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
Friday, May 5, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 232
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 675 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
On Friday, May 5, Iran witnessed the 232nd day of its ongoing protests. As the strikes in the oil, gas, petrochemical, steel, power plants, and copper mines sectors continued for the 15th consecutive day, there is no easing in sight, and the longer the state and local officials refuse to heed the workers’ demands, the more will the regime’s economy be jeopardized.
May 5 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Locals have taken to the streets in anti-regime demonstrations and are chanting slogans including:
"Basij and IRGC members, you are our ISIS"#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/eAdd3NcreY— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 5, 2023
The people of Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan & Baluchestan, took to the streets today following their weekly Friday prayers. Launching a large demonstration in the city’s streets, they chanted anti-regime slogans, including:
“We will fight! We may die! But we won’t live in shame!”
“We’re all willing to fight! Let’s fight to the end!”
“Down with Khamenei!”
“Down with the republic of executions!”
May 5 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Locals have taken to the streets in anti-regime demonstrations and are chanting slogans including:
"We swear on the blood of our compatriots that we stand to the end!"#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/o5DYSwLvCk— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 5, 2023
“We swear on the blood of our compatriots that we stand to the end!”
“Khamenei is a murderer! We have nothing to eat!”
“The monarchy and the Velayat-e Faghih (rule of the Supreme Leader) – 100 years of injustice.”
“Khamenei, have some shame! Let go of the country!”
May 5 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Locals took to the streets in anti-regime demonstrations and began chanting slogans including:
"Khamenei, have some shame! Let go of the country!"#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/hS7DKkoP5c— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 5, 2023
“Basij and IRGC members, you are our ISIS!”
“My martyred brother, I will avenge your blood!”
“We don’t want a corrupt system! We don’t want a murdering leader!”
“I will kill those who killed my brother!”
Iranian opposition coalition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi praised the courageous people of Zahedan and Iran’s Baluchi community for continuing their anti-regime protests today despite the regime’s recent wave of horrific executions parallel to numerous other crackdown measures aimed at silencing the Iranian people, especially the brave Baluchi community.
I commend the arisen people of #Zahedan who demonstrated in their courageous uprising today that the criminal executions and blind arrests have not only failed to disrupt the determination of Baluch compatriots in their struggle against the mullahs' regime but have made them more… pic.twitter.com/mLRik1iqxD
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) May 5, 2023
Contract workers of the Arik Sanat Company in Isfahan went on strike and joined the ongoing nationwide labor campaign, protesting officials’ refusal to increase their salaries.
Meanwhile, Iranian youth continue to challenge the vast and suppressive security apparatus of the regime across the country.
Tabriz, northwest #Iran
A brave young woman is seen writing in graffiti:
"This regime is illegitimate. The police are murderers. We own the country. Get lost Seyed Ali (Khamenei)." #IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/d2z8CTbCCk— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 5, 2023
Footage posted on social media shows a brave young woman in Tabriz, northwestern Iran, writing in graffiti on the wall. The message reads: “This regime is illegitimate. The police are murderers. We own the country. Get lost Seyed Ali (Khamenei).”
In Zahedan, southeast Iran, a brave protester wrote in graffiti: “Down with Khamenei!” referring to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Zahedan, southeast #Iran
A brave protester writes in graffiti:
"Down with Khamenei!" referring to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/CZQ8tgqyhU— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 5, 2023
UPDATE: 11:30 AM CET
Wilson Joins RSC Taskforce Members in Introducing Slate of Bills Combatting the Iranian Regime
WASHINGTON, DC – Members of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) introduced a slate of six bills targeting Iran and preventing the Biden administration from reviving a nuclear deal with Iran. The bills were rolled out Friday and through the course of this week and are led by: RSC National Security Task Force Chairman Joe Wilson (R-SC), Representatives Pat Fallon (R-TX), Bryan Steil (R-WI), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Cory Mills (R-FL), and John James (R-MI).
RSC National Security Task Force Chairman Joe Wilson said, “As Chairman of the RSC National Security Task Force, I’m grateful to lead this effort to push back on the Biden administration’s failed policy toward the Iranian regime which jeopardizes U.S. national security. The Iranian regime continues enriching uranium, oppressing the Iranian people, and exporting missiles and terrorism. Now that the Republicans are in the House majority, we will pass legislation to continue to pressure this brutal regime. The RSC will play a vital role in this effort.”
