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UPDATE: 6:30 PM
Evidence of Iran and UAE Drones Used in Sudan War
Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been accused of violating a UN arms embargo by supplying drones to the warring sides in the 14-month conflict that has devastated Sudan. We look at the evidence to back up the claim. On the morning of 12 March 2024, Sudanese government soldiers were celebrating an unprecedented military advance. They had finally recaptured the state broadcaster’s headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.
Like most of the city, the building had fallen into the hands of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at the start of the civil war 11 months earlier. What was notable about this military victory for the army was that videos showed the attack was carried out with the help of Iranian-made drones. In the early stages of the war, the army relied on the air force, according to Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Observatory.
UPDATE: 2:00 PM
Iran Expanding Enrichment Capacity after IAEA Resolution, Diplomats Say
VIENNA/PARIS, June 12 (Reuters) – Iran is responding to last week’s U.N. nuclear watchdog board resolution against it by expanding its uranium-enrichment capacity at two underground sites, but the escalation is not as big as many had feared, diplomats said on Wednesday.
Iran bristles at such resolutions by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors, and it reacted to the previous one 18 months earlier by enriching to up to 60% purity, close to weapons grade, at a second site and announcing a large expansion of its enrichment programme.
This time it plans to install more cascades, or clusters, of centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium, at both its underground enrichment sites, five diplomats said. IAEA inspectors observing Iran’s progress plan to issue a report to member states on Thursday, three of the diplomats said.
UPDATE: 7:30 AM
Exchange Rates, The Iranian Regime’s Scheme to Impoverish People
According to Justin Perkins’ travelogue, during the time of Mohammad Shah Qajar (approximately 170 years ago), ten rials were equivalent to $2.50.
During the reign of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah, the value of the US dollar and the Iranian toman were nearly equal. At the time of Reza Shah’s fall (1941), one US dollar was approximately 1.5 tomans.
It is well-known that during the reign of Shah the former dictator, due to crude oil sales and the abundance of windfall wealth, the price of the dollar reached 70 rials. During the rule of Ruhollah Khomeini (1979-1989), war, repression, and destruction were among the factors that destroyed Iran’s economy, so much so that the dollar reached 1,200 rials. In the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1997), it reached about 4,500 rials. When Mohammad Khatami became president (1997-2005), the dollar reached 9,000 rials. During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency (2005-2013) it rose above 32,000 rials, and during Hassan Rouhani’s tenure (2013-2021), it went up to 253,000 rials. When Ebrahim Raisi was appointed as president by regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei in 2021, the dollar continued to rise and at one point reached 700,000 rials. Today, it stands at around 590,000 rials.
Mostafa Pourmohammadi, A Mass Murderer Who Wants to Become The Iranian Regime’s Next President
Finally, after days of contention, on June 9, the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Interior announced the names of six candidates from among the 80 who had registered for the upcoming presidential elections, held prematurely due to the death of regime president Ebrahim Raisi. It was revealed that the Guardian Council had disqualified and eliminated the majority of the applicants.
Thus, regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei selected the minimum number of candidates to navigate the impending crises and engineer the elections to make sure his desired candidate emerged from the ballot boxes.
Although all these candidates, from Majlis speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to Tehran mayor Alireza Zakani, acting Vice President Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, and former health minister Masoud Pezeshkian, have extensive backgrounds in violence, thuggery, and crimes, the executioner mullah Mostafa Pourmohammadi has exceptional characteristics worthy of attention.
Water Scarcity and Environmental Injustice in Iran
The head of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Research Center at Shiraz University, Mohammad Jaafar Nazem Al-Sadat, has raised alarms about Iran’s water crisis. Despite recent rainfall levels approaching the historical average in some provinces, Nazem Al-Sadat emphasized that this is insufficient to meet the needs of Iran’s current population. He highlighted that Iran’s water resources can adequately support only 40 to 50 million people, far below the current population.
Nazem Al-Sadat explained that while some provinces received near-average rainfall this spring, this does not compensate for the significant depletion of water reserves. “We are constantly facing water stress and subsidence,” he noted, pointing to the ongoing issue of soil losing its water-holding capacity. Iran has struggled with severe water shortages and environmental crises for over a decade.
Child Labor Crisis in Iran: A Harsh Reality on World Day Against Child Labour
On the World Day Against Child Labour, Iran’s Ministry of Interior announced the identification of 2,600 working and street children. However, official sources suggest that over seven million children are engaged in labor across the country. Lawyers highlight the existence of a ‘garbage-collecting mafia‘ and criticize the regime’s harsh measures against civil organizations striving to combat this issue.
The Ministry of Interior claims that one of the objectives of its working group, established last year, is to ‘create sustainable employment’ for these children through skill training and empowerment. Despite these assertions, the reality on the ground remains grim.
Strikes by Workers and Retirees in Iran
A group of retirees gathered on Tuesday, June 11, in Tehran and Kermanshah to protest against poor living conditions and the lack of attention to their demands. Simultaneously, contract workers at Isfahan Petrochemical and Firuzabad Sodium Carbonate went on strike.
According to reports from professional sources, a number of retirees from the National Pension Fund, Social Security, and Medical Sciences held a protest in front of relevant institutions, including the Organization of Planning and Budget.
In these protests, which coincide with the Iranian regime’s preparations for elections to determine Ebrahim Raisi’s successor from the Guardian Council’s approved candidates, the retired protesters chanted: “Lying candidate, where are your promises?”
Increase in the Migration of Doctors from Iran
The exact statistics on the migration of Iranian doctors are not publicly announced; however, the trend of healthcare staff migrating is on the rise, with the main destinations being Oman and other Arab countries.
Ramezan Sharif, the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), recently described the statistics on doctor migration as a “media attack against the Islamic Republic.”
The issue of doctor and healthcare staff migration was declared a “crisis” in 2022 when Mohammad Raeiszadeh, the head of the Iranian Medical Council, stated that over 4,027 doctors had requested “Good Standing” certificates for migration the previous year.
Masoud Pezeshkian: A Reformist’s Hope or a Khamenei’s Puppet?
Several candidates have registered for the 2024 presidential elections. Masoud Pezeshkian is the only approved candidate among the reformists. Is he a serious contender, or a decoy candidate?
One possibility is that Pezeshkian has entered the race as a decoy candidate to withdraw in favor of a main candidate at some stage, thereby transferring his support to them. This is usually done to consolidate votes and prevent the scattering of votes within a particular faction.
Masoud Pezeshkian is a former parliament representative and former Minister of Health in President Khatami’s government. He has served as Minister of Health in various administrations and has had multiple terms as a representative in the Iranian parliament. These experiences have made him a recognized figure among certain political groups and the public.
Paris, June 11, 2024: MEK Supporters Exhibition Backing Iranian Revolution – Call to Join Berlin Gathering
Paris, France—June 11, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a photo and book exhibition. This exhibition was held in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution and as a protest against the increasing wave of executions carried out by the Iranian regime.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – June 12, 2024
