THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 6:30 PM CEST
Cleric Close to Khamenei Doubles Down on Misogyny
Ahmad Alam al-Hoda, the Supreme Leader’s representative and Friday prayer leader in Mashhad doubled down on the regime’s misogynist behavior and said: “Those who accuse some people as “anti-women”, because they have stood up against those who don’t wear hijab properly, are the enemies of God.”
Alam al-Hoda, who happens to be Ebrahim Raisi’s father-in-law added: “They accuse those who are dealing with anti-hijab sentiment as anti-women. They accuse those who forbid vulgarity of violence. These are the enemies of God, they are the enemies of Islam! They know that the Islamist side of the state will be hurt by these anomalies and religious immorality, so if someone wants to support this moral, they accuse him of being anti-woman or call him violent! They think that haram should not be recognized in our state.”
Iranian Regime Aims to Punish Those Who Refuse to Fast To Increase Systemic Deterrence
In light of the start of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, the Iranian regime’s Attorney General Jafar Montazeri submitted an open letter to the police chief and called on the police to publically punish those who eat in public.
In his letter to the head of the police force Hossein Ashtari, the Attorney General stated: “Those who posture eating and refuse to fast are committing an obvious crime, and necessary action should be taken. Prosecutors across the country will be tasked with cooperating and supporting the officers who “promote the virtue and prevent the vice”.
The letter also reads: “Since cars are not considered private property, eating in a car will also be subject to legal action.”
MP Calls for Changing Tehran’s Negotiating Team
While the new round of talks in Vienna on reviving the nuclear deal between Tehran and P4+1 has come to a deadlock, criticism inside the Iranian regime regarding the performance of the regime’s negotiating team has intensified.
Mahmoud Nabaviyan, a member of the parliament, wrote in a column in Fars News Agency on Friday, April 1, that some of the red lines set by the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been violated during the talks, and called for an immediate change in the negotiating team.
In his memo, the MP provided details of the draft JCPOA 2.0, calling it contrary to the conditions of the leader, the resolution of the parliament, and a violation of the conditions that were supposed to guarantee the verifiable lifting of “all sanctions” and called it the West’s disregard for the guarantees requested by the Iranian side.
Referring to Tehran’s commitments, including halting 20 and 60 percent uranium enrichment, Nabaviyan said: “Unfortunately, the red lines drawn by the state have not been met, even if we assume that the focus of the negotiations and the ceiling of our demands would only be the JCPOA revival.”
Iranian Vice President Meets Discontent in South Iran
Today, as the former IRGC commander in chief and current economic deputy of the Iranian regime’s president Mohsen Rezaei was visiting the southern Khuzestan province to inaugurate the new Lali-Aligudarz road, angry locals surrounded him and protested the poor living conditions in the region. One of the young people told Rezaei: “I swear to God, everyone here is in a miserable situation. People have lost their souls. Drugs are rampant in Lali. All people have fallen into misery, young people are dying from misery.”
UPDATE: 2:30 PM CEST
New Iran Nuclear Deal Could Allow Iranian Terrorists Into US
The Biden administration’s new nuclear accord with Iran is likely to include a loophole that will “allow Iranian nationals linked to terrorism to enter and stay in the United States,” according to a new Republican-authored policy analysis circulating on Capitol Hill and reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
With negotiations over a revamped nuclear deal inching closer to completion, the Biden administration is considering a concession that will remove Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from the U.S.-designated terrorist list.
UPDATE: 12:30 PM CET
US Defense Officials Stressed Iranian Regime’s Threat to the Region
On Friday, April 1, United States chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said that Gen. Kenneth McKenzie has eliminated the leader of the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, referring to the slain commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards Qassem Soleimani.
“He has commanded our most critical counterterrorism missions,” Mark Milley said of Gen. Mackenzie during a change of command ceremony in Tampa, Florida. “He commanded the war to finally defeat ISIS, including the assassination of its leader al-Baghdadi as well as his successor. He intensively and daily confronted the regional challenge of Iran. A challenge that is always tense. He eliminated the leader of the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force.”
