It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Actor Nazanin Boniadi asks world to back Iran women protests
Wed, March 8, 2023
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Actor Nazanin Boniadi on Wednesday urged the world to back the protests in her native Iran calling for women's rights and political change, saying despots fear nothing "more than a free and politically active woman.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi, Boniadi told The Associated Press that she hopes people will sign a petition she's supporting accusing Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and Iran of committing “gender apartheid” with their policies targeting women.
“These systems of oppressing women, of dehumanizing women, are based on strengthening and keeping these entrenched systems of power in place," she said. "So we have to legally recognize this as gender apartheid in order to be able to overcome it.”
Boniadi, who as a young child left Tehran with her family for England following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has used her fame as an actor in the series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” on Amazon Prime and in roles in feature films to highlight what's happening back in Iran.
Since September, Iran has faced mass protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being detained by the country's morality police. In the time since, activists say over 500 people have been killed and more than 19,000 others detained in a security force crackdown.
“The thing that is unprecedented is we’re seeing 12-year-old girls, schoolgirls, come out into the streets saying, 'We don’t want an Islamic Republic," Boniadi said. "The courage that takes is astounding. And that courage has been contagious.”
It remains unclear what chemical might have been used, if any. No one has claimed the attacks and authorities have not identified any suspects. Unlike neighboring Afghanistan, Iran has no recent history of religious extremists targeting girls’ education. However, some activists worry extremists might be poisoning girls to keep them out of school.
“The thing that ties us together is that (with) dictators and despots, there’s nothing that they fear more than a free and politically active woman. And so that’s why the crackdowns exist today in Iran ... as you’re seeing with the chemical attacks on schoolgirls."
She added: "We have to come together. We have to unite. We have to find a way forward and end these atrocities against women.”
___
Follow Malak Harb on Twitter at www.twitter.com/malakharb.
Malak Harb, The Associated Press
Friday, November 12, 2021
UK Ratcliffe slams government inaction over wife's detention in Iran as he enters 20th day on hunger strike
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, on the 19th day of his hunger strike outside The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London, following his wife losing her latest appeal in Iran
THE husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe marked day 20 of his hunger strike today after a meeting with a Foreign Office minister left him feeling “deflated.”
Richard Ratcliffe described being “stuck in the same status quo” after the discussion about his wife’s continued detention in Iran with James Cleverly on Thursday.
He accused the British government of not doing enough to resolve the situation.
Mr Ratcliffe, who began his hunger strike outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London on October 24, said that he came away from the meeting with “no hope.”
His update from Mr Cleverly, lasting a little over 30 minutes, took place after talks between British government officials and Iran’s deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani.
According to her family, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was told by Iranian authorities that she was being detained because of Britain’s failure to pay an outstanding £400 million debt to Iran.
Mr Ratcliffe said that the government “clammed up” and would not talk about the debt during his discussion with them.
But Britain reportedly told Iran that it could not pay the debt owing to restrictions brought about by sanctions, according to Tehran’s deputy foreign minister.
Mr Bagheri Kani, according to the Guardian, said that the two sides had agreed to a payment of less than £500 million taking interest into account, adding: “Now what the UK government are bringing up is the limitations on banking interactions, saying it is a difficulty, and finally they cannot do it.”
He said that the issue of repaying the debt was separate from the detention of British-Iranian nationals but said: “If these incidents were resolved, it would naturally have to influence the relationship between the two countries.”
A spokesman for the FCDO said that Mr Cleverly had then met Mr Ratcliffe “to reaffirm our commitment to reuniting his wife with her family in the UK.”
But Mr Ratcliffe said that he felt “a little bit more deflated,” saying: “I don’t feel they’ve given a clear enough message to Iran that hostage-taking is wrong.
“I don’t think there are any consequences to Iran at present for its continuing taking hostages of British citizens and using them.”
Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh described the meeting’s outcome as “bitterly disappointing ” and called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “personally intervene” in the case of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other detainees.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Iranian arms dealing continued in the UK even after notorious tank deal fell apart in 1979
Published: March 22, 2022
THE CONVERSATION
Following her release from detention in Iran, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, held hostage since 2016, said: “what happened now should have happened six years ago”. She was referring to the fact that her release had been secured at the same time as the British government paid Iran a debt it had owed since the first day of her detention – and had in fact owed since the 1970s.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was tragically used as a pawn in this decades-long dispute over almost £400 million.
