THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 8:30 PM CET
Iran Uprising at a Glance
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 209
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 675 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
Rezvnshahr, northern #Iran
Protesters tore posters of regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.#IranRevoIution pic.twitter.com/otlWQSSZBP— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 12, 2023
Iran’s nationwide uprising marked its 209th day on Wednesday as protests and anger among the Iranian public are escalating over the regime’s orchestrated and organized chemical gas attacks targeting the country’s schools. Over 1,300 students and school faculty have been poisoned in the recent wave of attacks, according to the regime’s own state media. At least 505 schools in 109 cities have been affected. Students and their parents are protesting these attacks and thus boycotting their classes in response to the regime’s atrocities.
Shiraz, south-central #Iran
Protesters torched a poster of regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.#IranRevoIution #IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/woD409pHpY— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 12, 2023
In Rezvanshahr, northern Iran, protesters tore posters of regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In Shiraz, south-central Iran, protesters torched a poster of regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
April 11 – Tehran, #Iran
Locals in the capital's Shahin district began chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
"Down with the dictator!"
"Down with Khamenei, the murderer!"#IranRevoIution pic.twitter.com/UGsSgRzcK4— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 11, 2023
Locals in Tehran’s Shahin district began chanting anti-regime slogans on Tuesday night, including:
“Down with the dictator!”
“Down with Khamenei, the murderer!”
April 11 – Sarbandar, southwest #Iran
Contract workers in the Salman Farsi Special Petrochemical Site are protesting the officials' refusal to increase their pay and went on strike today.#IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/rhqCR7bXx6— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 11, 2023
Also on Tuesday, in Sarbandar, southwest Iran, contract workers in the Salman Farsi Special Petrochemical Site staged a protest against the officials’ refusal to increase their pay and went on strike today.
UPDATE: 1:30 PM CET
To Cover Up Crimes Against Humanity, Iran’s Regime Wants to Relocate Major Prison
In a bid to eradicate traces of crimes against humanity during the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, the Iranian regime plans to relocate the Gohardasht prison outside Karaj city.
According to the official IRNA news agency on April 10, the regime’s Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei has ordered the head of the country’s Prison Organization to move the prison as soon as possible.
On April 6, IRNA quoted Mojtaba Abdollahi, the governor of Alborz province: “Expediting the transfer of the national prison in Rajai Shahr is a serious demand of the people from the head of the Judiciary.”
Gohardasht Prison in Karaj City, Alborz province, is notorious for the execution and torture of thousands of members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization as well as other political prisoners in the summer of 1988. During the trial of one of the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre that took place in a Stockholm court in Sweden, evidence and testimonies were presented by those who survived the state-sponsored mass hangings.
Iran in Secret Talks With China, Russia To Acquire Sanctioned Missile Fuel
China and Russia are in advanced secret talks with Iran to replenish the Islamic Republic’s supply of a key chemical compound used to propel ballistic missiles, diplomats familiar with the matter say, a move that would mark a clear violation of United Nations sanctions and possibly help Moscow replenish its depleted stock of rockets.
Tehran has held concurrent negotiations with officials and government-controlled entities from both countries, including the state-owned Russian chemical maker FKP Anozit, to acquire large amounts of ammonium perchlorate, or AP, the main ingredient in solid propellants used to power missiles, said the diplomats, who requested anonymity in order to discuss confidential information.
In Beijing, Iranian diplomat Sajjad Ahadzadeh, who serves as Tehran’s “technology counselor” in China and the broader region has led the talks to acquire AP, according to the diplomats familiar with the matter. The diplomats said they didn’t know which Chinese companies were involved, however.
UPDATE: 10:30 AM CET
Three Senior Officials Dismissed from Raisi’s Administration
A convergence of social and economic crises is taking a heavy toll on the clerical dictatorship. Following the alleged “resignation” of the regime’s Minister of Education, the spokesman of Raisi’s government Bahadori Jahormi announced the dismissal of Mirkazemi, the head of the Program and Budget Organization, and Sadatinejad, the Minister of Agriculture. Jahormi also said that the CEO of the Innovation Fund has been dismissed.
“Due to the global inflation and the increase in prices after the Ukraine war and the recession following the Corona period, evaluations were made and led to the transfer of management,” Jahromi claimed on April 11. “Seyyed Mohammad Aghamiri, who previously served as the head of the country’s veterinary organization, given his education related to the agricultural sector, is currently going to be elected as the acting minister of Agricultural Jihad and replace Seyyed Javadsadatinejad [dismissed Minister], who of course will use the experiences of the previous minister in the management sector.”
According to Bahadori, Dawood Manzoor replaced Masoud Mirkazemi as the head of the Program and Budget Organization and Mohammad Sadeq Khayatian replaced Ali Vahdat as the new CEO of the Innovation and Prosperity Fund.
Raisi’s administration spokesman claimed that Mirkazemi’s dismissal was at his own request, adding that Mirkazemi had asked Raisi to resign from the government due to his “heart problems”. Earlier this year, the IRGC-run Fars news agency announced the dismissal of Mirkazemi from the head of the Program and Budget Organization in the near future.
