THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 1:00 PM
Iranian Voters Will Boycott Country’s Upcoming ‘Sham’ Elections, Resistance Group Says
Most Iranians will boycott the country’s March 1 parliamentary elections because their political system is rigged in favor of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his favored candidates, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the world’s largest exiled Iranian dissident movement.
At a press conference in Washington on Thursday, NCRI officials said that most Iranians have little faith in their nation’s electoral system.
“The people have entirely given up on the ballot box under this current theocracy of the mullahs because it’s a sham,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of NCRI, which also has representatives in several European nations.
FATF Maintains Iran on High-Risk Jurisdictions List Amid Concerns
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reiterated its stance on Iran’s status as a high-risk jurisdiction due to significant deficiencies in its anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing regimes. Despite efforts, Iran’s January 2024 report showed no substantial changes in its action plan.
The task force wrote on its website, “For all countries identified as high-risk, the FATF calls on all members and urges all jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence, and, in the most serious cases, countries are called upon to apply counter-measures to protect the international financial system from the money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing (ML/TF/PF) risks emanating from the country. This list is often externally referred to as the ‘black list.’ Since February 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FATF has paused the review process for Iran and DPRK, given that they are already subject to the FATF’s call for countermeasures. Iran reported in January 2024 with no material changes in the status of its action plan.”
The organization concluded, “Iran will remain on the FATF statement on High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action until the full Action Plan has been completed. If Iran ratifies the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions, in line with the FATF standards, the FATF will decide on the next steps, including whether to suspend countermeasures. Until Iran implements the measures required to address the deficiencies identified with respect to countering terrorism-financing in the Action Plan, the FATF will remain concerned with the terrorist financing risk emanating from Iran and the threat this poses to the international financial system.”
UPDATE: 7:30 AM
Perseverance Of Iran’s Political Prisoners Epitomizes Unyielding Defiance Against Both Shah And Clerical Dictatorships
The Iranian Judiciary sentenced three women prisoners and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) to a total of 35 years in prison on February 17th. Forough Taghipour and Marzieh Farsi each received 15-year sentences, while Zahra Safaei was sentenced to 5 years.
The religious fascism ruling Iran attempts to suppress protests and undermine the significant role women play through tactics such as arrests, torture, executions, and long-term imprisonment.
Since the beginning of his rule, the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has executed numerous political prisoners and members of ethnic groups, including Baluchis, Kurds, and Arabs in Iran. He has also ordered the killing of thousands of young men and women who participated in street protests.
Iran’s Majlis Has No Authority Or Practical Use
After confidential documents of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament) were exposed by a dissident group, the regime declared that the Majlis is closed until March 4.
On February 14, the state-run Tabnak newspaper wrote, “As a result, the public sessions of the Majlis have been postponed until after the elections; however, the Speaker of the Majlis, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf emphasized that if there is a need to amend the resolutions of the budget bill, a public session will be held.”
The most important project of the Majlis every year is supposed to be the review and approval of the budget bill, and the current budget bill has been the main subject of the regime’s media and the focus of conflict between the Majlis and the government.
Leaked Documents Shed Light on How Iran’s Regime Evades International Sanctions
In documents obtained from Iran’s regime parliament websites by the dissident group ‘Uprising Until Overthrow,’ a letter authored by Mohammad Mokhber, the First Vice-President of the regime and chairman of the ‘Anti-Sanction Headquarters,’ was disclosed. In this letter, Mokhber addressed the heads of the three branches, requesting an extension of a resolution aimed at countering oil sanctions. The discussion presented here focuses solely on a portion of this letter.
Within this letter, one of the highlighted issues is the ‘integration of approvals for covert activities.’ This matter holds significant importance for the regime, evidenced by the formation of a dedicated committee named the ‘Cover Committee,’ a subsidiary of the ‘Anti-Sanction Headquarters.’
Previous Exposure of Iran’s Cyber-Attacks Against U.S. Helped Prevent New Wave of Attacks
A senior security official at the White House announced that the public disclosure of the Iranian regime’s role in the attack on US water facilities has deterred Iranian government hackers from continuing cyber-attacks on America.
In an interview with WIRED, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology on the White House’s National Security Council, stated that despite Iranian hacker groups continuing their operations against other countries after that attack, their attacks on American infrastructure have ceased.
Neuberger emphasized that these conditions could change at any moment. In another part of her remarks, she pointed out ongoing events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and cyber operations by Iran’s regime, highlighting that cyber-attacks are an integral part of international conflicts in today’s world.
Brussels Rally—February 21, 2024: Condemning the Rising Rate of Executions in Iran and Supporting Political Refugee
The Iranian community in Belgium, in collaboration with the International Freedom of Speech Alliance and the International Association of Culture and Human Rights, organized a rally in Brussels on February 21, 2024, in front of the Commissariat General.