My research has explored the history of the Anglo-Iranian arms trading relationship and has found that London continued to be a global hub for Iran’s arms purchasing efforts even after the 1979 Iranian revolution. This is perhaps surprising given what we know about Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case. Received wisdom is that the UK failed to follow through on arms deals with Iran due to concerns over the politics and provocative actions of the new Iranian regime. These revelations from the archives make this narrative harder to swallow. A contentious tank deal
Iran was a major customer for British weapons in the 1970s. Between 1971 and 1976, the Iranian government ordered 1,500 Chieftain tanks and 250 armoured recovery vehicles from Britain at a cost of around £650 million. These orders – and the associated funds – were lodged with British state-owned arms company International Military Services Ltd (IMS Ltd).
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At the time, Iran was dramatically expanding its arms purchases, having cashed in on the 1973 oil crisis that saw prices quadruple. The Shah of Iran – the monarch ruling the country – was using the proceeds to pursue domestic modernisation, including through defence and arms procurement. Journalist Anthony Sampson described Iran in the mid-1970s as “the salesman’s dream”. The country spent over US$10 billion on tanks, aircraft, missiles and all manner of weaponry between 1974 and 1976, and planned a further US$10 billion spend by 1981.
When the Shah of Iran was toppled in 1979, Britain did not see through on its arms deal. Alamy
The 1979 revolution that toppled the Shah saw the US halt arms sales to Iran. The UK – at least in some regard – followed suit. British tank transfers ceased and the bulk of the 1970s contract went unfulfilled. Only 185 of the Chieftain tanks ordered by the Shah had been delivered.
However, IMS Ltd held onto the Iranian government’s money – eventually said to be around £400 million when interest is taken into account. A long series of legal battles have been fought over these funds.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained nearly four decades later and, over the years, the link to the 1970s tank debt has gradually emerged. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was first told that the connection was being drawn between her imprisonment and the debt by her Iranian interrogators in 2016. Meanwhile, the British government remained cagey and avoided the question of a link. Now, however, it has formally confirmed that it paid the debt in the same statement announcing the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and fellow detainee Anoosheh Ashoori.
The post-revolution arms network
While Britain halted the transfer of the Chieftain tanks when the Shah fell, the arms trading relationship with Iran did not cease entirely during the 1980s.
Indeed, by the time Iran was fighting a bloody war with Iraq that would last for most of the decade and claim up to a million lives, Britain, and London in particular, had a central role in Iran’s arms procurement networks.
My research shows that Iran was running a military procurement office in the heart of Westminster to supply its war machine. The office, hosted in the National Iranian Oil Company building, was located over the street from the Department for Trade and Industry, and a stone’s throw away from Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.
British government documents from 1985 note 60 to 70 arms dealers worked to broker arms deals in the building alongside over 200 oil company representatives. Contemporary press reports suggested millions of dollars of business flowed through the office, although British officials were reluctant to specify how much of Iran’s alleged US$1.2 billion annual arms purchases were handled in Westminster.
While few actual weapons systems appear to have been transferred through the offices, a search of the building in 1982 by the Metropolitan Police did uncover explosive fighter jet ejector seat parts in the basement.
Some evidence even suggests a link between IMS Ltd, the Chieftain tank deal and the Iranian offices. In the mid-1980s some spare parts for the tanks were supplied to Iran, with the name of Iran’s London office found on some leaked paperwork linked to the transaction.
The official British rules on arms transfers to Iran and Iraq during the war were complicated. Guidelines from 1984 suggested that Britain would not supply “lethal” equipment, that existing contracts should be fulfilled where possible and that transfers should not exacerbate or lengthen the conflict.
Richard Ratcliffe, pictured during his hunger strike towards the end of his wife’s captivity. Alamy
British officials were well aware of the Iranian office, and were frequently pressured to act against it by the US government. However, British intelligence struggled to understand what exactly was going on inside the building, and no clear evidence could ever be found of a breach of British law.
The desire to avoid a diplomatic spat with Iran but also the potential for a flourishing commercial relationship with Iran in other areas –- particularly supplying the National Iranian Oil Company – prevented British action.
