Who is the alternative to Iran’s regime?

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

June 22, 2018 - Following the ongoing Dec/Jan protests aimed at bringing freedom for Iran’s suffering people, there are two vital issues at hand:

1. Overthrowing the mullahs’ dictatorship
2. The alternative to this regime

The more we trek forward, the question of who is this regime’s alternative becomes all the more imperative. In such sensitive circumstances it is quite natural to see many parties claiming to be the alternative to Tehran’s mullahs.

It is also natural that all groups and individuals, associated or non-associated to a third party, those willing to sacrifice and opportunists seeking to jump at the opportunity, are surfacing and claiming to be patriotic in nature and opposing the ruling apparatus.

This resembles the end of winter and the arrival spring, bringing about the birth of plants. Alongside flowers, however, we also witness the growth of weeds. Next to flowers we see tall and powerful trees full of leaves and blossoms.

When the air speaks of a revolution and change, there are many parties seen rising from their sleep ready to hijack the ruling state, and willing to resort to any and all deceptive measure necessary.

They begin to claim of having a long struggle history against the ruling regime, forging records of years in jail and enduring torture. Worst of all, through demonizing propaganda, they begin to hinder the efforts of truly democratic entities seeking to bring about real change.

In such circumstances, the question is who is the true alternative to Iran’s regime?

The history of revolutions across the globe provide the following realities:

1) An alternative organ has members willing to sacrifice their all, and its enmity against the ruling regime is crystal clear for all parties.

This entity, involved in a continuous war against  the enemy, has seen many of its members lose their lives fighting for their people.

This entity also has seen many of its members imprisoned by different regimes ruling their country. These prisoners are resilient in the face of torture and harsh conditions, leading to their execution.

This entity has complete faith in its objective, being freedom for its people.

2) This alternative has roots in its nation and has risen for their cause.

3) This alternative has access and relies on popular sources for its intelligence. When the enemy launches massive clampdowns, this alternative’s roots amongst the people allows it to obtain intelligence from the ruling regime and expose their true nature to the outside world.

For example, the revelations made by the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) regarding the Iranian regime’s clandestine nuclear program.

4) A true alternative should not be associated to any foreign power. It must be independent to the very meaning of the world and especially rely financially on its people and supporters.

5) This alternative must have a strong, democratic organization.

6) This alternative must have a specific leadership established around the cause of opposing the ruling regime and through the years proving its honesty and competence. The leadership must be fully involved in the struggle against the ruling dictatorship, paying the very price of all the sufferings.

7) This alternative must represent people from all walks of life in society and focus its efforts to establish a democratic state.

8) This alternative must be recognized on a global scale and establish this recognition through years of struggle.

Looking at Iran, the only entity fitting such criteria is the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a parliament-in-exile led by NCRI President Maryam Rajavi.

The Iranian Diaspora is planning to hold its annual convention on June 30^th in Paris to express their support for democratic change in Iran.

Visit this website for more information about the Iranian opposition convention.

A Viable Democratic Alternative to the Iranian Regime

By Ken Blackwell | June 22, 2018 | 4:14 PM EDT

One could easily argue that Iran’s ruling theocracy is facing the greatest internal threat to its rule since the 1980s. In the beginning of this year, the country was rocked by a mass uprising. The chain of protests was a major step forward for the domestic Resistance movement in the sense that it extracted political activism from farmers and the rural poor, despite the fact that these groups had long been thought to tolerate or even support the clerical regime.

The December-to-January uprising was comprised of protests in upwards of 140 cities and towns spanning the entire country. And this diversity has remained on display in the ensuing months, as activist networks and entire populations continue to organize more localized demonstrations, in keeping with the call-to-action issued in March by Maryam Rajavi, the president of theNational Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a coalition headed by the principle Iranian Resistance group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

On the occasion of the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, Mrs. Rajavi stated “the coming year can and must be turned into a year full of uprisings,” which must continue “until final victory.” The NCRI has elaborately outlined what “final victory” might look like, and it entails the wholesale removal of the existing regime, and its replacement with a democratic system. Rajavi has articulated a ten-point plan describing the framework of this system, complete with free and fair elections, secular governance, safeguards on the rights of women and minorities, and a commitment to peaceful relations with Iran’s neighbors.

