Iran: Mahsa Amini Death Anniversary

Two weeks before the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody and the many months of uprisings that followed Iran’s Islamic Republic has bared its iron fist towards the families and other Iranians preparing to pay their respects to the dead—over 500 women and men who sacrificed their lives and futures for the cause of “Woman, Life, Freedom.”

According to the critics, the regime has opted for a massive show of force and drastic measures to intimidate and crush all possible anti-government demonstrations. A month ago, it sent the Morality Police back to the streets of Iranian cities, which were quietly withdrawn last October, and is putting in place additional security forces to ensure women observe the Islamic head covering, or hijab.

The regime’s message is that not only will women who don’t cover properly be targeted, but all demonstrations and protests on the streets, universities, and other public places will be crushed. Supporters of Mahsa say the regime fears it will be unable to contain or control a revival of the protest movement ignited last September. Nor, apparently, does the regime feel it can afford once again to arrest thousands and kill several hundred of its young citizens. Thus, early preparation of preventive measures is essential.

Lately, the BBC reported widespread arrests of women activists by judiciary and security forces in Gilan, Mahabad, Oshnouyeh, Tehran and Tabriz. The Gilan activists, with the usual hyperbole, were accused of “Preparing the ground for fomenting riots and insurrection in the Gilan province and some cities in the Kurdistan province.”

Families who sought information about where their women were being held were given none. Over 200 gender and political researchers, artists and journalists in Iran and the diaspora have protested the arrest of the activists in Gilan and other provinces, as well as the false accusations brought against them.

The regime is also threatening the families of the protestors killed during the demonstrations last year. These families are, by implication, being warned not to hold observance ceremonies, visit the graves of their loved ones, or pay their respects to those who lost their lives during the uprisings.

Reports are circulating that shopkeepers and businesses have been warned not to close their premises to mark the anniversary.

The deputy head of the judiciary also warned protestors who were pardoned by the Supreme Leader and freed from prison not to participate in any new demonstrations; if arrested for a second time, they would have to face harsh punishment, he said.

According to the opponents, the regime has been purging academics from universities across the country that supported the students who participated in last year’s demonstrations and protested the arrests and imprisonment of their colleagues.

The targeted institutions include Tehran University, Iran’s ‘mother’ institution of higher education, and Sharif University, a technical institution widely considered Iran’s MIT, where the country’s leading engineers and scientists are trained. A substantial number of students have also been barred from attending classes and completing their studies.

These measures represent a throwback to the so-called ‘cultural revolution’ of the early days of the Islamic Republic when large numbers of professors were dismissed from universities.  

Iran’s syndicate of university professors has publicly condemned the “destructive interference” of security and intelligence forces in university affairs.

The regime is replacing dismissed professors with less qualified academics. One professor compared this purge to the thirteen-century Mongol invasion of Iran, spreading waste and destruction everywhere.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Higher Education is revising the humanities curriculum of subjects like Western philosophy and dropping several topics, including English language and literature, cinematography, and sculpture. It also expands the teaching of Islamic philosophy, Islamic law and Islamic ethics.

According to some reports, a number of universities across the country will admit fewer women and are considering total segregation of women and men in university classes.

Even athletes and athletics have not been spared in this new crackdown. Last week, the people of Tehran woke up to astonishing news. On the eve of a popular national soccer tournament, whose matches are attended by tens of thousands of Iranians, bulldozers were busy demolishing the spectator stands in Tehran’s largest stadium.

Only last July, under pressure from international soccer organizations, the government decided women could attend these games – albeit sitting in segregated stands. The reason behind the recent demolition seems clear, the government cannot afford to have tens of thousands of male and female spectators under one roof.

The regime also cannot risk the probability that the majority of women will remove their hijabs or the high likelihood that the spectators will not only cheer the players but convert their cheering into slogans against the regime.

 

 

United States on top in violating women rights, says Iranian Vice President

Ensiyeh Khazali, the vice president of Iran for women and family affairs, has said that the United States at the top of the list of countries violating the rights of women. She said the US and other Western countries are using democracy as a disguise to cover up their problems. 

“With the mask of democracy, defense of human rights, and defense of freedom, the US has been able to cover up many of its problems and introduce itself as a claimant for the defense of human rights in the international community,” Khazali said, according to IRIB News. 

She added, “United States is the main accused and we must show the real face of United States.”