It was only in 1987, following a series of Iranian provocations, including attacks on oil tankers and British diplomats in Tehran, that Margaret Thatcher’s government pulled the plug on Iran’s arms dealing operations in Westminster. Insights from the archives
It is clear that challenging diplomatic relations and international sanctions on Iran over recent decades have made resolving the tank debt complicated. But the largely forgotten story of Iran’s London arms procurement office makes the British government’s unwillingness or inability to pay somewhat challenging to comprehend. Any narratives that suggested it was impossible to engage with the question of the debt skip over rather a lot of other activities that continued throughout the period in question.
I’ve been able to scrape together information about Iran’s audacious 1980s procurement operation at the heart of Westminster thanks to the rules that make government records public after 30 years. In another 30 years’ time, the archives might help to shed some further light on the events of 2022, as well as the years Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori spent imprisoned. They might tell us why it took so long for them to be reunited with their families.
Author
Daniel Salisbury Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Science and Security Studies, King's College London Disclosure statement Daniel Salisbury receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust.
Iran nuclear deal 'close', Tehran frees captives as obstacles narrow Richard Ratcliffe celebrates the release of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian who had been held in Iran since 2016, as he carries their daughter Gabriella following a press briefing outside his home in London
(AFP/JUSTIN TALLIS)
Jastinder KHERA Wed, March 16, 2022
Washington said Wednesday it was "close" to a deal with Iran on reviving a 2015 pact that saw Western powers provide sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran's nuclear programme, the latest sign of advancement following prolonged deadlock.
Days after Russian demands seemed to jeopardize talks in Vienna over restoring the pact, this week has seen multiple positive signals that an accord may at last be within reach, including the release of two British Iranians Wednesday after years of detention in Iran, and word that outstanding issues have narrowed to just two.
The negotiations began last April between Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia, with the United States taking part indirectly.
Now a successful resolution appears more viable than at any point in years.
"We are close to a possible deal, but we're not there yet," said State Department spokesman Ned Price. "We do think the remaining issues can be bridged."
Speaking to reporters, Price declined to confirm Tehran's claim that there were just a pair of final issues to be sorted out, down from four, before agreeing to restore the six-party Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which aimed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
But he said the issues are surmountable, although the 11-month-old talks "are at a very delicate stage."
"There is little time remaining given the nuclear advancements that Tehran has made" toward developing nuclear weapons that would undermine any agreement, he said.
The EU diplomat chairing the Vienna talks, Enrique Mora, told reporters last week that delegations were down to negotiating the footnotes of the text, but progress stalled when Moscow demanded guarantees that Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its trade with Iran.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated Tuesday that Russia had received "written guarantees" from Washington. - 'Relieved' -
That news was followed Wednesday by Iran releasing two British-Iranians, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, taken as another sign of diplomatic thaw.
"I'm relieved that the problems were solved" allowing Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release, her husband Richard Ratcliffe told AFP at the family home. "The first thing she always wanted to do was me make her a cup of tea."
UK lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, who represents the north London district where Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family lives, tweeted a photo of her constituent smiling on board a plane.
"It's been 6 long years -- and I can't believe I can FINALLY share this photo," she wrote.
The increasingly positive signs have led some to hope the revival of the 2015 deal may be just days away, with one diplomatic source saying the process was on "the right track".
However, the same source warned that "we have to be cautious".
With good reason: negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme have been littered with missed deadlines.
The deal began to fall apart in 2018 when then-US president Donald Trump dramatically withdrew from it and went on to reimpose swinging economic sanctions on Iran.
That led Tehran to exceed the limits on its nuclear activity laid down in the deal.
Iran said Wednesday there were two remaining sticking points in Vienna, including an "economic guarantee" in case a future US administration repeats Trump's abrogation.
Another source close to the talks said the other issue was the status of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, which Washington has branded a terrorist organization.
- 'Too big to fail' -
According to analyst Henry Rome from the Eurasia Group, these problems are "unlikely to prove insurmountable".
"Both the US and Iran want a deal, and the latter probably used some diplomatic capital to persuade Russia to back off its confrontational stance," Rome added.
"It is now clear that Russia's tactical gambit to leverage the Iran nuclear deal to punch a hole in western sanctions regime over the crisis in Ukraine did not work," said Ali Vaez from the International Crisis Group.
Too much energy and political capital have been expended, and the deal "is now too big to fail," Vaez said.
