THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:00 PM CET
Reports of Protests in Iran on Wednesday and Tuesday
A number of scammed investors of the Tehran Stock Market Exchange who have lost their fortunes to the systemic deceit of the regime’s highest officials, staged a protest rally in front of the state court in Tehran today, chanting slogans and holding placards. The protesters have been demanding for years that this case be investigated.
Overhaul workers at the Parsian Mehr refinery gathered in front of the refinery on Wednesday, to protest the officials’ refusal to meet their demands. Workers have been promised several times that their wages will be paid but to no avail.
A group of scammed clients of the Cryptoland Exchange held a protest rally in front of the regime’s courthouse in Tehran today, to protest the Judiciary’s failure to process their complaints and pursue their demands.
This morning, the staff of Azad University in Omidieh, Khuzestan Province stopped working, protesting their low salaries that have also been withheld for the months of September and October.
On Wednesday, Kut Abdullah Municipality service workers marched across the city to protest the officials’ refusal to pay their salaries and their insurance premiums for several months.
A group of deaf people in Marivan city gathered in front of the city’s welfare office on Wednesday, to protest against the poor living conditions and unemployment. The demonstrators demand the implementation of a comprehensive law for the protection of the disabled.
A group of education instructors from Alborz province held a protest rally in front of the regime’s parliament on Tuesday, November 2.
Arak Car Factory workers held a protest rally for the second consecutive day.
Bandar Abbas Hospital staff went on strike on Tuesday to protest their living conditions.
Dental students of Shahed University gathered in front of the central building of the Martyr Foundation to protest against the terrible conditions of this faculty and the lack of attention from the university officials. The students were accompanied by some professors and group leaders in this protest rally.
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
Floods in Northern Iran Cause Damage to People’s Properties
Seasonal rains started in many parts of West Azerbaijan last night, and in some parts of the province, such as Mahabad, these rains have led to floods that caused damage to cars and houses. The flooding swept away a person and his condition is still unknown.
PMOI Supporter in Iran Sentenced to Death
According to reliable sources, Kamran Rezaeifar, a political prisoner and a supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization has been sentenced to death. The verdict, which is the initial sentence of the court, was issued by Judge Amouzad in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran and was read to this political prisoner.
Kamran Rezaeifar, born in 1365, is a mechanic, married, and has a child. This political prisoner was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence in December 2019 on charges of having links with the PMOI/MEK and was transferred to Wards 240 and 209 of Evin Prison for interrogation.
He was deprived of contact or a visit by his family for 77 days in solitary confinement for coerced confession and he was subjected to all kinds of psychological torture. A number of his family members, including his wife and son, were arrested and later released.
UPDATE: 3:30 PM CET
As Rising Prices Affect Social Tensions, Former Officials Get Arrested and Blamed
The state-run Mardomsalary newspaper wrote today: “Last year, the former deputy minister of Industry, Mining and Trade and the network of traders associated with him have played a major role in the fluctuations of the cooking oil market and shortages of this basic commodity. As such, these people were arrested by the IRGC’s intelligence service.”
The former government official is accused of accepting a bribe and allocating goods at a government-set exchange rate to a private company. The company did not use this currency to import oil, rather it has illegally sold parts of the country’s strategic oil reserves for its own benefit.
UPDATE: 3:00 PM CET
Rising Prices Will Deprive More Iranian Families of Red Meat and Chicken
Majid Razavi, head of the Khorasan Livestock Breeders’ Union announced that the price of red meat and chicken is going to rise again.
In a report on Tuesday, the state-run Eghtesad News quoted Razavi as saying: “The elimination of currency at the government-set exchange rate will lead to pressures on the cost of production and producers, and therefore the price of meat may reach 300 thousand tomans per kilogram. This also may increase the price of chicken meat to 100,000 tomans per kilogram because poultry farmers are currently dealing with the government-set exchange rate.
During the Rouhani administration, the government claimed to have stabilized the Iranian currency at the rate of 4,200 tomans a dollar, also called the government-set exchange rate. While the true value of the Iranian currency was sharply dropping, the US dollar was sold at a much higher rate in the free market. Per the free market exchange rate, USD was traded at 27,831 tomans today. The government-set exchange rate is an illusional rate and is only accessible to the state and state-affiliated brokers.
Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian regime’s president has vowed to eliminate the government-set exchange rate.
UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET
COVID-19 Takes the Lives of 469,100 Across Iran
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) announced on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, that the COVID-19 fatalities in 547 cities across Iran had surpassed 469,100. The number of victims in Tehran has reached 109,945, Khorasan Razavi 38,350, Isfahan 31,960, Khuzestan 28,695, West Azerbaijan 17,423, Mazandaran 17,210, Gilan 16,355, Lorestan 15,585, Alborz 13,843, Kermanshah 8,649, Central Province 8,573, and Kurdistan 7,582.