Khazali also said that America does not have a good record domestically on many issues related to women's rights. It allows double oppression of women in many issues related to women's affairs both with the rules it implements internally and with the procedures and functions it has,” Khazali stated. 

The vice president also mentioned some cases of human rights violations in the United States saying, “Women in prison, people who are killed by the police in this country, especially black women, as well as people who are the targets of rape and abuse in the work and office environments and at home, are among these cases, something that if revealed and expressed well, United States ranks first in many crimes and violations of women's rights.”

She continued, “By covering up its crimes, United States becomes a claimant and accuses countries like Iran where women have made significant progress. It oppresses women with a political and illegal move.”

She also referred to the recent developments in France, underlining that the scenes that were seen in France were full of violence and harsh encounters, which cannot be justified under any circumstances.

According to Khazali, the media war they have launched against Iran is absent in these cases and do not reflect many events in France.

She also pointed to the September 2022 unrest in Iran which broke out in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini, saying, “Western countries started disseminating propaganda during last year's riots in Iran. We need to know the real face of these countries so that everyone can see how the claimant countries would react if one of the things that happened in France happened in Iran.” 

 

Iran and United State to clash in Qatar

The United States and Iran, diplomatic rivals for more than 40 years, clash on the soccer pitch on Tuesday, their places at the World Cup on the line in a fitting finale for the most politically charged group at this year's tournament.

The national team coaches sidestepped the icy bilateral relations, saying they were focused on the tournament and its ability to bring people together.

Washington and Tehran severed diplomatic relations in 1980 after the Islamic revolution. Ties have been strained in recent years when then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of an Iran nuclear deal. The United States killed a top Iranian general in 2020 and Tehran responded with missile strikes at US forces based in Iraq.

“I envision the game being hotly contested for the fact that both teams want to advance to the next round, not because of politics or because of relations between our countries," said US coach Gregg Berhalter.

"The thing about soccer is you meet so many different people from all around the world, and you're united by a common love of the sport. We're soccer players and we're going to compete and they're going to compete and that's it."

Iran's dramatic 2-0 win over Wales and the US team's tense goalless stalemate against England on Friday set up a tantalizing final round of Group B matches.

England, sitting top with four points, face bottom side Wales, meaning the Iran-United States contest will decide which team goes through to the round of 16.

The eagerly awaited meeting is a rematch of the 1998 World Cup group stage contest, dubbed the mother of all games, which Iran won 2-1. In a symbolic moment before that match at Lyon's Stade Gerland, the Iranian players gave white roses, a symbol of peace in the country, to their American opponents.

Overshadowing Iran's World Cup build-up this year has been civil unrest at home over the September death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, arrested for flouting the country's strict Islamic dress code.

Team Melli declined to sing Iran's national anthem in their first game against England in an apparent show of solidarity with protesters. They sang quietly on Friday at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, where boos and jeers were heard from Iran supporters.

Amid growing public pressure on players to take a stand over a deadly crackdown on protests, Iran rallied late against Wales to rescue a World Cup campaign that seemed to have flatlined following their 6-2 thrashing by England.

Berhalter, whose exuberant side drew 1-1 with Wales in their group opener, described the match as his team's "first knockout game" of the World Cup and was wary of the threat posed by Iran after their second-half assault against Wales.

"Now we need to be sure that we are good enough to go to the second round," Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said after his team kept alive their hopes of a first ever trip to the knockout stage.

"The US is a brilliant team as well, as we saw them against Wales.

"Our preparation starts with a good rest, refresh the minds and put all the complementary and garbage things outside of our minds and focus on our goal, because what we want to do is to give this gift to Iranian fans."

 

 

 

US creating make or break situation for Iran

United States and its allies across the globe are struggling to support protesters in Iran in what observers say is a make-or-break moment that could tip the scales for regime change in Tehran.  

US President, Joe Biden said in early November that “we’re gonna free Iran. They’re gonna free themselves pretty soon.”  

But outside experts say US policy focused on diplomacy with Tehran over its nuclear program, and the disunity within and outside Iran, puts the favor in the hands of the nation’s current government.  

“The problem is not only the foreign policy decisions of the US. There’s no united front on the end of the protest movement, there is no leadership,” said Ceng Sagnic, Chief Analyst of TAM-C Solutions, a multinational private intelligence company. 

Iran’s leaders have attempted to brutally suppress demonstrators that originally took to the streets protesting the death of Mahsa Amini, after she died in custody of the country’s morality police. Amini was detained for allegedly wearing her headscarf incorrectly.

