THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:30 PM CET
Officials Admit to Serious Scarcity of Drugs in Iran
The crisis of shortage of medicine has intensified the factional infighting within the regime. The state-run Dideban-Iran wrote today: “Some medicines are scarce in the country and the number of rare drugs is increasing. Currently, 180 medicines are in short supply. While some drugs cannot be found in the pharmacy, they are available in the market, and this shows poor supervision and drug hoarding.”
Hossein Ali Shahriari, a member of the regime’s parliament, said: “Although we announced a shortage of 131 drugs in the Commission’s report, in fact, about 170 to 180 drugs have become scarce in the country, and this list will unfortunately expand.”
Mohsen Bandpey, another member of the parliament, stated: “It was previously announced that there is a shortage of about 90 types of medicine, but now it is announced that we have a shortage of 141 types of medicine. There is a shortage of medicine for special treatments and equivalent medicines are imported, which are not recommended for patients at all. Also, regular drugs such as antibiotics and serums have become scarce as well.”
The West’s Moment of Truth in Iran
The surging tides of dissent in Iran, reminiscent of the seismic anti-monarchical revolution of 1979, beckon us to engage in a profound re-evaluation of Western policy. While some may be swayed by the siren call of engagement with the clerical regime, a growing chorus of dissenting voices resounds, urging us to adopt a more resolute approach. A formidable coalition comprised of esteemed former government officials from North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East implores the international community to seize this historic opportunity and wholeheartedly embrace the fervent aspirations of the Iranian people for a democratic republic.
However, today, we are confronted with reminders of past failures. This month, two disturbing incidents thrust the question of Western policy towards Iran back into the glaring spotlight. First, the French authorities shockingly announced their intention to prohibit a momentous opposition rally scheduled to be held in Paris on July 1. Ostensibly justified by purported “security threats” emanating from Tehran, this decision represents a dismal capitulation to the demands of the Iranian regime, which views the rally’s organizer, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), as an existential threat to its oppressive rule.
A Transformative Shift in the Western Approach to Iran Regime
Amidst the myriad of global challenges that confront us, the imperative to address Iran’s religious fascism and the dire circumstances faced by its people cannot be overstated. It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to embark upon a transformative shift in the Western approach to Iran, one that reverberates far beyond the confines of its borders. The theocratic regime, by virtue of its associations with terrorism exportation, warmongering propensities, and the propagation of religious fundamentalism, has undeniably become a byword for perniciousness.
The recent eruption of popular dissent within Iran, which commenced in September, serves as a compelling testament to the unwavering determination of the Iranian populace to effectuate the demise of this tyrannical regime. Notably, women have emerged as resolute leaders, their ascendancy building upon the resilient struggle that the organized opposition has waged over the course of four decades.
Iran on Brink of Nuclear Missile? Hacked Documents Help Reveal How Tehran Is Getting Closer to a Nuke Capable of Evading Israel’s Defences – Struan Stevenson
The recent release of masses of documents hacked from the Iranian regime’s foreign affairs ministry and from the president’s private office in Tehran has revealed disturbing evidence of the mullahs’ unrelenting determination to develop nuclear weapons. Members of a hacktivist group known as Ghyam Sarnegouni (‘Rise to Overthrow’), affiliated with resistance units of the main democratic opposition movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), has released a treasure trove of top-secret documents.
These include an exchange of letters late last year between Mohammad Eslami, who heads the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), and President Ebrahim Raisi, known as “the Butcher of Tehran”. In a handwritten letter to Raisi dated November 27, Eslami asks how the £1.7 billion budgeted for expanding the nuclear programme will be paid. Two days later, on November 29, an official typed letter from the president’s office, signed by his chief of staff, was sent to the head of the regime’s Plan and Budget Organisation, instructing him to approve the payment.
UPDATE: 8:00 PM CET
Protests and Rallies Across Iran on Monday
On Monday, June 26, retired employees of the telecommunications industry who supposed to receive their wages from the regime’s Social Security Organization took to the streets in in Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Sanandaj, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Arak, Shiraz, Shahr-e Kord, Sari, Bandar Abbas, Shush, and Shushtar.
June 26— #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the regime's telecommunications industry in rally in Ilam, Bandar Abbas, Khorram Abad, and Arak protest low pensions, healthcare problems, and poor living conditions. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/IoHYH6Kv4f— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 26, 2023
June 26—Isfahan, central #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the regime's telecommunications industry rally in protest low pensions and poor living conditions.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/THUshAHrDy— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 26, 2023
Monday saw workers from Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company hold rallies in Shush, southwest Iran, protesting the government’s delays in implementing a job-ranking law that would provide them with better wages and working conditions.
