THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 179
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Monday, March 13, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 179
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 664 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
On Monday Iran’s nationwide uprising witnessed its 179th day, as retirees and pensioners of the regime’s telecommunications industry from Tehran and numerous other provinces rallied in their provincial capital cities protesting their low pensions and poor economic conditions.
March 13 – #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the regime's communications industry began a new wave of rallies protesting low pensions and poor economic conditions.
Provinces of:
Tehran – Razavi Khorasan – Kermanshah – Alborz#IranProtests2023#اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/2G0wq0VEsS— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 13, 2023
These rallies were held in Tehran, Razavi Khorasan, Kermanshah, and Alborz provinces, along with the cities of Ardabil, Dezful, Yasuj, and Yazd. A similar rally was held in the city of Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan Province. This was in continuation of the previous rallies that were held on the last three Mondays in the cities of Tehran and other cities across the country.
March 13 – #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the regime's communications industry began a new wave of rallies protesting low pensions and poor economic conditions.
Provinces of:
Ardabil – Dezful – Yasuj – Yazd#IranProtests2023#اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/RrX5b8owS0— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 13, 2023
In the past few years, retirees across Iran have been protesting to their deteriorating living conditions, especially as the government refuses to adjust their pensions based on the inflation rate and fluctuations in the price of the rial, Iran’s national currency.
March 13 – Sanandaj, western #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the regime's communications industry began a new wave of rallies protesting low pensions and poor economic conditions.#IranProtests2023#اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/24pPzQpzZL— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 13, 2023
In Yazd Central Iran, the courageous MEK-affiliated resistance units targeted a repressive paramilitary Basij base with a cocktail Molotov and set it on fire.
In Sanandaj Western Iran, locals held protest rallies and blocked the streets to prevent security forces and chanted: Death to Khamenei, Death to Dictator.
March 13 – Near Baneh, Kurdistan Province, western #Iran
Regime operatives launched a chemical gas attack targeting the all-girls Vahdat School, leaving a number of students ill.#IranChemicalAttackspic.twitter.com/nzAPfhfG6t— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 13, 2023
In other reports from Tehran, today locals in a metro station were chanting “Death to Khamenei!” and protested the train system’s malfunctions.
Regime operatives in a village near the city of Baneh in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, launched a chemical gas attack on Monday targeting the all-girls Vahdat School, leaving a number of students ill.
March 13 – Ilam, western #Iran
Workers of a local cement factory held a gathering protesting their low paychecks, overtime work, low pensions, and company officials' refusal to hire them based on permanent contracts.#IranProtests2023#اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/uqta1o8kCg— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 13, 2023
Workers of a local cement factory in Ilam, western Iran, held a gathering on Monday protesting their low paychecks, overtime work, low pensions, and company officials’ refusal to hire them based on permanent contracts.
IRGC units raided the Mir Abad and Mordad Abad districts on the outskirts of Chabahar, a major portal city in Sistan & Baluchestan Province in southeast Iran, demolishing the homes of Baloch residents early Monday morning local time.
March 13 – Near Chabahar, southeast #Iran
IRGC units raided the Mir Abad and Mordad Abad districts in the outskirts of Chabahar and demolished the homes of Baloch locals early Monday morning local time.#BlacklistIRGC #IRGCterrorists pic.twitter.com/NqSqDvFVOt— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 13, 2023
Seasonal workers of a local sugar factory in the city of Muqan in northwest Iran held another gathering on Monday to seek answers about their employment status. Company officials refuse to address their demands despite the gathering continuing for days now.
March 13 – Muqan, northwest #Iran
Seasonal workers of a local sugar factory held a gathering to seek answers about their employment status. Company officials refuse to address their demands despite the gathering continuing for days now.#IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/oXXwGThrpc— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 13, 2023
UPDATE: 2:00 PM CET
House Majority Supports Resolution Backing Iranian Anti-regime Protesters: Oppressed by ‘Theocratic Thugs’ for ‘Too Long’
A bipartisan House majority endorsed resolution H.Res.100 on Thursday, expressing Congress’s support for a democratic Republic of Iran while calling for a new Iran policy in light of continued protests by the Iranian people and increasing repression by the “theocratic thugs who have oppressed them for far too long.”
The resolution, sponsored by 223 U.S. House members, supports Iran’s uprisings for a secular republic. It notes that Iranian opposition MEK (Mujahadin-e Khalq) political leader and President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Maryam Rajavi’s “Ten Point Plan” to ensure Iranians’ freedom of expression and assembly — as well as the right to choose their elected leaders — is the “path toward a free, secular, Democratic and non-nuclear Iran.”
UPDATE: 9:00 AM CET
Iran’s Protests Continue as DC Event Supports Uprising
Iran’s nationwide uprising is witnessing its 178th day with protests reported from different cities and by people from various sectors of society. Anger is escalating among the Iranian public as economic woes are making it extremely difficult to make ends meet, especially less than ten days prior to Nowruz, the Iranian calendar new year.
People throughout the country are specifically holding 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.
Sarvnaz Ahmadi Sentenced to Three Years and Six Months in Jail
Branch 36 of the Revision Court of Tehran Province sentenced Sarvnaz Ahamdi to three years and six months in jail for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security.”
Sarvnaz Ahmadi was arrested with her husband on November 6, 2022, during the nationwide protests.
The preliminary trial examining her charges was held at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. Sarvnaz Ahmadi was sentenced to 5 years for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security” and one year for “propaganda against the state,” six years of imprisonment in total.
Prior to Charshanbeh Suri, State Officials Attempt to Intimidate the Public
Charshanbeh Suri is the last Wednesday of the Persian solar year, the eve of which is marked by special customs and rituals, most notably jumping over fire and using firecrackers to embrace the new year. As the clerical regime has been advocating against Iranian traditional rituals since its inception, the people of Iran and especially the youth, have become more and more defiant in honoring their own customs.
Warning parents to refrain their descendants from taking part in street festivities, Mohammad-Ali Alehashem, the Friday prayer leader of Tabriz said on March 10: “This week, we have Charanbash Suri. I only ask the mothers and fathers to take care of their children. We give this warning every year. There are people who will take advantage of your children, so take care of your children’s health. One might lose their eye, I don’t know.”
Meanwhile, Shahram Karami, the state prosecutor in Kermanshah province emphasized that “serious and decisive action will be taken against those who, without paying attention to warnings, organize a gathering on the last Wednesday of the year and disrupt the order, security, and peace of the people.”
“The violators of Charshanbeh Suri will be detained until the end of the Nowruz holidays,” Karami said. “There will be a severe punishment for the violators of Charanbash Suri. If they are arrested, these people will be detained until the end of the Nowruz holiday, and if the occupants of a car commit a violation, in addition to their arrest, their car will also be confiscated.”
Also, read Iran News in Brief – March 12, 2023