Since then, protests have grown to include calls for the downfall of the country’s Islamic rulers. 

At least 14,000 people are reported to have been arrested and hundreds are believed to have died in the demonstrations, including dozens of children. The youngest victim is believed to be nine years old.  

“The Iranian government and the regime as a whole have the potential power to suppress the protest movement,” Sagnic said.  

US Special Envoy for Iran, Rob Malley reacted to a recent CNN investigation saying that it documented unspeakable acts of sexual violence by Iranian officials in detention centers. 

“It’s a reminder of what is at stake for the Iranian people – and of the lengths to which the regime will go in its futile attempt to silence dissent,” he tweeted. 

The US, European Union and United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on individuals and entities they have identified as responsible for the violent crackdown on protesters. They’ve sought to ease restrictions on internet access to aid protesters who have had their service cut off. 

Member-states of the United Nations are looking for ways to condemn and isolate the Islamic Republic, the ruling government of which came to power in 1979 following a revolution. Outside Iran, individuals are working to maintain support for the protesters globally.  

The Iranian national soccer team stayed silent when their national anthem played at the World Cup in Qatar, widely viewed as a sign of support for the protesters. Solidarity protests in Berlin, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, last month brought together tens of thousands of the Iranian diaspora and their supporters. 

Shayda Gangi, an Iranian American living in DC, helped launch an exhibit in Georgetown displaying protest art created over the past two months in an effort to keep attention on the struggle of the people of Iran.  

“All these articles being written, all the people who come to these exhibits, and showcase this work, is so important and it’s doing what it’s supposed to do, which is to raise awareness and keep the spotlight on Iran,” she told The Hill.  

The exhibit, which ran for three days, featured more than 100 pieces from artists all over the world, including Iranians living abroad, Italian and Israeli artists, and at least one artist from inside Iran, who sent her work with great secrecy, quickly deleting communication and even blocking the organizers at one point as a security precaution, Gangi said.  

“I tried to put myself in her shoes and think, ‘would I do the same thing?’” Gangi said. “And I don’t know. She was scared and is in Iran, and it’s dangerous, but even with all of that, she was so happy to contribute to this event, and to do what she could do and to send her artwork to be shown.” 

Sherry Hakimi, an Iranian American activist and founder and executive director of a nonprofit focused on gender equality, was one of five Iranian women invited to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top State Department officials in October to offer their advice on how the US could best support protesters.  

“I appreciate that senior US leaders have been listening to the calls made by Iranians and Iranian Americans alike,” she told The Hill, but said governments need to be more innovative in how they think about aiding the protesters.  

“These are unprecedented times – this is the first female-led revolution – so meeting the moment requires unprecedented measures.” 

Hakimi said that on top of sanctions and efforts to hold the Islamic Republic accountable at the United Nations, countries should focus on providing health care assistance because injured protesters risk arrest if they seek care at a hospital.  

“I want to see more health care-focused aid being sent to Iran, whether that’s through the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, or some other organization or mechanism.

There are parts of Iran where people are no longer able to seek treatment, because the regime has made it impossible — either hospitals won’t treat them or if they do go to a hospital they can risk arrest, which makes things worse,” she said.  

“To me, that seems like one of the most basic things.” 

Human rights groups and news reports have documented accounts from protesters that they are avoiding hospitals for fear of arrest from security forces, and that the Iranian government is using ambulances to infiltrate protests and detain demonstrators.  

The danger for protesters seeking medical help was echoed by Cameron Khansarinia, Policy Director for the nonprofit and nonpartisan National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), which also helped sponsor the art exhibit in Georgetown.  

“Protesting in Iran is not like protesting in any other country,” he said, referencing the extreme tactics of targeting protesters, the use of live ammunition, detentions, allegations of torture and killings.  

NUFDI is advocating for the US and other governments to explore setting up a “strike fund” to distribute the Islamic Republic’s frozen assets abroad among protesters who have their livelihoods threatened by the government.  

“So providing, at least, a small modicum of financial support to allow these workers to go on strike and allow their families to have bread at the end of the day … are very tangible means by which a foreign government could empower the Iranian people,” he said, calling for governments to devise a “mechanism” to deliver such cash.   

Khansarinia, like others interviewed for this article, described the protests as unprecedented for their massive scale in the face of extreme violence by security authorities.   

