THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 163
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Saturday, February 25, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 163
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 664 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
Iran’s nationwide uprising marked its 163rd day on Saturday, despite the regime’s brutal crackdown, the people in various parts of the country continued the nationwide protests against the entirety of the mullahs’ dictatorship.
In the Iranian month of Bahman, from January 21 to February 21, MEK-affiliated Resistance Units carried out 320 anti-regime campaigns nationwide, including targeting IRGC and paramilitary Basij bases, torching regime symbols and pictures of regime’s leaders, including Khamenei and Raisi.
Their bravery is truly admirable! Ultimately, MEK-affiliated Resistance Units will have the final say, not the fake alternatives that have sprung up overnight like noxious weeds after being in hibernation for 40 years. #No2ShahNo2Mullahs #مرگ_بر_ستمگر_چه_شاه_باشه_چه_رهبر https://t.co/DeXiXbnSLq
— Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) February 25, 2023
In Javanrud, western #Iran, high school students chanted anti-regime slogans including, “Death to Khamenei!”
“Death to the IRGC!”
For several hours on Friday night, locals in Tehran’s Narmak district and the city of Mashhad chanted chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
“Death to the dictator!” referring to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“Death to Khamenei!”
“Death to the child-killing regime!”
“This is the year Seyed Ali (Khamenei) is overthrown!”
In Isfahan, central Iran Workers of the city’s steel mill went on strike today.
February 25 – Isfahan, central #Iran
Workers of the city's steel mill were on strike today.#IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/113jvpBBhR— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) February 25, 2023
Eleven teams of MEK-affiliated resistance units marched on the streets of cities in Tehran, Karaj, Shiraz, Isfahan, Rasht, Zanjan, Qazvin, Behbahan, and Marvdasht and chanted: “We are the combatants of people; we will fight the mullahs to the end!”
Today, a number of workers at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company in southwest Iran were on strike, demanding, their most basic rights, including payment of overdue salaries, competent management, the return of their fired co-workers to the factory, and other matters.
Students of Khajeh Nasir Toosi University in Tehran held a gathering on Saturday and placed their trays on the ground to protest the campus’ low-quality food.
February 25 – Tehran, #Iran
Students of the capital's Khajeh Nasir Toosi University placed their trays on the ground to protest the campus' low-quality food.#IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/1cUE8rabEF— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) February 25, 2023
In various cities across the country, employees of the Deeds and Properties Registration Organization of Iran held gatherings on Saturday, protesting and seeking answers to their demands.
UPDATE: 3:00 PM CET
US Says It Is Still Encouraging Its Allies To Put Pressure on the IRGC
The spokesperson of the United States Department of State denied claims that US diplomats or members of the Biden administration have lobbied or are lobbying Britain or any other government not to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
At his press briefing on February 22, Ned Price said: “We are determined to work with our allies and partners around the world – including certainly our European allies, to do everything we can to hold the IRGC accountable, to counter its malign activities, its malign influence throughout the region. Obviously, questions of legal authorities in individual countries or in blocs of countries are not precisely questions for us, but we’re determined to do everything we can to work with every ally and every partner we can to counter the IRGC and its malign activities.”
Responding to a reporter about reports indicating that the U.S. is putting pressure on the UK to not list IRGC as a terror group, Ned Price said: “The idea that we would be encouraging – actively encouraging other countries not to take an approach that we’ve taken, that doesn’t ring true to me. But again, I’m not familiar with this report. What I am familiar with is our determination to work with countries around the world, including our European allies, to do everything we possibly can to counter the IRGC malign activities.”
Iran Says It Has Developed Long-range Cruise Missile
DUBAI, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Iran has developed a cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km (1,025 miles) a top Revolutionary Guards commander said on Friday, in a move likely to raise Western concerns after Russia’s use of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war.
Separately, Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace force, also spoke of Iran’s often repeated threat to avenge the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander, saying “We are looking to kill (former U.S. President Donald) Trump.”
“Our cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km has been added to the missile arsenal of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Hajizadeh, told state TV.
The television broadcast what it said was the first footage showing the new Paveh cruise missile.
UPDATE: 1:00 PM CET
Religious Leader in Zahedan Calls on State Officials to Resign
During his Friday prayer sermon on February 24, at the Makki Mosque in Zahedan, Molavi Abdolhamid slammed the Iranian state officials, saying, “If you can’t solve the problems of the people, step aside.”
