THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 6:30 PM
Cardin, McCaul Statement on Argentinian Court Finding Iran Responsible for Attacks on Israeli Embassy and Jewish Center
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement after Argentina’s highest court found Iran responsible for a terrorist attack against the Israeli embassy in Argentina and the Argentinian Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish Center.
“On Friday, Argentina’s highest criminal court found Iran responsible for ordering the 1992 terrorist attack on Israel’s embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 terrorist attack on the Argentinian Israelite Mutual Association Jewish center. We praise the enormous courage of the Argentinian officials and judges working to hold Iran and its associates accountable and deliver transparency to the victims. The United States must stand with those pursuing justice and against growing efforts to harass them.”
UPDATE: 4:00 PM
The UK and US Sanction Leading Iranian Military Figures and Entities Following The Attack on Israel
Today (Thursday 18 April) the UK has sanctioned a further seven individuals and six entities who have enabled Iran to conduct destabilising regional activity, including its direct attack on Israel.
This adds to the 400 plus sanctions already imposed on Iran. Previous sanctions include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in its entirety and many of those responsible for the attack on Israel.
In a coordinated package with the US, leading Iranian military figures have been sanctioned in response to Iran’s dangerous direct attack on Israel on 14 April. The UK and US have also announced a range of sanctions to tighten the net on key actors within Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and missile industries and further limit Iran’s ability to destabilise the region.
US Slaps New Sanctions on Iran’s Drone Program as Israel Considers Response to Weekend Attack
The United States slapped new sanctions Thursday on 16 people and two entities associated with Iran’s drone program as it looks to punish Tehran for last weekend’s attack on Israel.
The sanctions target executives of an engine manufacturer that supplies Iran’s Shahad-131 drones, which were used in the onslaught, as well as companies that service the engines and individuals associated with providing the drones to Iranian proxy forces throughout the Middle East.
The Treasury Department also said it was punishing five companies associated with Iran’s steel industry and three subsidiaries of an Iranian automaker.
Ads Appear in Jordan about Sale of Iranian Missile Debris
Advertisements for the sale of Iranian missile debris appeared on an online platform in Jordan, Report informs referring to foreign media.
One of the users posted an ad on the Opensooq marketplace called “Used rocket.” The location was identified as the Jordanian capital Amman. It was alleged that it was a ballistic missile.
Soon after local and Arab media noticed this, the advertisements disappeared from the website. They may have been deleted.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a strike on Israeli territory on the night of April 14 in response to the destruction by Israeli aircraft of the Iranian consulate in Syria earlier in the month. Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh said that Jordanian air defense systems had taken action against some flying objects that found themselves in the kingdom’s airspace.
UPDATE: 7:30 AM
Iran’s Regime Intensifies Brutal Crackdown On Political Prisoners
The Iranian regime has intensified its repressive measures against political prisoners, especially the supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). In its latest series of repressive measures, the regime imposed harsh restrictions and denied these prisoners access to essential medical care. Nejat Anwar Hamidi, a 68-year-old PMOI supporter in Sepidar Prison, Ahvaz, is suffering from severe heart disease and requires urgent surgery, but the authorities have repeatedly refused to transfer her to the hospital despite her family’s pleas.
Additionally, 17 political prisoners in Sheiban Prison, Ahvaz, have been banned from receiving visits since April 13th, following a brutal attack by prison guards on Ward 5.
Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi: Our Choice Is Resistance!
Elite students Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, who have been imprisoned, have released a letter on the eve of the fourth anniversary of their arrest. Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, who were arrested on April 7, 2020, are imprisoned in Evin Prison.
In their letter, these two elite students elucidated their four-year path of imprisonment and resistance. Amir Hossein Moradi and Ali Younesi emphasized that traversing this path required momentary decision-making for them.
In a part of their letter, they stated: “Looking at what people lose, what we lost wasn’t significant anymore, and overcoming other conditions wasn’t too difficult. Prison is the price of this choice and its litmus test.
We have experienced that those who desired less for themselves and chose resolute perseverance endured tougher conditions. This is the primary factor distinguishing between those who can’t endure even a month of prison and those who endure 10, 15, 20, or even 25 years of prison with resilience and resistance.”
