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UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
International Outcry as Iran’s Regime Assumes Chairmanship of Un Human Rights Council’s Social Forum
In a shocking turn of events, Iran’s regime, a notorious violator of human rights, took over the chairmanship of the Social Forum of the United Nations Human Rights Council, with human rights advocates expressing strongly condemned, writes Shahin Gobadi. Many are shocked that despite the regime’s history of oppression, torture, and executions, it was given such a prestigious position by the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year.
During a press conference in Geneva today, Tahar Boumedra, former Chief of the UN Human Rights Office in Iraq, and Behzad Naziri, the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in international organizations, denounced the appointment.
“This disgraceful decision is an insult to the Iranian people, whose human rights have been flagrantly violated by the regime over the past 44 years, and it makes a mockery of the principles upon which the UN is founded,” said Mr. Boumedra.
US Expresses Outrage Over Iranian Regime Appointment in UN Human Rights Council Role
Michelle Taylor, the representative of the United States at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, spoke about the appointment of Iran’s regime representative as the head of the “Social Forum” for a one-day session of the Human Rights Council, stating: “The United States finds it absurd that an official from the Iranian regime will assume the role of Chair for the Human Rights Council’s one-day “Social Forum.” It is unacceptable that anybody associated with the promotion and protection of human rights be chaired by a representative from a nation implicated in such persistent and flagrant human rights abuses as Iran. The United States opposed the creation of the Social Forum in 2015, noting at the time that it offered limited utility while generating additional costs. And still, the United States takes a principled stand today. Notwithstanding our concerns over the utility of the Social Forum in general, we categorically refuse to sit, converse, or engage in any discussion on human rights chaired by Iran.”
ran Club Sepahan Punished Over Canceled Asian Champions League Game Against Saudi Side Al Ittihad
Iranian soccer team Sepahan was penalized with a 3-0 loss and a fine over a canceled Asian Champions League match against Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad, Iranian media reported.
The match was called off last month when the Saudi team — featuring former Premier League stars such as N’Golo Kante and Fabinho — walked out at the last minute, apparently over the presence of a statue of a slain Iranian general on the sidelines.
But Iranian media reported that the Asian Football Confederation ruled that Al Ittihad should be awarded a 3-0 win and that Sepahan should pay a fine of $200,000. According to the reports, Sepahan was also banned from hosting its next three Asian Champions League matches at home.
Lankford Urges Biden Admin to Re-Designate Iran-Backed Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization
WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), along with their colleagues, sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the State Department to re-designate Iran-backed Ansarallah, known also as the Houthis and are based in Yemen, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in the wake of the group’s repeated brazen attacks against Israel.
“Re-designating the Houthis as an FTO would send a powerful message that the United States views this group as a clear threat to our Allies and partners and to regional stability in the Middle East,” the Senators wrote. “Since Hamas’s savage terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, the Houthis have launched three attacks against the Jewish state and promised to carry out more strikes ‘until the Israeli aggression stops.’”
UPDATE: 4:00 PM CET
New Case of Chemical Attacks Against Girls Schools in Southeast Iran
News sources have reported the recurrence of the poisoning of girls’ students, this time in a village in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.
According to a video published on social media on Wednesday, November 1, a number of students at the girls’ school in the village of “Rasulabad Baghdaniyeh” in Iranshahr County, were poisoned by inhaling toxic gases. It has been reported that some of the students were taken to medical centers by several ambulances.
Some reports have labeled this incident as a “chemical attack” on schools, alleging that military forces prevented parents and locals from approaching the affected school after the chemical attack.
Over the course of several hundred cases of student poisonings that began in the fall of 2022 and primarily took place in girls’ schools throughout the country, thousands of students were deliberately targeted, causing widespread fear. Despite nationwide pleas from the parents of victims, those responsible were never identified, and the state failed to prosecute any “wrongdoers.”
Just last Sunday, on October 29, dozens of students at Zanjan’s Kowsar Girls’ High School were hospitalized due to poisoning.
Air Pollution Crisis: 750 People Seek Medical Attention in Khuzestan Province
With the continued air pollution crisis in various parts of Iran, especially the southern Khuzestan province, Peyman Moezi, deputy director of the Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz, said that 750 people with respiratory symptoms visited medical centers in the Khuzestan province in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday, November 1. Iranian state media reported today that people in different cities in the Khuzestan province are still deprived of having clean and healthy air.
The IRGC-run Farsi News Agency wrote today, “The smoke and dust from the repeated fires in the Hor al-Azim marshes and the Broomi waste site has added to the pollution caused by pollutants from petrochemicals and industries so that the sky of Khuzestan has not turned blue for a long time.“
ISNA news agency, based on the announcement of the country’s air quality monitoring system, wrote that the air in seven cities of Khuzestan was in the “unhealthy” and “red” categories on Thursday.
FBI: Iranian Regime Tried to Kill American Officials on US Soil
Christopher Ray, the head of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), told members of the United States Senate that the regime in Iran attempted to eliminate American officials, even within the U.S.
On Wednesday, November 1, in statements made before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Ray said, “When it comes to Iran and its strategic partner, Hezbollah, I think it’s important for Americans to understand that even before this conflict, we’re dealing with an adversary that just in the past couple years has tried to kill a former US National Security advisor on US soil, tried to kidnap and then kill an American journalist, right smack in the middle of New York City, conducted a cyber attack, attempted cyber attack against a children’s hospital, and tried to interfere in the last presidential election, as Director Ratcliffe and I called out at a press conference in the fall of 2020. That’s all on top of being the leading state sponsor of terrorism. If that’s not enough to convince people that Iran is a threat to the US, I don’t know what would be.”