Mr. Abdolhamid, who has taken a tougher stance against the Iranian regime since the protests erupted in September 2022, also commented on the country’s economic crisis, stating, “The root of the economic problems lies in the wrong political decisions made by the officials of the Islamic Republic.”
He also criticized the internal and external policies of the regime, stating that the officials of the country “don’t know how to step aside” from power, while in other parts of the world, when officials can’t do anything, they resign from their responsibilities.
Authorities: Key Hezbollah Financier Arrested in Bucharest
NEW YORK (AP) — A Lebanese and Belgian citizen considered a key financier of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah was arrested Friday in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, federal authorities said.
Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, 58, who was labeled a “global terrorist” by the United States in 2018 when $10 million was offered for information about his whereabouts, has funneled millions of dollars to Hezbollah over the years, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn said the extradition of Bazzi and Lebanese citizen Talal Chahine, 78, was sought on charges contained in an indictment returned last month in Brooklyn federal court.
UAE Adds Three Men, Company To Local Terror List for Links To Iran-backed Hezbollah
The UAE has designated a man, his two sons, and their company known for links to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Friday.
“The resolution underscores the UAE’s commitment to target and dismantle networks that finance terrorism and its related activities,” WAM said.
As a result of their designation, local authorities will monitor and identify individuals or entities affiliated with or associated with any financial, commercial or technical relationship with the listed company and take legal action.
UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET
People in Iran Protest Growing Economic Struggles, Criticize Regime Corruption
Iran’s nationwide uprising is marking its 162nd day following a week of protests by people from all walks of life as the country’s national currency and economy, in general, continue to nosedive. Protesters in dozens of cities and towns took to the streets protesting the regime’s corrupt policies and incompetence as the prices of basic necessities and services are skyrocketing. Regime officials are increasingly concerned, knowing these protests are the prelude for more anti-regime rallies that will rock the mullahs’ apparatus to its very core.
Political Prisoner Soheila Mohammadi in Serious Condition After Self-inflicted Wound
Political prisoner Soheila Mohammadi is in serious condition after she committed suicide in protest of being denied the right to use leave.
Amid the Iranian regime’s propaganda about releasing political prisoners, the clerical regime’s prisons are packed with political prisoners. A 30-year-old Kurdish political prisoner, Soheila Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned for two years in the Central Prison of Urmia, committed suicide as a protest against her denial of the right to use leave on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
Iran’s Protests Reveal the True Nature of Political Forces
Iran’s ongoing and relentless revolution has compelled all political factions both inside and outside the country to reveal their true nature.
Every fair note and article written or spoken about the protests and upheaval in the country share one common theme: they all attest that the people’s primary goal and slogan has become the rejection of any form of dictatorship.
The next common characteristic that is often discussed is the people’s primary target: Ali Khamenei, the regime’s supreme leader.
Four Decades of Gender Apartheid: Women Remain the Primary Victims of Rape
“They first threw us into a black van and blindfolded us with a blindfold, tied our hands with a wire, and then they took us to a place that was unknown to me. Then they took mobiles, bags and all our things, even the cosmetics inside the purse and without any questioning during the transfer and inside the detention center, they slapped and kicked us.”
They easily assaulted and sexually insulted us and other detainees, and it seemed that this is a normal concept for the personnel of IRGC’s intelligence detention center. They kicked the sensitive parts of our body hard and called us, bitch (translated verbally in Farsi “female dog”) using profane words saying “how many times have you had sex with …”
Struan Stevenson’s Book Introduced at the UK Parliament: “Dictators and Revolution—Iran, a Contemporary History”
In a conference held at the United Kingdom’s parliament on Wednesday, Mr. Struan Stevenson, a former Member of the European and Scotland’s parliaments, unveiled his new book titled “Dictators and Revolution: Iran, A Contemporary History”.
The book delves into Iran’s modern-day history and how the Pahlavi dictatorship aided the ruling theocracy in hijacking the 1979 anti-monarchic revolution. The event was attended by British lawmakers and members of the Iranian diaspora.
During his speech, Mr. Stevenson, who is now the Coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change (CiC), highlighted how the book exposes the ominous, corrupt, and barbaric alliance between the mullahs and the monarchical dictatorship, which has prevented generations from achieving their democratic aspirations. He also discussed Reza Pahlavi’s efforts to revive the deposed monarchy, his contradictory stance on democracy, and his failure to denounce his father’s crimes.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – February 24, 2023
