NCRI

The Mounting Global Support of the Ongoing Anti-regime Iran Protests- Nr. 3 

Staff Writer

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The nationwide uprising in Iran that was sparked by the killing of a 22-years-young girl and highlighted the regime’s gender apartheid quickly escalated into a major revolution that is now calling for the end of the entire clerical establishment. 

Already into the second month, Iran’s revolution has claimed the support of many world leaders, legislators, NGOs, human rights activists, and celebrities around the world. As Iranians continue to suffer and get killed by the murderous regime, they increasingly need support and recognition worldwide, most notably their right to legitimate self-defense against Tehran’s killing machine. 

Some of the international community’s statements are reflected below.

Due to the length of the published content, older updates can be found here:

The Mounting Global Support of the Ongoing Anti-regime Iran Protests- Nr.1  

The Mounting Global Support of the Ongoing Anti-regime Iran Protests- Nr.2

Newer updates can be found here:

The Mounting Global Support of the Ongoing Anti-regime Iran Protests- Nr.4

 

November 15

 

November 14

The United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a statement on the continued crackdown on protestors in Iran. The statement reads: “We are deeply concerned about reports from Iran of mass arrests, sham trials, and now a death sentence for protesters voicing legitimate demands against a government that systematically denies basic dignity and freedom to its people.”

According to the Associated Press, the European Union and Britain imposed sanctions on two of the Iranian regime’s ministers and several senior police and military officials, including members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, over their roles in the security crackdown against massive anti-government protests.

According to Reuters, Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said a new round of sanctions on Iranian officials was focussed on those responsible for “heinous human rights violations”.

“Together with our partners, we have sent a clear message to the Iranian regime – the violent crackdown on protests must stop and freedom of expression must be respected,” Cleverly said in a statement.

At a meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: “A few days ago, I said that the Revolutionary Guards are responsible for the unimaginable crimes that are taking place in Iran. We must also examine the issue of terrorism. But as I said a few moments ago, this is not just a political announcement, but it must be based on the rule of law. Here in the EU, we have a clear system of sanctions in relation to terrorist listings, so we have to examine each case very carefully.”

“I think imposing sanctions in Iran important,” Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Tobias Billström told reporters before a meeting of the EU Council on Foreign Relations, APA reported.

“The serious accusations against the Iranian government regarding the sale of drones used by Russia in Ukraine to Iran is something that we must pay attention to. My position as the Swedish Foreign Minister is that sanctions are very important to stop the Iranian government’s ambitions to sell drones. This will show our open position and signal to Tehran that the use of drones against Ukraine is unacceptable. This trade must be stopped. Sanctions must also be applied to those who sell these drones,” he said.

 

November 12

The official website affiliated with the German chancellor announced: “We are witnessing what is happening on the streets, in the lecture halls, and in the courtrooms of Iran. We are appalled by the images from cities like Tehran, Sanandaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz. We are witnessing Iranians fighting for freedom and justice. We are witnessing a government, a member of the United Nations, shooting at its own citizens. This is completely unacceptable. Look closely and act. In the new episode of ‘Kanzler kompact’, Federal Chancellor Scholz explains how.”

 

November 11

UN experts urged the Iranian regime’s authorities to stop indicting people with charges punishable by death for participation, or alleged participation, in peaceful demonstrations.

Eight people were charged on 29 October by the Islamic Revolution Court, in Tehran province, with crimes carrying the death penalty, namely “waging war against God” or “moharebeh” and “corruption on earth”. Two days later, the Tehran prosecutor announced that some 1,000 indictments had been issued in connection with recent “riots” in Tehran province alone and that trials were scheduled in the Islamic Revolutionary Court for cases against a number of individuals. Public trials would take place “in the coming days”, the prosecutor said.

November 10

November 7

The European Council High Representative issued a statement on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Iran.

November 6

According to Abendblatt, the German SPD party strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s crackdown against the protest movement in Iran and called for further sanctions. The party’s statement read in part: “Hundreds of dead, political murders, countless injured and tens of thousands of prisoners who face draconian punishments up to the death penalty are the renewed expression of the inhuman ideology and violence of the Iranian regime.”

November 5

November 4

Following their meeting in Münster, G7 foreign ministers gave a joint statement on Iran and the state crackdown on protesters. The G7 statement read: “We, the G7 members, express our support for the fundamental aspiration of the people of Iran for a future where human security and their universal human rights are respected and protected. We condemn the violent death of the young Iranian woman “Jina” Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Iran’s so-called “morality police.” We further condemn the brutal and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters and children.”

“We strongly support international efforts to hold Iran to account for its downing of PS752, which killed 176 innocent civilians. We demand that Iran fulfill its international legal obligations without delay.”

November 3

November 2

US Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement and announced: “Iran has demonstrated through its denial of women’s rights and brutal crackdown on its own people that it is unfit to serve on this Commission; Iran’s very presence discredits the integrity of its membership and the work to advance its mandate.  This is why today the United States is announcing our intention to work with our partners to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.”

During her press briefing, the US White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “We welcome civil societies’ call for the immediate expulsion of the Islamic Republic from the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women. The U.S. government will take action to ensure Iran is removed.”

“Iran must end its use of violence against its own citizens simply for exercising their fundamental freedoms, their basic rights.  Until Iran changes its behavior, the United States will continue to impose costs and hold accountable Iranian officials and entities that are responsible for employing violence to suppress protests, civil society, and women’s rights.”