So as Iran’s domestic situation and Western policies toward the Islamic Republic both contend with periods of upheaval, it is important to address two essential questions. Firstly, can the “final victory” predicted by Mrs. Rajavi actually be achieved? And secondly, if the clerical regime can indeed be driven out of power, what comes next?

European MP ties to Islamic Republic of Iran

European MP ties to Islamic Republic of Iran

By David N. Neumann

After lashing out against opponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran in several parliamentary debates, a member of the European Parliament has admitted to doing the bidding of Tehran. In a meeting in Brussels, Portuguese socialist MEP Ana Gomes acknowledged that she had been instructed in Tehran to bash the Iranian opposition.

“I met with relatives of the victims of a terrorist organisation called MEK,” she said on her visit to Tehran in a meeting of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on 22 February 2018. After making a number of allegations about the Iranian opposition movement PMOI or MEK, she added: “We cannot continue to allow some members of this parliament, possibly out of naiveté, to continue to abet some of the members of this organization.”

Her claims are particularly surprising, given that competent European and American courts all rejected the terrorist designation of the Iranian opposition years ago. The label had originally been imposed at the behest of Tehran; the only state that currently calls MEK as terrorist is the Iranian government.

Top leaders of the Islamist regime have all blamed the recent nationwide uprisings in Iran on the MEK, while calling for the execution of those arrested as protest leaders.

Last week the Habilian Association, an affiliate of Iran’s notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), published a report about the visit of European lawmakers. Habilian, which claims to be “an NGO run by families of Iranian terror victims,” pointed to the speech of its Secretary General, Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad, as the only non-parliamentarian speaker at a joint meeting between the visiting members of the European Parliament and Iranian MPs on 14 February 2018.

During the meeting with the European delegation, Hasheminejad criticized the visits to the European Parliament of Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi. Later he held a separate meeting with Ana Gomes in which he “praised her brave stance against the MEK,” adding that “she welcomed Habilian’s proposals for more collaboration in future.” The report added that the MEP said that she had been accused by Iranian exiles of being on Tehran’s payroll.

Ms Gomes has been proudly promoting photos of her Tehran visit on twitter and social media, raising questions about how she was allowed to spend so much time cozying up to the “terror victims,” while her colleagues in the same European delegation were denied contact with lawyers and relatives of political prisoners. In fact, the lawyer and mother of Swedish-Iranian doctor Ahmadreza Jalali, who is currently on death row on baseless accusations of espionage, had come for a pre-arranged meeting with the MEPs at their hotel in Tehran. “We were just beginning our conversation when two people from the regime’s security officials intervened and stopped the meeting,” MEP Lars Adaktusson told Swedish radio on his meeting with Jalali’s relatives, adding that the lawyer was forced to leave the hotel.

Ms Gomes accused other members of the European Parliament of “naiveté” for supporting the Iranian opposition, but the two incidents suggest quite the opposite. Why would Iran, one of the world’s worst human rights violators with the highest per capita number of executions in the world, praise the Portuguese MEP and give her such free access to certain individuals, while denying her colleagues access to others?

One of the “victims” whom Ms Gomes has been promoting in her photos is Ibrahim Khodabandeh, named by a 2012 US Library of Congress report as an Iranian intelligence (MOIS) agent. Khodabandeh’s sister-in-law, an English woman based in Leeds, also named as an MOIS operative in the same report, visited the European Parliament last December and spent half a day in Gomes’ office. A week after that visit, Gomes used a parliamentary debate in Strasbourg to demand the expulsion of Iranian opposition activists from the European parliament.

Several European intelligence agencies have reported on Iran’s focus on MEK. Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution or ‘BfV’ stated in its latest annual report, in July 2017: “The main focus of MOIS is in particular on the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) and its political umbrella, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).”

