THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM
Monday Protests in Iran
Today, in Ardebil, the northwest region of Iran, retired employees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) gathered in front of the provincial TCI offices to voice their grievances. The protestors, consisting of retired TCI staff, demanded higher pensions and essential support from the government.
January 22—Ardebil, northwest #Iran
Retired employees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) hold protest in front of the provincial offices of the TCI, demanding higher pensions and other basic needs.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/hR4Mih9sko— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 22, 2024
Meanwhile, in Ahvaz, situated in the southwest of Iran, oil workers took to the streets to protest against policies they believe are adversely affecting their livelihoods. The rally aimed to draw attention to the challenges faced by the oil sector workforce.
January 22—Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
Oil workers hold rally, protesting policies that are damaging their livelihoods.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/RTGAgRcvk4— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 22, 2024
In Tabriz, located in the northwest of Iran, workers from the Shirin Asal CPG company initiated a second day of strikes. Their protest centers around discriminatory policies and the non-payment of wages, highlighting the need for fair treatment and just compensation.
Moving to Sanandaj in western Iran, retirees from the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) organized a protest rally. They voiced their demands for higher pensions and other essential needs that they allege have been denied to them by the Raisi government. The retirees seek recognition and redress for their concerns.
January 22—Sanandaj, western #Iran
Retirees of Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) hold protest rally, demanding higher pensions and other basic needs that the regime has denied them.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/DFIMXDxjxh— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 22, 2024
UPDATE: 7:00 PM
Treasury Targets Kata’ib Hizballah Leaders and Airline Enabling IRGC-QF and Militant Proxy Groups
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad and its CEO for providing assistance to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. OFAC is also designating three leaders and supporters of one of the IRGC-QF’s main Iran-aligned militias in Iraq, Kata’ib Hizballah (KH), as well as a business that moves and launders funds for KH. Today’s action underscores the ongoing threat the IRGC-QF and its proxy network pose to U.S. personnel and the region. KH has carried out a series of sharply escalating drone and missile attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria since Hamas’s horrific attack on Israel on October 7. KH and other Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq have consistently issued statements in support of Hamas’s terrorism and declared their commitment to attacking U.S. personnel.
UPDATE: 2:30 PM
Iran Is ‘Directly Involved’ in Yemen Houthi Rebel Ship Attacks, Us Navy’s Mideast Chief Tells AP
JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out during Israel’s war against Hamas, the U.S. Navy’s top Mideast commander told The Associated Press on Monday.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the Navy’s 5th Fleet, stopped short of saying Tehran directed individual attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
However, Cooper acknowledged that attacks associated with Iran have expanded from previously threatening just the Persian Gulf and its Strait of Hormuz into waters across the wider Middle East.
UPDATE: 1:00 PM
Sudden Reduction in Gasoline Rationing Sparks Concerns in Iran
In a surprising development, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps reported a decrease in the gasoline ration from 150 to 100 liters for personal fuel cards, despite earlier assurances from Iranian officials that fuel prices and allocations would remain unchanged.
On Monday, January 22, Tasnim News Agency revealed that the reserve for the 1500-toman gasoline ration has been reduced to 6 months with a maximum limit of 360 liters. Previously, this reserve had a 9-month duration with a cap of 540 liters.
Tasnim emphasized that it is not possible to accumulate more than 360 liters in the gasoline cards for the 1500-toman ration. If a fuel card already has this amount, no additional allowance will be deposited in the coming months.
ISNA news agency also confirmed a reduction in the 3000-toman gasoline ration from 150 to 100 liters in fuel cards, attributing the move to “combating smuggling.” This reduction, described by some Iranian media outlets as sudden, was not preceded by any official communication.
As of now, the Ministry of Oil has not provided any official response to Tasnim’s report. It is worth noting that previous government decisions regarding fuel rationing and price hikes have led to protests at various times, with a nationwide uprising breaking out in November 2019, resulting in the reported deaths of around 1,500 protesters.
Grant Shapps: Iran Is Playing a ‘Dangerous Game’ in Red Sea
Iran is “playing a dangerous game” by allowing the Houthi rebels to attack ships in the Red Sea, according to Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
He told GB News: “If you look at the situation throughout the region, throughout the Middle East, you’ve got the Iranian-backed Houthis, you’ve got Lebanese Hezbollah, you’ve got Hamas themselves trained by Iran. You’ve got militant groups in Iraq and Syria. They are firmly behind a lot of these problems.
“We are increasing our pressure on them because there are diplomatic relations, for example, the Foreign Secretary has been speaking to his Iranian opposite number and saying you have to put a lid on this. We understand that they don’t want to see this conflict, clearly not when it comes to the Houthis, for example.
Houthis Seek More Iranian Weapons To Step up Red Sea Attacks, Intel Shows
Recent intelligence gathered by the U.S. and other Western countries indicates Iran-backed Houthi rebels are seeking more weapons from Tehran, raising concerns that the militant group is determined to continue attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and threatening a wider conflict in the Middle East.
