THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 1:00 PM CET
Friday Protests in Iran
Based on reports and images received from Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, this afternoon, following the conclusion of Friday prayers sermon, the brave people of Zahedan faced a violent onslaught by the suppressive forces of the clerical dictatorship. Many of them were beaten or arrested. However, courageous young individuals immediately pushed back the oppressive forces by staging protests and raising powerful slogans against the regime in protest.
October 20—Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Regime security forces attack Friday prayer attendees, injuring several people and arresting others.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/EXKjTzMfuF— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 20, 2023
October 20—Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Children injured during the brutal attack by regime security forces against Friday prayers attendees.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/0r1sPPO1Gb— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 20, 2023
Us Military Shoots Down Missiles and Drones as It Faces Growing Threats in Volatile Middle East
WASHINGTON (AP) — With tensions spiking in the Middle East, U.S. forces in the region are facing increasing threats as a Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel Thursday and American bases in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by drone attacks.
Later, a U.S. official said there had been a rocket attack early Friday morning on U.S. and coalition forces at a diplomatic support center near the Baghdad International Airport. Initial assessments indicated two rockets were fired, the official said, noting that one was intercepted by a counter-rocket system and the other struck an empty storage facility.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, said no casualties were reported.
U.S. Senators: Confronting the Iranian Regime and Its Terrorist Groups Is Necessary
Senator Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican Party in the U.S. Senate, emphasized the need to confront the dictatorship of the regime in Iran. He stated during a Senate session, “The President must immediately show the Iranian regime and its terrorist groups such as Hezbollah that further interference in this conflict will bring the threat of crippling economic sanctions and the decisive use of American military power.”
McConnell stated, “President Biden must acknowledge that the fundamental assumptions of his administration’s policy towards the Iranian regime have failed both morally and practically. His team sought to bring the Iranian regime back to the incomplete nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. Iran perceived their desperation and used it to its advantage. Then, the government tried to reduce tensions by ignoring the growing repression within Tehran and its aggressive actions abroad. However, the Iranian regime had other ideas.”
Senator McConnell added, “The President should start, as I have recommended since his inauguration, by working with the Republicans to create a bipartisan policy towards the Iranian regime. A policy that addresses all aspects of the threats posed by the Iranian regime.”
Senator Robert Menendez also commented, saying, “On October 7, Hamas launched an attack, an operation that, in my view, clearly bears the fingerprints of the Iranian regime because Hamas alone does not have the capabilities in terms of intelligence and technology. Only a government actor possesses such capabilities, and the only government willing to assist Hamas in this regard is the Iranian regime.”
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
Welcoming the European Parliament’s Attention To Iranian Women’s Struggle for Freedom
The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) welcomes the European Parliament’s measure in awarding the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Amini and the Iranian women’s protest movement.
Last year, in the midst of the 2022 Iranian uprising, members of the European Parliament designated the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity. The IRGC is the main force of suppression inside Iran and is in charge of the export of terrorism abroad. The MEPs thus demonstrated that contrary to the policy of appeasement, they have adopted the right and principled policy against religious fascism ruling Iran and its IRGC.
How the Mullahs’ Regime Destroyed the “Made in Iran” Brand
The Iranian regime’s main sources of financial resources are the sale of Iranian assets, resources, and products at any cost to limited markets where they are bought at the lowest price. When the wealth and the wealth of a nation are in the possession of a criminal robber, there is no accountability. Yet from the engineered statistics of the state’s centers, little can be depicted of the many systematic thefts and looting of the regime.
For decades, products made in Iran have been sold at low prices to regime sponsors. Local media also report some of these transactions. “The price per ton of Iranian-made export goods shows that exports of value-added goods have fallen to the point that Iranian goods have been auctioned off globally,” Donya-eqtesad wrote on October 14. “This is reflected in the latest customs data.”
Iran Workers Battle for Decent Wages and Livelihood
Hadi Aboui, the Secretary General of the Supreme Center of Iranian Workers’ Trade Unions, recently revealed a pressing issue: the dwindling purchasing power of workers, which has forced approximately 70% of them to seek secondary employment.
Numerous reports have previously highlighted the decline in workers’ purchasing power, taking into account rising inflation and the increasing cost of living in Iran.
On October 4, the ILNA news agency reported that independent calculations indicated the subsistence basket’s lowest estimate in various provinces had reached 22 million tomans. Moreover, they noted that a salary of 9 million tomans falls significantly short, trailing by two million tomans.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Looming Catastrophe of Climate Change in Iran in 2023
In recent years, Iran has found itself at the forefront of greenhouse gas emissions that threaten the well-being of its citizens and the stability of the region. The head of the Water Research Institute in the Iranian Ministry of Energy, Mohammadreza Kavianpour, has raised an alarm about the increase in air temperatures in the country. This article delves into the dire climate situation in Iran, exploring its rising temperatures, reduced rainfall, greenhouse gas emissions, and commitments under the Paris Agreement, shedding light on the future that awaits if urgent action is not taken.
Mohammadreza Kavianpour, head of the Water Research Institute, has declared that Iran is facing a dire situation when it comes to rising temperatures. The Earth’s temperature has increased by 0.66 degrees over the past three decades, a significant concern in itself.
Roya Zakeri, a Computer Scientist, Is Taken to a Mental Hospital for Protesting the Mandatory Hijab
Earlier we reported on a young woman in Tabriz who was brutalized by security forces on Sunday, October 15, 2023, for not covering her hair. It has been found out that the name of this young woman is Roya Zakeri. A viral video clip of Ms. Zakeri showed her sitting on the ground and crying out slogans against the mullahs’ supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. For this reason, security forces beat her so viciously that she went unconscious. Then, they took Roya Zakeri from among the crowd by ambulance and transferred her to the women’s ward of Razi Hospital in Tabriz, which is a neurology and psychiatry hospital.
Roya Zakeri is single, 31 years old, and comes from the city of Marand in East Azerbaijan Province (NW Iran). She has a Master of Science degree in Computer Sciences and resides in Tabriz.
Policies of Iran’s Regime Cause Shortage and Rationing of Infant Formula
While the Iranian regime’s officials, under the orders of the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, are trying to compel society to have more children through the adoption of various laws and incentive policies, they have still failed to provide an adequate supply of infant formula, the primary source of nutrition for infants. On Tuesday, Sajjad Esmaili, the advisor to the head of the Food and Drug Organization, announced the entry of the first shipment of imported infant formula. This comes after several industry experts had previously warned of the shortage and “rationing” of infant formula, describing the situation as critical. According to the semi-official ISNA news agency, citing Esmaili, the distribution program for infant formula, based on the adjusted birth rate for 2023, has been communicated to all provincial food and drug departments, and these departments are tasked to monitor and conduct field inspections
Stockholm, Sweden—October 14, 2023: MEKsupporters held a rally in front of the Swedish Parliament
Stockholm—October 18, 2023: MEK Supporters Held a Rally in Front of the Swedish Court
Zurich—October 17, 2023: MEK supporters held an exhibition in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution
Also, read Iran News in Brief – October 19, 2023