Ana Gomes’ close relations with the Islamic Republic is nothing new. But her obsessive use of every opportunity to slam the Iranian opposition and her wholehearted commitment to openly accommodating Tehran’s interests is rather puzzling.

‘Iran’s days are numbered’ US Congressman in urgent warning to Islamic regime

WARNING: Dana Rohrabacher said the Iranian regime's days are numbered

The Republican said the end of the Islamic Republic is in sight, saying the regime could be kicked out of power “in the blink of an eye”.

Protests in the country have continued this month after first erupting late last year due to anger at soaring unemployment and economic problems.

These spiralled into bigger demonstrations as citizens vented their anger at the regime ruled by religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But despite Tehran clamping down on the protests, with hundreds of demonstrators rounded up and arrested, Mr Rohrabacher said they signal the end for the regime.

He was speaking yesterday at a conference in Paris organised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI).

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.”

International Women's Day Conference – Paris 2018

A conference entitled, “Women Force for Change, Iran Uprising and the Role of Women,” held in Paris on Saturday, February 17, 2018, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.

 The keynote speaker at this conference was the NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi.

Dozens of prominent women including political personalities, lawmakers, jurists, judges, and women’s rights advocates from 23 countries in five continents participated and declared their solidarity with the women of Iran, the Iranian Resistance, and the Iranian people’s uprising.

A delegation of mothers of martyrs, a delegation of Iranian women’s associations and rights activists, as well as a delegation of youth supporting the Iranian Resistance also spoke at the conference.

Maryam Rajavi and the Plan for Women’s Rights in Iran

There are ten areas that Maryam Rajavi and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) see as in need of improvement in terms of gender equality in Iran.

Let’s explore those ten areas and how Maryam Rajavi would tackle them in more detail.

1. Fundamental freedoms and rights

Maryam Rajavi believes that women should have the same human rights and fundamental freedoms as men and vows to ban any type of discrimination against women, in order to ensure that women are equal to men in all economic, social and political spheres.

2. Legal Equality

Maryam Rajavi believes that women and men should have equal protection under the law. Thus, she would:

• raise of the criminal age of responsibility for girls in Iran to 18

• make courts recognise that testimonies and affidavits from women hold equal weight to those from men

• guarantee women’s access to the police and the courts in cases of violence, rape and sexual assault, discrimination, and deprivation of liberty

3. Clothing

Maryam Rajavi believes that women should choose their own clothing without governmental interference, so she would repeal the law on mandatory hijab/veiling and repeal laws that allow employers to dictate the wearing of the hijab.

4. Equal political participation

Maryam Rajavi thinks that women should be allowed to equally participate in political leadership, including:

• formulation and implementation of government policy

• the holding of public office

• the ability to perform all public functions at all levels of government

Therefore, Maryam Rajavi would remove any law banning or limit women’s occupation of senior posts in the government and the judiciary. She would also implement a system when at least half of senior government positions must be given to women and at least half of the candidates for election from any political party must be women. This system is already in place at the NCRI and has worked well to promote equality.

5. Economic Equality

Maryam Rajavi believes that women and men should have equal economic rights, including equal opportunities in the job market, equal pay and equal employment rights. Maryam Rajavi also believes that women should have equal access to men in terms of inheritance, entering contracts, and property management.

6. Equality in the family sphere

Maryam Rajavi thinks that women should have equal rights in family life, which means the freedom to marry or divorce as they see fit (without coercion) and that both parents are responsible for child-rearing, which means that they have equal rights over the children.

Maryam Rajavi would ban underage marriage, polygamy, and any governmental interference into the private lives of women.

7. Criminalising violence

Along with banning the death penalty and torture, Maryam Rajavi would also criminalise rape, various other forms of violence against women, acts of intimidation, and the forcible deprivation of women’s freedoms.

8. Banning sexual exploitation

Maryam Rajavi wants women to be protected from sexual exploitation, so she would ban the sex trade, the trafficking of women, and forcing women into prostitution.

9. Repealing Sharia law

The repeal of the mullahs’ Sharia laws by Maryam Rajavi would remove many sexist laws that the Regime wanted in place, including stoning as a punishment and the acceptance of crimes against women.

