NCRI

Iran News in Brief – February 24, 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 162

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

Friday, February 24, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1

Iran’s nationwide uprising marked its 162nd day following as thousands took to the street in Zahedan, the capital of the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, following Friday’s weekly prayers and chanted anti-regime slogans.

Anticipating another massive turnout, authorities attempted to disrupt the prayers. Their forces attacked and apprehended locals near the city’s Grand Makki Mosque. They also deployed security units with heavy equipment on hilltops overlooking the city, disrupting internet connections and attempting to enter the mosque to take control of the facility and its surrounding areas. But the mosque security personnel prevented the IRGC units from entering the premises.

In their rally, the protesters chanted slogans, including:
“Death to Khamenei!”
“Death to the dictator!”
“Death to the oppressor! Be it the Shah or [Khamenei]!”
“No to monarchy! No to [mullahs’ regime]! Democracy!”
“Basij and IRGC, you are our ISIS!”
“I will kill those who killed my brother!”
“We swear on the blood of the fallen that we will stand to the very end!”

Members of the Baluch community in the city of Galikesh, northeast Iran, also protested today against the regime’s oppression and the arrest of their local religious leaders.

Regime security forces were also deployed in large numbers on Friday in the city of Iranshahr and prevented people from gathering at the Nour Mosque for their weekly prayers.

On Thursday night, locals in Tehran’s Tehransar district began chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
“Death to the dictator!” referring to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“Death to the child-killing regime!”
“This is the last message: the whole regime is the target!”

Iranian opposition coalition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi condemned the regime’s crackdown against Zahedan and other cities in the province.

“Criminal IRGC surrounds Makki Mosque on Khamenei’s orders, fearing protests by Zahedan’s brave people. They arrested many and mosque security. I urge Zahedan and nearby cities’ youths to rise in solidarity with Makki Mosque worshipers,” the NCRI President-elect said.

Iranian Regime Will Remain Blacklisted by FATF

On Friday, February 24, the Financial Action Task Force announced in a statement titled “High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to Call for Action” that the Iranian regime will remain on the FATF blacklist.

The recent FATF report states: “Given Iran’s failure to enact the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions in line with the FATF Standards, the FATF fully lifts the suspension of counter-measures and calls on its members and urges all jurisdictions to apply effective counter-measures, in line with Recommendation 19. Iran will remain on the FATF statement on [High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action] until the full Action Plan has been completed. If Iran ratifies the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions, in line with the FATF standards, the FATF will decide on next steps, including whether to suspend countermeasures. Until Iran implements the measures required to address the deficiencies identified with respect to countering terrorism-financing in the Action Plan, the FATF will remain concerned with the terrorist financing risk emanating from Iran and the threat this poses to the international financial system.”

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UPDATE: 5:00 PM CET

The United States Imposes Additional Sweeping Costs on Russia

The United States Department of Commerce has issued four rules today imposing additional export restrictions on Russia, Belarus, and Iran, as well as entities in third countries, in response to Russia’s ongoing assault on Ukraine.  The first rule aims to enhance the effectiveness of the multilateral sanctions on Russia by further limiting access to items that enable Russia’s military capabilities and sources of revenue that could support those capabilities.  The second rule imposes new export control measures on Iran, Russia, and Belarus to address Russia’s use of Iranian UAVs in its ongoing war against Ukraine.  The third and fourth rules add to the Entity List entities in Russia supporting Russia’s military or Russia’s filtration operations in occupied areas of Ukraine, as well as entities in third countries, including China, for contributing to Russia’s military or defense industrial base.

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UPDATE: 3:00 PM CET

West Must Support Iranian Democratic Revolution: UK MPs

LONDON: Iran’s democratic revolution must be supported by Western countries, including the UK, according to a cross-party panel of MPs and peers. The meeting in the UK Parliament on Wednesday argued that a significant number of Iranians reject the regime and would support the establishment of a free, democratic and secular republic, but not a return to the country’s previous system of monarchy.

But in order for Iranians to overcome the “brutal autocracy” that has clamped down on months-long nationwide protests, the UK must take measures to assist demonstrators, including proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and supporting the resistance movement, MPs said.

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New Sanctions Ban Every Item Russia Is Using on the Battlefield

The Foreign Secretary announced a new package of sanctions, including export bans on every item Ukraine has found Russia using on the battlefield to date. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has today (24 February) announced a new package of internationally co-ordinated sanctions and trade measures, including export bans on every item Russia has been found using on the battlefield to date.

Included in the hundreds of goods are aircraft parts, radio equipment, and electronic components that can be used by the Russian military industrial complex, including in the production of UAVs.

