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Iran News in Brief – February 16, 2023

Sedighe Shahrokhi

iran protests 15022023

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS

UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET

Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 154

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

Thursday, February 16, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1

Iran’s nationwide uprising witnessed its 154th day as people marked the 40th day of the execution of protesters Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini. Throughout the country, there were calls on Thursday for people to come to the streets and protest against the regime.

Heeding that call, protesters took to the streets in various parts of Tehran and other cities, including Mashhad, Sanandaj, Shiraz, Karaj, Qazvin, Arak, Izeh, Ahvaz, Khorramabad, Rasht, and others.

In Sanandaj, western Iran, protesters started fires and established roadblocks to prevent the regime from dispatching its forces. They chanted, “Death to Khamenei!”
“Death to the dictator!”
“This is the year Seyed Ali (Khamenei) is overthrown!”
“Khamenei is a murderer! His rule is illegitimate!”
“My martyred brother, I will avenge your blood!”
“Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
“We don’t want an Islamic state!”
“We will fight and take back Iran!”
“We swear on our compatriots’ blood that we will stand to the end!”

In Tehran‘s Tehranpars district, locals chanted: “This is the year Seyed Ali (Khamenei) is overthrown!”

In various parts of Tehran and the town of Eshtehard in Alborz Province, west of Tehran, regime authorities dispatched security units backed by anti-riot guards in anticipation of anti-regime protests today. They also used schools in various parts of Tehran, including Sa’adatabad, to station their security forces. Similar actions were taken in the country’s northwest as authorities dispatched security forces from Urmia to Mahabad.

Protests were also reported in Tehran’s Molavi market (bazaar) following the continuous nosedive of the national currency, the rial.

Locals in the Mohammad Shahr district of Karaj, west of Tehran, targeted one of the regime’s IRGC paramilitary Basij sites on Wednesday night.

Locals took to the streets of Mashhad in northeast Iran on Wednesday night and set up roadblocks with fires while chanting:

“Death to the dictator!”
“Poverty-Corruption-High prices! We’re going to overthrow the regime!”
“This is the year Seyed Ali (Khamenei) is overthrown!”

UPDATE: 3:30 PM CET

Eight More Executions Reported in Iran

The Iranian regime’s Judiciary has executed eight prisoners in the past three days in prisons located in Karaj, Gorgan, Urmia, and Qazvin. According to reports, three prisoners were executed in Karaj prison on Tuesday, February 14, and at least five prisoners were executed on the same day in Urmia, Gorgan, and Qazvin prisons by the Judiciary’s executioners. According to a human rights organization, several prisoners have been identified as Mehdi Dustari in Karaj, Sirus Gholami in Gorgan, and Ahmad Sameri and Behzad Alirezai in Qazvin.

Senate Moves To Disrupt Iran’s Support for Russia’s War on Ukraine

Senate Republicans are moving to disrupt Iran’s budding military alliance with Russia through new legislation that would authorize a bevy of new sanctions on Tehran.

The DISRUPT Act, spearheaded by Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.), would authorize sanctions on a range of Iranian regime entities that provide military support to Russia as it wages an unprovoked war in Ukraine, according to a copy of the new bill obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Iran has emerged as a key military ally for Moscow, providing it with deadly drone technology that has been used to target sites across Ukraine.

The legislation is one of the first efforts by the new Congress to directly target Iran and Russia’s expanding military alliance. It would stop President Joe Biden from lifting any sanctions on Iran until the country “ends its support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” according to information about the bill provided by Lankford’s office.

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UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET

Iran Sees Continued Protests as People Raise Various Demands

Iran’s nationwide uprising is witnessing its 153rd day on Wednesday as more people from different walks of life are taking to the streets and holding protest rallies over various dilemmas across the board. People are holding the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directly responsible for their miseries, while also condemning the oppressive Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij units, alongside other security units that are on the ground suppressing the peaceful demonstrators.

Protests in Iran have to this day expanded to at least 282 cities. Over 750 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). The names of 647 killed protesters have been published by the PMOI/MEK.

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A Bodybuilding Coach Is Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison and 85 Lashes

Bodybuilding coach Mina Yaghoubi was sentenced to 11 years in prison, 85 lashes, and additional punishments.

Bodybuilding coach Mina Yaqhoubi released a video clip on February 15, 2023,  and announced that according to the decree issued by the Revolutionary Court, she was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment and two years of being banned from staying in the city of her residence. She was also sentenced by the criminal court to 3 years in prison, enduring 85 lashes and 124 hours of washing graves.

Bodybuilding coach Mina Yaghoubi said in this video clip that the reason for her three-month silence was that her lawyer had objected to the court ruling, and they hoped to cut down on the punishment.

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The Canadian Businessmen Accused of Helping Iran’s Regime

They’re wanted by the FBI in the U.S., accused of helping to disguise hundreds of millions of dollars on Iran’s behalf to evade American sanctions. In Canada, they’re active businessmen advertising themselves as flourishing leaders in the world of real estate.

Salim Henareh promotes himself on his personal website as the CEO of a private mortgage corporation in Toronto and a “top name in his industry.”

Khalil Henareh (the FBI believes he’s related to Salim) presents himself on social media as an award-winning real estate broker based in Thornhill, Ont.

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Over 600 People Have Lost One or Both Eyes in the Protests

Nearly 150 days have passed since the start of the nationwide protests in Iran. In these 5 months, more than 600 protesters have been injured and lost one or both eyes due to the deliberate shooting of the security forces. On November 3, 2022, Hossein Nader Beigi, a 23-year-old protester, a citizen of Karaj and student at Azad University, faced a barrage of bullets from the security forces and lost both of his eyes during the 50th commemoration ceremony of Hadis Najafi in Behesht Sakineh, Karaj. Recently, one of the young protestors, who himself suffered an eye injury, spoke about the condition of Hossein Nader Beigi.

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The IRGC Role in Drug Trafficking and the Spread of Addiction

One of the dimensions of the IRGC’s crimes against the people of Iran is the IRGC’s role in drug trafficking and the spread of addiction in Iran. Iran is one of the most important drug-trafficking crossings in the world, and most of the drugs produced in Afghanistan are smuggled to European countries through Iran and by the IRGC.

In addition to seizing the wealth of the Iranian people and seeking profit and earning large amounts of money in advance, the IRGC also earns money from other sources, one of these issues is drug trafficking.

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

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