THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:00 PM CET
Iran Uprising at a Glance
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Thursday, May 4, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 231
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 675 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
Iran’s nationwide uprising witnessed its 231st day on Thursday as protests continued across the country.
May 2 – Astara, northern #Iran
MEK Resistance Units portrayed a large image of @Maryam_Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian opposition coalition NCRI, at 10 pm local time.
The slogan reads: “We can and must liberate Iran!”#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/8xp7kyt0nM— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 4, 2023
People throughout Iran continue to specifically hold the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for their miseries.
On May 2, in Astara, northern Iran, Resistance Units affiliated with the Iranian opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), portrayed a large image of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian opposition coalition NCRI, at 10 pm local time. The slogan reads: “We can and must liberate Iran!”
According to reports tallied by the MEK on Thursday, local railway workers in Kerman Province, central Iran, went on strike protesting officials’ refusal to address their demands.
May 4 – Kerman Province, south-central #Iran
Local railway workers are on strike and protesting officials' refusal to address their demands. Many of them have had many paychecks delayed for a long time now.#IranProtests #اعتصابات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/yj5wyGH2bX— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 4, 2023
Workers and employees of the Pars Paper Company in Haft Tappeh, Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, went on strike on Thursday, protesting their low paychecks.
May 4 – Haft Tappeh, southwest #Iran
Workers and employees of the Pars Paper Company are on strike protesting low paychecks, not having permanent contracts, long working hours, double shifts without breaks, and having no leave from work.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/kcNNRAAiL0— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 4, 2023
Local farmers rallied outside the governor’s office in the city of Lamerd in Fars Province of south-central Iran on Thursday. They were protesting the regime’s policies of pricing their wheat and officials refusing to purchase from them.
May 4 – Lamerd, Fars Province, south-central #Iran
Local farmers rallied outside the governor's office protesting the regime's policies of pricing their wheat and officials refusing to purchase from them.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/fGjb0Ucock— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 4, 2023
UPDATE: 3:30 PM CET
Three Million Unemployed Iranian Youth Are Security Threat, Website Warns
“A report from the Iran Statistics Center shows the rate of NEETs [Not in Employment, Education, or Training] in the country was 27.4% for 2021 and 29.4% for 2020,” the state-run Eqtesad24 wrote today. “The Iranian Statistics Center mentions this figure as 18.2% for men and 39% for women.
The source added: “About the importance of this issue and the various cultural and social effects of this high index, one can argue that the NEET rate in developed countries is about 2-10%, while in 2018, Iran’s rate was nearly 30%. That means a population of 3.1 million people who are between 15 to 24 years old. The fact that 30% of 15-24-year-old youths are not engaged in any activity, any skill training, or any job, can pave the way for delinquency and social damage. Subsequently, at the national level, it can also be considered as a security threat. For example, if we look at the age of those who took part in the protests of January 2017, November 2019, and September 2022, the age combination weighs more for young people who are in the age group of NEETs (15 to 24 years old).”
Rosen, Lee Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill To Solidify U.S. Sanctions on Iran
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) joined their colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives in introducing the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act (SISA) to make permanent the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996. This bipartisan legislation would keep in place provisions allowing the President to impose sanctions on Iran’s energy sectors by removing sunset provisions from the original Act. The bill sends a strong signal that the U.S. remains committed to holding Iran accountable for its malign actions.
“Sanctions have been critical in holding Iran accountable for its destabilizing actions, including support for terrorist proxies,” said Senator Rosen. “With Iran closer than ever to a nuclear weapon, I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing bipartisan legislation that applies pressure on the Iranian regime.”
Microsoft Says Iran Is Accelerating Use of Cyber-Enabled Influence Operations
Microsoft’s Digital Threat Analysis Center has revealed that Iranian state actors are employing cyber-enabled influence operations to boost cyberattacks and achieve greater geopolitical impact. Clint Watts, general manager of the Digital Threat Analysis Center, wrote in a blog post published Tuesday that Microsoft researchers connected 24 unique cyber-enabled IO to the Iranian government in 2022, a significant increase compared to just seven in 2021.
According to Watts, Iran’s integration of cyber and influence operations accelerated in June 2022, with researchers tracking 17 operations from June to December. Iran’s cyberattacks are mainly targeted at Israel, Gulf state adversaries, and other opposition figures and organizations.
