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for their miseries, while also condemning the oppressive Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij units, alongside other security units that are on the ground suppressing the peaceful demonstrators.
How Iran’s Regime Uses Drug Addiction as a Tool of Oppression
Opioid addiction is exploding across Iran, adding to the country’s social instability. Many viral videos show men and women openly using drugs in the nation’s capital Tehran illustrating the scale of the problem. This is how geography, global politics, and the regime’s mischiefs have created what might be the highest rates of opioid addiction in the world. In 2017, the regime’s troops and border guards seized 630 tons of opium and 39 tons of heroin at the country’s border with Afghanistan. This represents around 25% of all heroin and a staggering 90% of all opium seized in the world that year. And this is not unusual. Iran regularly intercepts more opioids than most other countries combined. According to the UN, nobody has seized more opium-based drugs than police in Iran— $4 billion of it. Modern recreational drugs have a long and rich history in Iran.
Can the Sultan of Oman Heal the Pain of the Caliph of Iran in 2023?
Haitham bin Tariq, the Sultan of Oman, is scheduled to travel to Tehran for a visit. Some analysts have evaluated this visit as an attempt to mediate between Tehran and Washington, a subject that has a precedent as Sultan Qaboos has played an important intermediary role in the covert and overt relations between Tehran and Washington in the past years. However, can Haitham bin Tariq’s trip heal the pain of the caliph of the Islamic Republic of Iran? Haitham bin Tariq, the Sultan of Oman, recently announced after the visit of Mohammad Bagheri, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, that he will soon travel to Tehran.
Educational Crisis in Iranian Schools in 2023
In a propaganda meeting with a group of supporters on the occasion of Teacher’s Day, the hypocrite religious fascist leader Khamenei took the opportunity to talk about education and said, “There are some officials in the country who suggest that we separate education from the government and give it to the private sector and take the heavy burden and budget of education off our shoulders! They deserve our gratitude; this is a good idea to destroy the country. Education is the pride of the government, and no system can take this pride away from itself. Education in every country is the responsibility of the ruling system, just like everywhere else in the world” (Khamenei’s website, April 22, 2023).
Stuttgart, Germany—May 13, 2023: MEK Supporters Rally to Support the Iran Revolution
Stuttgart, Germany—May 13, 2023: Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and freedom-loving Iranians gathered to show their solidarity with the ongoing Iranian Revolution.
Stockholm—May 13, 2023: MEK Supporters Rallied to Support the Iran Revolution
Stockholm, Sweden—May 13, 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.
Washington, DC—May 13, 2023: Freedom-Loving Iranians and MEK Supporters Demonstrated in Front of the White House in Support of the Iran Revolution
Washington, DC—May 13, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) demonstrated in front of the White House to show their solidarity with the ongoing Iranian Revolution.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – May 16, 2023