As ever with the talks, there is always a possibility of last-minute complications.
"There may yet be some theatrics, with Iran trying to leverage high oil prices to win several additional concessions," said Rome.
In addition, on Wednesday the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report giving fresh details of advances in Iran's production of uranium metal, which could bedevil implementation of a deal.
anb-jsk-pdh/mlm/to
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Australian scholar Kylie Moore-Gilbert freed after two years in Iranian jail
An Australian-British lecturer jailed for spying by Iran has been released after two “traumatic” years, part of a swap for three Iranian prisoners reportedly linked to a botched Bangkok bomb plot.
Middle East scholar Kylie Moore-Gilbert said leaving Iran was “bittersweet” despite the “injustices” she had endured during more than 800 days detained in some of Iran’s toughest prisons.
“I came to Iran as a friend and with friendly intentions,” she said, praising the “warm-hearted, generous and brave” Iranian people.
After what she called a “long and traumatic ordeal”, the University of Melbourne Islamic studies lecturer said she faced a “challenging period of adjustment” at home in Australia.
The 33-year-old was arrested by Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2018, after attending an academic conference in the holy city of Qom in central Iran. She was later charged with espionage and sentenced to ten years in jail.
The first images of a freed Moore-Gilbert emerged from Iranian state television late Wednesday, sparking elation from friends and family who had campaigned for her freedom and maintain her innocence.
“We are relieved and ecstatic,” the family said in a statement. “We cannot convey the overwhelming happiness that each of us feel at this incredible news.”
In footage broadcast by Iran’s Irib news agency from Tehran airport, Moore-Gilbert was seen wearing a headscarf and a face mask, accompanied by the Australian ambassador.
Seemingly aware of the camera, she removed the mask to confirm her identity.
The outlet also showed a video of three unidentified men—one of them in a wheelchair—draped in Iranian flags and being met by officials, including deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
There was no immediate confirmation of the identity of the trio, but they were said to be part of a prisoner swap.
The Sydney Morning Herald named the three as Mohammad Khazaei, Masoud Sedaghat Zadeh and Saeed Moradi. All three were being held in Thailand after a failed plot to assassinate Israeli diplomats in 2012. Moradi lost both legs in a botched explosion.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison would only say that Australia had not released any prisoners.
He added that he had spoken to Moore-Gilbert and confirmed she would receive health and psychological support on her return.
“She is an amazing Australian who has gone through an ordeal that we can only imagine and it will be a tough transition for her,” he said at a virtual press conference. ‘Kylie, you’re amazing’: Australian PM cheers news of academic freed in Iran
Prison letters
Letters smuggled out of prison told of Moore-Gilbert’s deep psychological and legal struggles.
She wrote that the first 10 months she spent in a wing of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison had “gravely damaged” her mental health.
“I am still denied phone calls and visitations, and I am afraid that my mental and emotional state may further deteriorate if I remain in this extremely restrictive detention ward,” she said.
She also recounted rejecting Tehran’s offer to work as a spy.
“I am not a spy. I have never been a spy and I have no interest to work for a spying organisation in any country.”
She said she had been shown two different draft decisions to her appeal—one for a 13-month sentence, another confirming the original sentence of 10 years.
She was eventually transferred to the general women’s section of Evin prison, where British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held until being granted temporary leave because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband said she was “really happy” when he told her about Moore-Gilbert’s release.
Throughout Moore-Gilbert’s internment, friends and family had become increasingly critical of Australia’s diplomatic approach.
Australian foreign minister Marise Payne said the release followed “determined work” and described the case as “complex and sensitive”.
The US State Department welcomed Moore-Gilbert’s release but said “she should never have been imprisoned,” accusing Iran of “hostage diplomacy”.
British foreign secretary Dominic Raab, in a tweet, called on Iran to “release all the remaining British dual nationals” detained in the country.
I welcome news that Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been able to return to Australia and her family. I call on the Iranian government to release all the remaining dual British nationals arbitrarily detained and allow them to reunite with their loved ones.— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) November 25, 2020
Iran, which has tense relations with the West, has over the years arrested several foreign nationals, often on accusations of spying.