UPDATE: 12:00 PM CET
Official Dismissed Over Controversial Statements About Raisi Government’s Bankruptcy
On Wednesday evening, May 3, the IRGC-run Fars news agency reported on the dismissal of Sajjad Padam, Director General of the Social Insurance Organization, affiliated with the regime’s Ministry of Labor.
The Public Relations and International Affairs of the Ministry of Labor announced: “Following the misleading and untrue statements of the Director General of Social Insurance of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, concerning the government’s inability to pay retirees’ salaries, he was removed from his position by an order from the Deputy of Welfare and the Economic Affairs at this ministry.”
On May 2, admitting to the bankruptcy of Ebrahim Raisi’s administration, Sajjad Padam said: “In order to pay pensioners’ salaries, we must sell the islands of Qeshm and Kish. Greece sold 100 islands in order to pay the demands of its pensioners, and we will soon be in the same situation. Even if we sell three million barrels of oil without sanctions and even if we are totally compensated, we still cannot solve the pensioners’ crisis.”
New Zealand Has Imposed Sanctions on Iran for Supplying Russia With Anti-Aircraft Missiles
New Zealand has imposed sanctions on 4 Iranian individuals and 2 entities for supplying drones to Russia in the war in Ukraine. APA informs that this is stated in the information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand.
The persons included in the sanctions list are Qasim Damavandian, the general director of Quds Air Industries Company (SEPAH Aerospace Forces), General Alirza Tangsiri, the commander of the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Shamsabadi, the general director of Paravar Pars, Iran’s main drone manufacturer, and Selin Techniki. The owner of the company is Asker Mahmud.
Iran Is a Big Prison For Reporters, RWB Report Concludes
On May 3, honoring World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders published its 2023 report. The organization viewed Iran to be one of the biggest prisons in the world for journalists and one of the worst places for the free press.
According to the RWB report, in addition to imposing extensive restrictions and censorship on the press in the field of information; journalists face threats, subpoenas, arbitrary arrests, unfair trials, and prison sentences.
“In Iran (177th), the heavy-handed crackdown on the protests triggered by the young student Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody drove the country’s social context and judicial environment scores even lower,” the report concluded.
We Will Hold Tehran Accountable, US State Department Spox Says
The United States said it will hold the Iranian regime to account for attacking American forces and allies in the Middle East.
At the US Department of States daily press conference on May 3, principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said: “We continue to have a number of tools at our disposal to hold the Iranian regime accountable. And, as recently as last week, we have not hesitated to use those tools, and we will continue to take action. When it comes to holding the malign Iranian regime accountable, we’ll continue to take steps to do whatever we can to protect the security of our allies and partners in the region, protect the security of the United States and its service members, and we continue to have a number of tools at our disposal.
State-controlled Outlet Sounds Alarm Concerning Misery State of Drug Industry
The state-run Hamshahri Online wrote on May 4: “According to drug activists and relevant officials, the lack of medicine in the country has been in a critical phase for several years, and many medicines, even common ones, have either become rare or difficult to find in pharmacies and even hospitals. On the other hand, drug manufacturers are facing many problems with production, and the price of the drug, which they believe is very low, has led many of them to bankruptcy. In the meantime, drug importers are also facing numerous problems with currency fluctuations, customs, and the importing drugs.”
“Last year, many experts in the drug production and import domains warned about the drug market becoming more vulnerable in the coming year and announced that in the most optimistic case scenario, due to the small budget of the industry, they can only cover the first quarter of the year. If this crisis is not resolved as soon as possible, the health system of the country will be seriously endangered,” Hamshahri warned.
GOP Lawmakers Work to Block Biden From Reentering Iran Nuclear Deal
Members of the Republican Study Committee introduced six bills to prevent President Joe Biden’s administration from entering back into a nuclear deal with Iran. The bills seek to enforce further sanctions on Iran and look to stop the Biden administration from entering into a new Iranian nuclear deal or back into the previous one that started under President Barack Obama in 2015.
One bill would expand and strengthen sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the primary branch of the Iranian military. Another one would prohibit Biden from lifting sanctions on Iranian terrorists unless those entities can prove they have stopped engaging in terrorism. Another bill would use an executive order from the Obama administration to sanction Iran’s government leaders, police, security forces, and the IRGC.
