THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:30 PM CET
Over 20 Million Workers in Iran Grapple with Job Insecurity, Official Admits
Highlighting the lack of proper employment contracts in Iran, Fathollah Bayat, Head of the Contractual and Casual Workers Union said that there are approximately 20 million workers facing job insecurity.
Bayat explained that Iran’s workforce consists of 15 million formal and 5 million informal workers but pointed out that about 96% of formal workers in the country are working on temporary contracts.
Additionally, unofficial statistics suggest that approximately 5 million individuals work informally without any job contracts and are not officially registered as part of the country’s workforce. These informal workers are employed in various sectors such as garment production, service centers, and medical clinics. They often work without formal contracts, signing either blank contracts or committing to forgo any demands or owed payments from their employers.
Iranian Regime’s Parliament Acknowledges 6 Million Reside in Slums
A recent report from the Parliamentary Research Center of the Majlis revealed that roughly six million people live in informal settlements, and these areas are seeing an increase in both size and the number of households.
According to a report published by Tejarat News on October 26, this population of six million people resides in places that lack essential amenities like quality healthcare and education. The report highlights that the issue of informal settlements is prevalent across all provinces in the country. This situation points to a risk that a larger portion of society may lose access to basic living rights.
According to the research center’s findings, approximately 20 million people in Iran live in inefficient housing structures, which include informal settlements, historic districts, and deteriorating areas.
The parliamentary research division notes that about six million of these individuals specifically inhabit informal settlements, where economic challenges and poverty have led them to occupy informal housing scattered throughout the country.
New US Treasury Sanctions Targeting Hamas and Senior IRGC Members
On Friday, October 27, the US Department of the Treasury announced new sanctions against individuals and entities associated with Hamas and senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
In a statement, the US Treasury Department stated, “Today’s action targets additional assets in Hamas’s investment portfolio and individuals who facilitate sanctions evasion. Today’s designations also underscore the critical role Iran plays in providing financial, logistical, and operational support to Hamas and our commitment to curtailing it.”
“We sanctioned a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange and its operator, which was used by multiple terrorist groups, including Hamas, to transfer funds. We also have taken steps to address systemic illicit finance risks posed by virtual currency mixing, a service that is often abused by illicit actors.
“The tools we have allow us to be both surgical in our targeting and expansive in the breadth of our efforts. Overall, the United States has targeted nearly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and its proxies, including Hamas, Hizballah, and other Iran-aligned terrorist groups in the region. And the work of the United States is bolstered by taking joint actions in Europe, including the asset freezes the United Kingdom and European Union have imposed on Hamas.”
UPDATE: 4:00 PM CET
Rick Scott Calls for Biden Administration To Revoke Iran Foreign Minister’s Visa
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on Thursday called for President Biden to immediately revoke Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s visa after he threatened the United States in a fiery speech before the United Nations General Assembly.
“Revoke his visa now. He is not welcome in America,” Scott urged Biden in a post on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.
Scott wrote: “The United States cannot tolerate threats to our nation from terror-sponsors.”
He reposted a clip of the Iranian foreign minister warning that the United States “won’t be spared from the fire of the war in the region” if the war in Gaza continues.
UPDATE: 2:30 PM CET
McCaul on Need for Decisive Action to Deter Iran Proxy Attacks
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) issued the following statement in response to the rise in Iranian-backed proxy attacks, supported by the IRGC and the Iranian regime, on U.S. forces and personnel.
”Since October 17, Iranian-sponsored proxies have carried out at least 16 attacks against U.S. servicemembers deployed in support of critical counter-ISIS missions. These attacks have resulted in injuries to more than 24 U.S. personnel. Faced with the threat of continued escalation by Iran and its proxies, the Biden administration has warned of a swift and decisive response. I urge this administration to ensure its words are turned into action. Enhancing our force posture in the region is good, but more needs to be done to deter Iran and its proxies from continuing to put the brave men and women who serve this nation at further risk.”
Regime’s Parliament Mandates Ministry of Communications to Bolster Cybersecurity
The IRGC-run Fars News Agency reported on October 25 that the regime’s parliament has mandated the Ministry of Communications to create a new organization within this ministry to ensure the regime’s cybersecurity. The new organization, referred to as the “Organization for Innovation, Smartization, and Security,” is intended to enhance cybersecurity measures.
The plan outlines that the Ministry of Communications must collaborate with other government bodies to consolidate the roles, structure, and personnel from various units related to information technology, cybersecurity, administrative development, research, and similar areas. The goal is to establish this new organization with a focus on enhancing security in cyberspace.
It’s important to note that on October 24, Mohammad Hosseini, the parliamentary deputy to Ebrahim Raisi, stated that it is now the government’s responsibility to train a workforce of 500,000 skilled specialists to address issues related to cyberspace and, subsequently, the digital economy.
UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET
Iranian Regime Initiates Operations at Twelfth West Azerbaijan Mine
The Head of the Iranian regime’s Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, announced that operations have commenced at the twelfth mine in West Azerbaijan as part of a significant investment in the extraction of radioactive materials.
According to the state-run PANA News Agency on October 25, during a press conference held on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, Eslami highlighted the regime’s plans to encompass the nuclear fuel cycle and the expansion of activities in the mining industry. The initiation of operations at the twelfth mine in West Azerbaijan, which began recently, represents a substantial five trillion rial investment. This investment is aimed at advancing the extraction of radioactive materials, underscoring Tehran’s agenda to expand its nuclear capabilities.
The source also quoted Eslami as saying that the progress of the Karun nuclear power plant has already begun and contracts for manufacturing of essential equipment for the power plant have been finalized.
Iranian Regime Transfers Prisons Away from Cities to Quell Protests
As part of its ongoing strategy to move prisons away from urban areas in order to suppress public protests and gatherings, the clerical regime has initiated the transfer of an additional 20 prisons to the outskirts of cities.
This move comes following an approval by the parliament as part of the review of the so-called “Seventh Five-Year Plan.”
As reported by state television on October 25, the decision was made to expedite the relocation of these 20 prisons, which are currently situated within city limits, particularly in major urban centers.
The state-run Borna News Agency claimed, “This decision was approved by the representatives of the Majlis during a parliamentary session on October 25. The goal is to improve the conditions of these prisons and correctional facilities while moving them away from densely populated areas.”
US Strikes 2 Facilities Linked to Iranian-Backed Militias in Syria Following Series of Attacks on US Forces in Middle East
UPDATE: 7:30 AM CET
Message to Conference at the US Senate
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s speech: “I salute you all. This gathering today about the issue of Iran has a critical message, which the world needs more than ever before. The message is to focus on the root cause of the war and crisis in the Middle East, which is the Iranian regime. The message is DO NOT overlook the primary source of warmongering in the region! Last year, in these days, there was a massive uprising in Iran, where the Iranian people demonstrated their opposition to all forms of dictatorship, by chants of “No to Shah, No to the mullahs.”
During these protests, the mullahs killed 750 youths. They arrested and tortured 30,000 people. In the 2019 uprising, they killed 1,500 people. Please think about these figures. What is now happening in Iran is a big war between the people of Iran and the ruling regime. The continuation of that war is what you see in the Middle East.
Blacklisting the IRGC Is the First Step To Stop Tehran’s Terrorist Threat
As he has for the past decades, Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei has resorted to warmongering to cover up his weakness in the face of uprisings and the explosive conditions in society. The more the smoke and flames of this warmongering subside, the more the world becomes aware of Khamenei’s destructive role.
The Iranian Resistance has long emphasized the necessity of striking the head of the snake in Tehran. Today, it is no secret that warmongering and sponsoring terrorism are essential and vital needs of the mullahs’ regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which are the main instruments of suppression of uprisings domestically and warmongering beyond Iran’s borders. This destructive role has become so evident that downplaying the necessity of designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization is considered a disgrace and political backwardness today.
Iran’s Regime Destroys Political Prisoners’ Graves To Erase Its Crimes
Reports indicate that the security forces of the Iranian regime have recently bulldozed a portion of Behesht-e Reza Mausoleum in Mashhad, which served as the burial site for political prisoners executed in the 1980s. The recent demolitions in Mashhad began at the start of October this year and have continued since then. While the policy of destroying the burial sites of executed political prisoners in Behesht-e Reza and Tapeh Salam Mashhad Cemetery has been on the security institutions’ agenda since 2015, it has intensified in recent days. Similar measures have been taken in other cities, including Ahvaz, Tabriz, and Babol. In Ahvaz, mass graves containing the remains of 44 political prisoners, who were buried in a barren area three kilometers east of Behesht-e Abad cemetery in the city, were destroyed, and new constructions were erected to erase evidence of the crimes.
Iranian Authorities Destroy Graves of Political Prisoners Executed in the 1980s
Security forces have reportedly demolished a section of the Behesht-e Reza Cemetery in the city of Mashhad, Iran, which was the burial site of political prisoners executed in the 1980s. According to social media reports, the recent demolitions in Mashhad began in early September and have continued since then.
While the policy of destroying the burial sites of executed political prisoners in the Behesht Reza Cemetery and Salam Hill in Mashhad has been in place since 2016, recent days have witnessed an intensification of these actions.
Similar inhuman actions have also been carried out in the cities of Ahvaz, Tabriz, and Babol. In Ahvaz, it is reported that mass graves containing the remains of 44 political prisoners, buried in a piece of remote land, three kilometers east of Behesht Abad Cemetery, were destroyed, and construction work was carried out there to eradicate the evidence of crimes.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – October 26, 2023