UPDATE: 1:30 PM CET
Fifty-two Security Forces Were Killed in Isfahan
On Wednesday, November 1, the deputy head of the provincial law enforcement force in Isfahan admitted that 52 members of the regime’s repressive forces have been killed in Isfahan this year.
The state-run Tasnim News Agency quoted Mohammadreza Hashemifar as saying, “The police members have spared no effort, bearing witness to the loss of 52 police officers in the current year.”
Following the brutal suppression of Iran’s nationwide uprising in 2022, the country has experienced a surge in armed confrontations and violent clashes between its citizens and the regime’s security forces. This escalated level of conflict has extended across numerous cities and provinces, underscoring the deep-seated frustrations and discontent among the population.
Executions in Iran Are Up 30%, a New United Nations Report Says
In all seven cases, information received by the U.N. human rights office “consistently indicated that the judicial proceedings did not fulfill the requirements for due process and a fair trial under international human rights law,” Guterres said. “Access to adequate and timely legal representation was frequently denied, with reports of coerced confessions, which may have been obtained as a result of torture.”
Economic Hardships Worsen in Bushehr as Inflation Soars Across Iran
According to the state-run newspaper Ham Mihan, Bushehr Province has been ranked 18th on the Misery Index in Iran, despite its significant gas reserves. This newspaper highlights that the people in this province, like those in other provinces, are facing extensive economic challenges. They express their grievances regarding the significant capital leaving the province for other regions in Iran without any tangible benefits to their livelihoods.
Inflation and soaring prices have pushed a substantial portion of Iran’s population below the poverty line. The unequal distribution of poverty in Iran has resulted in limited access to essential needs for the people.
The latest report from the Iranian Statistical Center also indicates that high inflation, exceeding 40%, persists. An analysis of inflation over a year on 53 food items reveals that lamb meat, with a 150% price increase, and beef or veal, with a 132% price hike, have experienced the most significant price surges. Canned tuna follows closely with a 109% price increase.
On October 30, the state-run Eqtesad News website, in a report on these statistics, cited Hadi Haqshenas, a state-affiliated expert, who warned, “The inflation rate is at an alarming level.” He emphasizes that the “primary reason for reducing the inflation rate is not an economic improvement but rather a sharp decline in people’s purchasing power.”
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
Maryam Rajavi Meets and Holds Talks With Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield, Former Us Assistant Secretary of State
On Monday, October 30, 2023, Maryam Rajavi met and held talks with Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield. Amb. Bloomfield has served as the former US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, US President’s special envoy for man-portable air-defense systems threat reduction (2008-2009), and US Vice-President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs. Lincoln Bloomfield has three academic writings about the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran and the Iranian Resistance in 2011, 2013, and 2015, entitled: Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) and the Search for Ground Truth about its Activities and Nature, The Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK)—Shackled by a Twisted History, and The Ayatollahs and the MEK. In their meeting, Mr. Bloomfield and Maryam Rajavi discussed the situation in Iran, as well as the ongoing conflicts and crises in the Middle East.
The Iranian Solution for Iran
When Living in Iran Becomes a Luxury
Iran’s state newspaper Arman-e Emrooz recently reported, “The head of the Planning and Budget Organization claims that air travel is a luxury and only a select group of society can afford it. He states, ‘The entry of foreign airlines establishing flights on domestic routes has depleted the country’s foreign exchange reserves and goes against many principles of the constitution.’”
Given the country’s economic situation and the fact that the poverty line exceeds 20 million tomans, the remarks from the head of this organization are not far from reality. Nowadays, many goods are considered luxuries due to their high prices.
Recent reports in the regime’s media even suggest that inflation and soaring prices have turned something as basic as offal soup into a luxury food. This speaks volumes about the stagnation of the country’s economy.
Powdered Milk Shortage Critical in Iran
Several years after the diaper shortage crisis, Hani Tahvilzadeh, the head of the Iranian Association of Powdered Milk and Baby Food Producers announced to the state-run media that the production of powdered milk in the country is also facing problems due to “lack of currency allocation” to the producers.
In an interview with the semi-official ILNA news agency and Radio Tehran, Tahvilzadeh accused Ebrahim Raisi’s administration of “transferring the production of powdered milk to a factory in Turkey” to meet the demand for powdered milk in Iran.
Regime’s officials have not yet responded to Tahvilzadeh’s claim.
He stated that the current crisis is occurring despite Iran never having faced a problem with powdered milk production, and that Iran has even been an exporter of this product in the past.
UN Experts and JVMI Seek Accountability for 1988 Massacre in Iran
New York, October 29, 2023 – Experts in human rights, including the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran and members of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, participated in a JVMI side event during the 78th UN General Assembly.
They urged UN Member States to oppose impunity in Iran and support accountability for the 1988 extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances of political prisoners.
The event featured various experts, including Prof. Javaid Rehman, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran; Dr. Grazyna Baranowska, Member of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Amb. Stephen Rapp, Prof. Melanie O’Brien, and Ana Sami from JVMI. Representatives from Permanent Missions and the New York City Bar were also present.
Stockholm: MEK Supporters Held a Rally in Front of the Swedish Court, Seeking Justice for the 1988 Massacre Martyrs—October 31, 2023
Stockholm, Sweden—October 31, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians, and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in front of the court of appeal for the executioner Hamid Noury They are seeking justice for the more than 30,000 martyrs of the 1988 massacre.
Freedom-loving Iranians held their demonstration in front of the executioner Noury’s court to once again bring the voices of the victims of the 1988 massacre to the ears of the world.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – November 1, 2023
