THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 6:30 PM CET
Iran: Stock market crash triggers new crisis
Tehran Stock Exchange’s (TSE) main index, TEDPIX, plummeted by more than 36,000 points on Monday, marking the acceleration of a collapse that has followed a bubble growth during the summer. On Tuesday morning, the index further collapsed by 18,000 points in the opening hours. The market had seen another 40,000-point drop on January 16.
Shortly after Tuesday’s opening, outraged who are now seeing massive losses after the regime gave hyped-up promises of a booming stock market, held a protest rally in front of the SEO building in Tehran.
Amnesty International: The international community must pressure Iran to end the recurrent pattern of using lethal force to crush protests
The impunity emboldened the authorities to escalate the unlawful use of lethal force in Nov 2019 protests. The cycle of bloodshed must not be allowed to continue. The international community must pressure Iran to end the recurrent pattern of using lethal force to crush protests.
— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) January 20, 2021
UPDATE: 3:30 PM CET
Workers of the Gachsaran Petrochemical Plant protest
Jan. 20 – Gachsaran Petrochemical Plant, SW #Iran
Workers of the Gachsaran Petrochemical Plant protested today outside the plant to demand months of their unpaid wages. #IranProtests. pic.twitter.com/4YdRkPoD7K— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) January 20, 2021
Foreign Lobby: US charges Iranian author with failing to register as foreign agent of Tehran
Federal agents arrested Iranian-born Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi on Monday at his home in Massachusetts, the Justice Department said in a press release today. He is accused of failing to disclose his ties to the Iranian governments while lobbying US officials and advancing Tehran’s interests in the media. Afrasiabi faces up to 10 years in prison.
Afrasiabi “was getting his marching orders from the Iranian regime’s intelligence service since the 1990s, and in addition to his pro-regime articles and commentaries, he regurgitated Tehran’s patently false and absurd allegations against the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK),” said Ali Safavi, an official with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paris-based NCRI. “As a matter of principle, the NCRI/MEK have always been transparent about their activities, whether in Europe and the US and abided by the laws of the land. They have nothing to hide.”
Townhall: Pleading for Justice to the Victims of 1988 Mass Executions of Political Prisoners in Iran
By Tahar Boumedra
Western media have, for a long time, focused on the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons capabilities and its unbridled terrorism. That is beyond reproach because both of these threaten global peace and security. But considerably less attention has been paid to the manner in which this reviled regime has managed to survive domestically. Failure to achieve this understanding will adversely impact policy responses to Tehran’s misconduct, including its nuclear program.
In 1988, the regime committed its “biggest crime,” according to the former designated heir to the supreme leader. A staggering 30,000 political prisoners were massacred in the span of a few short months. The victims were not criminals. They were killed en masse simply because they had political views that opposed the country’s rulers.
Teachers protest in Iran
Jan. 20 – Tehran #Iran
Teachers, who have come from various cities to Tehran, gathered outside the Parliament to demand that they be officially hired by the GOV.
The teachers have been sleeping in tents in a park during the night despite the cold tempretures. pic.twitter.com/OypDhROZSL— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) January 20, 2021
UPDATE: 9:00 AM CET
Iran: Coronavirus Fatalities in 478 Cities Exceed 203,800
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) announced on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, that the Coronavirus fatalities in 478 cities had surpassed 203,800. The number of victims in Tehran is 49,596, Isfahan 12,840, Lorestan 8,248, Mazandaran 8,087, Qom 7,925, Gilan 7,221, Golestan 5,125, Hamedan 4,803, Yazd 3,717, Kurdistan 3,491, Ardabil 2,522, and Hormozgan 2,135.
Parizad Hamidi Shafaq sentenced to nearly 6 years for activities on social media
Parizad Hamidi Shafaq was sentenced to 18 years and six months of imprisonment for her activities on social media. She is presently detained in the notorious Qarchak Prison in Varamin.
Ms. Hamidi Shafaq has already served 11 years in ward 8 of Qarchak Prison.
Agents of the IRGC Intelligence arrested her in February 2020. After undergoing interrogations for 25 days, she was transferred from the solitary cells of Ward 2A of Evin Prison to Qarchak Prison on March 19, 2020.
Iranians Continue Protests; at Least Four Rallies and Strikes on January 18
On January 18, the Iranian people continued their protests in four different provinces, condemning officials for failing to keep their promises. Retirees and employees affiliated with the South Oil Industry, farmers from eastern Isfahan, Water Organization staff, and junior teachers took part in the protests.
Washington Examiner: Political scientist charged with being unregistered agent of Iran
A Boston-based political scientist and author has been arrested and accused of peddling influence for the Iranian government.
Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, 63, was arrested at his Watertown, Massachusetts, home on Monday and appeared in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts on Tuesday. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent and one count of acting as a foreign agent without registration.
NCRI-US's @A_Jafarzadeh "welcomes" the "long overdue action" and tells @DCExaminer: For the past three decades, the #Iran|ian regime has been running an extensive network of agents and operatives, many of them US persons in clear violation of American law.https://t.co/AEpTj78J2F
— NCRI-U.S. Rep Office (@NCRIUS) January 20, 2021
Read more: Iran News in Brief – January 19, 2021