10. Social benefits

Maryam Rajavi believes that women must have equal access with men to social benefits relating to retirement, unemployment, old age and other forms of disability, and that women from marginalised groups should receive special financial, educational and medical support from the government.

Maryam Rajavi also believes that pregnant women and new mothers should have rights to maternity leave, medical care, and government-funded daycare when they return to work.

IRAN: EUROPEANS CALL FOR RELEASE OF DETAINEES FOLLOWING RECENT PROTESTS AT LARGE CONFERENCE IN FRANCE

By INU Staff

INU - A large conference took place in France and was attended by dozens of political dignitaries and members of European Parliament. The speakers from all across Europe joined in solidarity with the people of Iran and spoke about how to move the situation forward. 

The speakers agreed that the situation in Iran was looking up because the people are making their voices heard, although they expressed their concern that the Iranian regime was still torturing, arresting and executing peaceful protesters.

Several of the speakers spoke about times of oppression in their own countries and remained positive that the people of Iran would have the same happy ending as they did. Romeo Nicoara of the Romanian Parliament said that his country was going through a similar situation around thirty years ago. Like the people of Iran, the Romanians protested against their regime and were brutally oppressed. However, he stressed, now the people of Romanian benefit from democracy – something that the people of Iran will soon get.

Numerous speakers also spoke about the role of women in the Iranian Resistance and praised Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Resistance, for leading in such an exemplary way.

aleria Cardinali, a Member of the Italian Parliament, said that the women of Iran see through example that women can have a rightful and equal place in society. Cardinali also called on Europe to recognise the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a viable alternative to the brutal Iranian regime.

Speaking about European policy toward Iran, the lawmakers agreed that more action needs to be taken. Roger Lyons, former General Secretary of the largest union in Britain and former President of the Trade Union Congress, said that the UK government, and the European Union, need to stop dealing with Iran until it stops executing its people. He emphasised that expressions of solidarity are not enough – they must be turned into meaningful actions.

Mrs. Rajavi highlighted that thousands of people have been arrested and dozens of people killed or tortured to death by the regime, yet despite this the people are still taking to the streets to protest. These brave people will risk everything to ensure that their country sees great change. She said that this shows the force of the people and said that Iranian society has reached a turning point. The regime knows this and it is in a desperate situation.

“Thirty-nine years of bloodshed and crimes, discrimination against and suppression of women, repression and censorship is enough. Europe must end its silence and inaction and distance itself from the clerical regime. This regime has no future and appeasing it will only increase the price of freedom for the people of Iran. Appeasement will fuel more wars and crises in the region but of course, it cannot prevent the overthrow of the clerical regime by the people of Iran.”

Finally, Mrs. Rajavi urged the United Nations to set up an international commission to investigate the arrests and disappearances of Iranian protestors.

“Iran Uprising - International Call for Release of Detainees” – 9th February 2018

London, 09 Feb - Lawmakers and political dignitaries from numerous European countries including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Malta, and Poland participated in a conference named “Iran Uprising - International Call for Release of Detainees” on Friday 9th February.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) addressed the speakers and spoke about the changing circumstances in Iran. She said that the situation was changing for the better and spoke about four main issues.

Firstly, she said that the recent uprising in Iran was a turning point in the developments of the past few years. Mrs. Rajavi said that the conditions in Iran will never go back to the way they once were. In other words, the regime will not be able to oppress or suppress the people into silencing their discontent any longer. She said that the recent events in Iran were more than simply protests and demonstrations about the economy. Rather, it was a nationwide movement against the entirety of the clerical regime. The protest spread quickly to 140 cities across the country. Furthermore, the corruption within the leadership has exhausted all of the regime’s resources. The regime has no power to resolve any of the problems. Only serious political change can solve the severe social crisis in Iran. Mrs. Rajavi highlighted that the people were chanting “Death to Rouhani and to the reformists and the hardliners” showing that all of the regime was targeted.

