THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 183
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Friday, March 17, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 183
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 672 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
Iran’s nationwide uprising witnessed its 183rd day on Friday as many people in Tehran and different cities across the country paid tribute to protesters killed by the mullahs’ regime during the past six months of ongoing protests. These gatherings to honor the heroes of Iran’s revolution quickly evolved into scenes of anti-regime protests and participants were seen chanting slogans against the mullahs’ theocracy, calling for a revolution to overthrow their unjust rule, and rejecting a return to any form of dictatorship, most specifically that of Shah’s pre-1979 monarchy.
March 17 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Protesters are chanting:
"No to monarchy, no to [mullahs' regime]! Democracy & equality!"Placard reads: "Death to the oppressor! Be it the Shah or [Khamenei]!"#No2ShahNo2Mullahs#مرگ_بر_ستمگر_چه_شاه_باشه_چه_رهبر pic.twitter.com/JEgkjBtzJu
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 17, 2023
March 17 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Protesters are chanting: "We swear on the blood of our compatriots that we will stand to the end!"#No2ShahNo2Mullahs#مرگ_بر_ستمگر_چه_شاه_باشه_چه_رهبر pic.twitter.com/TKTuTLQmNG— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 17, 2023
Locals in the capital’s Shahrak-e Bagheri district began chanting anti-regime slogans.
Protesters in the city of Zahedan, the capital of the southeastern Province of Sistan & Baluchistan began demonstrating for the 24th Friday during the ongoing Iranian revolution. Locals took to the streets to launch anti-regime rallies, condemn the regime’s crimes, and demand their own rights. Protesters in their demonstration today began chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
“Monarchy and [mullahs’ regime], a hundred years of crimes!”
“I will kill those who killed my brother!”
“Basij and IRGC, you are our ISIS!”
“We don’t want a republic of executions!”
“Proud Iranians, support, support!”
“We swear on the blood of our compatriots that we will stand to the end!”
March 17 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Protesters are chanting:
"Basij and IRGC, you are our ISIS!"#No2ShahNo2Mullahs#مرگ_بر_ستمگر_چه_شاه_باشه_چه_رهبر pic.twitter.com/fGv9Nc4Krz— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 17, 2023
Demonstrators also chanted against the IRGC paramilitary Basij force that is known for its crackdown on popular protests across the country. and held a placard reading: “Death to the oppressor! Be it the Shah or [Khamenei]!”
March 17 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Demonstrators were holding a placard reading:
"Death to the oppressor! Be it the Shah or [Khamenei]!"#IranRevoIution pic.twitter.com/kSxgiMUNYW— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 17, 2023
Iranian opposition coalition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi condemned the regime’s spree of executions on Friday morning, taking place just days prior to Nowruz, the Iranian calendar New Year.
The bloodthirsty Khamenei did not refrain from killing even on the eve of the Persian New Year. This morning, seven prisoners, including one political prisoner, were executed in Urmia. Iran’s brave youth will not let these crimes go unanswered. The international community’s… https://t.co/wFQKGpNjFM pic.twitter.com/Et8G4nvSHv
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) March 17, 2023
And reiterated: the bloodthirsty Khamenei did not refrain from killing even on the eve of the Persian New Year. This morning, seven prisoners, including one political prisoner, were executed in Urmia. Iran’s brave youth will not let these crimes go unanswered. The international community’s silence and inaction in the face of the regime’s torture and executions tramples on human rights values.
John Bolton, Joe Lieberman Say Iran Regime Change ‘Very Close’
Ex-national security adviser John Bolton and former Sen. Joe Lieberman expressed strong support Thursday for ongoing protests against the Iranian government, saying the women-led uprising was “very close” to ushering in regime change.
Lieberman (D-Conn.), 81, echoed Bolton’s comments, saying the “broadest ever uprising against the government” was “closer than ever” to bringing about “the liberation of the people of Iran from the tyranny they have lived under.”
The remarks come as a bipartisan House majority and 47 US senators have already signed on to resolutions that back the protests aimed at toppling the Tehran government.
The House resolution is modeled after opposition leader Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan for Iran, which would replace the dictatorial power with a secular, democratic state.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
Message to the US Senate Meeting in Support of the Iranian People’s Uprising for Freedom
Honorable members of the United States Senate, respected personalities, Senator Lieberman, General Jones, Ambassador Bolton,
Ambassador Dobrianski, and Ambassador Bloomfield, I am pleased to see you today to celebrate Nowruz, the start of the Iranian New Year. Your presence sends an encouraging message to the people of Iran, especially the women and youth who took to the streets in recent months to protest against the regime, demanding regime change.
To discourage the people, the regime’s propaganda in Iran suggests that the people of Iran are isolated and the international community only deals with the regime. Your presence in this event in support of the Iranian people’s demand for change, and the House Resolution 100 supported by 225 members is a blow to this propaganda.
Iran’s Rallies Continue, Mek Resistance Units Launch Massive Anti-regime Campaign
Iran’s nationwide uprising is witnessing its 182nd day on Thursday as people across the country are preparing to welcome Nowruz, the Iranian calendar new year, and vowing to continue their anti-regime protests against the mullahs’ dictatorship. Iranians are increasingly angry over the regime’s corruption that has left the country’s economy in ruins and enforced hardships on the lives of ordinary people. Protests over harsh living and working conditions are escalating in cities and towns checkered across the country. According to reports from the network associated to Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK inside the country, on Tuesday night MEK Resistance Units launched 2,468 acts of protests in 73 cities checkered across the country and 38 districts of Tehran.
European Parliament Resolution Condemns Poisoning of Iranian Schoolgirls and Calls for Accountability
The European Parliament adopted a resolution this afternoon, Thursday, March 16, 2023, denouncing the atrocious attempt to silence women and girls in Iran in the strongest terms. The European Parliament resolution also expressed deep solidarity with the poisoned students and their families. The European Parliament resolution was adopted by 516 votes in favor, 5 against, and 14 abstentions.
How the West’s Appeasement Policy Is Bringing Iran Closer to Nuclear Weapons
In recent years, the United States and European powers have held several rounds of talks with Iran’s regime on its nuclear program. The talks have been aimed at ensuring that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and not aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
But so far, efforts to contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions have remained fruitless. The West’s exasperation with Iran’s regime was once again displayed in a recent statement by European Union representatives, in which they expressed concern over 83% enriched uranium found in Iran’s nuclear facilities:
The Minimum Wage of Workers for 2023; Bargaining Gangs of Power and Wealth
As we approach the last days of the Iranian year, the determination of the minimum wage for workers is surrounded by uncertainty. The last meeting of the Supreme Labor Council ended without a result, as representatives of workers, employers, and the government failed to reach an agreement on the minimum wage of workers.
During the last meeting of the Supreme Labor Council, which was held on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, the labor group representatives proposed 17,447,160 Tomans for the next year. This amount is significantly higher than the figure announced by the committee. On the other hand, the representatives of the employers and the government proposed 12,479,500 Tomans as the minimum wage of workers for the following year.
Lieberman, Bolton: Iran Regime In Final Days
If the opponents keep up their fight against the theocratic regime in Iran and the U.S. stands by them, their American supporters say, Iran will be “free, secular, and non-nuclear” by this time next year. That was the message Thursday morning at a Washington, D.C., conference of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, best known as MEK, the leading opposition group to the Tehran government headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Among those participating in the conference were such seasoned opponents of the regime as former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who was the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee; former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who also served as former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser; and retired Gen. Jim Jones, a onetime Marine Corps commandant and national security adviser to former President Barack Obama.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – March 16, 2023
