Iran – the Final Countdown

By Struan Stevenson

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report highlights the huge significance of the uprising in Iran, which began on 28 December 2017. It shows how millions of ordinary Iranians bravely risked their lives to join mass public protests against the repressive theocratic regime that has held power in Iran for the past 39 years. The widespread nature of these demonstrations is without precedent. People have taken to the streets in some 140 cities across Iran.

Demonstrators chanting: “Death to Khamenei”, “Death to Rouhani”, “Reformists, hardliners, it is game over now,” “Death to the Islamic Republic” and “Shame on you, mullahs,” have shown that this is an uprising against the regime itself. Their chants of: “No Gaza, No Lebanon, My Life for Iran ‘Death to Hezbollah” and “Leave Syria alone, think about us instead” have shown that they are sick of their wealth being looted to fund proxy wars and terrorists throughout the Middle East.

As always, much of the western media has either failed to report the uprising at all, or initially reported that the mass demonstrations were simply based on Iran’s dire economic situation. The western media for, the large part, has adhered to the Obama/EU appeasement policy that has insisted on viewing the theocratic regime in Iran as an ally, making it difficult for them to comprehend why the 80 million beleaguered citizens of that country could possibly rise up and demand regime change.

The Obama/EU axis and its supporters in the media have consistently denied Iran’s role as the world’s principal sponsor of terror and its steady and lethal march towards regional hegemony in the Middle East, a phenomenon now openly recognised by the new US administration. The western media who cheered Obama’s disastrous nuclear deal as a great breakthrough, ignored the fact that the terms of the deal will still enable the Islamic Republic to become a fully armed nuclear power in 12 to 15 years’ time, able to carry out its oftrepeated threat to wipe out Israel.

The Obama/EU axis even ignored the windfall release of $150 billion under the terms of the nuclear deal, that has enabled the theocratic regime to re-double its financing of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal civil war in Syria, the genocidal campaign to wipe out the Sunnis in Iraq, the murderous Houthi rebels in Yemen and terrorist Hezbollah in Lebanon. But worst of all, the Obama/EU axis and its supporters have deserted and betrayed the long-suffering Iranian people, who have been subjected to decades of medieval cruelty.

This report unravels the extent of the mass demonstrations and reveals the deadly crackdown imposed by the regime, the torture and death of prisoners arrested during the protests and the role of social media and cyber-warfare during the uprising. The report shows how admissions by leading members of the regime have exposed its fear and vulnerability to regime change and their acknowledgement of the role and growing support for the main democratic opposition movement - the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The report concludes with the clear view that the clerical regime is now on its last legs and that its demise is inevitable, charting the next necessary steps to restore peace, democracy, human rights and women’s rights to Iran, while bringing the perpetrators of crimes against humanity and international terror to face justice in the international courts.

WHY MARYAM RAJAVI BELIEVES IRANIAN WOMEN SHOULD BE FREE TO DRESS FREELY

by Mahmood Hakamian 

Last week, we featured a piece on gender equality and how it is imperative to the Iranian Resistance movement. In that piece, we outlined ten areas that Maryam Rajavi and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) would tackle in order to make gender equality a reality in a Free Iran.

One of those areas was freedom of dress and today we will examine why Maryam Rajavi believes that choice in clothing is such an important area to achieve gender equality in.
What are the laws regarding women’s clothing in Iran?

Under the mullahs’ Sharia law, women are supposed to remain veiled in public. The law is incredibly unpopular in Iran and many women defy it at any given opportunity.

When was this law introduced?

The mandatory Hijab was introduced in the early days of the Iranian Regime and many Iranian women, especially those involved in the NCRI member group the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), protested against it and held demonstrations to oppose the law.

How does Maryam Rajavi feel about forced veiling?

As we said in our earlier piece, Maryam Rajavi believes that women should be free to choose their own clothing and that the government should not interfere. She believes that the forced veiling law, along with every other sexist law that deprives women of their individual rights, turns the country into a prison for women.

Maryam Rajavi said: “Iranian women must be free. They must be free to choose what they believe in, what they want to wear and how they want to live. And [the Iranian Resistance repeats]: no to compulsory veil; no to compulsory religion; and no to compulsory government.”

What happens to the women who defy the mandatory hijab law?

If the women are caught by the so-called morality police, over 20 police entities who are in charge of enforcing the religious laws of Iran and suppressing people caught drinking alcohol or attending mixed-gender parties, then they can face arrests, fines, torture, floggings, beatings, rape, or any other inhumane punishment that the Regime authorities can think up.

Why does the Regime react so harshly?

The Regime is increasingly unstable and has to come down hard on any form of dissent in order to keep their tenuous grip on power.

Maryam Rajavi said: “Clamping down on women on the pretext of mal-veiling is one of the most effective means to repress society and silence any voice of dissent. The mullahs have no scruples in enchaining women on so-called religious grounds.”

