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Iran News in Brief – April 14, 2023

Sedighe Shahrokhi

iran floods april 2023

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS

UPDATE: 8:00 PM CET

Iran Uprising at a Glance

Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran

Friday, April 14, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1

Iran’s nationwide uprising witnessed its 211th day on Friday as various cities reported protests by people from different walks of life. Brave youth also targeted the regime’s sites in response to the mullahs’ atrocious chemical gas attacks targeting innocent schoolgirls throughout Iran.

On Thursday night, protesters in the city of Behbahan in southwest Iran attacked the regime’s state police command headquarters.

On Thursday night, defiant youths carried out 12 brave campaigns in several cities, targeting bases of the IRGC Basij, the regime’s seminaries, and the Discretionary Punishments Organization in Islamabad. In several cities, including Isfahan, they also targeted the centers of the regime’s judiciary.

Brave youths also torched the sign of the Ministry of Intelligence’s local office in Dezful and the pictures of the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the eliminated Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani, in Sari, Rafsanjan, and Qazvin.

The Resistance Units affiliated with Iran’s principal opposition, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), portrayed a large image of Iranian Resistance Leader Massoud Rajavi and opposition coalition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi in Saheli Street of Urmia, northwest Iran, at 10:45 pm local time.

Locals in Tehran’s North Karegar Street area were chanting anti-regime slogans on Wednesday night, including: “Down with Khamenei! Damned be Khomeini!” the latter referring to regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini.

Reports from Iran indicate that the country faces a severe shortage of poultry due to the regime’s destructive economic policies.  On Friday, People in Tehran and Marivan are seen waiting in long lines to purchase poultry. Locals in Ahvaz, southwest Iran, had to stay in long lines to purchase poultry.

Three Extra Iranian Nationals Held Diplomatic Visas During Foiled Interference Plot

The number of Iranian nationals holding diplomatic visas in Australia increased from 31 to 34 around the time security agencies foiled a plot targeting Iranian-Australian citizens onshore. Three additional Iranian citizens had been granted diplomatic visas around the time that a foreign interference plot was uncovered by Australia’s national security agencies.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says an Iranian government attempt to conduct domestic surveillance of Iranian-Australians and their families was foiled late last year. The Australian authorities have refused to confirm any details concerning the cancellation of diplomatic visas or the names of people involved in the episode.

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UPDATE: 6:00 PM CET

Repressive Enforcement of Iranian Hijab Laws Symbolises Gender-based Persecution: UN Experts

GENEVA (14 April 2023) – The repressive enforcement of Iranian hijab laws, as announced by the State authorities, would result in additional restrictive and punitive measures on women and girls who fail to comply with the country’s compulsory veiling laws, UN experts* said today.

The experts warned that such repressive and draconian measures are a manifestation of gender-based persecution and would lead to unacceptable levels of violations of the rights of women and girls in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“It is deeply worrying that after months of nationwide protests, including against restrictive hijab laws, and following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, Iranian women are increasingly facing harsh and coercive measures by State authorities,” the UN experts said.

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UPDATE: 4:30 PM CET

Health Minister Openly Declares Guidelines for Systemic Censorship Concerning Chemical Attacks

Bahram Einollahi, the Minister of Health in Ebrahim Raisi’s cabinet, brazenly admitted to the regime’s intention to disparage reports about the serial chemical attacks against girls’ schools.

On April 14, Einollahi told state news agencies: “A scientific committee consisting of the best professors in the country was created and the state of the [affected] students was investigated. We decided to call it ‘student discomfort’ because there was no hard evidence of poisoning.”

“Our summary shows that in more than 90% of cases of students’ unwellness, there is no type of poisoning or poison involved, and we mostly witnessed stress and a small percentage was related to the mischief that took place and caused the students’ unwellness,” the Health Minister added.

UPDATE: 12:00 PM CET

Congresswoman Tenney Releases Report and Resolution Calling Out Iran’s Extremist IRGC

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today released a comprehensive report detailing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) terrorist activity around the world and calling on our partners and allies to join the United States in designating the body as a terrorist organization. Tenney also introduced a bipartisan resolution urging the European Union to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

Tenney’s report provides a comprehensive look into the history, mission, and leaders of this terrorist organization that continues to violently oppress the people of Iran as they peacefully protest. This report has received support from various advocacy groups, including JINSA, UANI, FDD, and prominent leaders in the field, including Secretary Mike Pompeo, former Special Representative for Iran Elliott Abrams, and former Deputy National Security Advisor Victoria Coates. Read Tenney’s full report on the IRGC here.

