THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:00 PM CET
Govt To Propose That NSDC Imposes Against Iran – Economy Minister
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine will submit to the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) a proposal that the NSDC applies sectoral sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. As reported on the official website of the government, the decision was made at a meeting on Tuesday, April 25. The proposals were preliminarily reviewed and recommended by the Interdepartmental Working Group on the Implementation of the State Sanctions Policy chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
Iran Uprising at a Glance
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 222
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 675 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
Iran’s nationwide uprising marked its 222nd day on Tuesday. According to reports tallies by the Iranian opposition, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), workers of oil, petrochemical, steel, copper, and other industrial sites across Iran continued their strike. These are parallel to the regime’s relaunching of its horrific chemical gas attacks against innocent schoolgirls.
April 25 – Sanandaj, western #Iran
Aftermath of regime operatives launching a chemical gas attack targeting the all-girls Niayesh School. A number of the students are poisoned and very ill as a result of the attack.#IranChemicalAttacks pic.twitter.com/d8agjYai7u— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 25, 2023
Brave youths and protesters in Mahabad, a restive city in northwest Iran, attacked the local state police headquarters early Monday morning in response to the regime’s attacks against ‘kulbars’ (border porters).
Brave youths attacked a regime judiciary office in the town of Abbas Abad in northern Iran on Saturday night, April 22. This was in response to the regime’s security forces and judiciary agents attacking local farmers earlier, killing two people and injuring five.
April 22 – Near Abbas Abad, northern #Iran
Brave youths attacked a local judiciary office in response to the regime’s security forces and judiciary agents attacking local farmers that left two people killed and five wounded.#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/hgbr7ZVM5a— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 25, 2023
In the city of Yazd, central Iran, MEK Resistance Units projected a large image of Iranian Resistance Leader Massoud Rajavi on Javad-ol-Aemeh Street.
Workers at a local refinery in the city of Bidboland in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, steelworkers in Neyshabur, northeast Iran, and workers of another steel plant near Sirjan, south-central Iran, also joined the nationwide campaign. Workers from other sites joining the nationwide campaign on Tuesday include:
April 24 – Neyshabur, northeast #Iran
Local steel workers joined the nationwide strike, protesting their officials' refusal to increase their salaries, delaying their paychecks, and the low-quality food/housing facilities.#IranProtests#اعتصابات_سراسریpic.twitter.com/vucQFulaPF— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 25, 2023
- Nasb Niroo Company in Ramileh of Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran
- A local copper plant in Sarcheshmeh, south-central Iran
- Salman Farsi Petrochemical site in Bandar-e Khomini, southwest Iran
- Olefin Petrochemical Plant in Ilam, western Iran
- Pars Petrochemical Company in southern Iran
Regime operatives are behind a new chemical gas attack on Tuesday, targeting the all-girls Avini School in Tehran. Other schools targeted in today’s chemical attacks include:
April 25 – Tehran, #Iran
Regime operatives launched a chemical gas attack targeting the all-girls Avini School. Many students are poisoned and needing immediate medical care.#IranChemicalAttacks pic.twitter.com/AgFB4KJyr3— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 25, 2023
- The all-girls Niayesh and Mastureh Ardalan high schools in Sanandaj, western Iran
- The all-girls Qudoosi School and the all-boys Mohammadian High School in Kermanshah, western Iran. Several students in Mohammadian High School are reportedly in critical condition.
Locals in the city of Kian, near Shahrekord, central Iran, were in the streets blocking their roads and protesting the regime’s measures aimed at confiscating their lands.
On Monday night, locals in the capital’s Shahrak-e Bagheri district began chanting anti-regime slogans, including: “Down with IRGC and Basij!”
April 25 – Kian, near Shahrekord, central #Iran
Locals are in the streets blocking their roads and protesting the regime's measures aimed at confiscating their lands.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/QEID3rLP9x— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 25, 2023
UPDATE: 3:30 PM CET
Most Iranian Nurses Seek Immigration, Official Says
Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam, the Secretary General of Iranian Nursing Home, stated that problems such as low wages have forced most Iranian nurses to seek immigration.
In an interview with the state-run Entekhab website, he said: “About 3,000 Iranian nurses immigrate to countries that approve their credentials.”
“Our nurses are immigrating to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and of course European countries,” he added. “Injustice in payments has caused discomfort. The most unfair system of paying nurses in the world belongs to Iran. Job search is another issue. Nurses themselves can also choose and immigrate to the destination country in different ways with the help of lawyers. Most of the nurses are looking for immigration.”
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET
Statement by the High Representative on Behalf of the EU on the Alignment of Certain Countries Concerning Restrictive Measures Directed Against Certain Persons and Entities in View of the Situation in Iran
On 31 March 2023, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2023/7271 amending Council Decision 2011/235/CFSP. The Council Decision renews the existing restrictive measures for a further twelve months, until 13 April 2024, and amends the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures as set out in the Annex to Decision 2011/235/CFSP.
The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina2, as well as the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this Council Decision. They will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council’s Decision. The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it.
US Military Kicked Iranian Hackers off Municipal Website Reporting Unofficial Election Results in 2020
Iranian hackers accessed a US municipal website for reporting unofficial election results in 2020 but were kicked off the network by US military hackers and didn’t have any impact on voting, a top US general said Monday.
There was never a risk that vote counts could have been altered because such election night websites report preliminary data rather than certified ballot results. Instead, US officials were concerned that the hackers might use their access to the website to mislead the public by posting fake results.