Secondly, speaking about how the regime confronted the uprising, the leader of the Resistance said that once again the regime imposed repression like it has done in the past. It imposes many things on the people including a compulsory religion, the compulsory wearing of a veil, and so on. Mrs. Rajavi noted that the regime teaches and carried out practices that go against Islam. The role of women was discussed, and Mrs. Rajavi describe the women of Iran as an “explosive force” and one that the regime cannot cope with.

Mrs. Rajavi emphasised the Iranian Resistance is behind the people of Iran and is working towards an Iran where people can make their voice heard without fear of arrest, torture or execution. Fifty people have been killed, as far as we are aware, and at least 12 of them have been tortured to death. More than 8,000 people have been arrested for protesting. However, as hard as it may try, the regime does not have the power to stop the protests. It can clamp down on the people, but it cannot stop them from protesting and Mrs. Rajavi predicted that we will see more protests in the near future.

Mrs. Rajavi highlighted the role of the Iranian Resistance in guaranteeing peace, stability and security in Iran. She said that although the regime believes the Resistance is behind the uprising, it has in fact a much deeper role. It is the only chance of a democratic and free Iran and it has already offered plans and a structure for a future Iran. It is a viable alternative to the Iranian regime.

Finally, with regards to European policy on Iran, Mrs. Rajavi called on the European Union and its member states to adopt effective measures and binding decisions to ensure that the religious fascism ruling Iran frees the imprisoned protesters, guarantees freedom of speech and assembly, ends the suppression of women and abolishes the compulsory veil. She advised that all relations with Iran must be conditioned on an end to executions and suppression.

Martin Patzelt, a member of the German Bundestag’s Human Rights Committee, said that as representatives of the free world we have a responsibility to act and speak out against the atrocities happening in Iran. Europe needs to stay on the side of the Iranian people and not speak a dual language, he said. With regards to the people that are being tortured to death in Iran, Patzelt said that we should not remain indifferent. The Iranian regime’s policies have never been in favour of peace and stability because that would shake its foundations. Hence it is spending all the country’s money on supporting terrorist groups in the region.

Member of the Romanian Parliament, Romeo Nicoara, told the audience that we are living through a historical moment. He compared the current situation in Iran to what Romania went through three decades ago when the people protested against the regime. He said that the suppressive forces tried to stop them, but they could not manage. He has big hopes that the same result – democracy - will come soon to Iran.

Member of the Italian Parliament, Valeria Cardinali, focused on the plight of the women of Iran. She praised Mrs. Rajavi’s hard work and determination and said that she provides so much encouragement and hope. She said that Mrs. Rajavi and the other woman in the Resistance are showing the women of Iran that they can be strong and have a legitimate and equal place in society. Finally, she called on the whole of Europe to recognise the NCRI as a viable alternative to the Iranian regime.

Roger Lyons, former General Secretary of the largest union in Britain and former President of the Trade Union Congress, has participated in a number of rallies in London in the past few weeks and he declared his support for the Iranians who are calling on the British government to turn solidarity into meaningful actions. He praised the statement made on 3rd February by the International Trade Union Federation (ITUC) that called for the its 200 million affiliated members in 163 countries to take practical action in solidarity with the Iranian people. This, he said, is the strongest statement that calls for demonstrations at all Iranian embassies and delegations to the government in 163 countries. This, he hoped, will raise the level of solidarity to a new level.

He addressed Mrs. Rajavi, and the whole of the Resistance, saying that the uprising in Iran more than justifies all of the hard work that they are putting into bringing change to Iran. Pressure on individual governments is crucial and he said that in Britain they are calling on the UK government and the EU “to stop paying lip service” to the Iranian regime.

Member of the Italian Parliament, Elisabetta Zamparutti, also emphasised that now is a crucial moment of the Resistance because demonstrations are continuing despite the thousands of arrests and killings that are taking place.

Zamparutti expressed her astonishment of the regime’s massacre of human life and reminded the conference that the nature of the regime is still the same as it was in 1988 when the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners took place.

The regime does not recognise human rights or democracy and she gave this as one of the reasons why we need to support the Iranian Resistance, now more than ever. She also emphasised that Europe must factor human rights into all relations with Iran.

