NCRI

Iran News in Brief – April 16, 2023

Sedighe Shahrokhi

iran protests 15042023 1

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

Sunday, April 16, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1

Iran’s nationwide uprising entered its 213th day on Sunday as public anger escalated at the ruling mullahs in response to regime operatives launching more chemical gas attacks against innocent schoolgirls.

According to reports tallied by the Iranian opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), regime operatives launched a chemical gas attack against the all-girls Setayesh High School in Tehran’s Persian Gulf district on Sunday morning. Several students are in dire conditions. Reports indicate that school officials kept the kids inside. Similar gas attacks and poisonings were reported from other cities, including:

Retirees and pensioners, along with workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, protested poor living conditions caused by the regime’s destructive policies. They held gatherings in Shush, southwest Iran, on Sunday. Similar rallies were held in the cities of Ahvaz, Shushtar, Isfahan, and Kermanshah.

Retired steelworkers held a gathering protesting their poor living conditions and regime officials’ refusal to address their demands. This rally was held in the western districts of Alborz Province, located west of the country’s capital Tehran.

Nurses and medical staff from across the city of Qom in central Iran rallied outside the Qom University of Medical Sciences on Sunday protesting economic woes and demanding answers from regime officials.

Students of Social Sciences at the University of Tehran began protesting the regime’s increasingly oppressive hijab regulations on Sunday. Similar protest rallies were reported in other cities, including Rasht.

Residents of Daniyal village in Motel-Qoo, Abbas Abad (Mazandaran province), resisted the regime’s Endowment Organization’s attempt to take over their land. In response, the repressive forces opened fire, killing two and injuring five.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, hailed the brave people of Mazandaran who resisted the regime’s oppressive forces.

“I salute the brave residents of Danial in Mazandaran Province who stood up to the aggression and looting of Khamenei’s agents and resisted repressive forces. My sympathies and condolences go out to the families of those who lost their lives, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured. I urge the defiant youth to rise up against this oppression and plunder and compel the regime’s mercenaries to retreat. The clerical regime and its agents and mercenaries only understand the language of force,” she said.

UPDATE: 2:30 PM CET

State Media Report On Regime’s Crackdown Tactics

Iranian state media declared the implementation of the regime’s agenda to further strictly impose the mandatory hijab as of Saturday morning, April 15.

According to the Mehr news agency, the police will issue warnings by text, and the property owners whose attendants refuse to wear hijab will be warned and sealed.

While warning against the social backlash, the state-run Setareh Sobh wrote today: “Is it possible that this plan may worsen the current situation of hijab and the lack thereof, and possibly lead to the same incident that happened to Mehsa Amini?”

“Suspending bank accounts, confiscating the cars of people without veils, more fines, etc., require the passing of a law, which currently does not exist,” the paper noted.

UPDATE: 1:30 PM CET

Diplomacy Over Nukes ‘Not an Option’ With Iran

The Biden Administration is exploring “other options” to ensure Iran never receives a nuclear weapon as a diplomatic solution appears to be off the table. White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby told Scripps News that while the president would prefer to use diplomacy in achieving that goal, “diplomacy right now is not possible.”

“Iran was negotiating in good faith, and now, based on everything else they’re doing — supporting Russia and Ukraine by sending them drones, killing and brutalizing their own people who are protesting, in addition to all the other destabilizing activities that Iran is doing in the region, it’s clear that a return to the Iran deal diplomatically is not on the agenda,” he explained.

Read more

UPDATE: 9:30 AM CET

Regime Crackdown, Economic Woes Fuel More Unrest in Iran

The Iranian people boycotted the regime’s so-called “Quds Day” ceremonies on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan despite the mullahs’ state media hype in this regard. The country’s economy continues to witness troubling times and footage from the cities of Tehran, Ahvaz, and Marivan showed people in long lines waiting to purchase poultry at discount prices. Even the most basic goods are becoming scarce and/or considered a luxury with rising inflation and skyrocketing prices thanks to the regime’s destructive policies, or lack thereof. This goes parallel to growing anger among the general public following the regime’s recent wave of chemical gas attacks targeting innocent schoolgirls.

Read more

Families Demand Justice for Poisoned Students

On Saturday, April 15, 2023, students’ families in Shahin-Shahr took to the streets to protest the poisoning of their children. The protest, held in front of the city’s Education Department, was met with repression, as security forces attacked the demonstrators and fired tear gas. The families chanted slogans such as “Death to the child-killing regime,” “Death to the dictator,” and “Death to the perpetrators of poisoning,” while also declaring that they would not accept humiliation.

Sadly, the situation is not isolated to Shahin-Shahr. At least eight regional schools and conservatories have been attacked by chemical agents and toxic gas, including Manouchehr Ansari Girls’ School, Al-e Yassin Girls’ Conservatory, and Fahmideh Elementary School. Moreover, students from several schools in Izeh, Sanandaj, Urmia, and Mahabad were poisoned, with dozens taken to medical centers on April 15.

Read more

Iran’s Youth Reject the Regime’s Impositions and Pressures

Iran has a rich history and a culture that dates back thousands of years, but its present is marred by an authoritarian regime.

For decades, the country has been under the rule of a theocratic government with a record of human rights violations and suppression of free speech. Despite this, the younger generation in Iran is rejecting the regime and pushing for change. The youth in Iran make up a significant portion of the population. Around 60% of the country’s citizens are under the age of 30.

Read more

Iranian People’s Democratic Revolution Photo Exhibition in US Senate

On April 12, 2023, equivalent to the 200th day of the Iranian people’s uprising, the US Senate displayed an emotionally moving photograph exhibition depicting the martyrs of the Iranian people’s democratic revolution. The exhibition featured images of young men and women who lost their lives during the uprising, and it was attended by advisors to senators and staff from various professional committees.

Read more

Also, read Iran News in Brief – April 15, 2023

Exit mobile version