THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 7:00 PM
Alleged Iran Regime Official Appears at Refugee Board as Canada Cracks Down
As Canada begins a crackdown on Iranian officials living in the country, a top science bureaucrat appeared before an immigration panel on Thursday.
Majid Iranmanesh is one of nine alleged senior members of the Iranian regime who have turned up in Canada and face possible deportation. In Iran, Iranmanesh was a director general at the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, according to the Iranian government’s website.
He said he came to Canada on May 29, 2023, hoping to conduct research at the University of Victoria for one year.
UPDATE: 5:30 PM
The Lessons Washington Needs To Learn From the Strike on the Houthis
US President Joe Biden should be applauded for Thursday’s strikes against the Houthis. International trade is constrained by eight primary maritime chokepoints, hard realities imposed by immutable geography. The United States has long recognized a vital national security interest in ensuring freedom of navigation through each of them. This strike helped protect those interests.
Half of these eight global chokepoints are dispersed widely. Only one can be found in Europe (the Strait of Gibraltar), in Africa (the Cape of Good Hope), in East Asia (the Straits of Malacca), and the Americas (the Panama Canal). Unfortunately, the other half of these critical chokepoints are all concentrated in a relatively small region where southwestern Asia meets Europe and Africa: the Bosporus Strait, the Suez Canal, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Strait of Hormuz. This area also happens to be the most important single source of energy required to sustain global economic growth. Those two facts explain why US presidents keep rediscovering the need to focus disproportionately on the Middle East, despite their often-heartfelt desires to do otherwise.
US Issues Sanctions Targeting Revenue Supporting Houthi Attacks
WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. on Friday issued sanctions targeting commodity shipments financing Iran’s Quds Force and Yemen’s Houthis as Washington stepped up pressure on the Iran-backed Houthis over attacks on international shipping.
The revenue from the commodity sales supports the Houthis and their attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.
The Treasury said it imposed sanctions on a Hong Kong-based company and a United Arab Emirates-based company shipping Iranian commodities on behalf of the network of a Quds Force-backed Houthi financial facilitator already under U.S. sanctions. It also targeted four oil tankers.
UPDATE: 2:30 PM
McConnell Statement On U.S. Military Strikes In Yemen
“I welcome the U.S. and coalition operations against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists responsible for violently disrupting international commerce in the Red Sea and attacking American vessels. President Biden’s decision to use military force against these Iranian proxies is overdue.
“I am hopeful these operations mark an enduring shift in the Biden Administration’s approach to Iran and its proxies. To restore deterrence and change Iran’s calculus, Iranian leaders themselves must believe that they will pay a meaningful price unless they abandon their worldwide campaign of terror.
Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Coalition Strikes in Houthi-Controlled Areas of Yemen
In light of the illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Iranian-backed Houthi attacks against U.S. and international vessels and commercial vessels from many countries lawfully transiting the Red Sea, today the militaries of the United States and the United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, conducted strikes against military targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. This action is intended to disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ capabilities to endanger mariners and threaten global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways. Today’s coalition action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will bear further costs if they do not end their illegal attacks.
Us, British Militaries Launch Massive Retaliatory Strike Against Iranian-Backed Houthis in Yemen
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Thursday, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. Air Force’s Mideast command said it struck over 60 targets at 16 sites in Yemen, including “command-and-control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems.”
President Joe Biden said the strikes were meant to demonstrate that the U.S. and its allies “will not tolerate” the militant group’s ceaseless attacks on the Red Sea. And he said they only made the move after attempts at diplomatic negotiations and careful deliberation.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM
Mir Yousef Younesi Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Iran
Iran’s regime has sentenced political prisoner Mir Yousef Younesi to five years in prison. Mir Yousef Younesi is the father of Ali Younesi, a student at the Sharif University of Technology, who has been in prison since April 2020 on political charges.
Regime security forces arrested Mir Yousef Younesi in January 2023 in Shahrud. He had previously served three years in prison during the shah dictatorship and nine years during the rule of the mullahs on charges of being in touch with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). He is 70 years old and is suffering from ear and abdominal diseases but has been denied access to vital medical care.