Iran: Women’s Ward Inmates Protest Illegal Transfer Of Atena Daemi, Golrokh Iraee

A group of women imprisoned in the Women’s Ward of Evin Prison published an open letter protesting the illegal banishment of Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee to the notorious Qarchak Prison.

They expressed concern over the conditions of their fellow inmates and demanded immediate and effective measures.

 Golrokh Iraee, Nassim Bagheri, Maryam Olangi, Zahra Zehtabchi, Nigara Karim Ava, Fatemeh Mohammadi, Elham Farahani, Nargess Mohammadi and Maryam Akbari Monfared are among the signatories of this open letter.

Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee have started a wet hunger strike on February 3, 2018, in protest to their illegal transfer to Qarchak Prison and demand to be returned to Evin.

Detainees in the Women’s Ward of Evin wrote in their letter, “Varamin’s Qarchak Prison is place for detaining women with general crimes. There is no classification or separation of prisoners in this prison. The prison fails all standards for detention of prisoners. No drinking water, poor hygiene and no air ventilation are only a small part of the problems of detainees in this prison.”

The assistant prosecutor of Evin, Haj Moradi, had claimed that Ms. Daemi and Ms. Iraee had been banished due to complaints from prisoners and staff in the Women’s Ward.

The two, were

According to NCRI Women’s Committee the two, Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee were beaten up and banished to the notorious women’s Qarchak Prison, in Varamin, Tehran Province.

The prisoners of the women’s ward of Evin had resisted interrogation over a fabricated case recently filed against them. They were beaten on Wednesday, January 24, 2018, and transferred out of Evin.

Varamin’s Qarchak Prison is a notorious detention center for ordinary and dangerous women criminals where the living conditions are viciously below the standard. Women political prisoners are transferred to Qarchak for physical and psychological torture.

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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We Should Listen Closely To Iran

Heshmat Alavi: As the world continues to debate the recent Iranian outburst of protests, its "lack of leadership" as they claim, and the road ahead, there is no doubt in the minds of senior Iranian regime officials over who le

d, and continues to lead, this latest uprising that continues to rattle the very pillars of the mullahs' rule.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei made his thoughts crystal clear.

“The incidents were organized” and carried out by the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), he said although using a different term. “The [MEK] had prepared for this months ago” and “the [MEK’s] media outlets had called for it.”

The MEK is best known for first blowing the whistle on Iran's clandestine nuclear program back in 2002 and raising awareness over the possible military dimension (PMD) of this drive, a subject awaiting full clarification as we speak.

Interesting is how Khamenei's remarks, however, mirror those of influential American figures.

“The resistance is making a difference,” said  meeting held recently by the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, the sole significant Iranian opposition coalition. The MEK is a member of this umbrella group.

Newt Gingrich, former House of Representatives Speaker and an individual very close to U.S. President Donald Trump, at a “Regime change in Iran”

“The MEK is making a difference. I have no doubt that, in the long run, you are on the right side of history. The resistance is knitting together both in the country and in the world a tremendous force that is sustaining the right to believe that you can be free,” Gingrich added while joined by former Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli.

Their participation marks bipartisan support the NCRI and MEK enjoy in Washington, considered rare these days.

"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," Senator Torricelli, in reference to NCRI President Maryam Rajavi.

"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," he added.

Iran's history of uprisings and the 1979 revolution specifically have witnessed their ups and downs. The current movement is undergoing a similar phase today and any argument that this round of protests have come to an end are baseless.

“The uprising showed that Iranian society is in an explosive state, simmering with discontent," Rajavi said in her speech. "It showed that the regime is much weaker than perceived. It showed that the billions of windfall dollars from the nuclear deal did nothing to cure the regime’s instability. And finally, the uprising showed that the people of Iran detest both regime factions and want it overthrown in its entirety.”

Invited by numerous parliamentary groups, Rajavi continued her efforts on Wednesday in the European Parliament by calling on the Green Continent to break its dangerous silence in the face of ongoing protests in Iran and the regime resorting to numerous crackdown measures.

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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.