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UPDATE: 8:30 PM CET
It Doesn’t Matter Whether Iran Planned the Hamas Attack—Tehran Is Still To Blame
Whether or not Iran helped plan Hamas’s terrorist attack that killed at least 1,300 Israelis is needlessly distracting analysts and the media from the far more important conclusion that we already know: Iran is culpable for the attack.
On Monday, Washington was set abuzz when the Wall Street Journal published a story claiming that Iran helped Hamas plan this past weekend’s mass terrorist attack against Israel. Amwaj.media—a relatively new outfit focused on Iran, Iraq, and the Gulf—posted a competing story shortly afterward in which Iranian officials insisted they were not involved with the operation at all. The Washington Post added to the dialogue by concluding that Iran’s role is not clear. And the New York Times on Wednesday reported that Iran was surprised by the attack.
Implicit in the ongoing debate about what role Iran played in helping Hamas prepare for these attacks is a belief that reaching a definitive answer will inform or alter the decision making and next steps by Israel, the United States, and other allies. But the premise is false.
UPDATE: 1:30 PM CET
Lankford Pushes Biden Administration to Officially Freeze Iranian Assets
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), leaders of the Senate Abraham Accords Caucus, along with a bipartisan group of Senators, sent a letter urging Secretary of State Blinken to make it the official policy of the United States to freeze $6 billion in Iranian assets in the wake of Hamas’s continued deadly terrorist attacks on Israel.
In August of this year, the State Department announced its intention to release these assets to Iran. However, given Iran’s long-standing material and financial support for Hamas, the Senators are pushing the Administration to officially reverse its decision. Lankford, Rosen, and Ernst were joined by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Bob Casey (D-PA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Todd Young (R-IN), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
Hamas Attack on Israel Brings New Scrutiny of Group’s Ties to Iran
Last weekend’s attack on Israel by Hamas has brought renewed scrutiny of the armed Palestinian group’s longstanding relationship with Iran, and questions about whether the Gaza-based group could have pulled off such a sophisticated and devastating operation on its own.
Iran has a long history of training and arming proxy militia groups in the region, from Gaza to Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. It supports Hamas militarily and has helped it design and produce a domestic missile and rocket system to match the capabilities and material available in Gaza — an impoverished, densely populated coastal strip that has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt for the past 16 years.
And over the past year, there have been signs that Iran and its proxies were preparing to take a more aggressive approach toward Israel.
Rubio: The Only Language Radical Regimes Understand Is ‘Strength’
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he believes people in the West are “incredibly naïve” for thinking agreements can be made with “radical Islamic regimes” in the wake of the deadly Hamas attack.
Referencing the Iranian government and the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, Rubio said they do not value life “the way we do.”
“We think that you can sit down with them and reach an agreement on any misunderstanding. You cannot, not with these people” Rubio said. “The only language they understand is strength.”
Rubio alluded to recent talk surrounding the U.S. deal with Iran that allowed $6 billion in previously frozen assets to return to the country in exchange for the release of five Americans.
UPDATE: 9:00 AM CET
Raisi’s Unbridled Taxation Policies
On Thursday, October 4, Iranian regime president Ebrahim Raisi, in fear of the explosion of “social and economic abnormalities,” said, “Officials should not allow the voices and demands of the people to become normal for them.”
On the same day, the state-run Sharq newspaper wrote an article titled “Tax Government,” stating, “The senior official of the Tax Organization has announced that tax revenues in the past six months have become double the oil revenues.” The article added, “Now that the 13th government is mostly relying on provincial taxes for its income, it should transparently inform the public about how the taxes are being used.”
Taxation is one of the tools for equalizing and creating economic balance in society. Governments can reduce social and economic disparities by collecting taxes from large capital assets and implementing appropriate tax plans for different income brackets, thus preventing “social and economic abnormalities.”
Iran’s Education System and the Regime’s Battle for Young Minds
In Iran, the regime’s influence on its young citizens reaches deep into the heart of their education. Asghar Bagherzadeh, Deputy Minister of Education and Culture, recently announced a mass ‘mental screening’ initiative that has raised concerns far beyond its stated intention of evaluating students’ mental health. In this article, we delve into the intricacies of this screening process, revealing how it is intertwined with ideological and political agendas, as well as its implications for the future of Iran’s youth. Asghar Bagherzadeh, the Deputy Minister of Education and Culture of the Iranian regime, announced the ‘mental screening’ of four million students in the five months ending in October. He stated that the purpose of these screenings was to assess the ‘mental health’ of millions of children and teenagers.
The Healthcare Crisis in Iran in 2023: A Growing Burden on the Underprivileged
In response to the escalating healthcare challenges faced by the impoverished population, a collective of doctors and therapists in Iran has sounded the alarm regarding the rising number of underprivileged patients who are unable to afford hospitalization in government facilities. Factors such as soaring medical expenses, medication shortages, exorbitant fees for various tests and scans, and the costs associated with hospital accommodations have pushed certain individuals to the brink, forcing them to either curtail their treatment or, in some cases, to runaway from medical centers without settling their bills.
Marzieh, Legendary Diva of Persian Traditional Music
Ashraf os-Sadat Marzieh (March 22, 1924 – October 13, 2010), known professionally as Marzieh, was a Tehran-born singer of Persian traditional music. Known as the great diva of Persian traditional song, her voice represented the 60-year sufferings of a nation and the strength of Iranian women against the stoning and misogyny of the mullahs ruling Iran. Her parents were fond of art and her relatives included a number of sculptors, painters, miniaturists, and musicians. Her mother encouraged her to sing and supported her artistic activities throughout her life. Marzieh said, “At a time when Iranian families rarely let their daughters study, my father albeit a clergy encouraged me to go to school and learn the sciences of the time. When I started singing, it was not normal for a woman to become a singer.
Zahra Shafeii and Others Standing Strong in Captivity
Following is an update on the situation of three female political prisoners in Iran: Sakineh Parvaneh, Zahra Shafeii, and Donya Hosseini.
According to reports from the Central Prison of Mashhad on Friday, October 13, 2023, the Ministry of Intelligence has refrained from giving back the birth certificate and the national card belonging to the Kurdish political prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh. Without her birth certificate and national ID card, Ms. Parvaneh is having problems trying to purchase goods from the prison store or having money deposited into her account. Political prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh was informed on September 25, of her sentence of 7.5 years.
Newport, England—October 7, 2023: MEK Supporters Held an Exhibition, Supporting the Iran Revolution
Also, read Iran News in Brief – October 13, 2023