She continued: “Misogyny is at the core of suppression against society as a whole, since preserving the ruling theocracy is predicated on it. Such misogyny does not arise from blind, religious zealotry or trying to safeguard societal chastity, or even preserving the foundation of the family. Misogyny under the cloak of religion has become systematic and persistent because it is a lever to maintain the monopolistic domination of the velayat-e faqih. Misogyny is the raison d'être for dozens of the regime’s suppressive agencies.”

What would Maryam Rajavi do about forced veiling?

Maryam Rajavi would repeal the forced veiling law and any employment legislation that allow workplaces to fire or discriminate against women who do not wear the hijab.

Maryam Rajavi said: “Written or unwritten laws on controlling the clothing or behaviour of women under the rubric of “mal-veiling,” which have violated Iranian women’s right to freedom and security, shall have no place in tomorrow’s Iran.”

IRAN REGIME’S MILITARY OFFICIAL ADMITS TO LEADING ROLE OF THE MEK / PMOI IN RECENT UPRISINGS

by Mahmood Hakamian

“The protests that erupted recently across Iran involved setting fire to the State Security Force’s motorcycles, breaking the windows of religious seminaries in Abhar and Zanjan, setting fire to police kiosks in Arak, opening fire on the IRGC with hunting rifles, assaulting a State Security Force officer with a brick….” according to Brig. Gen. Rasoul Sanai, Political Affairs Deputy for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Sanai spoke about the behind the scenes developments of the recent unrest, “Their plan was to spread the riots from the surrounding areas to the capital (Tehran) because they believe owing to previous incidents in Tehran and major cities, Iran’s security and defense forces had been trained and gained the expertise to confront riotous actions. But in other cities the potential for inciting the public is much greater and the security forces have a lesser presence.”

He blamed the Iranian Resistance for the escalation of the protests, saying, “As such, the most serious clashes took place in Touyserkan (Hamedan Province) and several people were killed, including two people who attacked the prison and have yet to be identified. The leaders and those inciting the protests in this city were from the ‘Hypocrites’ (MEK or PMOI). They had come from other cities so as not to be identified. Those who were detained were pursued from the time of MEK incursion into western Iran in 1988….”

The Political Affairs Deputy continued, “Eighty percent of those arrested were under 30 years of age. There were several women among them, who are middle aged. In the 1980s, those who were leading MEK protests were mostly women. And now, the main chain of provocation and starting the protests were women. For example, four of these women caused the protests in the city of Ilam (western Iran). After they were detained, we realized they were not from Ilam….”

Sanai also claimed, “Similarly, those arrested in Kermanshah had come from the city of Karaj (near Tehran). Those who were from Bandar Abbas were arrested in Shiraz. These were the MEK who would go to the cities in an organized fashion and were guiding the slogans. The most radical and sacrilegious slogans, such as ‘they have used Islam as a ladder to harass the people, neither Islam, neither the Quran, let’s sacrifice both for Iran…” and added, “This shows how much they hate Islam and political religion. Directing attacks on military centers, like assaults on the State Security Force and Bassij bases were part of the planning by the MEK. They even attacked the prisons, which means they have their hands in prisons as well.”

UN should help end impunity in Iran and throughout the world

In 1996, on behalf of the Spanish President Allende Foundation, I filed a criminal complaint in Spain, under the principles of universal jurisdiction, against Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet and other leaders of his military junta. The charges detailed genocide, systematic torture, politically motivated killings and terrorism. The defendants were then enjoying absolute impunity in Chile.

I led a multinational team of lawyers in prosecuting those officers in absentia for more than 4,500 cases of murder and forced disappearance, and for the torture of more than 30,000 survivors of Pinochet’s years as dictator of Chile (1973-1990). I was in Santiago’s presidential palace, Palacio de la Moneda, when the coup took place in 1973 and saw Pinochet’s crimes first-hand. The executions and torture perpetrated in Chile remain fresh in everyone’s memories.

But the number of killings pales in comparison to the case that could be brought against leaders of another inhumane system whose crimes recently have garnered my attention. In just a few months during 1988, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed an estimated 30,000 political prisoners and advocates for democratic governance, mostly members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

On the request of the foundation and a Spanish court of justice, Pinochet was arrested in London in 1998 to be extradited and put on trial. Later, he was arrested and indicted in Chile. The United States (under the Clinton administration) did not object. Since then, impunity has ended and hundreds of officers of the Chilean state have been judged and condemned for their crimes against humanity. Many of the leading perpetrators of similar crimes in Iran remain alive; some even hold prominent positions in politics. This means that they still could be arraigned in an international criminal court, if the United Nations takes the necessary measures under the charter.

In the interest of encouraging that outcome, I participated in a civil society hearing on Feb. 1 in Geneva, at which a mock indictment related to the 1988 Iranian massacre was presented and discussed. The proceedings included eyewitness testimony from former Iranian political prisoners and their families, as well as expert opinion from fellow human rights experts including former United Nations judges.