UPDATE: 7:30 AM CET
Iran’s Protests Continue Despite New Chemical Gas Attacks on Schools
Regime operatives in at least four different areas of Iran launched new chemical gas attacks on Tuesday while retirees of the country’s telecom industry were taking to the streets in several provincial capitals and other cities checkered across Iran. As Wednesday marks the 230th day of Iran’s nationwide uprising and parallel to horrific chemical attacks targeting innocent schoolgirls, regime officials have also been ramping up the number of executions. Twelve Baluch compatriots, including two women, have been hanged in the span of just four days. People throughout Iran continue to specifically hold the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for their miseries, while also condemning the oppressive Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij units, alongside other security units that are on the ground suppressing the peaceful demonstrators.
Iranians Seeking Asylum in EU Increased 240% In Seven Months
Following Iran’s 1979 revolution, the country began witnessing an increasing brain drain trend and this phenomenon has escalated drastically over the decades. In recent years, experts and analysts have repeatedly warned that this is due to the strict laws imposed on the Iranian people by the mullahs’ regime, including severe restrictions on social and political freedoms, regime officials constantly insulting the country’s citizens, the incompetence of regime officials, and the unfavorable economic circumstances. In 2022, EU member states approved 169,068 asylum applications, indicating a 22 percent increase in comparison to 2021. According to an official report issued by the European Commission Statistics Office, 384,245 eligible asylum seekers were supported by EU member states last year, showing an increase of almost 40% in comparison to 2021.
The Ongoing Executions of Women in Iran, Madineh Sabzevan Hanged in Birjand
Executions of women in Iran continue. Three Baluch prisoners, including one woman, were hanged in Birjand prison at dawn on Sunday, April 30. Birjand is the capital of South Khorasan province in eastern Iran. The woman executed in Birjand prison was named Madineh Sabzevan, 39 years old and a mother of 5 children. She was from the Shibek tribe and lived in the Shirabad district of Zahedan. She was arrested on drug charges. Over the past five days, from Saturday, April 29 until today, the mullahs’ regime has executed 20 people, including 14 Baluch citizens with two women among them.
Woman Dies in Violent Altercation Over Hijab Rule in Iran
A female tourist in Shazdeh Mahan garden in Kerman, Iran, lost her life during a brawl over observation of the Hijab rule. The victim, Kolsum Oftadehpour, was 59 years old and the mother of five daughters and five sons. She had undergone open-heart surgery. Basij agents were involved in the altercation, and the situation quickly escalated, with people throwing stones at the agents’ bus. According to the state-run media, the Basij agents had warned some visitors about the mandatory hijab rule before the clash occurred. However, the family of Oftadehpour has provided new information that has shed light on the incident.
What Is the Alternative to the Mullahs’ Regime in Iran?
Iran has been ruled by the Islamic Republic since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and the current regime is known for its human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition. However, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its president-elect Maryam Rajavi present an alternative path for Iran that would bring freedom, democracy, and prosperity to the country. In recent years, Iran has witnessed escalating political and social unrest, as Iranians continue to call for a political upheaval and an end to the regime’s oppressive policies. One of the most significant examples of this unrest is the ongoing nationwide strike involving the country’s oil, gas, petrochemical, steel, copper, and other sensitive industries that the regime is dependent on for its annual budget.
Freiburg—April 29, 2023: MEK Supporters Rallied to Celebrate International Workers’ Day, Supporting the Iranian Workers’ Strike
Freiburg, Germany—April 29, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. They celebrated International Workers’ Day, and expressed their solidarity with the Iranian workers’ strike across the country.
The Hague, April 29, 2023: MEK Supporters Rallied to Celebrate International Workers’ Day, Supporting the Iranian Workers’ Strike
MEK supporters celebrated International Workers’ Day and expressed their solidarity with the Iranian workers’ strike across the country. They also condemned Iran’s regime’s chemical attacks on schoolgirls and poisoning at schools across the country.
Heidelberg—April 29, 2023: MEK Supporters Rallied to Celebrate International Workers’ Day, Supporting the Iranian Workers’ Strike
Heidelberg, Germany—April 29, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. They celebrated International Workers’ Day and expressed their solidarity with the Iranian workers’ strike across the country.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – May 3, 2023