(AFP)
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Liz Truss accused of ignoring British activist on hunger strike in Egypt Family of Alaa Abd El Fattah say it feels as if foreign secretary has ‘abandoned’ him since she started leadership campaign
The family of the British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah have accused the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, of ignoring his case in favour of her bid to lead the Conservative party, as he reached his 114th day of a hunger strike inside Egypt’s Wadi El Natrun desert prison.
Abd El Fattah, a figurehead of Egypt’s 2011 uprisings, has spent most of the last decade behind bars and last December was sentenced to a further five years in prison on charges of terrorism and “spreading false news” after sharing a social media post. He gained British citizenship while incarcerated last year, but British officials have since been stonewalled by the Egyptian side when attempting to visit him in prison.
Since Truss launched her leadership bid on 11 July, there is little evidence that she has engaged with Abd El Fattah’s case while each passing day raises the risk that he will die in prison.\
“He has passed the 110-day threshold. These are ridiculous numbers,” said Mona Seif, Abd El Fattah’s sister. “It feels like since the race for the Tory leadership began, Truss has completely abandoned Alaa’s case.”
Truss told parliament in late June: “We’re working very hard to secure his release,” and raised Abd El Fattah’s case during a meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, in London on 5 July, prior to a meeting discussing UK-Egypt trade deals. UK-Egypt trade was worth £3.3bn last year, while Britain has approved £149m in weapons licences to Egypt since 2019.
Sanaa Seif, Abd El Fattah’s sister, who also gained British citizenship last year, said: “The UK embassy team in Cairo continue to be responsive but that’s been the case from day one. It’s always been the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London that’s been slow. I thought that would change when the foreign secretary told parliament that she’s working on release, that the clock would really start ticking, but nothing has happened.”
Despite pledging to take up Abd El Fattah’s case in June, Truss is yet to meet with his family. The Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon promised to debrief Abd El Fattah’s family since he also met with Shoukry in early July, but that has not happened.
“Truss hasn’t responded to our request for a meeting either positively or negatively – but the slow pace is really worrying. There is no question that the British government needs to act with more urgency,” said Seif.
The shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, said: “These are serious times and the role of foreign secretary is far too important to be a part-time job. Alaa’s desperate situation has not been put on hold for the Tory leadership election. He needs the urgent intervention of the government now, starting with a meeting with Alaa’s family.” Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BST
A Foreign Office spokesperson declined to provide any examples of Truss or Ahmad’s engagement on Abd El Fattah’s case since Truss began her bid for the leadership of the Conservative party, or since their respective meetings with Shoukry in early July.
“The UK government continues to raise Alaa Abd El Fattah’s case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government, including in the foreign secretary’s recent meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister. We are working urgently to secure consular access to Mr Abd El Fattah and are urging the Egyptian authorities to ensure his welfare needs are met,” they said.
Richard Ratcliffe, who previously staged a sit-in and hunger strike outside the FCDO to demand Truss’s engagement to free his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, when she was held in Iran, said: “The fundamental problem is not the minister, but the approach of the government. The advice to vulnerable people to keep quiet while their loved ones are abused is deeply cynical.” Zaghari-Ratcliffe was freed from detention and returned to the UK in March.
“Government policy is effectively to gaslight [families of detainees], and value good relations and business opportunities with those in power elsewhere,” Ratcliffe said.
Abd El Fattah’s family say the Egyptian authorities have created roadblocks to accepting his British citizenship, stalling efforts to visit or free him. “It’s up to Liz Truss to decide that she is fed up with this insulting attitude from the Egyptian authorities, and that it’s time to take a firm stance,” said Mona Seif.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Analysis Admitting to downing Ukraine jetliner will cost Iran regime dearly
A rescue worker shows pictures of a girl that were recovered
from the crash site southwest of Tehran, Iran, Wednesday,
Jan. 8, 2020. The crash of Ukraine International Airlines
Flight PS752 killed all 176 people on board.
(Ebrahim Noroozi/The Associated Press)
It was a short-lived honeymoon for the Islamic Republic regime — a rare wave of popular support, drowned out by a bigger tide of government neglect and recklessness.
The regime's hopes of turning the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani into a moment of renewal for its flagging fortunes were destroyed along with Flight PS752.
From the point of view of the Ayatollahs' regime, this situation is a nightmare scenario of incompetence, hypocrisy and lost opportunity. Remember the Vincennes
More than almost any other event, the shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes in 1988 underpins the regime's narrative of American malignancy.