It is my hope, of course, that the Feb. 1 hearing will prove to be a precursor to more formal proceedings by the United Nations. If these proceedings take place, it will be a step toward long overdue legal accountability for some of the world’s worst and most organized violators of human rights, and an encouragement to reduce impunity for crimes of this nature in other countries. Formal trials will likely help to bring some closure to those families that still have not identified the final resting places of their loved ones 30 years later.

Additionally, it is my hope that newfound attention for the 1988 massacre and the subsequent crimes of Iran’s political/religious system will help to reiterate the message that was previously sent by my colleagues and me through our prosecution of the Pinochet crimes. The essence of that message is that, while some officers may enjoy impunity as they commit human rights violations and misuse the instruments of the state, this impunity need not continue forever, much less be accepted by human rights advocates and foreign observers who have the legal mandate to investigate such crimes.

There is a widespread feeling that many world leaders have failed to recognize the role that they can and must play in bringing an end to the impunity of human rights abusers across the globe. Instead, they have tended to look away from dangerous and criminal situations because local populations had no effective means for redress.

Tragically, this impulse has led to situations in which rampant human rights abuses have recurred or worsened over time. But in some cases, the threat of this outcome is lingering, and it might still be prevented. About one week before the hearing in Geneva, the Iranian Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi visited the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s efforts to encourage international action to help those arrested during recent protests in Iran.

Beginning on Dec. 28, 2017, two weeks of nationwide protests in Iran gave rise to calls for a change of government. Those demonstrations predictably were met with a violent backlash from the Iranian powers-that-be, the full picture of which is still emerging. Thousands of Iranians have been arrested, more than 50 killed, and reports continue to trickle out of the country regarding young protesters dying as a result of torture in Iranian prisons.

“Mass arrests, opening fire on unarmed protesters, and torturing prisoners to death are clear examples of crime against humanity,” Mrs. Rajavi said. “Unfortunately, Europe has chosen silence and inaction about all of these crimes, something that contradicts many of Europe’s fundamental and joint commitments including the European Convention on Human Rights.”

As we have sadly learned, human rights abusers sometimes escape justice. Democratic nations have an obligation to intercede and protect whenever possible to either halt these abuses around the world, or raise the profile of their perpetrators and increase the chances that they face domestic or international justice at a later date.

With many experts speculating that the unrest in Iran is far from over, the day may not be far off when the Iranian people can seek justice for the crimes committed against them. By helping those people to retain access to the internet and social media, and by weakening the system’s repressive institutions through diplomatic démarches and other appropriate measures, the international community can help to protect the victims and to provide for the reparation of damages resulting from the acts of the state responsible.

Juan E. Garcés was the chief lawyer in the Spanish legal case against Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

IRAN REGIME’S MILITARY OFFICIAL ADMITS TO LEADING ROLE OF THE MEK / PMOI IN RECENT UPRISINGS

by Mahmood Hakamian

“The protests that erupted recently across Iran involved setting fire to the State Security Force’s motorcycles, breaking the windows of religious seminaries in Abhar and Zanjan, setting fire to police kiosks in Arak, opening fire on the IRGC with hunting rifles, assaulting a State Security Force officer with a brick….” according to Brig. Gen. Rasoul Sanai, Political Affairs Deputy for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Sanai spoke about the behind the scenes developments of the recent unrest, “Their plan was to spread the riots from the surrounding areas to the capital (Tehran) because they believe owing to previous incidents in Tehran and major cities, Iran’s security and defense forces had been trained and gained the expertise to confront riotous actions. But in other cities the potential for inciting the public is much greater and the security forces have a lesser presence.”

He blamed the Iranian Resistance for the escalation of the protests, saying, “As such, the most serious clashes took place in Touyserkan (Hamedan Province) and several people were killed, including two people who attacked the prison and have yet to be identified. The leaders and those inciting the protests in this city were from the ‘Hypocrites’ (MEK or PMOI). They had come from other cities so as not to be identified. Those who were detained were pursued from the time of MEK incursion into western Iran in 1988….”

The Political Affairs Deputy continued, “Eighty percent of those arrested were under 30 years of age. There were several women among them, who are middle aged. In the 1980s, those who were leading MEK protests were mostly women. And now, the main chain of provocation and starting the protests were women. For example, four of these women caused the protests in the city of Ilam (western Iran). After they were detained, we realized they were not from Ilam….”

Sanai also claimed, “Similarly, those arrested in Kermanshah had come from the city of Karaj (near Tehran). Those who were from Bandar Abbas were arrested in Shiraz. These were the MEK who would go to the cities in an organized fashion and were guiding the slogans. The most radical and sacrilegious slogans, such as ‘they have used Islam as a ladder to harass the people, neither Islam, neither the Quran, let’s sacrifice both for Iran…” and added, “This shows how much they hate Islam and political religion. Directing attacks on military centers, like assaults on the State Security Force and Bassij bases were part of the planning by the MEK. They even attacked the prisons, which means they have their hands in prisons as well.”

