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Maryam Rajavi Meets with Emile Belssig, President of The Group of Former Members of The French National Assembly
On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, Maryam Rajavi met with Mr. Emile Blessig, President of the Group of Former Members of the National Assembly of France. The meeting followed a declaration of support by 200 members of the National Assembly.
Maryam Rajavi praised the long-standing support of Mr. Emile Blessig and other French lawmakers for the Iranian Resistance. She also explained the conditions within the clerical regime following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the mullahs’ president, which dealt a strategic blow to the regime and shook it to the core. She stated, “Khamenei had set up an apparatus that relied on the presidency of Raisi, the henchman of the 1988 massacre. This system crumbled with his death, exacerbating the regime’s crises.”
She added, “To break out of this crisis, Khamenei has resorted to further repression, warmongering, and contraction of the regime. The Guardians Council rejected many presidential candidates, while infighting among Khamenei’s closest confidants and the remaining candidates intensified. Both actions are indicative of the regime’s current crisis.”
The Truth of The Iranian Regime’s Upcoming Elections
Under the rule of the mullahs in Iran, the vote and choice of the people have no significance. It is ironic that such a regime, to whitewash its image and deceive minds, also wears the mask of “elections” and “democracy.” The “supervisory oversight” and “candidate qualification approval” in the “Council of Guardians ” are two mechanisms that clearly reveal the nature and the mission to preserve the regime.
The policy governing this engineering is to “purify” the regime from discordant elements and to concentrate power in the hands of those who precisely follow the directives of regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei. In other words, the goal of staging elections is to handpick and elevate the most subservient lackeys and arrange them in the front display of the regime.
Is Iran’s Regime Facing an Election or Systemic Crisis?
After the Guardian Council, the body that oversees the elections declared the six qualified candidates for the Iranian regime’s presidential elections, it became clear that the regime has very limited maneuvering space in the upcoming elections.
While the regime is trying to put up a show and warm up the stage for the elections, the regime’s media is ridiculing the pointless bickering over the disqualifications and the next stage of the farcical elections.
In the meantime, however, the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and his top confidants know well that the problem or their calamity is not the election crisis, but the crisis of the regime after the death of regime president Ebrahim Raisi.
Political Prisoner Nejat Anvar Hamidi, 69, Deprived of Medical Treatment
The political prisoner Nejat Anvar Hamidi has been denied medical treatment on the orders of the authorities at Sepidar prison in Ahvaz. Nejat Anvar Hamidi, who suffers from thyroid dysfunction, high blood pressure, elevated blood lipids, and chronic headaches, also has cataracts in both eyes. Due to the lack of medical attention, she has experienced bleeding from her eyes. Despite her heart disease necessitating medical treatment and surgery, prison authorities deliberately prevent her from obtaining sick leave as a form of torture. Nejat Anvar Hamidi, who is nearly 70 years old and also suffers from back and knee arthritis, attributes her heart and eye problems to the harsh prison conditions. She is currently held at Sepidar prison in Ahvaz.
Analyzing Iran’s Foreign Exchange Earnings: A Picture of Economic Devastation
A close look at Iran’s foreign exchange earnings provides a clearer picture of the country’s struggling economy.
The total foreign exchange earnings of Iran, encompassing the sale of oil, gas, condensates, petrochemical products, services, and non-oil goods from 1959 to the end of 2021, amounted to $2.223 trillion at nominal prices and $4.421 trillion in terms of purchasing power. This data was reported by the state-run newspaper Jahan Sanat in January 2023.
While the period of the Shah’s dictatorship involved significant corruption and looting, the majority of this income pertains to the era of the mullahs’ rule. From 1979 to the end of 2021, the country’s foreign currency income, at purchasing power prices, was $4.126 trillion.
Iran Expands Uranium Enrichment Amid UN Sanctions: Growing Nuclear Threat Looms
Iran’s regime is responding to last week’s UN nuclear watchdog board resolution against it by expanding its uranium enrichment capacity at two underground sites. However, the escalation is not as significant as many had feared, diplomats said on June 12.
Iran’s regime strongly objects to such resolutions by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation board of governors. In response to a previous resolution 18 months ago, it began enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, close to weapons grade, at a second site and announced a major expansion of its enrichment program.
This time, Iran’s regime plans to install more cascades, or clusters, of centrifuges—the machines that enrich uranium—at both its underground enrichment sites, according to five diplomats. IAEA inspectors monitoring Iran’s progress plan to issue a report to member states on June 13, three of the diplomats said.
World Bank Report: Iran’s Economic Growth Will Decelerate Over the Next Three Years
In its latest report on the global economic situation, the World Bank states that Iran’s GDP has been higher in recent years due to increased oil exports. However, this year and in the coming years, it will follow a downward trend.
According to this report, published on Wednesday, June 12, Iran’s GDP grew by 5% last year, but it is expected to decrease to 3.2% this year, 2.7% next year, and 2.4% in 2026. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had previously published a similar assessment of the deceleration in Iran’s GDP growth.
The World Bank attributes Iran’s 5% economic growth in 2023 to the country’s exemption from the OPEC oil production cut agreement, which led to increased oil exports and production, along with a relative improvement in the service sector.
Abu Talib, Key Hezbollah Leader, and Qassem Soleimani Ally Killed in Targeted Attack
Talib Sami Abdullah, known as Abu Talib, was one of the senior field commanders of Hezbollah. He commanded the Al-Nasr unit, responsible for operations along Lebanon’s central border. Abu Talib was one of the key Hezbollah commanders who have been killed in the past eight months. Regional sources say that an Israeli drone strike on a house in the village of Jouya targeted an important meeting attended by Talib Abdullah and other Hezbollah commanders.
In addition to Abdullah, Ali Soufan, Mohammad Sabra, and Hussein Mohammad Hamid were also killed in the attack. Abdullah was one of the commanders close to Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force. Iranian-backed Iraqi militia groups referred to him as “Qassem Soleimani’s companion.”
Manchester, England—June 12, 2024: Freedom-Loving Iranians Organize a Book Fair to Support the Iranian Revolution
Manchester—June 12, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and academics living in England, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), organized a book fair and petition collection to back the Iranian Revolution. Showing solidarity with the Iranian people’s cause for their rightful demands, as well as for regime change the attainment of freedom, and the establishment of democracy, 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 for crimes against humanity, in an international court.
Stockholm, Sweden—June 11, 2024: MEK Supporters Exhibition Backing Iranian Revolution – Call to Join Berlin Gathering
Stockholm, Sweden—June 11, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI/MEK) organized an exhibition to support the Iranian Revolution. They also protested against the increasing wave of executions carried out by the Iranian regime.
Paris, June 12, 2024: MEK Supporters Exhibition Backing Iranian Revolution – Call to Join Berlin Gathering
Paris, France—June 12, 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.
Aarau, Switzerland—June 11, 2024: MEK Supporters Exhibition Backing Iranian Revolution – Call to Join Berlin Gathering
Aarau, Switzerland—June 11, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI/MEK) organized an exhibition to support 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 13, 2024