Mir Yousef’s son Reza, who is in Sweden, declared on his X account that his father was not taken to court because he refused to wear humiliating prison uniforms. The judge was infuriated and decided to hold the session without the presence of Mir Yousef and by denying his lawyers from representing him.
How Iran’s Regime Responds to Student Protests and Demands
While facing a severe shortage of teachers and contending with the challenging condition of schools, where at least three million students are studying in dilapidated and hazardous environments, the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Education has undertaken a noteworthy initiative. In alignment with the government’s strategy to exert influence and mold students’ perspectives, the Minister of Education, Reza Morad Sahrai, has enlisted 19,000 clerics and scholars under the designation of ‘educational teachers.’ This move implicitly discloses the ministry’s intention to deploy a cleric in each school.
Sahrai, affirming the ongoing recruitment of scholars to be stationed in schools, asserted, “We emphasize the continuation of the presence of clergy in schools.” Furthermore, he highlighted the implementation of the ‘Mehrab Plan,’ revealing plans for 64,000 congregational prayers to be conducted in schools.
“The Oppressive Reign of Khamenei in 2024: A Call for Liberation by Iranian People”
In Iran, the figurehead known as the “supreme leader,” Ali Khamenei, commands a reputation of unrelenting tyranny, orchestrating not only internal suppression but also fostering instability throughout the Middle East. His regime’s backing of regional proxies has sown discord, exacerbating unrest in surrounding nations. This aggressive stance has earned Khamenei global recognition as a heartless dictator, propelling a nearly three-month-long war, and perpetuating fear and instability.
Internally, Iran reels under escalating executions and a ruthless crackdown on dissent, reinforcing the image of a despotic ruler. Meanwhile, allegations of the regime’s interference in foreign affairs, including acts of terrorism and assassinations, further underscore Khamenei’s oppressive tactics, painting him as an adversary to the Iranian people.
Blinken Says Path To Palestinian State Can Isolate Iran
CAIRO, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Offering a pathway to a Palestinian state is the best way to stabilize the wider region and isolate Iran and its proxies, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, as he ended a frenetic regional tour over the Gaza war in Cairo.
Shuttling between Israel and Arab states, Blinken has been pushing for a way forward from the bloodshed in Gaza, even as the conflict threatens to spread further to Lebanon, Iraq and Red Sea shipping lanes.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Blinken said the region faced two paths, the first of which would see “Israel integrated, with security assurances and commitments from regional countries and as well from the United States, and a Palestinian state – at least a pathway to get to that state”.
Labor Activist Sharifeh Mohammadi Languishes in Prison of Sanandaj
Labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi remains incarcerated in the Prison of Sanandaj without standing trial.
Sharifeh Mohammadi was arrested at her home in Rasht on December 5, 2023, by agents of the Department of Intelligence.
In a call to her relatives on Saturday, December 30, 2023, Ms. Mohammadi told them that she was being transferred to Sanandaj and that her temporary release on bail is not yet possible.
Lawyer Niloufar Sadat Hashemian Arrested for Social Media Comments
An Iranian lawyer, Niloufar Sadat Hashemian, was among dozens of Iranian citizens apprehended for commenting on the explosions in Kerman near the burial site of Qasem Soleimani, which left dozens of civilians dead. Agents of the Judiciary’s Counterintelligence filed a complaint against Niloufar Sadat Hashemian who was arrested by security forces in Semnan, on Saturday, January 6, 2024.
Qasem Soleimani was the commander of the terrorist Quds Force, the extraterritorial branch of the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in charge of the export of terrorism and fundamentalism abroad and the formation of the Iranian regime’s proxy groups in the Middle East. He was killed in Iraq on January 3, 2020, in a strike by the U.S.
January 11, 2024—Iranian Communities Worldwide: Join the 28th #FreeIranTelethon Supporting Simay-e-Azadi (INTV), January 12-14, 2024
January 11, 2024—Iranian communities, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) around the globe are extending invitations to their compatriots through video messages and pictures, urging them to join the 28th #FreeIranTelethon in support of Simay-e-Azadi (INTV) scheduled for January 12-14, 2024.
Paris—January 9, 2024: MEK Supporters Organized an Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iran Revolution
Paris, France—January 9, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a photo exhibition and book table in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – January 11, 2023