IRAN REGIME’S MILITARY OFFICIAL ADMITS TO LEADING ROLE OF THE MEK / PMOI IN RECENT UPRISINGS

by Mahmood Hakamian

“The protests that erupted recently across Iran involved setting fire to the State Security Force’s motorcycles, breaking the windows of religious seminaries in Abhar and Zanjan, setting fire to police kiosks in Arak, opening fire on the IRGC with hunting rifles, assaulting a State Security Force officer with a brick….” according to Brig. Gen. Rasoul Sanai, Political Affairs Deputy for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Sanai spoke about the behind the scenes developments of the recent unrest, “Their plan was to spread the riots from the surrounding areas to the capital (Tehran) because they believe owing to previous incidents in Tehran and major cities, Iran’s security and defense forces had been trained and gained the expertise to confront riotous actions. But in other cities the potential for inciting the public is much greater and the security forces have a lesser presence.”

He blamed the Iranian Resistance for the escalation of the protests, saying, “As such, the most serious clashes took place in Touyserkan (Hamedan Province) and several people were killed, including two people who attacked the prison and have yet to be identified. The leaders and those inciting the protests in this city were from the ‘Hypocrites’ (MEK or PMOI). They had come from other cities so as not to be identified. Those who were detained were pursued from the time of MEK incursion into western Iran in 1988….”

The Political Affairs Deputy continued, “Eighty percent of those arrested were under 30 years of age. There were several women among them, who are middle aged. In the 1980s, those who were leading MEK protests were mostly women. And now, the main chain of provocation and starting the protests were women. For example, four of these women caused the protests in the city of Ilam (western Iran). After they were detained, we realized they were not from Ilam….”

Sanai also claimed, “Similarly, those arrested in Kermanshah had come from the city of Karaj (near Tehran). Those who were from Bandar Abbas were arrested in Shiraz. These were the MEK who would go to the cities in an organized fashion and were guiding the slogans. The most radical and sacrilegious slogans, such as ‘they have used Islam as a ladder to harass the people, neither Islam, neither the Quran, let’s sacrifice both for Iran…” and added, “This shows how much they hate Islam and political religion. Directing attacks on military centers, like assaults on the State Security Force and Bassij bases were part of the planning by the MEK. They even attacked the prisons, which means they have their hands in prisons as well.”

The numbers that put Iran protests in perspective

The first chants heard in the Iran uprising launching on December 28th focused on skyrocketing prices and unemployment.

The scope and depth of Iran’s unemployment is at times unbelievable, especially when you consider the fact that college graduates with Master’s degrees are seen as simple workers in construction sites, carrying loads in bazaars and other such means in their desperate effort to make ends meet.

A look into these statistics, from the regime’s own state-run media, provides an image and understanding of the power behind this time-bomb awaiting to explode and bring about changes to Iran’s political infrastructure.

Doormen, with PhDs

Iranian state TV broadcast a report showing interviews with ordinary workers who actually have PhDs or Master’s degrees, and some earning rankings in Olympiad and world-level competitions.

However, considering the lack of employment in Iran for such expertise roles, they are seen working as masons, security guards and even doormen. When asked why, many cite the fact that they lack any “connections” with people in high places to provide them an opportunity others receive despite lacking their education, while enjoying corrupt links.

It is no secret that the Iranian Regime (both Mullah and Shah) have used disinformation campaigns to attack and discredit the Iranian Resistance group, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

One of those disinformation campaigns is the ‘Islamist Marxist’ label that the Shah’s Secret Police (SAVAK) originally used to disparage the MEK in order to undermine its support among the devout Iranian people because the Shah was scared of the MEK’s potential to mobilise Iranians- particularly the youth- against the monarchy. The Shah and SAVAK also used it to disparage other political opponents of the monarchy.

Why? Because of the public perception of the word in Iran as being synonymous with atheism, materialism, and Westernism.

Newspaper reports didn’t help clear up the matter because all opponents of the monarchy (and there were many) would be placed in the same paragraph, meaning that the MEK would be listed in the same paragraphs as the Communist Party and the Marxist People’s Fedayeen, which may have given the false impression that their policies were similar.

After the 1979 Revolution, the MEK wanted to establish a democratic government, while Ruhollah Khomeini and his mullahs wanted a fundamentalist theocracy and the two groups clashed. After the Shah left, the mullahs began to attack the MEK using their terrorist proxy thugs.

The mullahs and their Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) continued to misrepresent the MEK and referred to them as godless Marxists. However, the mullahs and the MOIS went much further than the Shah and the SAVAK in this regard, because the mullahs are alarmed by the MEK’s popularity and see the MEK as a threat to the Regime.

In 1981, MEK leader Massoud Rajavi: “Every high school student knows that believing in God, Jesus Christ, and Muhammad is incompatible with the philosophy of Marxism. But for dictators like Khomeini, ‘Islamic Marxist’ is a very profitable phrase to use against any opposition. If Jesus Christ and Muhammad were alive and protesting against Khomeini, he would call them Marxists, too.”