“Our concern is always that some type of web defacement … on the night of the election could make it look like the vote had been tampered with when that’s absolutely not true,” Maj. Gen. William Hartman, head of US Cyber Command’s Cyber National Mission Force, said at the RSA cybersecurity conference in San Francisco.
Iran’s Carpet Market Is in Disastrous Shape, Official Says
One member of the Iranian regime’s Chamber of Commerce has described Iran’s carpet exports as “disastrous,” citing a significant drop in earnings from $1.7 billion to $50 million annually.
“Razi Haji Aghamiri, a member of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, says that the export figures of Iranian carpets are embarrassing and on the verge of a disaster,” the state-run Entekhab website wrote on April 23. “Haji Aghamiri said that in the 1980s, Iran’s carpet exports were more than one billion and 700 million dollars, but now, this figure has decreased to 50 million dollars, which for a country known as the world’s capital of carpets something close to zero.”
Haj Ahamiri added that the downward trend of Iran’s carpet exports began during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and now, due to Iran’s failure, competitors have taken over the market. According to him, countries such as India, Pakistan, and Turkey have now taken a more serious role in the carpet market, adding that Afghanistan has also been added to these countries.
Three Members of “IRGC” Militia Killed in Eastern Countryside of Deir Ezzor
Designating Iranian Officials in Connection with Serious Human Rights Abuses Or Censorship in Iran
The United States condemns Iran’s continued human rights abuses and remains committed to supporting the people of Iran as they face the brutality of the Iranian regime and demand respect for their fundamental freedoms.
Today, the Department of State is taking action to impose visa restrictions pursuant to Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 212(a)(3)(C) on 11 Iranian government officials, who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the abuse, detention or killing of peaceful protestors or inhibiting their rights to freedom of expression or peaceful assembly.
Navy Ship Makes $42 Million Drug Bust in the Gulf of Oman
he Navy made a $42 million drug bust last week, stopping a small vessel even as the crew was attempting to ditch some of the illicit cargo. The seizure occurred on April 21, when the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton intercepted a fishing boat transiting the Gulf of Oman. Once aboard, Navy and Coast Guard service members from the USS Paul Hamilton discovered 802 kilograms of methamphetamines and 1,000 kilograms of hashish. Before being boarded, the five crewmembers on the fishing vessel – who identified themselves as Iranian nationals – attempted to throw at least 50 35-pound bags of amphetamines overboard, some of which were ultimately recovered by the Navy.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
Strikes at Sensitive Industrial Sites Continue Across Iran
Iran’s nationwide uprising is witnessing its 221st day on Monday as more workers of the country’s sensitive industrial sites are joining an escalating campaign of strikes spreading throughout Iran. At least 76 oil, petrochemical, steel, copper, and other industrial sites in 27 cities throughout 11 provinces are seeing their workers walk off and launch strikes, protesting their officials’ refusal to increase their salaries, demanding their delayed paychecks, and voicing their frustration over poor food low-quality housing/resting facilities at their sites. MEK Resistance Units and protesters across the country are increasing their anti-regime measures and attacking the mullahs’ interests in solidarity with Iran’s hardworking laborers who are courageously continuing their strike as we speak.
Female Tourist Killed in Iran for Not Wearing Hijab
Basij agents recently killed a female tourist in Shazdeh Mahan garden in Kerman, Iran. The reason behind this brutal act was the female tourist’s decision not to wear a hijab in public. The situation escalated quickly as people got angry and started throwing stones at the bus carrying the Basij agents. The state-run media reported the incident, stating that the Basij agents had warned some visitors about the mandatory hijab rule before the altercation occurred. As a result of the ensuing clash, a 60-year-old woman suffered a cardiac arrest and died in the hospital. (The state-run Rouydad24.ir, April 23, 2023)
Kurdish Rights Activists Pressured To Make False Confessions
Kurdish women’s rights activists are under pressure from the Intelligence Department of Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan Province. Zhina Moddares Gorji, journalist and women’s rights activist, and Fariba Zand Karimi, a teacher who is also a women’s rights activist, are detained in solitary confinement under double pressure to make false confessions against themselves. The two activists from Sanandaj have been deprived of calling their families and having visitations. Zhina Moddares Gorji was violently arrested on April 10, 2023, by agents of the Intelligence Department as she was returning home from her workplace at a bookstore.
Impact of Iran’s Removal of Preferential Currency Rates on Pharmaceutical Industry
Iran’s regime recently announced that the country’s pharmaceutical industry will no longer receive the preferential currency, foreign currencies such as the dollar and euro subsidized by the government. Currently, the U.S. dollar hovers above 500,000 rials. The preferential rate is around 42,000 rials per dollar. Given that the pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on imports, the difference can have a huge impact. On Saturday, March 26, the regime’s Minister of Health stated in the audience of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences that in the new year, the preferential currency for medicine has been removed.
Vancouver, Canada—April 22, 2023: MEK Supporters Rally to Support the Iran Revolution
Vancouver, Canada—April 22, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in support of the Iranian Revolution. Iranians in Vancouver committed themselves to forge ahead with the fight for freedom and democracy in Iran together with their rising compatriots.
Geneva—April 21, 2023: MEK Supporters Held a Rally to Support the Iran Revolution, and Condemned the Poisoning of the Iranian Schoolgirls
Geneva, Switzerland—April 21, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance (NCRI and MEK) held a rally and photo exhibition of the Iran Revolution‘s martyrs in front of the Headquarters of the UN in Europe. The Iranian Resistance supporters urged the international community to take a firm policy against the regime’s human rights violations and recognize the Iranian people’s right to self-defense.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – April 24, 2023