THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:00 PM CET
EU Pledges To Join Us-Led Red Sea Patrol Effort
The European Union said tonight that member countries will contribute to the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian aimed at protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen. “Irresponsible Houthi actions are a threat to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” tweeted Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, after an emergency meeting of the bloc’s Political and Security Committee.
The EU’s endorsement will make it easier for countries to join the American effort.
The U.K. has joined, while Italy is sending a warship. France, which has a destroyer in the area, said on Tuesday it was interested but had not yet committed to joining the operation.
UPDATE: 3:00 PM CET
Planned Executions of Thousands of Youths for Drug Trafficking in Delafan Region
State media in Iran reported on Thursday, December 21, that approximately one to two thousand young individuals in the Delafan region of Lorestān Province have been sentenced to death for drug trafficking and are currently on death row.
A member of the regime’s parliament revealed today, “Last week, I visited Delafan firsthand and met with the families of prisoners who have been sentenced to death for drug trafficking. According to reports from the families, one to two thousand of our fellow citizens in Delafan have unfortunately received death sentences due to drug trafficking and are in the process of execution.”
Delafan, with a population of 145,000, is among the deprived regions where the unemployment rate exceeds the national average, standing at over 25%. The “Misery Index” for the entire country was estimated at approximately 54.8% in 2022. In Lorestān Province, this index is reported to be 67.2%.
Seedworm: Iranian Hackers Target Telecoms Orgs in North and East Africa
Iranian espionage group Seedworm (aka Muddywater) has been targeting organizations operating in the telecommunications sector in Egypt, Sudan, and Tanzania.
Seedworm has been active since at least 2017, and has targeted organizations in many countries, though it is most strongly associated with attacks on organizations in the Middle East. It has been publicly stated that Seedworm is a cyberespionage group that is believed to be a subordinate part of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
The attackers used a variety of tools in this activity, which occurred in November 2023, including leveraging the MuddyC2Go infrastructure, which was recently discovered and documented by Deep Instinct. Researchers on Symantec’s Threat Hunter Team, part of Broadcom, found a MuddyC2Go PowerShell launcher in the activity we investigated.
US Charges Alleged Hezbollah Member Over 1994 Argentina Bombing
Ukraine Shoots Down 34 out of 35 Russian Drones – Air Force
KYIV, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s air defence shot down 34 out of 35 Russian drones launched in a major overnight attack on 12 Ukrainian regions, the air force said on Thursday.
Russia launched Iranian-made Shahed drones in several waves from about 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) to 3:30 a.m., the air force said in a statement.
UPDATE: 9:00 AM CET
Iran’s Regime Fails to Hide Its Crises in the Fog of the War in Gaza
Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei sought to suppress the uprising of the Iranian people and hide his regime’s internal conflicts by leveraging the ongoing war in Gaza. He also wanted to set the stage to engineer the results of his sham parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections. However, it seems that after more than 70 days of war, the regime’s unsolvable crises have been exposed again.
In an article titled, “The Government-People Divide from the Perspective of Friday Prayer Preachers,” The state-run Shargh newspaper wrote, “Today, Iranian society is facing various difficulties. One of the important ways to monitor the most significant issues in society, in addition to cyberspace, is through the headlines of the country’s major newspapers.
Khamenei’s Priorities and the Struggle of the Iranian People
In a rather ironic and somewhat humorous turn of events, the state-run Kayhan newspaper in Iran, serving as the official mouthpiece for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, recently dedicated an article to addressing the extensive corruption surrounding Debsh Tea. In a bold statement, the piece declared that the Islamic Republic boasts a robust corruption detection system, ensuring that no one, regardless of their stature, is exempt from scrutiny. Originally intended as a source of national pride, this declaration has, however, evolved into a vulnerability due to the inadequacy of available information.
Samira Sabzian Fard, 30, Hanged in Notorious Karaj Prison
Samira Sabzian Fard, 30, was hanged at dawn in Qezel Hessar Prison, Karaj, on Wednesday, December 20, 2023. Her children are 11 and 15 years old.
She was allegedly arrested in December 2014 for deliberately murdering her husband.
Samira Sabzian Fard came from Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan Province, western Iran. She was a victim of child marriage and domestic violence. She was forced to marry at age 15. She killed her husband with the complicity of her sister and another individual, in the city of Malard, in Tehran Province. Samira Sabzian Fard was sent to solitary confinement to prepare for execution, last week on December 11, but her sentence was not carried out and she was returned to the ward on December 12.
Swedish Court of Appeal Confirms Life Imprisonment Sentence for Hamid Nouri
On Wednesday, December 19, the Swedish Court of Appeal upheld the life imprisonment sentence for Hamid Nouri, who was accused of involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in the 1980s.
Hamid Nouri, also known by the alias Hamid Abbasi, a former deputy in the judicial system of the Iranian regime, was arrested in November 2019 following a court order in Sweden.
After 93 trial sessions at the Stockholm District Court, on July 14, 2022, he was convicted of complicity in the massacre of political prisoners in 1988 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay compensation to the families of the victims.
Lucerne, Switzerland: MEK Supporters Held an Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iran Revolution
Lucerne, Switzerland — December 20, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a book exhibition in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution.
Rallies and Exhibitions by MEK Supporters in Different Cities of Canada, Australia, and Europe in Support of the Iran Revolution
On December 16, 2023, freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized rallies and exhibitions in Vancouver, Hanover, Bologna, Sydney, and Melbourne to express support for the Iranian Revolution. These events also served as a platform to condemn the recent wave of brutal executions in Iran and demand the prosecution of mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi. Raisi is notorious for his pivotal role in the 1988 massacre, during which more than 30,000 political prisoners were executed by the mullahs’ regime in Iran prisons across the country.
Zurich— December 19, 2023: MEK Supporters Held an Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iran Revolution
Zurich, Switzerland — December 19, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a photo exhibition in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. This exhibition served as a tribute to the martyrs of the nationwide Iranian uprising. They also condemned the wave of brutal executions in Iran.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – December 20, 2023