Today’s designations also target the individuals and entities at the heart of Putin’s military-industrial complex, including:

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UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET

Assembly of Experts Statement Calls for Khamenei’s Aid

Following its two-day meeting, the Assembly of Experts issued a statement concerning the status of the Iranian regime, particularly the role of the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

In this statement, which reflects the increasing concern of its authors, it is stated that “in the recent hybrid war, in which the enemies came to the field with all their capabilities… narrating the state’s tremendous achievements is considered a permanent task for all devotees, and we emphasize the critical responsibility of the media, cultural institutions, and influential figures among the public”.

In a bid to mobilize a whole range of state officials that have remained silent in recent months, the Assembly of Experts warned that the popular uprising has been targeting Khamenei as the pillar of the state and wrote: “The large volume of propaganda and unprecedented insults to the pillar of the state, shows the anger of the enemy and the acquaintance of the undeniable reality of the irreplaceable position of the religious authority and the leadership of the Islamic system as a factor of solidarity and national unity in the guidance and management of the society”.

Five More Executions Reported in Iran

The Iranian regime’s Judiciary executed five prisoners on February 20 and 21 in Urmia, Sanandaj, and Birjand prisons.

According to a human rights organization, the clerical dictatorship executed two prisoners in Sanandaj and Birjand prisons. One of the prisoners was identified as Moslem Moradi, son of Khosro and a resident of Divandarreh city was executed in Sanandaj prison on Tuesday.

Also, on Wednesday, Dawood Rakjahan (Haj Nabi Kharakouhi), a 44-year-old married man and a father from Zahedan, was executed in Birjand prison. The source also reported on the execution of three prisoners in Urmia prison but the identity of these prisoners remains unknown until this hour.

UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET

People in Iran Protest Growing Economic Struggles, Criticize Regime Corruption

The economic grievances in Iran have been steadily mounting over the past few years, escalating significantly in recent months. The Iranian people are also grappling with an alarming devaluation of the national currency. This has resulted in a drop in purchasing power and a rise in unemployment, with many people struggling to make ends meet and unable to afford basic necessities. The cost of living has increased significantly and the gap between the rich and poor is widening.

The situation is further exacerbated by a lack of transparency and accountability from the mullahs’ regime, which has failed to deliver on its promises of economic reform. As a result, people in cities throughout the country are taking to the streets to voice their discontent and demand justice.

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Instead of Guidance Patrols, the Chain of Deliberate Poisonings Target Female Students in Tehran and Other Cities

The poisoning of students in girls’ schools, which started on November 30 in Qom, affecting 12 schools and soon spread to Chaharmahal Bakhtiari and Tehran, extended this week to schools in Borujerd and Isfahan. On Tuesday evening, 20 students at Ahmadiyeh High School in Borujerd were poisoned and taken to the hospital. The second incident was reported to the emergency department on Wednesday morning from the same high school, but this time the number of poisoned students was 62, according to the state-run news website Hamshahri on February 23.

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Iran Court Sentences Negar Davoudi to 2 Years in Jail

In recent news from Iran, several individuals have been facing legal repercussions for their alleged activities. Negar Davoudi, a software student at Ilam University, has been sentenced to two years in prison and additional punishments by the Court of Appeals of Ilam Province.

Davoudi was initially convicted by the Revolutionary Court of Ilam on December 19, 2022, on charges of assembly and collusion with the intention of acting against national security. The appeal court’s decision imposes a two-year prison sentence, a two-year ban on leaving the country, one year of free work for the welfare department, and 200 hours of participation in Quranic teaching and interpretation classes.

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Misinformed Activists are Helping Iran Undermine the Country’s Democratic Opposition

In February 2023, 165 bipartisan members of the United States House of Representatives introduced H. Res. 100 – “Expressing support for the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic, secular, and nonnuclear Republic of Iran, and condemning violations of human rights and state-sponsored terrorism by the Iranian Government.”

The introduction of H. Res. 100 was accompanied by a press conference addressed by lawmakers and joined – via Zoom – by Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, who is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The resolution currently has 195 co-sponsors and is gaining support by the day.

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Anniversary of Iranian Revolution Should Remind West of What Is Possible

February 11 marked the anniversary of the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s monarchy in Iran in 1979. I have lots of bittersweet memories of that time.

I began my career as a political activist as an undergraduate student at UCLA in the early 1970s, highlighting the Shah’s brutal repression and rampant corruption along with other like-minded students. At one point I even traveled to Neauphle-le-Chateau in November 1978, where Khomeini stayed prior to his return to Iran from exile.

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Also, read Iran News in Brief – February 23, 2023

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