Iran News in Brief – December 20, 2022

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS

UPDATE: 8:00 PM CET

Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 96

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

Tuesday, December 20, 2022 – 8 PM GMT+1

• Days: 96
• Protests: 280 cities
• Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 601 identified by MEK
• Detentions: 30,000+

Iran’s nationwide uprising marked its 96^th day on Tuesday after a night of intense protests in several cities. This is the second day of a new three-day initiative of major strikes and protests spanning across the country.

Tuesday’s protests began with strikes in several cities. In Sanandaj, western Iran, all shops in Shahrak-e Sanati (industrial village) were closed. In Tehran, the resident students and physicians of Rasul-e Akram hospital were on strike and held protest rallies. They chanted, “Students will die but won’t give in to disgrace!” Also on the capital’s Sattari road, protesters set fire to a regime billboard on a highway overpass.

Students also held strikes in Saqqez and Rasht, where they refused to attend classes in solidarity with nationwide strikes and protests.

In Kamyaran, western Iran, locals went on strike and continued the nationwide protests against the regime.

In Gorgan, a large rally was held in memory of Dr. Ayda Rostami, a civilian murdered by security forces seven days ago. The attendants chanted slogans against the regime as they commemorated Rostami. The regime dispatched plainclothes agents to the site to control the situation, but the people continued their rally.

In Tehran’s Enghelab (Revolution) Square, protesters marched and chanted, “Death to Khamenei!”, “Death to the dictator!” and “Freedom, freedom, freedom.”

Further west, In Karaj, protesters marched in the Golshahr district and chanted: “Death to the dictator!”

In Yazd, central Iran, protesters targeted a base of the IRGC paramilitary Basij and set it ablaze. Late last night, defiant youth in the city set fire to another Basij base by using Molotov cocktails.

In Hamadan, western  Iran, protesters set ablaze a base of the regime’s IRGC paramilitary Basij units last night. Also, late last night, in Karaj, west of Tehran, protesters in the city’s Hashtgerd district torched a pro-regime propaganda poster.

In Ahvaz, southwest Iran, protesters set ablaze a base of the regime’s IRGC paramilitary Basij units and in Qom, central Iran, protesters set fire to an image of the eliminated IRGC Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani. In another part of the city, defiant youth targeted a local base of the IRGC paramilitary Basij units with Molotov cocktails.

Update of 96^th day of Nationwide Iran Protests

According to a report tallied by the Iranian opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the nationwide uprising continued today in dozen Iranian cities. In Tehran’s different districts, people held rallies while chanting anti-regime slogans such as “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator.” Other cities, including Gorgan, northern Iran, witnessed anti-regime protests.

Protesters in Yazd, central Iran, attacked a base of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) paramilitary Basij and set it ablaze.

According to the MEK, shop owners and other small businesses in Kurdish cities in western Iran went on strike today, protesting the regime’s inhumane treatment of detained protesters and other brutal measures. University students in Tehran also refused to attend their classes. Reports from Iran indicate that residents and physicians of Tehran’s Rasul Akram Hospital also continued their strike today for the second day in a row.

Statement of Germany at the Un Security Council Meeting on  the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 2231 [Jcpoa, Iran, Non-proliferation] on 19 December 2022

In his fourteenth report, the Secretary General renewed his support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). We fully agree that Iran’s nuclear escalation must be stopped and reversed by diplomatic means. We regret that Iran has rejected viable compromise proposals, in March and again in August, and stalled the Vienna talks. The prospects for a sustainable diplomatic solution have unfortunately been fading in recent months.

Instead, Iran has chosen a path that further diminishes the prospects for a restoration and full implementation of the JCPoA.

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UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET

Iran Enters 95th Day of Protests With Nationwide Strikes

Iran’s nationwide uprising is marking its 95^th day on Monday with the launch of a new three-day initiative of major strikes and protests spanning across the country. From Tehran to Kerman, and many cities of the country’s Kurdish regions in Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan provinces there are reports of merchants and store owners on strike in solidarity with the nationwide uprising and condemning the regime’s excessive crackdown measures.

Protests in Iran have to this day expanded to at least 280 cities. Over 700 people have been killed and more than 30,000 are arrested by the regime’s forces, according to sources of the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

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Ziba Omidifar, Kurdish Journalist, Under Torture by IRGC Intelligence

Ziba Omidifar, the reporter for the Kurdpress News Agency, was taken to Kowsar Hospital in Sanandaj by IRGC security forces on the morning of December 15, a week after being arrested and transferred to the detention center of IRGC Intelligence Organization in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan Province.

According to informed sources, the Kurdish journalist was tortured and harassed during a week of detention, and her level of consciousness decreased drastically on the evening of December 14. According to hospital personnel, Ziba Omidifar should be immediately returned to the detention center after initial treatment.

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Prisoner Killed by State Security in Karaj

On Saturday, December 17, 2022, prisoners held in the Central Prison of Karaj protested to prevent the transfer of four prisoners who are sentenced to death by Iran’s Judiciary. These prisoners began chanting “Death to Khamenei.” Protesting prisoners from halls (Wards) 2, 3, and 5 of the prison intended to prevent further executions of Iranians.

The names and identities of the four prisoners facing the death penalty are yet unknown. Prison authorities summoned these inmates from the halls to carry out the death penalty. They were taken to solitary confinement, and two of the death-row prisoners were transferred from Hall 2 in the Central Prison of Karaj.

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Washington, DC—December 17, 2022: Major Demonstration of the Iranian Resistance Supporters in Support of the Iran Revolution

Washington, DC—December 17, 2022: Iranian-American community members and Iranian Resistance supporters (NCRI and MEK) held a significant demonstration supporting the nationwide Iranian people uprising. This demonstration was held after the conference’s successful holding: “Washington Summit Iran Uprising Prospects & Correct Policy Options.”

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Iranian Resistance Supporters Rallied in Eight Cities From Different Countries in Support of the Nationwide Iran Protests—December 17, 2022

Saturday, December 17, 2022: Iranian Resistance (NCRI and MEK) supporters rallied in eight cities from different countries, including Paris, Vienna, Stockholm, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Bucharest, Luxembourg, and Heidelberg, in support of the nationwide Iran protests.

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