THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
Iranians Protest in Vienna
A group of Iranians and supporters of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization held a demonstration in Vienna today, protesting against offering concessions to the religious fascism in Iran that continues to extort the world with its nuclear advancements, fueling terrorism, and inciting regional proxy wars.
Calls for Justice in Iran Continues to Echo in Stockholm
Today, while Hamid Noury, a former prison guard stood trial before the Swedish Justice system, Iranians and relatives of the massacred political prisoners in 1988 in Iran, held a demonstration in Stockholm and called for the trial of the regime’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, president Ebrahim Raisi and Chief Justice Mohseni Ejei for committing genocide and crimes against humanity.
Khamenei Hails Nuclear Program and Regional Warmongering in Meeting with Council of Experts
“I think there’s nothing more naive and amateurish other than to suggest that we reduce our defensive power to reduce the enemies’ sensitivity against ourselves,” Khamenei said during his speech at a meeting with members of the Council of Experts today. “Our presence in the region is our strategic depth, it’s part of the state’s strength. How can you let go of this when you can possess it?”
Khamenei added: “Regarding the scientific progress we’ve made, some people suggest that we abandon the nuclear issue because it has created so much sensitivity, they say. The nuclear issue is a scientific issue, it is a matter of our scientific future and technological progress.”
“Giving in to the United States or any other power in order to avoid sanctions, means that we have to deprive ourselves of the remaining political bargaining, in my opinion, these things are wrong,” the regime’s Supreme Leader said.
Khamenei warned: “Throughout these years, there were those who wanted to cut off our power leverage. And if they were allowed to do so, the country would have been in grave danger.”
According to the state-run Shafaqna website, during the Council of Experts session on Wednesday, March 9, the members discussed the various crises the regime is coping with, expressed concern about the socio-economic situation, and asked the regime’s negotiation team “not to back off from Tehran’s redlines”. They also expressed their support for Khamenei’s “Explanatory Jihad” and countering what they called “the enemies’ efforts to turning facts upside down and creating despair in society”.
UPDATE: 1:30 PM CET
Cairo and Riyadh United Against Tehran’s Malign Behavior
Following Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the leaders of the two countries issued a joint statement to warn about the Iranian regime’s malign activities in the Middle East.
The Egyptian newspaper Al-Yoam Al-Sabea reported on March 9 that the statement addressed several topics about various countries, including the Iranian regime. According to the statement, the two sides called for a “serious and effective discussion about the Iranian nuclear and missile cases with all its components and consequences.”
The statement also stressed the need to adhere to the principle of a good relationship between neighboring countries, respect for international treaties and agreements, and “safeguarding the region from destabilizing activities.”
Among other topics, the Egyptian and Saudi leaders described what they called “Iran’s dangerous behavior in the region and Iran’s acquisition of weapons of mass destruction” as a threat to the region and the world.
Iranian Regime Allocates Millions of Dollars to Materialize Khamenei’s “Explanatory Jihad” Campaign
On March 8, the Iranian regime’s parliament approved 100 billion tomans ( $3,876,000) for a project called “Explanatory Jihad“.
In recent months, in every public speech, the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been calling on all state organizations and institutions to boost “Explanatory Jihad”, a widespread propaganda campaign that is supposed to explain the rule of the clergy and why it has to be defended and preserved. According to this line, the state media, the Basij, and other state-funded organizations are obliged to produce false content and spread forgeries, especially on social media.
Mehr news agency reported on Wednesday afternoon that even the regime’s navy has founded a special task force for “Explanatory Jihad”.
In an interview with the state-run news website Khabar Online, Majid Ansari, a member of the Expediency Council warned that the “Explanatory Jihad” initiative would backfire.
“These days, while the hypocrites (regime’s acronym for the MEK) are working day and night to disappoint the people, using large budgets and media apparatus of our enemies, there is no doubt about the necessity of this issue,” Ansari said. “But I seriously criticize the parliament’s decision and I believe it will have the opposite effect.”
Referring to the high state deficit, he added: “Right now, we have dozens of agencies and institutions with thousands of staff and salaries and tens of thousands of billions of tomans of approved budgets, whose primary and intrinsic duty is doing ‘this explanation’. The Radio and Television, the Ministry of Guidance, the Advertising Organization, the Propaganda Office, seminaries, Friday prayer headquarters, deputies and cultural units of various organizations, the Basij, the IRGC, the various media outlets, and their affiliated news agencies are all feeding on people’s money. Thousands of people are paid, and that’s their main job. There is no need for a new organizational apparatus or organizational structure or a new budget.”
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET
Down With Khamenei, Viva Rajavi in Tehran
On Wednesday evening, March 9, at 8:00 PM local time, as part of a new initiative, Resistance Units inside Iran displayed a large slogan calling “Down with Khamenei, viva Rajavi” on the “Parsian” building on Jalal Al-Ahmad Highway in Tehran.
تهران – تصویرنگاری بزرگ شعار مرگ بر خامنهای درود بر رجوی
بر فراز ساختمان در بزرگراه جلال آل احمد
چهارشنبه شب ۱۸اسفند-ساعت ۲۰#مجاهدین_خلق#کانون_شورشی pic.twitter.com/5qDmX0Mwm6
— سازمان مجاهدین خلق ایران (@PMOIRAN) March 9, 2022
Iran’s New Monetary Policy Is Setting the Stage for Another Disaster
After much haggling between the executive and the legislative branches, the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), approved the government’s plan to remove the “42,000-rial dollar” exchange rate, also referred to as the “preferential currency,” in the budget of the upcoming Persian calendar year (starting on March 20).
The decision was met with alarm from state-run media and the regime’s own officials, who are warning that the new monetary policy will have an immediate negative impact on the economy, and reduce the people’s purchasing power, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet.
Swedish Court Acknowledges Important Documents of Iran’s 1988 Massacre
The mullahs’ regime ruling Iran has for nearly four decades tried to either completely deny the 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, justify it as a judicial ruling, or minimize the scope of this crime against humanity through its network of apologists and lobbyists.
On Tuesday, March 8, however, its efforts suffered a major blow during the ongoing court hearings of Hamid Noury, a former regime functionary involved in the 1988 massacre who is on trial in Stockholm. Mr. Kenneth Lewis, the lawyer representing the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), presented damning documents to the court, including the hand-written fatwa issued by Ruhollah Khomeini, the first Iranian regime Supreme Leader who ordered the annihilation of all PMOI/MEK members and supporters.
Climate Change in Iran, Women Are the Prime Victims
“Climate Change in Iran; women are the prime victims, the clerical regime is the main culprit,” is a report prepared by the NCRI Women’s Committee for the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York in March 2022. The report consists of an introductory section on the most important general issues of climate change in Iran, with the following chapters dealing with the impact of climate change on women’s employment, living conditions, and health. In the last section, the report reviews the Iranian regime’s failure to take action with regard to the empowerment of women in Iran.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – March 9, 2022