At the event, US Secretary of Defense General Lloyd Austin also said: “The United States is committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The Iranian regime has expanded its nuclear program and invested in military capabilities, especially ballistic missiles. Iran has developed dangerous proxy forces and is using unmanned aerial vehicles to threaten us and our partners. We are still committed to a diplomatic conclusion on the nuclear issue. But regardless of the outcome of the nuclear talks, we will continue to work closely with many of our partners to counter the Iranian threat. In the short term, we will increase information sharing and strengthen the region’s air defenses. And in the long run, we will work together to counter Iran’s use of missiles and the expansion of drones, and we will stand firm with our partners to hold Iran and its proxy forces accountable.”
At the ceremony, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who had led U.S. Central Command (Centcom) since March 2019, handed over his position to Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla.
Iranian State Police Chief Admits to Cause of Deadly Car Accidents
Kamal Hadianfar, the Iranian regime’s traffic police chief said: “Reducing the thickness of the fuel tank of domestic vehicles is one of the causes of catching fire and explosion in accidents. Iranian carmakers produced about 900,000 cars last year, and if the numbers are correct, we can calculate how much they have made in a year by reducing the thickness of the fuel tank.”
Iran Border Forces Wound Young Kurdish Kolbar in Kermanshah
Iranian border forces have opened fire on a group of kolbars in the Nowsud border area in Kermanshah province, western Iran, wounding a 25-year-old kolbar named Arman Farahmand.
According to witnesses, the kolbar was targeted with a shotgun and more than ten shots hit his hands, head, back, and shoulders. The injured kolbar has been taken to hospital for treatment.
Iran Denies US Impact on Ballistic Program, Regional Influence
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced on Thursday that its ballistic missile program and “regional influence” represented in its cross-border activities, were “red lines” and would not be affected by “the intentions, hopes, and aspirations of the American rulers.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian criticized the imposition of new sanctions against an Iranian and entities with close ties to the Revolutionary Guards, specifically a unit in charge of developing ballistic missiles.
Statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Diplomacy in the Middle East Region
As we approach the Holy Month of Ramadan this weekend, we welcome the proactive diplomacy underway with our friends and partners across the Middle East region. These efforts are central to President Biden’s agenda of forging a more secure and integrated Middle East region through a combination of deterrence against adversaries and diplomacy wherever possible to reduce tensions and de-escalate ongoing conflicts.
On Monday, Secretary of State Blinken attended a historic meeting in Israel together with the Foreign Ministers of Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, and UAE.
UPDATE: 9:00 AM CET
Iran: Resistance Leaders’ Images Projected on Major Tehran Highway
Members of Resistance Units, an expanding network of brave Iranians associated to the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), are continuing their nationwide campaign of anti-regime measures, now with a bold move in the capital Tehran.
On March 29, large images of Iranian Resistance leader Massoud Rajavi, and Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), were projected on the Resalat Expressway that traces through the city from the east to the west.
Dissident Iranian Cleric Reveals Regime’s Atrocities
In an open letter to the people of Iran, the dissident Iranian cleric Einollah Rezazadeh Joybari, imprisoned in Sari, in the northern Mazandaran Province, shed light on the atrocities perpetrated by prison officials. Addressing the regime’s Judiciary Chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’i, he rejected the claims about the humane and pleasant conditions in prisons across the country and those prisoners are treated according to human rights values and standards.
Iran Executes 39 Prisoners in March 2022
With 39 executions carried out in March 2022, the Iranian regime demonstrated its flagrant assault on human rights and the right to life.
Nineteen of those who have been executed were sentenced to death for murder while 20 others were hanged for drug-related charges. Meanwhile, 20 out of the recent 40 executions were carried out in Adelabad prison in Shiraz alone. One of the executed was a woman.
Monthly Report March 2022, Iran Human Rights Monitor
March 2022 saw the continuation of human rights violations and repression of civil society by the Iranian regime.
In March every year Iranians celebrate Nowruz. It is a two-week celebration beginning on March 20, that marks the beginning of the Persian New Year and the official beginning of spring. But the ruling regime increased its repression of civil society. The state security forces even attacked the Nowruz celebration in western Iran.
Sweden, March 31, 2022: Freedom-loving Iranians, MEK Supporters Rally in Front of Stockholm Court
Sweden, March 31, 2022: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), rally in front of Stockholm court. MEK supporters are seeking justice for 30,000 political prisoners executed by the mullahs’ regime in the 1988 massacre.
At the same time as the rally, the 79th session of the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury, one of the executioners of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Gohardasht prison, was held in the Stockholm District Court.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – April 1, 2022
