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UPDATE: 8:00 PM CET
More Countries at HRC Session in Geneva Condemn Gross Human Rights Violations in Iran
In a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, representatives from various countries, including Australia, Austria, and Iceland, took a stand against severe human rights violations in Iran.
The Australian representative conveyed Australia’s concern regarding the systematic harassment and abuse faced by women and girls, along with the execution of protesters by the Iranian regime.
The Austrian representative in the Human Rights Council session shared Austria’s deep worry regarding the rising number of executions in Iran. Referring to the Secretary-General’s report during the fiftieth session of the Human Rights Council in June 2023, where 582 cases were documented in 2022, the representative urged the Iranian regime to halt this inhumane punishment. Furthermore, the Austrian representative called for the release of all individuals detained for their rightful exercise of the freedom to protest.
The representative from Iceland expressed profound concern about the escalation of repression in Iran. The representative highlighted the violation of fundamental rights by the Iranian authorities through surveillance technology and heightened punishments. The representative also called for an end to the systematic discrimination against women and girls in Iran.
Domestic Hacktivists Pose a Different Kind of Threat to Iran
Amid a broader pivot to asymmetric warfare, Iran has significantly ramped up its investments in cyberattacks and espionage over recent years. Initially seen as a fledgling player in the digital arena, the Islamic Republic has evolved dramatically. Now, according to cybersecurity firms, Iran stands as the world’s fifth most potent threat to digital data and infrastructure. Targeted in the regime’s cyber crosshairs are familiar adversaries: the United States, Israel, and Gulf Arab states. In a surprising twist, Iran-backed hackers were found responsible last year for Albania’s devastating cybersecurity breach—a country where Iran had already been suspected of plotting physical terror attacks.
34 Out of 44 Shahed Drones Destroyed by Air Defenses During Overnight Russian Attack
Ukraine’s air defense forces shot down 34 out of 44 Russian-Iranian Shahed attack drones launched at Ukraine by the Russian military in an overnight assault on Sept. 28, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on its channel on the Telegram messenger app.
The drones were launched from the southeast direction, from the vicinity of the Russian town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Cape Chauda in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Crimea. The air force said the Ukrainian defense response to the attack included fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, and mobile air defense teams. Over Sept. 27, six reconnaissance drones of operational-tactical level were downed, including UAVs of the Orlan, ZALA, and Supercam types.
Republicans Pile on Biden’s Ousted Iran Envoy After New Reports Allege Aides Had Links to Tehran
The US-Iran policy sphere erupted into chaos this week after the publication of reports in Semafor and Iran International claiming shadowy links between advisers to the recently-ousted US special envoy to Iran and the Iranian foreign ministry.
Now, a group of House Republicans are raising alarms about the issue and using it as further ammunition against the Biden administration’s outreach efforts to Iran, which this past week bore fruit in the form of the release of seven US citizens held unjustly (according to the US government) by Tehran.
All in all, this latest development is just another example of the chaos that now defines US-Iran relations even under the Biden administration,
UPDATE: 1:00 PM CET
Thursday Protests in Iran
Today, September 28, scammed employees of Arad Branding company in the central city of Qom held a protest gathering to voice their demands.
Also today in Tehran, Iran’s capital, people who fell victim to a fraudulent housing project in Negin West held a protest gathering to call on the Judiciary to address their case.
On Thursday, bakers in the western city of Kermanshah protested against their poor living conditions in front of the local government office demonstrating their empty tables.
Also today, parents of students at Farzangan School in Tehran protested against the installation of CCTV cameras and the dismissal of teachers. They gathered in front of the District 6 education office. In protest of their teachers’ dismissal, students of this school refuse to attend classes. They say that the new manager’s approach and the increased security measures in the school premises are hurting their education and safety.
Revealed: Europe’s Role in the Making of Russia Killer Drones
Iranian kamikaze drones used in the latest attacks on Ukrainian cities are filled with European components, according to a secret document sent by Kyiv to its western allies in which it appeals for long-range missiles to attack production sites in Russia, Iran and Syria. In a 47-page document submitted by Ukraine’s government to the G7 governments in August, it is claimed there were more than 600 raids on cities using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) containing western technology in the previous three months. According to the paper, obtained by the Guardian, 52 electrical components manufactured by western companies were found in the Shahed-131 drone and 57 in the Shahed-136 model, which has a flight range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) and cruising speed of 180 kmh (111mph).
