THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 8:30 PM
Monday Protests in Iran
Retired workers from the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) resumed their weekly protests across various cities in Iran, demanding higher pensions and better living conditions. In Hamedan, Kermanshah, Rasht, Talesh, Ardebil, Arak, Ahvaz, and Tehran, retirees rallied in front of local TCI offices, denouncing the regime’s failure to adhere to its own laws requiring pension adjustments according to the cost of living.
March 18—Rasht, northern #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the Telecommunications Company of Iran rally to protest low pensions and poor living conditions.
"We will not stop until we get our rights!" protesters chant#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/NEYFLcHyyk— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 18, 2024
The protests come amidst a backdrop of economic challenges and social grievances, exacerbated by recent unrest. As Nowruz, the Persian New Year, approaches, Iranians reflect on over a year of turmoil marked by protests against declining living standards and inadequate welfare support.
March 18—Talesh, northern #Iran
Street vendors of the Gisoom tourist attraction road hold protest rally after regime authorities ban them from economic activities.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/4YNXjJKCfT— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 18, 2024
Meanwhile, leaked government documents have shed light on attempts to conceal protester killings and manipulate public perception of dissent. Despite these efforts, Iranians continue to visit the graves of slain protesters, underscoring ongoing calls for accountability and justice.
March 18—Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
Retired employees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran resume protest rallies, demanding the implementation of a law requiring the government to adjust their pensions according to the costs of living. #IranProtestspic.twitter.com/ffojTISRy7— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 18, 2024
Iranian Women Activists Keep Their Nation on Course Toward Freedom
This message was also delivered on the occasion of International Women’s Day, March 8, by the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, when she told female dignitaries from 28 countries that “the defeat of the Velayat-e Faqih regime [absolute rule of the clerics] will be accomplished by pioneering women.” This is a view that she has long promoted, but one that has become especially relevant in the face of developments over the past two years.
In September 2022, the Iranian regime faced a popular uprising that was widely regarded as the greatest challenge to its hold on power since the regime’s inception in 1979. To a great extent, the strength of that challenge was a direct reflection of the strength of Iran’s female activist community. It began after “morality police” in Tehran killed a 22-year-old woman whom they deemed to be wearing her mandatory headscarf too loosely.
Illegal Migrant From Lebanon Caught At Border Admitted He’s A Hezbollah Terrorist Hoping ‘To Make A Bomb’ — And Was Headed For NY
A Lebanese migrant who was caught sneaking over the border admitted he’s a member of Hezbollah, he hoped to make a bomb, and his destination was New York, The Post can reveal. Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, was caught by the US Border Patrol on March 9 near El Paso, Texas. While in custody, he was asked what he was doing in the US, to which he replied, “I’m going to try to make a bomb,” according to a Border Patrol document exclusively obtained by The Post.
But Ebbadi later claimed in an interview that he had been trying to flee Lebanon and Hezbollah because he “didn’t want to kill people” and said “once you’re in, you can never get out,” according to internal US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents.
UPDATE: 1:00 PM
UN Special Rapporteur Condemns Rights Violations in Iran, Calls for Action
At the 55th Human Rights Council session, UN Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman delivered a scathing report on Iran, decrying the killings of Kurds, Baluchis, and followers of diverse faiths like Sufis by the regime. Rehman also highlighted reports of harassment and mistreatment of journalists, activists, and lawyers within Iranian prisons. The report underscored over 1,200 worker protests and strikes, denouncing reported killings of women and children as deeply troubling. Rehman raised alarm over reports of sexual assaults targeting protestors in prison and ongoing oppression against women opposing compulsory hijab enforcement.
Furthermore, Rehman expressed concern over the deployment of so-called morality police under recently passed laws, which normalize discrimination and impose punishments, including lashings.
Advocating for an end to all forms of discrimination against women in Iran, the UN Special Rapporteur urged their equal participation in society and called for the implementation of international conventions safeguarding women’s rights.
Rehman emphasized the need for investigation into mass executions in the 1980s and the 1988 massacres, expressing hope that his reporting mission would amplify the voices of the marginalized. Concluding his six-year mission, Rehman extended gratitude to the Iranian people for their courage and support throughout his tenure.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM
Demonstrations Continue in Iran’s Cities Ahead of The Persian New Year
Amid the intensifying economic crisis gripping Iran, widespread protests continued in several cities across the country on Sunday, with citizens from various sectors raising their voices against deteriorating living conditions and government neglect.