Meanwhile, there have been speculations about the dismissal of Ehsan Khandozi, the Minister of Economy.
Tasnim news agency, another IRGC-affiliated news site wrote: “There is a possibility that a minister of one of the government’s non-economic ministries will be replaced in the coming weeks. Due to his physical condition, this minister has asked the president to decide on the continuation of his activity.”
Exclusive-Iran Exploits Quake Relief Mission to Fly Weapons to Syria -Sources
AMMAN (Reuters) – Iran has used earthquake relief flights to bring weapons and military equipment into its strategic ally Syria, nine Syrian, Iranian, Israeli, and Western sources said. The sources told Reuters that the goal was to buttress Iran’s defences against Israel in Syria and to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters is the first to report this development.
After the Feb. 6 earthquake in northern Syria and Turkey, hundreds of flights from Iran began landing in Syria’s Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia airports bringing supplies, and this went on for seven weeks, the sources said. More than 6,000 people died in all of Syria, according to the United Nations.
The supplies included advanced communications equipment and radar batteries and spare parts required for a planned upgrade of Syria’s Iran-provided air defence system in its civil war, said the sources, two regional sources and a Western intelligence source said.
UPDATE: 9:30 AM CET
Continuous Chemical Gas Attacks in Iran Spark More Protests, Outrage
Regime operatives across Iran are continuing and expanding their latest wave of chemical gas attacks targeting innocent schoolgirls. Dozens of students have been transferred to hospitals to receive urgent medical care for poisonings. These attacks are leading to a surge in protests by the Iranian people and outrage among the public over the atrocities of the mullahs’ dictatorship and their enmity against the country’s population. 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.
Iranian Schools Rocked by Series of Chemical Attacks on Female Students
At least eight Iranian schools and a conservatory in Shahin Shahr, Isfahan, including Menouchehr Ansari Girls’ School, Al-Yasin Girls’ High School, and Fahmideh School, were attacked with toxic gas on Tuesday, April 11. Female students from Shayan Girls’ School in Isfahan, Enghelab-e Eslami in Tabriz, Khadijeh Kobra in Ashnooyeh, Shima Moradi in Kermanshah, and one school in Bandar Gonaveh are among the other victims of this crime. The Iranian regime has denied the attacks, with officials at some schools preventing the entry of students’ parents and ambulances to the schools. Some families have had to take their children to medical centers due to the lack of ambulances.
Zhina Modarres Gorji and Zeinab Zaman Arrested and Imprisoned
In recent days, the mullahs’ regime has continued its campaign of arrests and imprisonments of human rights activists, along with issuing prison and flogging sentences for them. Among them are the arrests and imprisonments of Zhina Modarres Gorji and Zeinab Zaman, as well as the sentencing of Parya Karim Adnani to imprisonment and lashes. Zhina Modarres Gorji, a journalist and women’s rights activist from Sanandaj has been arrested for the second time by intelligence forces. According to informed sources, on Monday, April 10, 2023, around 2 pm, Zhina Modarres Gorji was violently arrested by the Intelligence Department of Sanandaj agents and transferred to the city’s Correctional and Rehabilitation Center.
The Resilient Uprising, a New Phenomenon Shaking Iran’s Regime
In the last twenty years, the Middle East has experienced a series of uprisings. The world witnessed the protests that followed the fraudulent 2009 presidential election, which served as an inspiration for other countries and individuals to speak out for change. Subsequently, in the early 2010s, predominantly young people in Arab countries rose up peacefully against oppressive authoritarian regimes, demanding a more democratic political system and a better economic future. These protests were driven by a variety of common factors, including a lack of reforms, human rights violations, political corruption, economic decline, high unemployment rates, extreme poverty, and a significant proportion of educated but discontented youth.
Iran’s Battle With COVID-19: A Tail of Deception, Mismanagement, and Tragedy
Iran’s record on unleashing COVID-19 to the masses, lies and fabrications, and hollow promises resemble a dark era of the religious dictatorship’s rein on the country. A tragedy that took the lives of close to 600,000 people. Unfortunately, the recent news from Iran warns of the virus’s comeback, and as usual, the government is taking the old “ignorance” position. On April 5, 2023, in a meeting with a group of poets close to the government, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, expressed a host of lies regarding his mere role in the Coronavirus catastrophe. Without mentioning his role in the widespread deaths caused by the Coronavirus in Iran in the last few days, he claimed that the “drug and vaccine embargo” imposed by Western countries was to blame for this situation.
Vienna, Austria—April 8, 2023: MEK Supporters Rally to Support the Iran Revolution
Vienna, Austria—April 8, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. The Iranian community in Vienna supported their rising compatriots and pledged to continue to call for freedom and democracy in Iran.
Heidelberg, Germany—April 8, 2023: MEK Supporters Rally to Support the Iran Revolution
Heidelberg, Germany—April 8, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. The Iranian community in Heidelberg supported their rising compatriots and pledged to continue to call for freedom and democracy in Iran.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – April 11, 2023
