THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:00 PM
Iran, Not Gaza, Is at the Center of the Middle East Chaos, Experts Say
Multiple military escalations and airstrikes across the Middle East are amplifying concerns about the region edging closer to a larger war.
At the center of the chaos is Iran which is using its military proxies in Yemen and Lebanon to fight Israel, while also attacking Pakistan and Iraq to combat separatist militant groups.
Some security experts in the West argue that Iran’s attacks in Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan are not directly connected to the Israel-Hamas war, and instead stem from Tehran’s internal security concerns about the yearslong threat of violence by Islamic militants and separatist groups. Other analysts counter that Iranian foreign policy is deeply rooted in anti-Israel and anti-U.S. sentiment, with the Gaza war acting as a catalyst for Iran’s aggression across the region.
UPDATE: 8:00 PM
British Parliamentarians Examine Gender Apartheid In Afghanistan And Iran
On January 8, 2024, a group of British Parliamentarians, led by a prominent lawyer and Peer at the U.K. House of Lords, Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, launched an inquiry into the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and Iran, the Gender Apartheid Inquiry (the Inquiry). The Inquiry, the first of this sort in the world, is set to consider the situation of women and girls in Iran and Afghanistan, assess the scale and nature of the situation, and analyze it against the existing legal definitions of international crimes. It is further to explore the concept of “gender apartheid” and how it fits within the existing international legal framework.
Tuesday Protests in Iran
In Kermanshah, western Iran, retired government employees reignited protest rallies, advocating for increased pensions and addressing other essential needs. The demonstrators, composed of retired individuals from various government sectors, expressed their dissatisfaction with the current state of their pensions and sought improved financial support to cope with the rising cost of living.
January 23—Kermanshah, western #Iran
Retired government employees resume protest rallies, demanding higher pensions and other basic needs.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/46MlQY3B80— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 23, 2024
Simultaneously, in Ahvaz, located in the southwest of Iran, retired government employees took to the streets to voice similar concerns. The protesters were specifically demanding higher pensions, highlighting the challenges they face amid the escalating costs of essential goods and services.
The rallies underscore a growing sentiment among retired public servants who seek better financial conditions to sustain their livelihoods in the face of economic pressures.
January 23—Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
Retired government employees hold protest rally, demanding higher pensions as the costs of living continue to soar.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/nwTjunX6Ml— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 23, 2024
Fresh US/UK Airstrikes ‘Send Clear Message’ to Houthis, Says Cameron
A fresh set of US and UK airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen were intended to “send the clearest possible message that Britain backs its words and our warnings with action”, David Cameron has said. The foreign secretary insisted he was confident that attacks carried out 10 days ago by Britain and the US had had an effect on degrading the Houthis’ abilities to attack shipping in the Red Sea.
“Since we last took action 10 days ago, there have been over 12 attacks on shipping by the Houthis in the Red Sea,” he told the BBC. “These attacks are illegal, they are unacceptable. What we have done again is send the clearest possible message that we will continue to degrade their ability to carry out these attacks while sending the clearest possible message that we back our words and our warnings with action.”
UPDATE: 12:30 PM
U.S. Forces, Allies Conduct Joint Strikes in Yemen
TAMPA, Fla. – As part of ongoing international efforts to respond to increased Houthi destabilizing and illegal activities in the region, on Jan. 22 at approximately 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa / Yemen time), U.S. Central Command forces alongside UK Armed Forces, and with the support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, conducted strikes on 8 Houthi targets in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen.
These strikes from this multilateral coalition targeted areas in Houthi-controlled Yemen used to attack international merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region. The targets included missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities.
UPDATE: 10:30 AM
Iran’s Regime Executes Political Prisoner Mohammad Ghobadlou in Relation to 2022 Nationwide Uprising
Iranian authorities in Ghezel Hesar prison, Karaj, executed political prisoner Mohammad Ghobadlou on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, for taking part in anti-regime protests.
Ghobadlou, 23, was arrested in Tehran in October 2022, during the nationwide uprisings that erupted after the regime’s security forces murdered a young girl, Mahsa Amini, for violating the regime’s hijab rules.
He was charged with the murder of one of the repressive forces who had been dispatched to suppress the protests. His case was overseen by Abolghasem Salavati, a notorious judge under U.S. and European sanctions for his role in human rights abuses, especially against dissidents.
Ghobadlou was denied access to a lawyer of his choosing and was appointed an attorney by the court. He was charged with “Corruption on Earth” and sentenced to death despite a severely flawed judicial process and lack of evidence aside from confessions obtained under torture.
UPDATE: 8:30 AM
Iranian Regime Insiders Clearly Point Out That the Regime’s Only Red Line Is the PMOI
As the day of the Iranian regime’s sham parliamentary elections approaches, regime officials, especially supreme leader Ali Khamenei, are extremely anxious and worried about a mass boycott. Thus, the entire extensive propaganda apparatus of the regime has mobilized to prevent the inevitable humiliating results. The situation seems so dire for the regime that even the politicians of the marginalized factions are rushing to save the tyrannical rules of the mullahs. Despite having been eliminated from politics by Khamenei, this group insists on repeating and emphasizing that “we are all on the same boat” and that we must use our fingers to plug its holes and prevent it from sinking.