The Islamic Republic has used the U.S. Navy's
downing of Iran Air Flight 655 as a mainstay of
its propaganda for over 30 years, as seen on
this postage stamp. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, makes a point of referencing the crash on every anniversary.
And when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with strikes over the weekend, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani immediately responded with a tweet about the 290 people killed on that flight.
But within 48 hours his own side would also shoot down a jetliner full of innocent civilians, 147 of whom were citizens of Iran, according to the country's head of emergency operations.
A public relations victory undone
Just weeks ago, the Iranian government faced yet another popular revolt on its streets.
The slogans of the protesters (such as "No to Gaza, no to Lebanon. We sacrifice our lives for Iran," or "We have no money or fuel, to hell with Palestine") linked their economic hardship directly to the costly military adventurism of the regime and the crippling sanctions it's brought.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which was the vanguard of that foreign military mission, also played a leading role at home in suppressing those protests, which saw hundreds of protesters shot in one of the most violent crackdowns since the early years of the Islamic Revolution.
The regime's hopes of turning the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani into a moment of renewal for its flagging fortunes were destroyed along with Flight PS752. (Nazanin Tabatabaee/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
The assassination of Gen. Soleimani gave the regime a golden opportunity to rehabilitate the IRGC in Iranian public opinion by focusing on its role in defeating Sunni jihadist organizations outside of Iran, such as ISIS and al-Nusra/al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria.
Those brutally sectarian organizations, which murder Shia and destroy their shrines, are even more unpopular in Iran than the IRGC. Suddenly, the crowds on the street were celebrating an IRGC commander, in scenes reminiscent of the 1980s when the revolution was new.
But the honeymoon proved extremely short-lived. The Ayatollahs' regime began to blow their golden opportunity before Gen. Soleimani's body was in the ground. A deadly stampede
One of the hallmarks of the Islamic Republic regime is its tragic indifference to life. This is the same regime that, during the Iran-Iraq War, sent human waves of school-age boys to clear landmines with their own bodies in advance of regular Iranian troops.
The youngsters were given metal keys to hang around their necks and told they would open the doors to paradise. Sometimes they were roped together to prevent them escaping. Their lives were wasted by the tens of thousands in futile offensives like the 1982 Operation Ramadan.
The regime's incompetence and indifference was evident on Tuesday morning as massive crowds gathered in Soleimani's hometown of Kerman. The government wanted the crowds to be as large and as emotional as possible. It appears that more thought was given to the design of the giant posters that overhung the event than to managing the crowds or keeping people safe.
The result was a deadly crush. About 60 people died in the stampede and more than 200 were injured.
The same reckless neglect was on display again 24 hours later, as Flight 752 fell from the sky.
It is a pattern in a country that has a record of preventable deaths on its roads, rails and in the sky.
The crash of Flight 752 is the fourteenth Iranian air crash since 2000 to have caused more than 25 fatalities. IRGC admits to role
The one shoe yet to drop was the confirmation that the plane was brought down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps itself, brutally reminding the Iranian people that the organization is more about killing Iranians than it is about killing Americans, Israelis or Sunni jihadists — although Iran's Mehr News quoted an IRGC official as claiming to have killed at least 80 US soldiers in the ballistic missile strikes on U.S. bases early Wednesday.
In its admission of responsibility, Iran stated that the plane was "in close proximity to a sensitive military centre of the IRGC and with the altitude and posture of a hostile aircraft. In these circumstances, the plane was accidentally hit by a human error, which unfortunately results in the martyrdom of dear compatriots and the death of a number of foreign nationals."
Iran's ballistic missile program is under IRGC control, and its "Shahid Tehrani-Moqaddam" Ballistic Missile Research Centre is near to the spot where Flight 752 fell, says Babak Taghvaee, an aviation expert who worked in Iran's military aerospace industry and is author of two books on Iranian military aviation.
"Only the IRGC has the Tor M1 missile system. They received them new from Russia almost 15 years ago to protect their ballistic missile bases," he told CBC News when reached by phone in Malta a few hours before the IRGC confessed to its role.
Dominic Raab, the UK's Foreign Minister, was asked during his Montreal news conference with his Canadian counterpart Francois-Philippe Champagne on Thursday what he hoped to learn from the investigation into the crash. He said he wanted to know what happened, why it happened and who was responsible.
