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UPDATE: 8:30 PM CET
Harsh Punishments for Mourning: Regime Sentences Protesters to Jail and Flogging
The oppressive clerical regime, with the aim of instilling fear and deterring any potential uprising, continues to commit new crimes on a daily basis. In the latest instance, the regime’s judiciary has handed down prison sentences and ordered the cruel punishment of public flogging for individuals arrested during the funeral procession of a slain protester Mehreshad Shahidi.
According to a report on the state-run website Dideban-e-Iran, as conveyed by Mohammad Reza Kargar, one of the lawyers involved in the case: “A verdict has been issued for the arrested individuals during the funeral procession of Mehreshad Shahidi. Most of the accused, with one exception, have received the maximum punishment of five years of imprisonment for insulting religious sanctities. Additionally, they have been sentenced to one year of imprisonment for charges related to disturbing public order and tranquility. Furthermore, for the latter charge, the defendants have also been sentenced to endure 74 lashes of flogging. The judge has specified that this flogging must be carried out publicly in the Beit al-Moqaddas Square in Arak, immediately following the Friday prayer sermon and in the presence of the general public.”
Nobel Foundation Bans Russian Officials After Backlash
The Nobel Foundation has reversed the decision to include representatives from Russia, Belarus, and Iran to attend its annual prize ceremonies.
Swedish and Ukrainian political leaders had condemned the possible attendance of the envoys at the prestigious awards which take place in Oslo. Last year, ambassadors from Russia and Belarus, whose leader Alexander Lukashenko has facilitated Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion, were barred from attending the prize ceremonies and banquets.
The Iranian envoy was excluded last year over protests in the Islamic Republic sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was accused of violating Iran’s rules requiring women to cover their heads with a hijab, or headscarf. The Nobel Foundation had said invitations were extended to all countries with diplomatic missions in Sweden and Norway although the Associated Press reported it was unclear whether the invitations to the ceremonies taking place on December 10 had already been sent.
UPDATE: 1:30 PM CET
U.S. Report Highlights Iranian Regime’s Growing Threat to American and Western Interests
The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), affiliated with the United States government, has issued a warning in a report about terrorist conspiracies orchestrated by the clerical dictatorship in Iran.
The report states, “We anticipate that rising global strategic competition will lead to increased state support to terrorist actors as a foreign and security policy tool. The end of the Cold War, the subsequent rise of a U.S.-centered global order, and the forceful U.S.-led global response to al-Qa`ida’s attacks of September 11, 2001, helped suppress the kinds of state support for terrorism seen in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet, the increasingly brazen and persistent activity of the Iranian government during the past four years, including support for terrorist operations inside the United States, exemplifies the spectrum of challenges still posed by state support to terrorism. Iranian intelligence and security services—which have pursued several dozen lethal plots and assassinated at least 20 opponents across four continents since 1979—are advancing plotting against the United States, other Western interests, and Iranian dissidents more aggressively than they have at any time since the 1980s.”
The report also highlights, “The Iranian government has become increasingly explicit in its threats to carry out retaliatory attacks for the death of IRGC-QF Commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Iranian officials have created lists of dozens of current and former U.S. officials that it blames, including as primary targets a series of former senior U.S. government officials it holds primarily responsible for Soleimani’s death. Militant groups aligned with the Iranian government periodically conduct rocket and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) attacks against U.S. facilities in Syria and have threatened to resume more complex or frequent attacks in Iraq. From 2003 to 2011, the Iranian government and Lebanese Hezbollah supplied explosively formed projectiles that killed 196 U.S. personnel in Iraq and wounded 861. The potential threat posed by the provision of more lethal and sophisticated capabilities by the Iranian government remains a serious concern for U.S. personnel in the Middle East.”
Meta Removes Iranian Regime-Linked Accounts for Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior
Meta has reported the removal of accounts linked to the Iranian regime from its platforms, which included 22 Facebook accounts, 21 pages, and 7 Instagram accounts.
These accounts, posing as seemingly independent media outlets, aimed to influence the opinions of Turkish citizens. According to Meta’s recent quarterly report, this network comprised 22 Facebook accounts, 21 pages, and 7 Instagram accounts. According to Meta’s Adversarial Threat Report for August 2023, they were removed due to violations of Meta’s policies, specifically, “Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior.”
The fake network disseminated news articles about current events in the Middle East, primarily in Turkish. The content included supportive narratives regarding the Iranian regime, coverage of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s speeches, and critical comments about Israel, the United States, the Turkish government, and the Justice and Development Party.
The organizers of this campaign sought to direct users to their websites by sharing links to content across various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
According to Meta, individuals behind this campaign used fake accounts to manage and distribute content. These accounts were removed before they could amass a substantial following.