As Chairman of @RepublicanStudy National Security Taskforce I was grateful to be among several of my taskforce colleagues to introduce legislation further combatting the Iranian Regime. Biden must understand this regime cannot be trusted. Read more here: https://t.co/4Y9rJW1tWi
— Joe Wilson (@RepJoeWilson) May 5, 2023
Drug Smuggling From Iran to Azerbaijan Was Prevented in the Caspian Sea
Efforts are underway to ensure reliable protection of the maritime borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan, to strengthen the control of regimes in the Xerxes Sea, and to combat smuggling.
On May 3, at 12:50 p.m., the State Border Service’s Coast Guard technical observation station detected an unknown target heading north through the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Xerxes Sea, according to the EPA.
As a result of the cooperation of the Coast Guard’s technical observation station and the border patrol vessel, drugs were prevented from smuggling from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the south of the Xerxes Sea.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
Iran’s Regime Continues Chemical Gas Attacks in the Face of New Protests
Iran’s nationwide uprising is witnessing its 231st day on Thursday as regime operatives have been continuing their deliberate and organized chemical gas attacks. These poisonings of mostly innocent schoolgirls are aimed at quelling Iran’s restive society and installing fear to allow the regime’s forces to overcome the country’s relentless anti-regime protests by a nation that is seeking change through putting an end to the mullahs’ regime in its entirety. 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.
Regime in Denial as Poisoning of School Girls Continues in Iran
The serial poisoning of school girls continues in Iran while the regime officials continue to deny that any poisoning is taking place. Wednesday, May 3, saw chemical attacks on Parvin Etesami girls’ school in Hassanabad, Sanandaj. The day before, on Tuesday, May 2, the Ali Mohammadi all-girls school in Baneh, Elahieh all-girls school, Kimia Conservatory for girls, and another girls’ school on Komeil St. in Kermanshah, and many other schools were targets of chemical attacks. In the case of Elahieh School in Kermanshah, police forces went to the high school after the chemical attack and threatened the students.
The Cost of Tehran’s Support for the Assad Regime
According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, the leaders of Iran and Syria’s regimes signed a strategic cooperation agreement aimed at long-term collaboration on Wednesday. These agreements and memorandums relate to several sectors, including oil, agriculture, railways, and free trade zones. The agreement came as regime president Ebrahim Raisi traveled to Syria, marking the first visit by an Iranian head of state to Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. For quite some time, the Iran regime’s state-owned railway company has expressed its interest in extending its network via neighboring Iraq and Syria to connect to the Mediterranean Sea port of Lattakia, aiming to bolster trade. This is another attempt by Iran’s regime to expand its political sway.
“Looking Forward for a Democracy in 2023, Not a Monarchical or Religious Past”
The Kurdish Institute of Washington has published an article titled “For the Next Steps in Iran, We Must Looking forward for a democracy, Not a Monarchical or Religious Past.” In the article, they discuss the uprising of the Iranian people, which has resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands, as well as the arrest, torture, and disappearance of many more under the rule of the Islamic Republic. The institute poses the question, “If protests could effectively challenge the power of the government and topple the Islamic Republic, what then?” They conclude that “We must look to a democracy, not a return to the mythical ‘peaceful’ past under the Shah’s regime.”
Raisi’s Government Wants To Sell Islands To Pay the Retirees in 2023; A New Shameless Proposition by the Government?
Sajjad Padam, Director General of Social Insurance of the Ministry of Labor of Raisi’s government, recently announced that it is possible that “we may be forced to sell Khuzestan, Kish, and Qeshm for retirees’ claims”! Tensions rose when Sajjad Padam, Director General of Social Insurance of the Ministry of Labor of Raisi’s government, announced on May 2, that “we may, like Greece, which sold about 100 islands for retirees’ claims, be forced to sell Khuzestan, Kish, and Qeshm”! Padam added that even if the Islamic government sells 3 million barrels of oil, without sanctions, it still cannot solve the retirement crisis!
Also, read Iran News in Brief – May 4, 2023