Watch: Purported video of missile strike Video recording appears to show a missile making impact on an aircraft over Tehran. The New York Times says visual and sonic clues in the footage match flight path information and satellite imagery of the area near where Flight PS752 crashed. (Video courtesy of the New York Times) 0:20
A crash investigation, even one not hampered by an uncooperative Iranian regime, would only have been able to answer the first question.
With this confession, Iran answers all three. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps shot down the aircraft. They did it because it flew close to a sensitive base, almost certainly the Shahid Tehrani-Moqaddam Ballistic Missile Research Centre.
Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, said his unit accepts 'full responsibility' for the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran. (Atta Kenare/file photo/AFP via Getty Images)
As far as responsibility goes, Taghvaee says two names immediately.
"Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization, should have grounded all flights, knowing that the air defences were all active. And Brig.-Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the IRGC air defence commander, should have coordinated with them to make sure that happened."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Evan Dyer Senior Reporter Evan Dyer has been a journalist with CBC for 18 years, after an early career as a freelancer in Argentina. He works in the Parliamentary Bureau and can be reached at evan.dyer@cbc.ca.
Sunday, November 20, 2022
A Girl's-Eye View of What's Happening in Iran
LONG READ
Nick Hilden Thu, November 17, 2022 A Girl's-Eye View of What's Happening in Iran
Mike Kim
Iran never seemed to get much consideration from Americans of my generation. It was more of a Boomer thing. Our parents watched the events of the 1970s and 1980s—the Revolution, the hostage crisis, the spiral into repressive theocracy—and so for them, Iran has loomed as a very real, potentially hostile presence. But for millennials who missed all of that, Iran was old news; instead, the Taliban and ISIS were our generational Islamabaddies. Iran’s Supreme Leader would pop up in the news now and again—arrested journalists here, yellow cake there, the will-they-won’t-they of the nuclear deal—but we didn’t pay much attention to anything that resembled a war MacGuffin, having seen the fallout from the Great Aluminum Tube Scare of 2002. We had a bad case of Middle East burnout, in other words.
But if you’ve seen the news, you know that there’s something happening in Iran. What it is isn’t exactly clear—not yet, at least. But it very well could become one of the great advancements in human rights of our time. The world should pay attention—perhaps particularly Americans, who presently find themselves faced with wide-ranging attempts to wrest away hard-won liberties at the hands of a religious zealotry. It’s important to understand what happens when your country falls into the grip of a theocracy.
This story begins and ends with a young woman’s hair, but that’s not what it’s about. Presently, women’s hair, normally an aesthetic concern, is symbolic of something much more. Something revolutionary.
In September, my soon-to-be-niece, Azadeh, flew from Tehran to Istanbul, where she joined my partner Najwa and I to spend her two-week vacation from school. We met her at the airport, and during the taxi ride home, she alternated between excited chatter and shy silence. Though she is close to my partner, it was my first time meeting her, or indeed anyone from Najwa’s family. (Names have been changed out of consideration for safety.)
It was Azadeh’s first trip of this kind: her first solo flight, her first time traveling without her mother and grandmother—my fiancée’s ardently religious maman (my eventual maman-in-law)—and one of the few times in her life when she could go out into the streets without wearing hijab.
I asked what she would like to do while in Istanbul. She smiled somewhat uncertainly and spoke to Najwa in rapid Farsi, which was her tendency until she got to know me better, even though her English is quite good. All I caught was the word Starbucks.
Najwa laughed. “She wants to go to Starbucks.”
Azadeh bristled a bit at the laugh, thinking that maybe she was being teased, then said in English, “It is probably normal for you, but we do not have it in Iran.”
As it turned out, she had a list of brands she wanted to try (she would later declare that Burger King is better than McDonald's, though she thought both were pretty terrible), and while I usually avoid such places, I assured her that we would go. It made sense that a teenager would want to experience pop icons of their ilk, and besides: we always want what we can’t have. Iranians—particularly Iranian women—are barred from a great many things. Western junk chains are the least of them.
At our apartment, Azadeh showered the flight off, then we went out to eat kebab. We were staying in a more traditional district of Istanbul where many women choose to wear hijab, but as we walked through the city’s late summer heat, Azadeh ran her fingers through her long black hair and giggled.