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Italian Senators Back Iran’s Democratic Opposition; Call for Immediate Blacklisting of Revolutionary Guards

During a news conference held at the Italian Parliament on April 13, key lawmakers announced that a bipartisan majority of senators have officially backed the ongoing, and months-long, uprising by Iran’s democratic coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI.

“We recognize the fact that over the past four decades, the democratic coalition of the National Council of Resistance of Iran has constantly and tirelessly pursued democratic change (in the country). In this respect, we believe the Ten-Point Plan articulated by the NCRI’s President, Maryam Rajavi, deserves our support. It stands for free elections, freedom of assembly and expression, the abolition of the death penalty, gender equality, the separation of religion and state, autonomy for Iran’s ethnicities, and a non-nuclear Iran,” said the Italian senators’ official statement, adding, “We stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in their desire for a secular and democratic republic where no individual, regardless of religion or birthright, has any privilege over others. Through their slogans, the Iranian people have made it clear that they reject all forms of dictatorship, be it the deposed Shah or the current theocratic regime, and thus reject any association with either.”

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UPDATE: 9:30 AM CET

Maryam Rajavi: Addresses a Conference at the Italian Parliament

At a meeting at the Parliament of Italy on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, a group of senators, including Senator Terzi and Senator Scurria, presented a joint declaration by the majority of the Italian Senate that supports the Iranian uprising and Resistance and the rejection of all forms of monarchical and religious dictatorships. A number of senators and members of the Italian Parliament expounded on the declaration. Maryam Rajavi joined and addressed the conference online. Following is the text of her remarks:

Dear friends, and honorable Italian lawmakers, I want to express my gratitude for your attention to the Iranian people’s fight for freedom and democracy. Thankfully, Italian society and its elected representatives have been aware of the Iranian issue for a long time.

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Iran Sees Continuing Night Rallies Against the Mullahs’ Regime

Protesters in various cities of Iran are continuing their anti-regime measures once again through a renewed campaign of night rallies to express their utter hatred of the ruling dictatorship. The capital Tehran and the city of Bandar Abbas in the south have been witnessing locals protesting and chanting slogans against the mullahs’ autocracy, while also taking to the streets, blocking roads, and torching pro-regime propaganda posters. People throughout Iran continue to specifically hold 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.

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Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison

Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee was sentenced to 7 years in prison, banned from leaving the country and attending parties and groups, and her phone was confiscated. On Thursday, April 13, 2023, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee was sentenced to 6 years in prison for “assembly and collusion” and one year for “propaganda against the state” in the 26th branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. The sentence implemented for her will be six years.

She was also sentenced to a 2-year ban on staying in her hometown Tehran, and a 2-year ban on attending parties and groups. Her mobile phone is also going to be confiscated. The presiding judge said he would disagree with her temporary release on bail.

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Iranian Government Turns to Russia for Missile Fuel in 2023

According to reports from diplomats cited by the American magazine “Politico,” the Iranian government is negotiating with Russia and China to obtain missile fuel that is under sanctions. Despite some aspects of the US and UN sanctions against the Iranian government, such as the buying and selling of military weapons, having expired, some sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program are still in place. Under the shadow of the continuation of sanctions in this area, the Iranian government is seeking to meet its needs in this field by circumventing the sanctions, as it has done in other sanctioned cases.

In this regard, the American magazine “Politico” reported on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in an article quoting “diplomats familiar with the matter” that China and Russia are trying to facilitate the delivery of special materials for ballistic missile fuel through advanced confidential negotiations with the Iranian government.

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London, England—April 8, 2023: MEK Supporters Rally to Support the Iran Revolution

London, England—April 8, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. The Iranian community in London supported their rising compatriots and pledged to continue to call for freedom and democracy in Iran.

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Stockholm, Sweden—April 8, 2023: MEK Supporters Rally to Support the Iran Revolution

Stockholm, Sweden—April 8, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in front of the Swedish parliament in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. The Iranian community in Stockholm supported their rising compatriots and pledged to continue to call for freedom and democracy in Iran.

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Also, read Iran News in Brief – April 13, 2023

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