THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 7:30 PM CET
Friday Protests in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan Province
Today, July 7, despite the oppressive measures taken by the Iranian State Security Forces (SSF), the brave people in Zahedan once again took to the streets to protest against the clerical regime after Friday prayers and called for regime change.
July 7—Zahedan, southeast #Iran
More footage of today's anti-regime protests after Friday prayers.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/QYARrfRieA— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 7, 2023
July 7—Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Anti-regime protests continue in Zahedan after Friday prayers. Protesters are chanting, "Basij, IRGC, you are our ISIS!" and "Iranians, unity unity!"#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/lmtGXhc0qP— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 7, 2023
July 7—Zahedan, southeast #Iran
More footage of anti-regime protests after Friday prayers. Protesters chanting, "Down with Khamenei!" and "Political prisoners must be freed!" #IranProtestspic.twitter.com/VnKWkYHyIp— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 7, 2023
United States Files Forfeiture Action Against Over Nine Thousand Rifles and Over 700,000 Rounds of Ammunition En Route from Iran to Yemen
The Justice Department today announced the filing of a forfeiture complaint against over 9,000 rifles, 284 machine guns, approximately 194 rocket launchers, over 70 anti-tank guided missiles, and over 700,000 rounds of ammunition that the U.S. Navy seized in transit from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to militant groups in Yemen.
“The government of Iran, through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, remains bent on smuggling weapons of war to militant groups in violation of U.S. sections and international law,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “As this seizure demonstrates, the Department of Justice will work in lockstep with our U.S. Government partners to deny the Iranian regime the means to undermine our nation’s interest and threaten the security of our people.”
UPDATE: 3:00 PM CET
West Clashes with Russia and Iran at Un Over Tehran’s Uranium Enrichment and Drones for Russia
UNITED NATIONS — The United States and its Western allies clashed with Russia and Iran at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday over Tehran’s advancing uranium enrichment and its reported supply of combat drones to Moscow being used to attack Ukraine. The sharp exchanges came at the council’s semi-annual meeting on implementation of its resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major countries known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the U.S. under then-President Donald Trump left in 2018.
U.S. ambassador Wood said “Iran’s ballistic missile activity – especially in light of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and its threatening rhetoric – is an enduring threat to regional and international peace and security.”
Iran’s Continued Nuclear Escalation Threatens International Peace and Security: UK Statement at the Security Council
Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Non-Proliferation: Iran refused this opportunity and has instead continued its nuclear escalation, threatening international peace and security and demonstrating disregard for resolution 2231. Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile currently exceeds JCPoA limits by more than 21 times. Its enrichment capabilities have expanded to over 2,500 powerful advanced centrifuges, suitable for nuclear weapons purposes. Building this capacity has given Iran irreversible gains in technical knowledge, which the JCPoA sought to limit. And Iran is launching missiles that could be capable of delivering nuclear weapons and is testing technologies directly applicable to intermediate and intercontinental range ballistic missiles.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
Remembering Ozra Alavi Taleghani: A Prominent Revolutionary Figure in Contemporary Iran
Ozra Alavi Taleghani, one of the most prominent revolutionary women in contemporary Iran, passed away on Thursday, July 6, 2023, in Ashraf 3, Albania, after battling an illness. Born in Tehran in 1954, Ozra Alavi Taleghani was the daughter of Mr. Noureddin Alavi Taleghani, a progressive clergyman who faced multiple imprisonments during the reign of the Shah due to his support and promotion of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). She was a relative of Father Mahmoud Taleghani, a progressive Islamic scholar and thinker known for advocating democracy and being a leading figure in the anti-Shah movement. During her years as a student studying chemical engineering at the Sharif University of Technology, Ozra Alavi Taleghani became a supporter of the PMOI/MEK.
Prolonged Winds and Sandstorms in Sistan & Baluchestan: 833 Individuals Seek Medical Help
The Director General of Crisis Management of Sistan and Baluchestan Province announced that during the recent wave of sandstorms, 833 people from the province’s population have been directed to medical centers.
According to the state-run Rokna news agency, Majid Mobi, the Director General of the Crisis Management Office of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, stated: Following the recent wave of 120-day-long winds in the Sistan region, which includes five cities of Zabol, Zahedan, Hamoun, Hirmand, and Nimruz located in the northern part of the province, a total of 833 individuals have visited the medical centers in the region from July 2nd until now. Out of these, 128 individuals have been hospitalized while the rest received outpatient treatment.
What Is the Alternative to Iran’s Regime?
Among the many themes that were discussed in the four-day Free Iran 2023 world summit was the alternative to the brutal regime ruling Iran. There is no doubt that this regime has to go. The people of Iran are chanting for change in the streets of cities all over the country. The people of neighboring countries, who have suffered from the regime’s export of terrorism and fundamentalism for decades, are reiterating the imperative to support the people of Iran in their quest to bring democracy and peace in their country. And today, the people of Europe are directly feeling the regime’s destructive policies through its export of drones to Russia, terrorist attempts on European soil, and indiscriminate hostage-taking of foreign nationals.
The seventh Development Plan or Children’s Dream Weaving Program in 2023?!
The seventh development plan sets a target of 22.6% investment growth. However, capital flight has been a recurring issue in Iran for years. The government’s official news website, “Tajarat News,” reported on this matter: “Capital flight from Iran’s economy has reached an alarming stage, as the Central Bank has released a report indicating a negative capital account of $12.85 billion in the first half of the previous year, which is unprecedented in the past 20 years.” Ankatead has reported on foreign investment, stating that $1.582 trillion of foreign capital was attracted worldwide in 2021, with Iran’s regime accounting for only 0.09% of this amount. On the 22nd of April this year, Tajarat News wrote: “The Central Bank has published a report indicating a negative capital account of $12.580 billion in the first half of the previous year. However, this figure reached -$10 billion by the end of spring 2022, and during the summer season, it further decreased by $2.85 billion.”
Nazila Maroofian, a 23-Year-Old Journalist, Is Summoned to Evin Courthouse
Nazila Maroofian, 23 and a journalist, has been summoned to the first branch of Evin Courthouse on Saturday, July 8, 2023. On Tuesday, July 4, 2023, Nazila Maroofian, who is originally from Saqqez but resides in Tehran, published a Twitter post in which she said, “Officials from the Ministry of Intelligence have searched my house and confiscated some of my digital devices, including my mobile phone and laptop.” Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Nazila Maroofian to two years in prison and other supplementary punishments in February 2023. The prison sentence for Ms. Maroofian was suspended for five years.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – July 6, 2023