To be clear, the MEK has never referred to itself as Marxist, socialist, or communist, according to Iran historian Ervand Abrahamian, and they have shunned Marxist philosophy. Massoud Rajavi has even said that the MEK avoided the socialist label to avoid being misrepresented in the people’s minds.

The MEK actually spent the first six years of its existence studying Islam, philosophy, history and economics in order to formulate its political positions based on a democratic and tolerant interpretation of Islam and to prepare a strategy to replace the Shah’s dictatorial monarchy.

In 1982, Massoud Rajavi said: “The Islam we want is nationalist, democratic, progressive, and not opposed to science or civilization. We believe that there is no contradiction between modern science and true Islam, and we believe that in Islam there must be no compulsion or dictatorship.”

However, after 50 years of being described as Marxists, especially during the Cold War, many people wrongly believe this about the MEK. We must be clear, the MEK is not Marxist; they are freedom fighters who believe in democracy and a tolerant Islam.

Riyadh "Riyadh Daily" 

Iran: Protests continue in numerous cities

Despite Iran's security forces being on high alert following the nationwide protests erupting on December 28th, protests are reportedly continuing in cities across the country. The Iranian regime intends to mark the beginning of its 40th year in power after the 1979 revolution, yet these protests are causing quite a stir and disrupting such plans.

Iran is known to filter and impose severe control over its internet, further indicating that despite the Iranian officials' claim of conditions returning to normal, it is anything but. There is a fire simmering beneath and the society is being labeled a powder keg by experts.

Iran -- What Will Come Next?

After three weeks of unrest in most parts of Iran, the situation now seems to be calm, although some protests still continue. Does this mean that the revolt has lost steam and that the government has managed, at least for a period of time, to postpone the final confrontation?

Certainly not. Despite the slump in demonstrations and attacks on state buildings, the motives for the uprising still remain. The regime of the Ayatollahs has no cure for the bankrupt economy that ignited the protests. The wealth of Iran has been plundered by the government and spent for terrorist activities and meddling in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. Above all, grave violations of human rights inside Iran are still continuing.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/01/iran__what_will_come_next.html#ixzz55nQvXmxD
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To judge what the Ayatollahs have done to Iran’s economy, it may be sufficient to notice the price of dollar which was less than 100 rials in 1978, when Ayatollah Khomeini grasped power, comparing to that of today, which is over 40,000 rials. Officials in Tehran are worried. Salimi, a member of Iran’s parliament, said, “One of the problems in our country today is the increasing number of graduates who can’t find a job. We are facing with an army of the unemployed.” Another member of Iranian parliament said, “Many of our banks have gone bankrupt, government is facing a budget deficit of 50,000 billion rials.”

A review of the debates in Iran’s last presidential election sheds light on some of the miseries that the mullahs have inflicted on Iranian people. In the debate before Iran’s May 19 presidential election, all six candidates said that the country’s economy was in ruins. Vice President Ecehagh Jahangiri revealed that one reason for Iran’s poor economy was the existence of a smuggling market valued at $12 billion annually. Ebrahim Raisi, another presidential candidate and a member of the death committee of the 1988 massacre, said the value of the smuggling market is $18 billion annually. Another asserted that “Smuggled goods are imported via 114 official piers. This situation would not be understandable anywhere in the world.” Meanwhile, a huge number of workers, who are forced to work under medieval laws, have not received their salaries for months. Workers demonstrating in Tehran and other Iranian cities, demanding their unpaid salaries, are often arrested and jailed by the armed forces.

A country that exports almost 4 million barrels of oil every day and has giant resources of gas has a rate of unemployment from 12.5 to even 60 per cent in some areas. Ebrahim Razaghi, an economist, told the pro-government news agency Tasnim, “60 to 70 per cent of Iran’s producers are bankrupt or out of business. 20 to 30 million people are in need of food, while some of the officials receive salaries over 100 hundred million rials.” Meanwhile, a close ally of Supreme Leader Khamenei confessed that 40 million Iranians live under the poverty line, 11 million do not have a proper house and live on the outskirts. The Ministry for Labor and Social Welfare in Rouhani’s government has announced that 12 million Iranians cannot afford proper food.

Transparency International has placed Iran among the most corrupt states. A report by this organization says that groups inside the government, which control the economy, normally act on their own and do not respond to any authority. In related news, in 2013, Reuters revealed an entity worth over $95 billion belonging to Supreme Leader Khamenei.

Fox news also reported that Iran is spending billions of dollars on its weapons programs and supporting terrorism around the globe while it ignores the basic needs of its people. The report is titled “Primary Causes of Poverty and Popular Uprisings in Iran.” issued by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). It asserts that the annual minimum cost to Iranians of keeping the “clerical regime in power” is about $55 billion.