The report indicates that these pages had approximately 11,000 followers on Facebook and around 17,000 followers on Instagram. The Iranian regime spent $670 on advertising for these pages, primarily paid in Turkish Lira or US Dollars, prior to their removal, often for ad campaigns in Turkey.
These accounts and pages were identified during Meta’s internal investigations, prior to the Turkish presidential elections.
Congress Investigates US Military for Feting Iranian Official Who Bragged About Efforts To Assassinate American Leaders
Congress is demanding answers from senior U.S. military leaders after one of the country’s premier war-fighting outfits hosted a former Iranian official who came under fire last year for bragging about the hardline regime’s efforts to assassinate American leaders, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The probe—spearheaded by Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chair of the House Armed Services Committee—comes on the heels of a Free Beacon report on U.S. Strategic Command’s decision to host a keynote address by Hussein Mousavian, a former member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team who works as a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University. Mousavian was invited by top military brass to address STRATCOM’s 2023 Deterrence Symposium, a high-level powwow that gave the former Iranian official access to high-level American leaders.
UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET
Huge Crowds Gather to Pay Tribute to Slaim Political Prisoner
According to published reports, the body of Javad Rouhi, a political prisoner who was killed in prison, was laid to rest on Friday, September 1, in the village of Kalikan, under strict security conditions imposed by regime intelligence and security forces.
The state-run Tasnim News Agency reported, “that during Javad Rouhi’s funeral, some individuals had intentions of chanting disruptive slogans to incite clashes.”
As reported on social media, security forces arrested the parents of Javad Rouhi.
Political Prisoner Javad Rouhi Killed in the Custody of Iranian Authorities
The Iranian regime’s judiciary reported the death of political prisoner Javad Rouhi in Nowshahr Prison on Thursday. Rouhi, a 35-year-old resident of Amol, was arrested in November 2022 during the nationwide uprising and subjected to brutal torture in custody of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The torture was so brutal that Rouhi had lost his ability to speak. The regime gave him three execution sentences on baseless charges of “spreading corruption on earth” and “waging war against God.” However, due to domestic and international protests, the regime could not carry out this sentence. The regime’s judiciary announced on January 10, 2023, “Javad Rouhi led a group of agitators and individuals present at gatherings, inciting and encouraging citizens to engage in turmoil.”
The Escalating Challenge of Doctor Migration in Iran
On August 22, coinciding with the celebration of the Day of Doctors and Pharmacists, the Iran regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi made a strange proclamation. During his commemorative address, he asserted that the stage is set for the return of medical professionals who had previously left the country due to the catastrophic economic and living conditions. He highlighted his recent visit to a medical company, where he was told that expatriate doctors are eager to come back, provided they are assured of meaningful employment prospects within their homeland. This declaration transpired against a backdrop marked by the revelation of escalating emigration trends among medical personnel. Just eleven days prior, on August 11, an advisor to the head of the country’s medical system divulged that the exodus of medical talent has been on an upward trajectory in recent years.
Hijab Law Slammed as “Gender Apartheid” by Un Experts
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement today, on September 1, 2023, in which a group of UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts slammed Iran’s draft Hijab law. The experts said the bill could amount to “Gender Apartheid.”
They expressed concern that the new Hijab law in Iran sanctions new punishments for women and girls who fail to wear the headscarf, or hijab, in public. “The draft law could be described as a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to be governing through systemic discrimination with the intention of suppressing women and girls into total submission,” the UN human rights experts said. They reiterated that the proposed parliamentary Bill to Support the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab and existing restrictions are inherently discriminatory and may amount to gender persecution.
Iran: Workers’ Wages are One-Third of Poverty Line as Inflation Continues to Skyrocket
According to a report by the state-run ILNA news agency, on August 27, during the two years of Ebrahim Raisi’s presidency, a minimum of 250% inflation has been imposed on the people’s livelihoods, and workers’ wages are one-third of the poverty line. The news agency criticized the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare for claiming otherwise and wrote that despite inflation in essential goods and the wage gap with the poverty line, officials consider an 87% increase in wages over two years as an “achievement.”
ILNA also reported that the “three worker members of the Supreme Labor Council” have requested the council to convene a session and reconsider the minimum monthly wage of workers. It criticized Ali Hossein Ra’eeti Fard for his firm statement that “wages will not be adjusted.”
Maryam Ameri Arrested During A Raid on Her Residence
Maryam Ameri, an Arab cultural activist, was arrested and detained by security forces in Ahvaz during a raid on her residence, according to recent reports. Her arrest took place amid a spree of arrests launched by the regime on the eve of the anniversary of the uprising last year on September 16, 2022. Ms. Ameri collected Arab stories, lullabies, and songs from villages. There is no information available on the reason for the arrest of Maryam Ameri and the charges against her. Maryam Ameri had been previously arrested on December 10, 2020, in a similar manner when intelligence forces raided her residence. She was temporarily released on bail after a month of detention.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – September 1, 2023