#Iran Coronavirus Update
More than 469,100 people have died of the novel #coronavirus in 547 cities checkered across all of Iran's 31 provinces, according to the Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK.
Full Reporthttps://t.co/JrDbHoQ16a pic.twitter.com/2hcgVMAoTD
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 2, 2021
Iranian State is Testing Society’s Restraint
According to reports from inside Iran as well as the state media speculation, the Iranian regime intends to increase gas prices. After the so-called hacking of the national smart distribution fuel system, Iranians are forced to buy gas for 3,000 tomans per liter instead of the previous 1,500 tomans which they were able to buy with subsidies. While officials keep promising that the issue will be solved soon, some experts have been cautioning them not to test society’s resilience on this sensitive issue.
The state-run ‘Jahane Sanat’ newspaper wrote on November 2: “After the recent cyber attack, there are rumors of a possible increase in gas prices in the country. There are reports that indicate Iran’s gasoline prices are going to be equal to those of neighboring countries, which is 14,000 tomans per liter.”
‘Jahane Sanat’ warned: “The increase of gas prices to 14,000 tomans per liter cannot be true, because raising the price of gasoline without preparing the people will provoke anger and protest.”
Fereydoun Abbasi, a member of the Energy Commission of the parliament told the state-run newspaper ‘Eghtesad News’: “The government cannot return gas prices to 1,500 tomans because its income will decrease… The price of gas is kept on three thousand tomans because the government has benefited from this rate by 150 billion tomans a day since the disruption of the fuel network.”
The government of Ebrahim Raisi has a budget deficit of at least 400,000 billion tomans. The daily consumption of gasoline in Iran is around one hundred thousand liters. During the last 5 days, after the alleged cyberattack, the state has practically earned more than 5,000 billion tomans by selling gas at the new rate. The gas price increase to 14,000 tomans per liter can eliminate a great deal of the government’s budget deficit, assuming that no uprising takes place and the socio-political costs for the regime would not outbalance the price increase.
IRGC Arrests Iranians for “Anti-government Activities” in Southeastern City and Near Tehran
Several Iranians were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) yesterday for being a member of an “anti-revolutionary network” in Robat Karim, southwest of Tehran. According to the state-run Rokna News Agency, the Robat Karim Prosecutor said the IRGC was able to identify and detain the network “leader” and its members. He added they were transferred to prison. The identities and number of people detained, and the prison they were taken to was not stated in the report.
State Media Continues to Warn of Social Unrest in Iran as Crises Worsen
As the social and economic crises in Iran are continuing to intensify and society is becoming more and more restive, this past weekend Iran’s state media has continued to publish warnings about the heightened responses to the worsening crises.
The Covid-19 pandemic is still ravaging Iran, with thousands of people dying daily due to the novel coronavirus. New infection waves are hitting the country one after the other, and with the Iranian regime delaying the vaccination program, and using less-effective vaccines, this has increased the infection and mortality rates.
Tehran’s Nuclear Deadlock
The G20 Summit in Italy came to an end while world powers are still worried and uncertain over the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the Iranian regime’s intentions in rejoining nuclear negotiations in Vienna. In a joint statement, the elected leaders of the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom called on the Iranian regime to “return to a good faith effort to conclude our negotiations as a matter of urgency. That is the only sure way to avoid a dangerous escalation, which is not in any country’s interest.”
Yasaman Aryani and Her Mother, Monireh Arabshahi, Not Granted Leave
Yasaman Aryani and her mother, Monireh Arabshahi, are deprived of receiving prison leave. The two women’s rights activists are imprisoned for their opposition to the Iranian regime’s policy of mandatory Hijab.
Farzad Aryani, Yasaman’s father, posted an audio recording on social media, in which he said, “Why the rights of prisoners, including my wife and daughter, are not observed?”
Prisoner Dies in a Hospital in Urmia After His Eye Was Removed
Iraj Alizadeh died in a hospital in Urmia, the capital of West Azerbaijan Province, on October 27 following several days of coma after undergoing an eye surgery that removed his eye. Iraj Alizadeh, 50, had been imprisoned in Khoy Prison since April 2021 on common charges without standing trial. Prison authorities sent him from Khoy Prison to a medical center in the city in early October, after he showed symptoms of Covid-19. His health deteriorated after two days. Being suspected of contracting the Black Fungus disease, he was moved to the Khomeini Hospital in Urmia.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – November 2, 2021