In an attempt to suppress the revolt, both factions inside the regime pretend that the uprising is extinct and everything is now back to normal, but the root cause of unrest -- the dire economic situation of millions of poor people – remains. For a regime with a record of 63 condemnations in the U.N. General Assembly for its flagrant violations of human rights, the gap between the people and the government is so deep that it will only be healed by the collapse of mullah’s government.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/01/iran__what_will_come_next.html#ixzz55nRUXoSC
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Iran: Women teachers in Yazd protest 10 months of not being paid

A group of men and women working as teachers staged a protest outside the Governor’s Office in the capital of the central Iranian province of Yazd, on Monday, January 22, 2018.

The teachers have not been paid their meager monthly salaries of 700,000 toumans ($190) for ten months.

Women teachers of Iran staged a nationwide protest on the World Teachers Day in October.

La Résistance Iranienne formule ses voeux à Auvers-sur-Oise

Les vœux de Maryam Radjavi, chef de file de l’Organisation des moudjahiddines du peuple iranien (OMPI), avaient une tonalité particulièrement optimiste cette année. « En Iran, 2018 a apporté un vent de liberté. J’espère que cette année, sera l’année de victoire de la liberté en Iran » a déclaré la présidente du C
onseil national de la Résistance iranienne. Comme d’habitude, de nombreuses personnalités locales et au-delà ont assisté aux festivités de nouvelle année organisées par l’OMPI dans son siège d’Auvers-sur-Oise. Outre les maires de Magny-en-Vexin, Jean-Pierre Muller (DVG), de Mériel, Jean-Louis Delannoy (DVD), ou encore Bruno Macé (SE), élu de Villiers-Adam, on trouvait dans le public Mgr Jacques Gaillot ou l’ancienne première dame d’Algérie Mme Anissa Boumedienne.

Maryam Rajavi: U.N. & Security Council's History Page on Iran Turned by the Protesters

London, 6 Jan - If you persist, the world will stand with you and on your side.

Ending the silence on Iran and shattering a 4-decade-old barrier of appeasement of the regime, the UN Security Council’s meeting on Iran is a product of the Iranian people’s u

prising, the sacrifice of its martyrs and the suffering of its captives. The world’s major governments had so far turned a blind eye on brutal suppression of our people and executions of 120,000. Iran’s protesters and youths, however, have in their first step turned the page of the United Nations and Security Council’s history on Iran. This indicates that the young men and women who rose up in the streets of Izeh, Doroud, Tuyserkan, Ghahdarijan, Jouyabad of Isfahan, and 75 other cities can and must turn the darkest page of Iran’s history.

As the Iranian Resistance’s Leader, Massoud Rajavi, said, “If you persist, the world will stand with you and on your side.”

STOP SACRIFICING VALUES FOR TRADE

Aladdin Borujerdi, chairman of the Foreign Policy and National Security Commission of the Mullahs’ regime Majlis (parliament), is to attend the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. Regarding the freedom lovers of the Iranian communities accepting someone who has always played an active role in suppressing Iranian people

and supporting terrorism in the last four decades in the European Parliament, is absolutely unacceptable. Iranian resistance for freedom and human rights calls for the lifting of the call, which is in clear contradiction with the values that the European Union is founded on and defended by the European Parliament.

At the time all the international human rights bodies express their concerns over slaying and torture of the protests’ detainees in the prisons of the mullahs’ regime in Iran, hosting a criminal of the oppressor gangs ruling Iran, under the pretext of “Developing the Parliamentary dimension of the EU-Iran relations and to engage Members of both sides to discuss issues of common interest” is just scorning the humanitarian values.

Iranian people demand all the freedom lovers to condemn the shameful visit of the representative of religious dictatorship ruling Iran.

By INU Staff

INU - On Friday, January19th, 2018 in a Paris conference, “Regime Change in Iran” was echoed by distinguished speakers, featuring Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, Mr. Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and Senator Robert Torricelli.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi extolled the Iranian peosple’s magnificent uprising which spread at extraordinary speed to 142 cities and towns. She praised the courage and sacrifice of young protesters to accomplish freedom and democracy. Greeting the uprising’s martyrs and thousands imprisoned, she said, “Without any doubt, all of us will march on together, until we overthrow this corrupt and criminal regime. Victory belongs to the people of Iran.”

Rajavi, insisted everyone to assist the people of Iran in their uprising to get rid of the religious fascism ruling the country and establish democracy and popular sovereignty. She said, “The people of Iran urge the UN and the world to recognize the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the mullahs’ religious dictatorship. This is the right of a brave people who are at the forefront of the struggle against a regime which is a threat to global peace and security.

Urging the United Nations and all governments, “to pressure the clerical regime to free those arrested in recent protests and hold them accountable regarding those who have disappeared”. She asked for a commission of inquiry to investigate the arbitrary arrests of thousands of people and the killing of prisoners under torture. Mrs. Rajavi went on to say, “the people of Iran expect that all governments severe their political and economic relations with the clerical regime, particularly with the IRGC which is torturing and killing the protesters.”

