THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 11:30 AM
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Who Ordered Live Gunfire On Students In 2003, Approved By Iran’s Guardian Council
Iran’s Guardian Council has approved the country’s hardline parliament speaker and five others to run in the country’s 28 June presidential election after a helicopter crash that killed the president, Ebrahim Raisi, and seven others. The council again barred the former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a firebrand populist known for the crackdown that followed his disputed 2009 re-election, from running.
The most prominent candidate is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 62, a former Tehran mayor with close ties to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards. However, many remember that Ghalibaf, as a former Guards general, was part of a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999. He also reportedly ordered live gunfire to be used against students in 2003 while serving as the country’s police chief.
Ghalibaf ran unsuccessfully for president in 2005 and 2013. He withdrew from the 2017 presidential campaign to support Raisi in his first failed presidential bid. Raisi won the 2021 election, which had the lowest turnout ever for a presidential vote in Iran after every significant opponent was disqualified.
UPDATE: 7:00 AM
With Dysfunctional Iran Policy, Time to Heed Berlin Rally’s Message
We are all understandably fixated on presidential elections in the US. And we have the elections in the UK on July 4. But there is another election around the corner that is worth paying attention. On June 28 the Iranian regime will hold its “election” for a new president. This sudden “election” became necessary since the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, “the butcher of Tehran,” last month.
This is absolutely not an election, and if recent history is any judge, an overwhelming majority of the Iranian people will shun it. Yet, this situation offers an opportunity to refocus the West’s Iran policy. Currently, there is no coherent Iran policy, and if one exists, it is entirely dysfunctional. This makes it a pressing priority.
Iran’s Regime Has Plans to Further Rob Workers of Their Wages
Iran’s regime has come up with a new trick to exploit Iranian workers even more, who are already earning wages 4 to 6 times below the poverty line.
One of the crises facing millions of Iranian workers is the lack of job security and widespread unemployment. Workers who are fired by the regime mafia for various reasons lose even the meager wages they earned, pushing them to the brink of homelessness, sleeping on the streets, and even living in graves.
But to prevent the growing anger of workers from targeting the regime, it has introduced a clause in its labor laws, promising to pay allowances to unemployed workers. This is only if the workers can navigate the corrupt insurance system and qualify for insurance.
PMOI Resistance Units Champion #FreeIran2024 with 10,000 Brave Acts
Despite severe repression, the Resistance Units of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) have undertaken at least 10,000 acts of support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. The PMOI is a central component of the NCRI. The PMOI Resistance Units have executed these acts in the lead-up to NCRI’s annual gathering and rally, #FreeIran2024.
These brave actions, conducted openly in daylight, reaffirm the PMOI Resistance Units’ dedication to overthrowing the theocratic regime and establishing a pluralistic, democratic republic grounded in the separation of religion and state and gender equality. The units also propagate the Iranian Resistance’s slogan, “Woman, Resistance, Freedom,” highlighting women’s pivotal role in the struggle for regime change and freedom in Iran.
Compound Repression in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province
The people of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province face a unique and intense repression compared to other regions of the country.
Daily, the regime’s agents commit acts of violence against them. Despite their right to a peaceful and secure life, the regime has destabilized their existence to maintain control over this minority group. This systematic insecurity has led to numerous social, political, and economic challenges, exacerbating poverty, hunger, displacement, and the collapse of social structures.
Not only are Sistan and Baluchestan among the most underdeveloped regions in Iran in terms of economy and social services, but they also experience severe digital repression and censorship.
Ka’ba-ye Zartosht: The Most Astonishing Documented History of Iran!
Rostam is a legendary hero in Persian mythology, whose life and work were immortalized by the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi in the Shahnameh.
Naqsh-e Rustam is Iran’s largest and most famous rock relief, documenting a significant portion of Iranian history. However, a mysterious cubic structure stands nearby and opposite Naqsh-e Rustam. For many years, people were unsure of the purpose of this cubic building.
Interestingly, this cubic building contains several significant inscriptions. It was constructed during the Achaemenid Empire period, likely under the reign of Darius the Great or Xerxes, and is believed to be associated with Zoroastrianism.
Manchester, England—June 8, 2024: Freedom-Loving Iranians Organize an Exhibition to Support the Iranian Revolution
Manchester—June 8, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and academics living in England, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), organized a book exhibition and petition collection to back the Iranian Revolution. Showing solidarity with the Iranian people’s cause against oppression, torture, and executions, citizens have come forward to sign the support petition. Their backing has emboldened the organizers to persist in this campaign.
This Exhibition also aimed to protest the escalating wave of executions in Iran, highlighting the oppressive rule of the mullahs’ regime.
Iranian community in Manchester demanded the trial of the mullahs’ regime leaders, especially Ali Khamenei (Supreme leader of the mullahs’ regime) and the mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi for crimes against humanity, in an international court.
Berlin, June 7-8, 2024: MEK Supporters Organize Exhibition and Call for Participation in June 29 Demonstration
Berlin, Germany—June 7-8, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) continued to set up an exhibition to express solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. They also protested against the increasing wave of executions carried out by the Iranian regime.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – June 9, 2024