U.S. officials have for at least a month analyzed information on the Houthis’ planning for the stepped-up attacks, including their attempts to procure additional weapons needed to launch missiles at freighters, according to a readout of the intelligence obtained by POLITICO and a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
UPDATE: 7:30 AM
Maryam Rajavi Holds Meeting With Finnish Delegation
On Thursday, January 18, Maryam Rajavi had a meeting with Ms. Anneli Jäätteenmäki, the former Prime Minister of Finland, along with her accompanying delegation, which included Mr. Atte Kaleva, a Member of Parliament and member of the Foreign Relations and Defense Committee, as well as the head of the Finnish delegation in the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Assembly, and Mr. Kimmo Sasi, a former minister and former member of the Parliament of Finland, was also part of the delegation.
During this meeting, Maryam Rajavi elaborated on the various crises within the clerical regime and the volatile state of Iranian society. She underscored that, to conceal these crises, the regime employs not only torture, execution, and killing but also resorts to foreign terrorism and warmongering, particularly in the Middle East.
Iran’s Youths Target IRGC and Suppressive Forces Despite Wave of Executions and Suppression
As Iran’s regime continues to ramp up executions, repression, and violent punishments, Iran’s defiant youths are responding by continuing to target the regime’s centers of repression and fundamentalism.
On January 18, rebellious youth in Tabriz targeted an IRGC Basij base to honor political prisoner Jamshid Gorgij, murdered by regime authorities in Zahedan prison. Gorgij was arrested in Zahedan in October 2022, during the nationwide anti-regime uprising. Regime authorities denied him access to crucial medical care, which eventually led to his death.
Anahita Amirpour, 20, Shot and Killed by Iranian Security Forces in Borujerd
On Friday night, January 19, 2024, plainclothes agents of the Borujerd Intelligence Department opened a barrage of fire on the occupants of a car. As a result of this attack, 20-year-old Anahita Amirpour, a freshman student of physical education at Borujerd Azad University, died instantly. Anahita Amirpour was from Kuhdasht. During the last two days, the security services have pressured her family and friends not to inform her about this murder. They also want to turn this incident into a security case by linking it to the recent explosions in Kerman. Kuhdasht and Borujerd are both in Lorestan Province in western Iran. The car’s driver was another student named M. Jalaii-far. He, who was seriously injured, is presently hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of Chamran Hospital in Borujerd.
Iran’s Suicidal Crisis and the Urgent Need for Solutions
After the vice president of the Medical Council of Iran confirmed the deaths of at least 16 medical assistants by suicide in the last ten months, the director of the psychiatry department at the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization also warned that ‘the mental health crisis in the country has sharply escalated.’
Simultaneously, the head of the medical system organization issued a warning regarding the consequences of the suicide crisis within the medical community. This occurred during the meeting of the ‘Working Group investigating the extent and causes of suicide in the medical community and residents.’ He emphasized to the authorities, ‘Hiding the pain does not make the pain go away.’
Iran’s Unprecedented Migration Crisis: Economic Collapse and Repression Fuel Mass Exodus
As the global community grapples with various challenges, Iran is witnessing a phenomenon more rapid than the spread of the Coronavirus: an alarming surge in migration. The destructive policies of the Iranian regime, coupled with economic turmoil and widespread repression of freedoms and human rights, have catapulted the nation into a “manpower super challenge,” according to the state-run daily Tejarat News.
Highlighting the severity of the issue, Tejarat News identifies Iran’s current predicament as a failure to harness its human capital effectively. The country is undergoing one of the most significant waves of immigration in its history, resulting in a concerning decline in its global competitiveness for talent. In just one year, Iran has plummeted four places, ranking 116 among 134 countries in 2023 compared to 2022.
US Condemns Iran’s Persistent Hostage-Taking and Malign Activities on 43rd Anniversary of Diplomatic Crisis
As the world marks the 43rd anniversary of the release of 52 diplomats held hostage by the Iranian regime, the U.S. State Department issued a stern condemnation, denouncing the regime’s cruel and ongoing utilization of hostage-taking as a political tool.
Shared on the ‘X’ messaging page on Saturday, January 20, the message from the U.S. State Department characterizes hostage-taking to advance political interests as a ‘horrible practice’ and unequivocally calls for an immediate cessation of this behavior.
Highlighting the infamous hostage-taking incident of 52 American diplomats, lasting 444 days, the statement identifies it as ‘the first of many cases of hostage-taking to advance political interests by the Islamic Republic of Iran.’ The U.S. State Department asserts that such actions are indicative of a troubling pattern within the Iranian regime.
Iran’s Gas Crisis: A Looming Catastrophe Amidst Abundant Resources
Iran, renowned for possessing one of the world’s largest gas reserves, finds itself grappling with a severe gas shortage, shedding light on the alarming consequences of the regime’s apparent incompetence. As temperatures plummet across the nation, the surge in domestic gas consumption has created a glaring imbalance between production and demand.
In Razavi Khorasan province alone, industries are facing heightened restrictions, with 325 gas cutoff notices issued to high-consumption offices in a desperate attempt to avert gas shortages for households. Hasan Eftekhari, CEO of Khorasan Razavi Gas Company, disclosed that the province has already witnessed 40 instances of gas cutoffs in high-consumption offices.
Hamburg, Germany—January 20, 2024: MEK Supporters Rally and Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iran Revolution
Hamburg, Germany—January 20, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a rally and exhibition to support the Iranian Revolution.
Heidelberg, Germany—January 20, 2024: MEK Supporters Rally and Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iran Revolution
Heidelberg, Germany—January 20, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a rally and exhibition to support the Iranian Revolution.