Stating that the recent uprising has been motivated by the public’s wrath over the mullahs’ plundering of their wealth, poverty, unemployment, and class differences as well as the regime’s almost 39 years of suppression and slaughters, Mrs. Rajavi reiterated, “This is a revolt for freedom and popular sovereignty to establish social justice and prosperity. It is not a byproduct of a power struggle among the regime’s internal factions, but another nail in the coffin of the masquerade about moderation. It showed that the billions of dollars of windfall from the nuclear deal did nothing to cure the regime’s instability. The uprising showed that the people of Iran detest both regime factions and want it overthrown in its entirety and that the Iranian society has a force within itself capable of overthrowing the theocratic regime.

Mr. Newt Gingrich was the second distinguished speaker at the conference in his speech said: “Moderation in the Iranian regime is an illusion. There is a bad wing and a very bad wing in the dictatorship. There is no innocent wing of the dictatorship…The MEK is a real force. The level of fear of the MEK and Mrs. Rajavi is growing among the regime. You have survived, you have endured, and you have continued with your mission, and the regime have been unable to stop you. ….You, the MEK, are making a difference. You are on the side of history, because you are on the side of freedom. Thank you Mrs. Rajavi for your dedicated leadership to this cause”.

Also Senator Torricelli in his annotations to the conference, said: “This is the beginning of a revolution. A regime that stays in power by killing its people has a numbered life. When Rouhani called French President Macron and asked him to clamp down on the MEK it made one thing clear: This is not a revolution without a leader. The leader is sitting here....The only group who has never compromised with the mullahs is the MEK. I agree with Khamenei on nothing except one thing: he is putting responsibility on the MEK and the PMOI and blaming Mrs. Rajavi. He is right about it.

This has been organized for years, network has been created, by never compromising with the regime, never being part of it. The MEK and Mrs. Rajavi have kept credibility… So in identifying the MEK and Mrs. Rajavi, he is right because the MEK and the entire international community that supports it, we are all coming for Khamenei to end this nightmare.

A group of representatives of Iranian communities in Europe also attended the conference. Amongst them, a number of former political prisoners and survivors of the victims of the 1988 massacre also briefly addressed the conference, testifying on the anti-human crimes of the clerical regime in prisons as well as the extensive repression in Iran. They all reiterated the resentment of the Iranian people towards religious fascism ruling Iran.

Conference on Regime Change and 1000 Centre of Rebellions Through Iran

Iran Focus

London, 20 Jan - Paris Friday, January 19, 2018: A conference was held, entitled, “Change in Iran with 1000 Ashrafs (1000 centre of rebellions through Iran)”, featuring the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, Mr. Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and Senator Robert Torricelli, also a group of representatives of Iranian communities in Europe spoke of their personal experience while in Iran.

Below is the excerpt of the statement issued by NCRI secretariat on Friday 19, January 2018:

Mrs. Rajavi lauded the Iranian people’s glorious uprising which spread at remarkable speed to 142 cities, and the courage and sacrifice of young protesters to achieve freedom and democracy. Hailing the uprising’s martyrs and thousands imprisoned, she said, “Without any doubt, all of us will march on together, until we overthrow this corrupt and criminal regime. Victory belongs to the people of Iran.”

She urged everyone to assist the people of Iran in their uprising to get rid of the religious fascism ruling the country and establish democracy and popular sovereignty. She pointed out, “The people of Iran urge the UN and the world to recognize the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the mullahs’ religious dictatorship. This is the right of a brave people who are at the forefront of the struggle against a regime which is a threat to global peace and security. They urge the United Nations and all governments to pressure the clerical regime to free those arrested in recent protests and hold them accountable regarding those who have disappeared. They must form a commission of inquiry to investigate the arbitrary arrests of thousands of people and the killing of prisoners under torture. The people of Iran expect that all governments severe their political and economic relations with the clerical regime, particularly with the IRGC which is torturing and killing the protesters.”

Noting that the recent uprising has been inspired by the public’s rage over the mullahs’ plundering of their wealth, poverty, unemployment, and class differences as well as the regime’s 38 years of suppression and slaughters, Mrs. Rajavi reiterated, “This is a revolt for freedom and popular sovereignty to establish social justice and prosperity. It is not a byproduct of a power struggle among the regime’s internal factions, but another nail in the coffin of the masquerade about moderation. It showed that the billions of dollars of windfall from the nuclear deal did nothing to cure the regime’s instability. The uprising showed that the people of Iran detest both regime factions and want it overthrown in its entirety and that the Iranian society has a force within itself capable of overthrowing the theocratic regime.

Mr. Newt Gingrich in his speech said: Moderation in the Iranian regime is an illusion. There is a bad wing and a very bad wing in the dictatorship. There is no innocent wing of the dictatorship…The MEK is a real force. The level of fear of the MEK and Mrs Rajavi is growing among the regime. You have survived, you have endured, and you have continued with your mission, and the regime have been unable to stop you. ….You, the MEK, are making a difference. You are on the side of history, because you are on the side of freedom. Thank you Mrs. Rajavi for your dedicated leadership to this cause.