In Qom, maintenance workers and employees staged a significant protest over unpaid wages, bonuses, and unfulfilled financial obligations related to holidays and special occasions. The demonstrators expressed their frustration with the government’s failure to meet its financial commitments, a reflection of the growing discontent among public sector workers facing economic hardships.
Meanwhile, in Karaj, railway workers initiated a strike, demanding attention to their grievances over work conditions and pay disputes. In Gachsaran, contract workers of the oil and gas company resume their protests rallies as regime authorities ignore their just and legal demands for contract reforms, job security, and better wages.
Iran’s Regime in Disarray After Its Failed Elections
A year before the sham parliamentary election, Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei meticulously planned the engineering of this theatrical display, and from March 2023 to February 2024, he kept a constant watch over it. In the weeks leading up to the elections, he used different tactics ranging from threats and inducements to emphasizing religious duty and seeking pity… He employed all the tricks of deception. His entire political apparatus and propaganda machine were behind this electoral illusion.
On March 3, state-run Setareh Sobh newspaper, wrote, “It is unprecedented in the history of Iranian elections that all the country’s resources are mobilized to drag people to the ballot box.”
Iranian Cleric Accused of Embezzlement
A recently published report alleges corruption involving Kazem Seddiqi, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran in Iran. The report claims Seddiqi acquired a massive property estimated to be worth over one trillion tomans.
Public outrage over corruption within the Iranian regime seems to be waning, with news of embezzlement by officials becoming commonplace. This time, however, the accusations fall on the head of the regime’s morality police, raising eyebrows.
Prior to his appointment as Tehran’s Friday prayer leader, Seddiqi played a significant role in the regime’s judicial system. He established the Khomeini Seminary in Tehran’s affluent Ozgol district. Over time, Seddiqi allegedly expanded the seminary’s footprint by acquiring surrounding land, ultimately creating a vast property exceeding 23,000 square meters in northern Tehran.
Iran’s Currency Weakens Despite Leader’s Inflation Pledge
In the final days of the Persian calendar year, which the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei dubbed the “year of inflation control,” the exchange rate for the US dollar soared to 60,000 tomans, while the price of each gold coin hit a historic high of 37,700,000 tomans.
According to gold and currency information sources, on Saturday, March 16, the dollar was trading at 60,200 tomans, with the British pound at 76,600 tomans.
Despite a $9 drop in the global price of gold per ounce, the price of the Bahar Azadi coin reached 37,700,000 tomans, with half coins at 22,500,000 tomans and quarter coins at 13,750,000 tomans.
Iran Faces Doctor Exodus as Skilled Workers Seek Opportunities Abroad
In a report concerning the emigration of Iran’s pioneering pediatric heart surgeon, the Medical System Organization announced that 638 children in need of heart surgery were left at risk following the departure of this specialist.
The state-run daily Ham Mihan lamented, “The news was succinct yet distressing! Dr. Maziar Gholampour Dehki, a distinguished surgeon renowned for his expertise in pediatric heart transplants, has also departed from Iran. With a patient waiting list booked solid for the next two years, 638 children awaiting heart surgery now face uncertainty at the Shahid Rajaei Heart and Vascular Center.”
The head of the pediatric heart transplant department at Shahid Rajaee Hospital further emphasized the severe shortage of pediatric heart surgeons currently afflicting the country. Patients endure waiting periods of 2-3 years for this critical operation.
Iranian Dropout Rates Rise Alongside Poverty
Iranian state media reported a concerning trend: increasing school dropout rates linked to rising poverty. The 2022-2023 academic year saw a rise in dropouts at all education levels. According to the Iranian Statistics Center, the primary school dropout rate reached 1.2% in the new academic year, a 0.25 percentage point increase.
Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper, reporting on student dropout and poverty, stated, “The past academic year witnessed the highest dropout rate in the past five years, even exceeding those during the pandemic when some students lacked communication devices and internet access.”
Donya-e-Eqtesad reported the previous dropout statistics for primary school at around 14,000, citing economic hardship as the primary reason.