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN: “Today, we will be having something that we call an Arria-formula meeting on Iran, where we will be highlighting the conditions of Iranian women and supporting their right to protest. We will be bringing a number of countries together and hopefully send a message: One, to the Iranian women that we support them. But two, to the Iranian government that their actions are unacceptable.”

“We have already sanctioned the morality police, and we’re sanctioning others who are engaged with these protests and what they’re doing against the protesters. And we will continue to look for other actions that we can take to hold the Iranian government accountable for these horrific acts against women and other protesters.”

November 1

The Dutch Senate today adopted a motion calling on its government to “support any proposal” to remove the Iranian regime from the UN Women’s Rights Commission.

UN Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights group based in Geneva, has drafted a resolution for the 54-nation UN Economic Social Council (ECOSOC) to remove Iran. UN Watch holds special consultative status at ECOSOC. Other governments that support the removal of Iran include Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.

October 31

According to Reuters, Canada on Monday imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, marking the fourth package of sanctions it has implemented for alleged human rights violations in that country, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The latest sanctions target four individuals and two entities, including senior officials and Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces, which Canada accused of participating in the suppression and arrest of unarmed protesters, according to the statement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced Aotearoa New Zealand is suspending its bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with Tehran.

“This decision sends a strong signal that bilateral approaches on human rights are no longer tenable with Iran, when they are denying basic human rights and violently suppressing protests of those who stand up to them,”  Nanaia Mahuta said.

Canada is adding Iran’s national police force and an Iranian international university to its sanctions list as Tehran continues to crack down on weeks of dissent. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced the addition of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces and Al-Mustafa International University to Canada’s sanctions list on Monday. Joly accused the police force of participating in the lethal suppression and arbitrary detention of Iranian protesters.

October 30

October 28

United States Representative Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to America’s top technology companies urging them to provide the Iranian people the technology needed to overcome censorship and communicate securely. The appeal was co-led by Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

October 27

At a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said: “Canada salutes all Iranian who are fighting against tyranny, and we stand with the women and girls who are bravely defying the regime.  The message is simple: women’s rights are human rights.  We have a moral obligation to support the brave women of Iran and hold those persecuting them accountable.”

In an interview with CBC, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said: “The world is focused on the incredibly courageous women of Iran who are out in the streets virtually every day speaking up, speaking out, in incredible danger for their basic rights.  And that’s where our focus is as well.”

“We’ve taken steps… for example, with the protests, not only speaking up in support and in solidarity with those who are trying to simply speak out for their own rights, but also trying to make sure that communications technology could get to those people so that they can communicate with themselves and with the rest of the world.  We sanctioned the so-called morality police and others who are responsible for this terrible repression of the Iranian people.”

Responding to the unlawful killings of at least eight people by Iran’s security forces as they again opened fire on mourners and protesters in at least four provinces, Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “The Iranian authorities’ reckless and unlawful use of firearms against protesters, including live ammunition, reveals yet again the tragically high cost of international inaction. These brutal tragedies in Iran have seemingly become normalised.”

October 26

According to a statement issued by the United Nations media center, “UN human rights experts condemned the killings and the crackdown by security forces in Iran on protesters following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, including alleged arbitrary arrests and detentions, gender-based and sexual violence, excessive use of force, torture, and enforced disappearances. They urged that the reports be thoroughly and independently investigated and those responsible held to account.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 10 Iranian regime officials for the brutal ongoing crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran, as well as two Iranian intelligence actors and two Iranian entities involved in the Iranian government’s efforts to disrupt digital freedom.

OFAC’s statement reads: “Forty days after the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, Iranians continue to bravely protest in the face of brutal suppression and disruption of internet access,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian E. Nelson. “The United States is imposing new sanctions on Iranian officials overseeing organizations involved in violent crackdowns and killings, including of children, as part of our commitment to hold all levels of the Iranian government accountable for its repression.”

According to AFP, women foreign ministers from a dozen nations led by Canada’s Melanie Joly on Wednesday jointly condemned Iran’s violent crackdown on women’s rights, as protesters in Iran marked 40 days of unrest.

“As women foreign ministers, we feel a responsibility to echo the voices of Iranian women,” said a joint statement issued by ministers from Albania, Andorra, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Kosovo, Libya, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, and Norway.

According to SBS, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly condemned Iranian authorities and appealed for protesters to be treated with respect and dignity, in the wake of a bloody crackdown. Women have taken to the streets of the capital Tehran and elsewhere across the country to burn their hijabs in solidarity, following the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.

The German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said in a statement: “Every day, the human rights situation in Iran is deteriorating, and the security forces are cracking down more brutally on the women and men on the streets who demand nothing more than their universal human rights. More than 13,000 people are said to have been arrested and over 250 were shot or beaten to death. The systematic oppression of women and ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities in Iran is not new, but it is currently reaching an unprecedented new harshness. The situation in Iran is also becoming increasingly dangerous for German citizens.”

U.S. Representative Mike Levin (D-CA) sent a letter to Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen requesting the Department expeditiously review and approve licensing requests to help provide internet service to Iranian civilians amid protests in the country. Doing so would reinforce United States policy to support the Iranian people and facilitate the free flow of information to Iranian civilians protesting for their rights.

October 25

According to the official read-out of her office, United States Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield met with UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran Javaid Rehman and reiterated that the US will continue to stand with the brave Iranian people as they call for equal rights and basic human dignity.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield shared U.S. support for the Special Rapporteur’s call for an independent investigation to hold accountable those responsible for the violence being carried out by the Government of Iran.

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