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Showing posts from December, 2021

Iran regime’s defiance increases tensions with Israel

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  By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh Rising tensions between the Iranian regime and Israel have the potential to spiral into a wider conflict if not adequately addressed. There are several reasons for the heightened tensions. First of all, although the Iranian regime attempts to distract attention from the direct involvement of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, Tehran continues to increase its military influence there and use its proxies against Israeli targets. Israel last month carried out an airstrike in Syria on a location where Iranian officials were meeting. Iranian leaders were reportedly meeting to discuss developments regarding their country’s drone and ballistic missile capabilities in Syria. The attack occurred on the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Iranian government for an attack on a vessel owned by an Israeli in the Arabian Gulf. He said: “Last week, Iran attacked an oil tanker … and harmed the international freedom of navigation....
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Iranian officials terrified by growing role of the MEK in nationwide protests

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 By Mahmoud Hakamian  On December 30, 2009, the annual religious Ashura ceremony turned into a nationwide rally against the Iranian regime. People called resisted the brutal onslaught of security forces and called for the overthrow of the mullahs’ rule. The regime only managed to smother the protests through brutal repression and by opening fire on unarmed protesters. Twelve years later, regime officials are still terrified of the 2009 protests, their continued reverberation in the Iranian society, and the growing role of the MEK in organizing and leading protests. On the anniversary of the protests, the regime held anti-demonstration ceremonies, in which several regime officials weighed in on the significance of the demonstrations and the ongoing movement for the overthrow of the regime. Ahmad Khatami, member of the Assembly of Experts, said, “During the eight months of sedition, there were two fronts… The [MEK] was on one front and did whatever they could in eight months… Th...
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Iran: Without Shelter, People Sleep in Buses

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Written by  Mansoureh Galestan They have to change the bus every 45 minutes. This is how they spend their nights, sleeping on buses while enduring sub-zero temperatures,” Iran’s state media reported on December 29, acknowledging the tragedy of people sleeping on buses. The citizenry’s increasing poverty has left Iranians with no choice but to take extreme measures to survive. This includes  grave-dwellers  and  trash collectors , people  renting rooftops , slum-dwellers, women living in holes and canals, and now people sleeping in public transportation buses(BRT). “Sleeping on BRTs is their only choice, and a seat on the bus is their cheap castle in the capital. But this cheap house costs them between 3.5 to 7.5 million rials (20-30 USD) per month. They are employed, but their menial jobs prevent them from renting a room,” wrote the state-run Tejarat news on December 29. “It’s 23:45 [local time], and the temperature is three degrees Celsius. They come to the bus...
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What Exactly Happened in Iran’s Teachers’ Protests?

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By  Mahmoud Hamidi December 23, teachers and educators once again protested in more than 100 cities across Iran, as they have promised to continue demonstrations if the regime did not give any response to their demands. The core demand of the teachers is the ranking bill that the regime government with the help of the parliament botched to get rid of the teachers. But the teachers did not accept and started a new round of  protests . In their statement, teachers and educators announced the reason for the continuation of their protest as follow: “We are here today to protest the policies of the government. We can no longer continue this oppressive situation. We are weary of so many rights violations and oppression, and we will not remain silent in the face of all this oppression.” The regime tried to suppress them with the help of its anti-riot and intelligence forces, but the teachers wiped all the barriers away and showed their strength and solidarity and their courage to tak...
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Iran: Women Sell Their Hair To Make Ends Meet

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  Written by   Sedighe Shahrokhi In his famous short story, “the Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry tells the tale of a wife who sold her hair for $20 to purchase a Christmas gift for her husband. Under the mullahs’ regime, in Iran, women must sell their hair for nearly $30 to merely survive. Iran’s state media have acknowledged that Iranian women and girls sell their hair to cover their expenses due to the country’s economic crunch. “Most of my clients sell their hair due to their financial problems. They tell me, ‘Cut as short as you want. But give us more money,’” says an Iranian barber, shedding light on this tragedy, according to the state-run Khorasan daily on December 22, 2021. Women’s barbershops are filled with the advertisement “We buy your hair.” Sellers also leave their announcements on walls. “I sold my hair to cover my living expenses. When I saw the advertisement, I decided to sell my hair. I loved my hair, but I had no other choice,” the state-run Tejarat-news quoted...
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Iranian Teachers Protest in More Than 100 Cities