In his remarks to the conference, Senator Torricelli said: This is the beginning of a revolution. A regime that stays in power by killing its people has a numbered life. When Rouhani called French President Macron and asked him to clamp down on the MEK it made one thing clear: This is not a revolution without a leader. The leader is sitting here....The only group who has never compromised with the mullahs is the MEK. I agree with Khamenei on nothing except one thing: he is putting responsibility on the MEK and the PMOI and blaming Mrs. Rajavi. He is right about it. This has been organized for years, network has been created, by never compromising with the regime, never being part of it. The MEK and Mrs. Rajavi have kept credibility… So in identifying the MEK and Mrs. Rajavi, he is right because the MEK and the entire international community that supports it, we are all coming for Khamenei to end this nightmare.

A number of former political prisoners and survivors of the victims of the 1988 massacre also addressed the conference, testifying on the anti-human crimes of the clerical regime in prisons as well as the extensive repression in Iran, the volatile state of the society and the Iranian people’s resentment of the religious fascism ruling the country.

What kind of regime sends children to war?

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Although the US Treasury Department has been instructed by President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) because of its support for terrorism, the Iranian regime shows no signs of backing down from its violations of international laws and interventionist policies in the region, particularly in Arab nations. In fact, Tehran is ratcheting up breaches of international law, military adventurism and expansionist policies. 

One linked issue that has received less time in the spotlight is the intersection between the Iranian regime and the involvement of children in armed conflicts. 
There are six grave violations that are identified by the UN Security Council. One of them is recruiting, abusing or exploiting children during conflicts.
One prominent example of Iran’s involvement in such cases is the Syrian conflict. In the last six years of the Syrian conflict, the Islamic Republic has shown that it will resort to any tool in order to maintain Bashar Assad and his forces in power. One of these tools has been the increasing recruitment of foreign children, both in Iran and elsewhere, in order to fight in the front lines of the Syrian battlefields to enable the Syrian and Iranian forces and their militias to suffer fewer casualties and achieve victories.
Two particular Iranian organizations are behind the recruitment; the IRGC and its elite  Quds Force, whose mission is to operate beyond Iran’s borders in order to export the revolutionary principles of the Islamic Republic and safeguard Iran’s geopolitical interest. 
Leaders of the IRGC and Quds Force implement different tactics to recruit children. The Iranian regime normally preys on children and families who are vulnerable for various reasons. 
Some children come from immigrant families. The families are lured to give up their children to fight in conflicts in exchange for a better position in Iran. Other children are refugees who are seduced by promises of legal residency status and permits. It is extremely difficult to obtain a legal residency permit in the Islamic Republic even for those refugees who have been living there for decades. 
In addition, many of these children come from lower socio-economic class. The Iranian regime exploits their poverty and recruits them in exchange for financial incentives. Reports from human rights organizations indicate that currently not only does the Iranian regime recruit children, but Iran-backed militia are also engaged in such activities. 
The UN’s Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflicts states that ending such violations is “the focus of its Special Representative’s work and advocacy.” Nevertheless it does not seem that any concrete and successful actions have been taken to prevent the Iranian regime from abusing children in conflicts.

The IRGC, the Quds Force and Iran-backed militias are breaking international law by recruiting children to fight in Syria.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Ironically, Iran is a signatory to the Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which focuses on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2000 and went into force in 2002. The Protocol states that 18 is the minimum age for participation in wars and armed conflict. It clearly states that the protocol is a commitment that states will not recruit children under the age of 18 to send them to the battlefield. States will not conscript soldiers below the age of 18. States should take all possible measures to prevent such recruitment — including legislation to prohibit and criminalize the recruitment of children under 18 and involve them in hostilities. States will demobilize anyone under 18 conscripted or used in hostilities and will provide physical, and psychological recovery services and help their social reintegration. Armed groups distinct from the armed forces of a country should not, under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities anyone under 18.
Human Rights Watch’s latest report raised alarm about the Iranian regime’s role in recruiting Afghan children. Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said: “Iran should immediately end the recruitment of child soldiers and bring back any Afghan children it has sent to fight in Syria. Rather than preying on vulnerable immigrant and refugee children, the Iranian authorities should protect all children and hold those responsible for recruiting Afghan children to account.”
More importantly, since reports by human rights organizations indicate that Iran recruits children as young as 15, Iran is committing another violation of international law which is considered a war crime by the International Criminal Court and is completely prohibited.
The increasing recruitment of children by the Iranian regime to fight in conflicts not only has serious psychological and physical implications for the children and their families, but also inflicts serious damage on the security and stability of the region. It is incumbent on the international community and human rights organizations to follow up on their promises, take immediate action and hold the Iranian leaders responsible for violating international law, abusing human rights and children, and committing a war crime. 
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh