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Iran News in Brief – February 21, 2023

Sedighe Shahrokhi

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THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS

UPDATE: 8:30 PM CET

Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 159

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

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1

Iran’s nationwide uprising marked its 159th day on Tuesday as people in different cities took to the streets yesterday protesting poor living conditions and other economic woes. Retirees and pensioners of the regime’s communications company led the protests while workers of different companies were also demanding delayed paychecks while complaining about poor working conditions.

In Ilam, western Iran, protesters torched up pro-regime propaganda posters, banners, and billboards, and In Tehran wrote graffiti: “Death to Khamenei!”

In Shiraz, south-central Iran, protesters used Molotov cocktails and targeted the home of a local regime agent.

Retirees and pensioners of the country’s medical sciences universities and other medical institutions held a gathering in Tehran on Tuesday, protesting poor economic conditions and low pensions.

Also protesting the country’s deteriorating economy were storeowners in the city of Baneh in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, who went on strike today in response to the nosediving national currency, the rial, and skyrocketing prices of basic goods.

Disabled citizens rallied in Mashhad today, demanding pensions owed to them for months, some for years. Municipality workers from across Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, gathered in the city of Ahvaz today and held a protest gathering to demand the clarification of their employment status.

Workers of a local petrochemical plant in Masjed Soleyman in Khuzestan Province held a gathering on Tuesday and protested the non-payment of their paychecks and insurance pensions for the past six months.

Teachers rallied outside the regime’s Education Ministry in the capital Tehran and demanded officials address their ongoing difficulties, including the inability to make ends meet.

Bakery owners in the city of Neyshabur in Razavi Khorasan Province held a gathering today and protested local officials’ refusal to address their demands.

In the city of Tabriz, northwest Iran, contract workers of the East Azerbaijan Province held protest rallies and demanded answers from regime officials to their demands.

UPDATE: 7:30 PM CET

US Navy Mideast Chief Says Iran Has ‘Attention of Everyone’

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian attacks in the waterways of the Middle East and elsewhere in the region “have the attention of everyone” as tensions rise over Tehran’s advancing nuclear program, the head of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet said Tuesday.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper also told The Associated Press that he’s seen a rise in what he described as Iran’s “malign activities” in the region over his two years leading the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.

While Cooper pointed to recent seizures of weapons by American and allied forces in the region as a success, he acknowledged that Iran has been able to carry out drone attacks targeting shipping in the Mideast and other assaults in the region.

“We’re focused on expanding our partnerships,” Cooper said on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi’s International Defense Exhibition and Conference. “The short answer is the Iranian actions have the attention of everyone.”

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UPDATE: 1:00 PM CET

On Tuesday, February 21, the Iranian regime’s Judiciary executed three prisoners in the central prison of Urmia. According to a human rights organization, three prisoners identified as Saadollah Farkhi Jazmi, Vahid Bayzaei, and Amir-Ali Bayrami were hanged this morning. The three prisoners were transferred to the solitary cells of Urmia Central Prison on Sunday to await the execution of their death sentences.

UPDATE: 9:30 AM CET

Poisoning Might Have Been Deliberate, Regime’s Attorney General Says

Following reports concerning numerous cases of food poisoning among hundreds of students in Qom and despite constant denials by state officials, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the regime’s Attorney General, stated that these might have been intentional.

Today, the state-run news agency ISNA quoted the regime’s Attorney General as saying: “The news received about an alarming trend of some kind of poisoning in some educational centers of Qom indicates the possibility of intentional criminal actions.”

On February 17, Mohammad Saeedi, Khamenei’s representative in Qom province, slammed news reports about the poisoning as “rumors” that originated from “hostile media”.

According to the Qom University of Medical Sciences, 11 more students were admitted to the hospital on Monday with symptoms of poisoning.

Nuclear Inspectors in Iran Find Uranium Enriched to 84-Percent Purity: Reports

Nuclear inspectors in Iran have reportedly discovered uranium in the country that has been enriched to 84 percent purity — just below the level needed to develop nuclear weapons, reports found.

Bloomberg first reported that The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is investigating how Iran managed to enrich uranium to 84 percent, which the report says is the highest level found by inspectors to date. To create a nuclear weapon, uranium must be enriched to at least 90 percent.

A senior European diplomat told The Wall Street Journal that if the reports were confirmed, it would be a “grave development.”

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UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET

Iran Protests Escalate by People From All Walks of Life

People from all walks of life in Iran are protesting in the streets and demanding their rights from the regime. Poor living conditions and the country’s deteriorating economy are resulting in Iranians holding rallies, gatherings, and demonstrations to voice their grievances.

People throughout the country are specifically holding the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for their miseries, while also condemning the oppressive the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij units, alongside other security units that are on the ground suppressing the peaceful demonstrators.

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Fanatic Group Threatens Poisoning of High School Girls in Iran

A group of extremists in Qom has distributed threatening leaflets, declaring that girls’ education is forbidden and vowing to spread the poisoning of high school girls to schools across Iran.

This comes after over 400 students, mostly high school girls, have been treated for poisoning symptoms since December. Despite the determination by medical staff that a microbial gas caused the poisoning, intelligence agencies have silenced the issue.

There have been recent incidents of respiratory poisoning in Tehran. The continued poisoning of high school girls in Qom sparked protests by families demanding a transparent investigation.

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The Average Income for Iranians Has Shrunk by $5,000

In the current situation, the Iranian people are struggling daily to make ends meet. Many families are trying desperately to stabilize their current economic conditions, which have become a major priority to them rather than their health conditions, but the statistics are painting a picture that most of them are sadly failing to do so.

It is evident that the people’s livelihood baskets have become the main target of the regime’s cut-offs. Inflation has changed people’s lifestyles for the worse, with many people being forced to reduce their expenses for education and entertainment.

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Inflation in Iran Looks Dire Under the Mullahs’ Regime in 2023

A quick or profound and in-depth look at the economic metrics of Iran under the reign of ayatollahs reveals a sorrowful truth, the increasing rate of inflation, the increasing rate of unemployment, the increasing rate of government corruption and embezzlement and the increasing rate of people approaching the poverty line.

In a country that ranks as one of the top five countries in the world regarding its wealth of natural resources, the color of happy and comfortable life has been on a fading trend since the inception of the regime of the mullahs.

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Also, read Iran News in Brief – February 20, 2023

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