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By Mostafa Aslani  On Thursday, December 23, teachers took to the streets in more than 100 cities across 30 provinces of Iran, according to reports  tallied  by the Iranian coalition opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). “With their courageous protests today, Iranian teachers showed that they will not back down despite the clerical regime’s deceptive plans, threats, and suppressive measures,”  stated  NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi. “The first lesson of the arisen teachers of Iran is to be free and courageous in the face of the mullahs’ oppression. The teachers’ movement will carry on until their demands are met.” “The protests manifest the determination of the Iranian people to overthrow the clerical regime, which is the main cause of oppression, corruption, poverty, unemployment, and poverty,” she added. The nationwide gathering of Iranian teachers took place this time as the regime’s parliament botched a ranking bill to quell widesprea...
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Iran: Teachers Taking the Brunt of Regime’s Discriminatory Policies

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 Written by Mohammad Sadat Khansari Iranian teachers’ rights have been systematically violated during the 42 years of the mullahs’ rule, and their demands have not been considered in next year’s budget. They constitute a growing presence in Iranian politics and society and have consistently led protests against the clerical regime in recent years. A teachers’ strike and call for justice emerged after another nationwide strike by truck drivers, continuing an uprising that began in January 2017. Three-day protest and its context Teachers in Iran staged a nationwide protest last week for three days. The Coordinating Council of Iranian Cultural Associations called on all teachers to protest and voice their demands. A strike was held on December 11 and 12. But on December 13, it turned into a protest rally, with active teachers joined by retirees. The protests spread across more than 200 districts and cities across Iran, with teachers looking beyond their own grievances to highlight the...
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Iran: The Message and Implications of the November 2019 Uprising

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Written by  Mansoureh Galestan The November 2019 uprising was a turning point as it had a major impact on the regime’s standing both domestically and internationally. As many experts have observed, this uprising laid bare the regime’s vulnerability and illegitimacy vis-a-vis the Iranian people, which explains why it has had to resort to stepped-up belligerent policies regarding its nuclear and missile programs as well as its malign  interference  in the region. The sudden tripling of gasoline prices sparked the November 2019 protests, which spread like wildfire to 200 cities nationwide. In a matter of a few hours, the protests became a political manifestation of rejecting the ruling theocracy, reflected not only in the chants of “death to the dictator,” “Death to Khamenei,” but also in the people’s onslaught, especially by the youth and the impoverished citizenry, against government centers and institutions, directly responsible for plunder and repression. The ferocious s...
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Iran State Media: Poverty, Inequality, and a Restive Society

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 Written by Mansoureh Galestan A glance at Iran’s state media in the last few days shows the depth of people’s livelihood problems and the regime’s fear of their reaction. On December 19, the Iranian regime finally acknowledged that the Covid-19 Omicron variant had entered the country. The arrival of this variant will certainly add to the increasing Covid-19 death toll, which is rapidly  approaching half a million  according to the Iranian opposition. Meanwhile, the state-run Eghtesad-e Pouya, on December 19, acknowledged the skyrocketing prices of healthcare, particularly medications. “The rising inflation and skyrocketing healthcare prices and its related products have increased the poverty line in Iran,” Eghtesad-e Pouya wrote. “The situation has reached a point… that experts warn about acute and chronic physical and phycological diseases in society due to the daily increase of prices of medication and healthcare.” “The people’s declining purchasing power has now led t...
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Round-up of Iran State Media: Be Aware of a Restive Society!

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 Written by Shamsi Saadati According to the state-run media, Iran’s economy is in shambles, and people can hardly make ends meet. All Iranian cities keep witnessing  protests  by people from all walks of life every day. Thus, state media keep warning about a public outrage. In an  interview  with the state-run Armane-e Meli, Khodaie, one of the regime’s experts, acknowledged that most of the Iranian population is under the poverty line due to the regime’s actions. “The value of our currency has decreased more than four thousand times, and most of our population has gone below the poverty line. We have wasted the best era of having the highest young population,” he said. “Under any criteria, the level of wage coverage has fallen below 30%; The data show that between 1980 and 2021, the household expenditure basket increased by 4,200 times, but wages increased only 1,795 times, which means that the purchasing power of wage earners decreased by 58% due to inflation ...
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