THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 6:00 PM CEST
Iranian Regime’s Delegation Will Not Attend World Bank Meeting in the US
The Iranian regime’s the Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, Ehsan Khandouzi will not attend the World Bank meeting due to the United States’ refusal to issue his travel visa.
According to the state-run ISNA news agency on Sunday, April 17, “due to the US government’s delay” in issuing visas for the regime’s economic delegation to attend the World Bank spring meeting, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, Ehsan Khandozi, canceled his visit to the US. The summit will be held in Washington on Monday and will last for a week.
UPDATE: 4:30 PM CEST
Yemen’s Houthis Went From Ragtag Militia to Force Threatening Gulf Powers
BEIRUT, Lebanon — When a band of scrappy rebels known as the Houthis stormed out of the mountains of northern Yemen in 2014 and took over the capital, Sana, their friends and foes alike dismissed them as unsophisticated tribal fighters running around in sandals and armed with cheap guns.
But during the civil war that has shattered Yemen in the years since, the group has gone through a remarkable transformation. It now rules a repressive proto-state in northern Yemen and wields a vast arsenal that includes an array of cruise and ballistic missiles and kamikaze boats.
Tehran Threatens to Eliminate IAEA Footage at Natanz
The spokesman for the Iranian regime’s Atomic Energy Organization threatened that if Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency do not reach an agreement, the information of surveillance cameras at Iran’s nuclear facilities may be eliminated.
In an interview with the state-run Al-Alam TV on Saturday, April 16, while discussing the transfer of nuclear equipment from the TESA complex in Karaj to the Natanz facility Behrouz Kamalvandi said: “Unfortunately, because of the terrorist operation against the TESA complex in Karaj, we had to intensify security measures, and we moved a significant part of these machines. In other words, the centrifuges were moved to a safer place because of their importance, and they are still working.”
“The agency’s cameras were installed at the Natanz centrifuge facility, but until an agreement is reached between the Islamic Republic and the IAEA, the information will remain in our hands and will probably be removed,” Kamalvandi stressed.
Despite Parental Demand, Parliament Pushes for In-person Learning
While many Iranian cities have been witness to rallies of concerned parents, protesting the state’s decision to resume in-person classes in schools, 215 members of the Iranian regime’s parliament issued a statement today, expressing their support for the decision.
The state-run ILNA news agency reported: “In a public session today, Sunday, April 17, the MP Ruhollah Motafker Azad read a statement of appreciation from 215 representatives for the resuming of in-person training.”
“We appreciate the correct, constructive, and logical decision making by the Corona National Taskforce regarding enabling the in-person education process in different stages of public and college education,” the statement reads. “Today, the disadvantages of long-term home-schooling are obvious to everyone. Considering the cons and pros of e-learning, this type of education should not be allowed to be extended.”
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CEST
Another Iranian Political Prisoner Dies From Denial of Medical Care
Iranian political prisoner Mehdi Salehi, 36, died in Homayunshahr Prison, Isfahan, on April 14 under suspicious circumstances.
Salehi was arrested in Isfahan’s Yazdanshahr, his hometown, during the January 2018 anti-regime protests while assisting a protester who had been shot by security forces. According to reports, security forces shot Salehi with pellet guns at the time of his arrest.
Ramadan: Prisoners in Qarchak and Sanandaj Prisons Are Denied Food
Female prisoners in Qarchak Prison and the women’s ward of the Central Prison of Sanandaj, known as the Correctional Center, are deprived of food during the holy month of Ramadan. These prisoners are not in good condition, and the prison authorities are starving them. During Ramadan, political prisoners in Qarchak Prison in Varamin are deprived of basic facilities. These women do not have a place to use a cooking light to prepare a simple meal to break their fast or even warm up a simple soup for the sick. Prison food has no meat, and soy is added to the food instead.
Iran’s Northern Forests Become Residential Under the Mullah’s Rule
Even though Iran is rich in natural resources, its forests have been the recipient of increasing depletion and deterioration under the rule of the ayatollahs. According to Farzad Alizadeh, an environmental activist, “In the last 70 years, seven million hectares of Zagros (Western part of Iran) forests have been lost, and now only five million hectares of forests remain in the Zagros. It seems that we are working to destroy the country’s forests and pastures, unfortunately, for the next 50 years. We will lose all forests and all pastures in the next 80 years.”
Iran: Tehran, The World’s Most Air-Polluted City
Air pollution is a long-standing problem in Iran. Based on official stats, over 40,000 people lose their lives due to air pollution in Iran’s large cities every year, and Tehran has the lion’s share of victims. In many cases, the pollution is so bad that officials are forced to shut down schools, government offices, and other crowded sites.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – April 16, 2022