Risch Joins Menendez, Hagerty, Colleagues in Bipartisan Letter Welcoming Continued Restrictions on Iran’s Ballistic Missile and Drone Program and Urging More Efforts
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, last week joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), in a bipartisan letter with 28 fellow senators to E3 countries (the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) applauding them for taking steps to uphold restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile and drone program. The letter also encourages the E3 countries to urge our European allies and other like-minded partners to do the same.
In addition to Risch, Menendez, and Hagerty, the letter is also signed by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Jeanne Shaheen, (D-N.J.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John N. Kennedy (R-La.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).
McCaul: Latest Reports on Malley Saga ‘Alarming’
Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul released the following statement in response to reports from Semafor about an Iranian regime influence campaign intended to impact U.S. policymaking. Many of those involved also had close ties to Robert Malley, Special Envoy for Iran, who is under investigation for mishandling classified information and currently on leave from the State Department without pay. In February 2021, Mr. Malley allegedly recruited one of those identified in the reports, Ariane Tabatabai, to join the State Department to assist him in his negotiations with Iran. After 15 months, she moved to the Defense Department where she currently serves as the chief of staff to the Assistant Secretary for Special Operations for Low-Intensity Conflicts.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
Maryam Rajavi Meets Senator Thom Tillis, a Senior Member of the Judiciary, Banking, Finance, and Veterans’ Affairs Committees
Tuesday, September 26, 2023, Maryam Rajavi had an online meeting with Senator Thom Tillis, a senior member of the Judiciary, Banking, Finance, and Veterans’ Affairs committees and co-chair of the Human Rights and NATO parliamentary groups in the US Senate. Senator Tillis reiterated his support for the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) in Ashraf 3 and emphasized their fundamental rights and freedoms within the framework of international laws. He said that we in the US Senate and the House of Representatives support Ashraf 3, which has played an inspiring role for the Iranian people and youths who yearn for a democratic republic. Senator Thom Tillis was an advocate of MEK’s protection and rights at Camp Liberty, Iraq, and their safe and secure relocation out of that country.
While condemning the policy of appeasement and offering concessions to the clerical regime, Senator Tillis said that the correct policy on Iran is the policy of regime change and support for the Iranian people who want to overthrow the regime.
PMOI Resistance Units Mark the New Academic Year With Anti-Regime Activities Across Iran
At the start of the new academic year, which coincides with the anniversary of Iran’s 2022 uprising, the regime’s security forces are on alert. The opening of schools and universities and student gatherings is one of the regime’s concerns for the start of the next uprising. With the beginning of the new academic year, Resistance Units, the network of People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) within Iran, installed posters and pictures of the NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi, in public places, distributing Maryam Rajavi’s messages in various cities across Iran. In Tehran, Resistance Units wrote, “This year is the year of the expansion of Resistance Units in schools and universities.”
Khamenei’s Descent into Madness and Depression In Fear of Uprisings
In a recent analysis of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s behavior, a troubling pattern emerges—one that suggests a descent into a state of madness or melancholy. Khamenei’s palpable fear of the societal upheaval unfolding in the nation has led him to an extreme perspective, where even windmills are perceived as enemies, echoing the behavior of a mythical madman. Renowned psychologist Manes Sperber, who dedicated his work to combating fascism, explores a concept in his famous book “Zur Analyse der Tyrannis.”
Sperber asserts that all dictators craft a myth—the myth of the enemy. This enemy, whether a perceived internal traitor or a distant foreign adversary, becomes the embodiment of disgrace, deceit, and malevolence.
Iran’s Regime is Suppressing Students Under the Pretext of Hijab
The “Amirkabir Newsletter” reported the installation of cameras in the campuses of Tehran’s Amirkabir and Beheshti universities, stating that students are summoned via phone calls “due to their attire.”
According to this report, the installed cameras in the university environment are being used as a new tool for suppressing the violation of the regime’s dress code. An “informed source” told Amirkabir Newsletter that “campus security forces are also examining the internal cameras of educational environments to take the most severe action against students who they claim have violated the dress code.”
Students believe that phone summons based on the disciplinary regulations approved in Aban (October/November) 2022 are “illegal.”
Also, read Iran News in Brief – September 27, 2023