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization has documented at least 416 people killed, and that includes 51 children. The rights group is also pointing to the government systematically and disproportionately targeting minorities in Iran, in particular in the Baluch and Kurdish ethnic regions. 

The tactic is aimed at seeking to delegitimize the protests as an ethnic, separatist movement, private intelligence analyst Sagnic said. 

“By increasing the oppression in the Kurdish areas, violent tactics, striking Kurdish Peshmerga bases in Iraq, trying to make it more an ethnic issue, something that separates Kurdish groups from the rest of Iran, which is a successful tactic, to be honest,” he said.  

Gangi, who helped organize the Georgetown art exhibit, said that she feels this moment is different because of the scale of support from the international community. 

“This is by far, in my personal experience following these things throughout the years, this is the first time I’ve seen this much support from not just the Iranian community and not just within Iran, but the global community,” she said.   

“With what they’re doing within Iran, with the internet shutdowns, and all the violence — what we’re seeing outside is a small percentage of what’s happening there. I would really just ask everyone to continue to do what they’re doing, and keep the light on, on Iran.” 

 

Islamic State claims Iran shrine attack

The Islamic State claims carrying out attack on a Shi'ite Muslim shrine in Iran on Wednesday which killed 15 people, escalating tensions in a country reeling from a wave of protests, reports Reuters.

Iranian officials said they had arrested a gunman who carried out the attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine in the city of Shiraz. State media blamed takfiri terrorists - a label Tehran uses for hardline Sunni Muslim militants like Islamic State.

The group has claimed previous attacks in Iran, including deadly twin bombings in 2017 which targeted Iran's parliament and the tomb of the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Wednesday's killing of Shi'ite pilgrims came on the same day that Iranian security forces clashed with increasingly strident protesters marking the 40-day anniversary since the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi blamed the protests sweeping Iran for paving the ground for the Shiraz attack, and President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran would respond, according.

"Experience shows that Iran's enemies, after failing to create a split in the nation's united ranks, take revenge through violence and terror," said Raisi, speaking before Islamic State released its claim of responsibility.

"This crime will definitely not go unanswered, and the security and law enforcement forces will teach a lesson to those who designed and carried out the attack."

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the attacker shot an employee at the shrine entrance before his rifle jammed and he was chased by bystanders.

He managed to fix his gun and opened fire on his pursuers, before entering a courtyard and shooting worshippers. Several women and children were among the dead, it said.

 

Iran State run live TV hacked by protesters

According to a BBC report, Iran’s state-run broadcaster was apparently hacked on air Saturday, with a news bulletin interrupted by a protest against the country’s leader. A mask appeared on the screen, followed by an image of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with flames around him. The group called itself “Adalat Ali”, or Ali’s Justice.

It comes after at least three people were shot dead when protesters clashed with security forces in new unrest over the death of Mahsa Amini. She was detained in Tehran by morality police for allegedly not covering her hair properly.

The 22-year-old Iranian Kurd died in custody on September 16, 2022, three days after her arrest. Her death has sparked an unprecedented wave of protest across the country.

Saturday’s TV news bulletin at 21:00 (17:30 GMT) was interrupted with images, which included Iran’s supreme leader with a target on his head, photos of Amini and three other women killed in recent protests.

One of the captions read “join us and rise up”, whilst another said “our youths’ blood is dripping off your paws”.

The interruption lasted only a few seconds before being cut off.

Such displays of rebellion against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are historically rare, and he wields almost complete power within Iran.

But following Amini’s death, there has been widespread open dissent.

Also on Saturday, social media videos emerged which seemed to show female students at a university in Tehran chanting “get lost” during a visit by President Ebrahim Raisi.

Earlier in the day, two people were killed in Sanandaj, including a man shot in his car after he sounded his horn in support of protesters.

A video shared online also showed a woman shot in the neck lying unconscious on the ground in Mashhad.

In Sanandaj, a police official said a man had been killed by “counter-revolutionaries”, the state-run news agency IRNA reported.

On Friday, Iran’s Forensic Medicine Organization said Amini had died from multiple organ failure caused by cerebral hypoxia — and not from blows to the head, as her family and protesters contend.

Rights groups say more than 150 people have been killed since the protests in the Islamic Republic began on September 17.

Shops in several cities have shut in support of the protesters, including in Tehran’s bazaar where some set fire to a police kiosk and chased the security forces away.

The protests reaching the bazaar in Tehran will ring alarm bells with Iranian leaders who have counted the merchants as among their supporters.