Echoes of Desperation: Tehran’s Hail Mary Bid to Influence US Policy
In September 2023, a seismic revelation shook the foundations of U.S. national security when credible reports exposed a disturbing infiltration of the U.S. government by agents of the Iranian regime. The damning report by Semafor laid bare a sprawling propaganda network, the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), intricately linked to the regime in Tehran. Shockingly, this network allegedly included a senior Pentagon official and influential overseas academics, all implicated in disseminating Tehran’s talking points within American policymaking circles. The tentacles of this network reached even into the echelons of U.S. diplomacy, with former aide to U.S. Iran envoy Robert Malley implicated in the scandal. Malley himself faced suspension earlier in the year for alleged mishandling of classified information.
How Iran’s Regime Is Spinning Words to Whitewash Economic Problems
Since its founding, the mullahs’ regime in Iran has mastered the craft of spinning words and changing the meaning of terms to serve its needs in different situations.
And now, the state-affiliated media are readily using the phrase “imbalance” to indicate economic failures. It is employed to justify budget deficits, embezzlements by banks, and the disarray of financial systems. Regime experts and economists, either within the system or under its influence, use such phrases to present analyses and describe a fraction of the economic crises and disasters that are plaguing the country. However, it is necessary to investigate beyond these evaluations and analyses to uncover the severity of the economic situation.
Challenges in Iranian Education and The Impact of Teacher Scarcity
After the release of reports highlighting the shortage of teachers in Iran’s schools, with numerous classrooms across various cities left without educators, the Ministry of Education has responded to these concerns by issuing an official notice. In a brief statement, the Information and Public Relations Center of the Ministry of Education conveyed the following:
‘To provide a prompt and clear response to the public, it was announced last week during a television program featuring the Minister of Education that, in cases where there is a shortage of teachers in schools, individuals are encouraged to directly submit their concerns to this center, bypassing intermediaries, for thorough follow-up and examination.’
Iran’s Regime and the Escalating Crisis in Yemen: Malign Activities and Terrorism Links
Recent intelligence reports obtained by Politico highlight Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ relentless pursuit of additional weapons from Tehran, signaling an alarming escalation in their efforts to target shipping lanes in the Red Sea. U.S. officials, backed by Western intelligence, have been monitoring the Houthis’ increased planning for intensified attacks, including attempts to procure additional weaponry capable of targeting commercial vessels.
The Houthis, supported by Iran, are reportedly seeking to continue their assaults on shipping in the Red Sea, posing a direct threat to international maritime activities. There are also concerns that the militant group may extend its targets to Western forces operating in the region, heightening the risk of a broader conflict in the Middle East. Despite recent U.S.-led strikes against the group, the Houthis remain undeterred, persisting in their attacks on commercial shipping.
IRGC and Hezbollah Operatives Among Casualties in Yemen Airstrikes
Amidst ongoing regional tensions and the Iran regime’s alleged malign activities, including war-mongering in the Middle East and support for terrorist organizations, recent British and American airstrikes targeted Houthi facilities in Yemen, resulting in 75 casualties, as reported by Yemeni sources to Sky News Arabia.
Among the deceased were operatives from the Iran regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The airstrikes, conducted in various locations, led to the death of nine foreign experts, including three from the IRGC and six from Hezbollah.
Perilous Skies: The Escalating Crisis of Air Pollution in Iran
In a distressing scenario where air pollution has become a persistent issue in Iran, the month of January is witnessing a surge in air pollution, marked by a ‘red’ status in various regions across the country.
The air quality monitoring center of the General Department of Environmental Protection of East Azerbaijan has declared the air condition in Tabriz with a pollution index of 151, categorizing it as ‘red’ and deeming it ‘unhealthy for all age groups’.
Simultaneously, the Tehran Air Quality Control Company has labeled the air in the capital as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ in most areas, with eleven regions reaching a ‘red’ status and being classified as ‘unhealthy’.
Ghazaleh Zare’E, a Rights Activist and Journalist, Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison
The Iranian Judiciary has sentenced a rights activist, Ghazaleh Zare’e, to three years of imprisonment. Ghazaleh Zare’e is originally from Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan Province in western Iran. She defends the rights of labor children and street children. She had been arrested in Khorramabad by security forces on July 30, 2023, and imprisoned in the detention center of the city’s Department of Intelligence. She spent 23 days in solitary confinement and 10 days in the women’s ward of the Prison of Khorramabad before being eventually released temporarily on a bail of 500 million Tomans.
The Revolutionary Court of Khorramabad sentenced Ms. Zare’e to one year in prison for disseminating “propaganda against the state” and to two years in jail for alleged “formation of a group to sabotage national security.”
The Fall of Iran’s Middle Class and the Rise of Rent-Seeking Mafia
One of the indicators of the growth and development of any country is the expansion and prosperity of the middle class. The existence of a thriving middle class in any society is a key driver of economic growth and development. Governments that have properly protected and supported the middle class have been able to guide the country’s economy on the path of growth and development. The spread of poverty, lack of development, and destruction of Iran’s middle class are pushing society towards polarization. There is a prosperous class that emerges through government control and utilizes the wealth that belongs to the general public, while the second class is impoverished. The Iranian regime is rapidly exploiting natural resources such as oil, gas, water, and land in the country.
Paris—January 20, 2024: MEK Supporters Organized an Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iran Revolution
On January 20, 2024, in Paris, France, freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a photo exhibition and set up a book table to express solidarity with the Iranian Revolution.