June 26—Shush, southwest #Iran
More images of today's protest rally by workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/hJM9AvdYeP— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 26, 2023
For a comprehensive report of protests across Iran on Sunday and Monday, read here.
UPDATE: 2:00 PM CET
20,000 Filed Cases Are Connected to Uprising, Chief Justice Admits
According to Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeei, the Iranian regime’s Chief Justice, the filing of judicial cases has increased by 4% in the last year. Citing the nationwide uprising, he said “the riots” were the reason for this increase and added that 20,000 cases have been filed in connection with the protests.
At a conference on June 26, Ejei accused the “enemy” of a “combined war” against the regime and said the nationwide uprising was pushed forward according to the “enemy’s agenda.”
He also claimed that about 98,000 people who were imprisoned on whom “the enemy wanted to count on” were released through the Supreme Leader’s clemency.
In February, the Iranian regime’s judiciary announced that Ali Khamenei, the regime’s Supreme Leader, had offered amnesty to thousands of protesters who were detained during the uprising. Nevertheless, several Judiciary officials have stressed that those protesters who were in contact with “the enemy” and had a structural backup would be dealt with differently.
UPDATE: 1:00 PM CET
Iran: Council Targets Seven Individuals over Serious Human Rights Violations
UPDATE: 11:30 AM CET
Belgian Government in Crisis Over Fate of Foreign Minister in Iran Visas Dispute
BRUSSELS — Belgium risks starting another episode of its well-known political turmoil. This time, it’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib who could upset things.
When Lahbib is grilled by Belgian lawmakers on Monday, some of her coalition partners hope for apologies for how she handled an Iranian delegation that attended a summit in Brussels earlier this month. If none are forthcoming, it would risk consequences beyond her own possible resignation.
“Hadja Lahbib’s survival is a question of the government’s survival,” said a Belgian official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.
UPDATE: 7:30 AM CET
The Widening Rift in the Intelligence Apparatus of Iran’s Regime
On June 22, Iran’s state media reported about a June 15 meeting in Mashhad between Mohammad Mohammadi Golpaygani, the chief of staff of regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei; Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib; the head of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Intelligence Organization Mohammad Kazemi; IRGC Chief Hossein Salami; Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi; and Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian.
The reason that the regime kept such a high-profile meeting secret for a week can be seen in Khamenei’s short message to the regime’s intelligence brass, which was delivered through Golpaygani.
Iran’s Regime Fabricates Statistics To Conceal the Economic Disaster
In a recent statement, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the deputy coordinator of the Iran regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), made the claim that Iran’s economic growth surpasses that of the United States. He further emphasized that it is the regime’s responsibility to inform the population about this notable progress.
Additionally, Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the regime’s Assembly of Experts, made a similarly exaggerated statement, asserting that the people can feel the advancements in the economic field.
However, it is important to critically analyze these statements. When comparing Iran’s economic growth rate of 2.9 percent in 2022, as reported by the state-run news agency Fars, with the United States’ growth rate of 1.9 percent, they fail to acknowledge the vast discrepancy in the scale of the two economies.
Samin Nessari and Saba Eskandari – Two More Female Students Are Deprived of Education
Two female students, Samin Nessari and Saba Eskandari, have been temporarily banned from studying. Samin Nessari, a history undergraduate student at Kharazmi University in Tehran, has been sentenced by the university’s disciplinary committee to a one-and-a-half-year suspension from education. Samin Nessari had also lost her previous semester because she was banned from entering the university.
Furthermore, Saba Eskandari, a counseling and guidance student at the University of Tehran, has been deprived of education for 2.5 years by the university’s preliminary council on charges of not observing compulsory hijab.
Biden Administration Is Reportedly Discussing a ‘Mini-Agreement’ With Iran
The Albanian government’s raid of a camp run by the exiled Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) has led to criticism against the White House and Albania for allegedly placating the Islamic Republic of Iran – the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism.
When asked about the Albania state raid, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News Digital, “By providing sanctions relief to the Iranian regime, President Biden and Rob Malley are abandoning the Iranian people and enriching their oppressors. The regime is committed to crushing its own people while spreading terror and mayhem abroad, and the Biden administration’s blind desire to appease and negotiate with it has made the world a more dangerous place.” Pompeo visited the MEK headquarters last year.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – June 25, 2023