Nejat Anvar Hamidi, 68, in Dire Health in Sepidar Prison, Ahvaz
Political prisoner Nejat Anvar Hamidi Karoun, a supporter of the PMOI (People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran), is suffering from severe heart disease while detained in Sepidar Prison, Ahvaz.
According to specialists, she needs surgery. However, despite repeated requests from her family, prison authorities have refused to send her to a hospital.
In addition to her heart condition, Mrs. Anvar Hamidi has been losing her eyesight in detention.
Nejat Anvar Hamidi, a 68-year-old teacher from Abadan with four children, has been in prison since 2019. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz on charges of disseminating propaganda against the regime and membership in the PMOI.
Tuesdays against Execution, The 12th Week Of Hunger Strike by Political Prisoners
On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, prisoners detained in various Iranian prisons initiated a hunger strike, marking the twelfth week of their protest against the regime’s spree of executions, known as “Tuesdays against Execution.”
Prisoners in Qezel Hessar Prison in Karaj, specifically in wards 4, 6, and 8, as well as those in the women’s ward of Evin Prison in Tehran, the Central Prison of Karaj, and the prisons of Naqadeh, Khoy, Mashhad, Khorram Abad, and Saqqez, participated in the hunger strike on Tuesday. There is a growing possibility of widespread implementation of inhumane death sentences by the clerical regime’s Judiciary.
Reports from inside the prisons indicate that in the past few days, the mullahs’ regime, taking advantage of the volatile situation in the Middle East, executed a number of apolitical convicts in various prisons silently.
Political Prisoner Varisha Moradi Held In State Of Limbo After 250 Days Of Detention
More than 250 days since the arrest of political prisoner Varisha Moradi, she is still being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison in a state of limbo.
Varisha Moradi was summoned to court after more than eight months of detention. On April 9, she appeared at the 15th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, but due to lack of counsel, the hearing on her charges was not held.
Ms. Moradi was also not allowed to meet with her lawyer before the trial as planned. It is not clear when the next court session will be held. Varisha Moradi was arrested on August 1, 2023, by security forces in the outskirts of Sanandaj, western Iran.
Iran’s Teachers Working at Low Wages and Without Insurance
While pressures on teachers’ activists by the Iranian regime continue, the regime’s Ham-Mihan newspaper has published a report examining the livelihood problems of teachers, with accounts of “insignificant wages, lack of job security, and teacher labor” being published.
In the report published on April 16, emphasis was placed on the “more critical conditions” of teachers’ “services procurement and contract teachers,” with teachers teaching in “deprived areas” having minimal rights that are paid “irregularly,” and “their insurance rights, if not formally employed, are not fully paid.”
According to this report, the wages of these teachers “sometimes do not even reach 80 million rials (approximately $122), and even this small amount is paid after several months with significant delays.”
Three Political Suspects From The Same Family And One Citizen Have Been Sentenced To Eleven Years In Prison
On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, four Tehran citizens named Nasrollah Falahi, his children Ardavan and Arghavan Falahi, along with Parvin Mirasan, were collectively sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment. These four political prisoners were detained in a joint case related to the nationwide protests of 2022. According to reports received by Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM), Parvin Mirasan, 67 years old, and Nasrollah Falahi, 66 years old, were sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, under the presidency of Judge Iman Afshari. Parvin Mirasan was sentenced to 4 years in prison, Nasrollah Falahi was sentenced to 4 years in prison, Arghavan Falahi, 22 years old, was sentenced to 2 years in prison, and Ardavan Falahi, 24 years old, was sentenced to 1 year in prison. In total, they were sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment.
The Unseen War: Women’s Resistance in Iran
Resistance, a fierce struggle has been unfolding between women and security forces in the streets and alleys of Iranian cities. Although blood may not be visibly shed, both sides of this unequal conflict are aware that the current equilibrium between the government and the people has been established through a river of blood. In this river, the contribution of women and girls is nearly as significant as that of men. When Khamenei ordered Ibrahim Raisi’s name to be pulled from the ballot box at the start of 2021, he had a specific objective. He aimed to ensure the regime’s survival amidst a policy of contraction in foreign affairs and increased domestic repression. Khamenei required a pawn to execute this policy, someone who would dutifully follow orders and commit crimes, as Raisi did.