“I’ve never felt my hair dry in the sun before,” she said. “It’s always covered.”
The date was September 10th, 2022. Less than a week later, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman named Jina Amini—more widely known as Mahsa Amini—would die in a Tehran hospital after being arrested by the morality police of the Iranian government for the alleged crime of “improper hijab.” According to witnesses, she was severely beaten while in custody. Iran—and perhaps the world—was about to change.
Najwa and I had flown into Istanbul about a week earlier from the Netherlands, where we attended a conference for Iranian academics and activists in The Hague. There we met a veritable who’s who of Iranian intellectuals-in-exile, including Najwa’s mentor, a Los Angeles-based university professor whom she’d never met in person. When you’re part of a diaspora, digital relationships and networks are powerful tools for maintaining a community scattered across disparate corners of the globe.
I attended the first day of the conference, which was held in English and featured lectures and panel discussions on a variety of topics. More than anything, it struck me as an opportunity for diasporic intellectuals critical of the Islamic Republic—the title given to Iran by its current theocratic regime, a notoriously repressive circumstance that has persisted for more than 40 years—to gather in the real world over coffee and, in the evening, something stronger.
That morning before things kicked off, I stood off to the edge and watched as these provocative Persians became reacquainted, for most of them seemed to know each other. Many went way back, having worked in some degree of concordance ever since leaving their home country in the years and decades following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Most could not return without fearing prison or worse, because they advocated opinions not shared by the Islamic Republic, and because they outright opposed it. Some appeared to be in their thirties and looked like activists, but many were older and looked like university professors. Many, if not most, are.
After watching a Q&A between Najwa’s mentor Dr. Nayereh Tohidi and a professor named Asef Bayat, who spoke about his concept of non-movement (an idea that encapsulates the ways ordinary people can drive revolutionary change through their everyday actions), I sat in on a talk entitled “Scholars and Artists at Risk,” where lawyer Andra Matei spoke on the need for an international framework for the legal defense of artistic freedom of expression.
Matei—who had the assiduous attitude of a person busied and burdened by a great many responsibilities—operates an organization called Avant-Garde Lawyers that provides legal counsel to artists under attack all over the world. She would later tell me about a case she’s working on that involves a poet the Egyptian government has imprisoned for crimes associated with a song and book of poetry he’d written. According to the freedom of expression advocate organization PEN, these crimes include “blasphemy,” “insulting the military,” and “contempt of religion.” The director of the song’s music video had already died in prison; now, the poet’s release was uncertain.
We discussed the case more before our talk turned to attacks on the freedom of expression in general. It is, we agreed, a global issue. Just two weeks earlier, author Salman Rushdie had been brutally stabbed in western New York more than three decades after Ayatollah Khomeini, the predecessor to Iran’s current Supreme Leader, issued a fatwa accusing the writer of blasphemy and calling for his death. Later that very day, the Turkish singer Gülşen would be arrested for making a joke about the country’s religious schools during a performance.
“Americans like to imagine that it’s only a problem in far-off places like the Middle East,” I noted, “but all across the United States, religious conservatives are banning books that contain anything they don’t agree with. It’s not a long stretch of the mind to see how that could someday evolve into arrests for blasphemy.”
“And at the same time,” Matei exclaimed, “you have liberal college students who demand safe spaces where they don’t have to hear anything they don’t agree with.” Blasphemy of another form.
If blasphemy is a matter of perspective, who gets to define and dole out punishments for it? Humanity is not homogenous. We have nonuniform notions, and history has repeatedly proven that the expectation of adherence to a single conception is destined to be met with dissonance. To deem such difference and dissension intolerable—illegal, even—has well-known, tragic outcomes, from Auschwitz to the Killing Fields, COINTELPRO to the Revolutionary Guard, and so on.
I told Matei that I would poke around and try to find a home for this story. That the Egyptian government is vanishing songwriters into prison struck me as deserving more coverage than it’s gotten.
Dinner that evening was a chaotic affair where beer and wine were poured steadily between various toasts and speeches. There were about eighty of us crammed into a restaurant, and Persian was the dominant tongue.
Seated across from me was activist and writer Mansoureh Shojaee, who went into exile after her efforts to advance women’s rights, including the Iranian Women’s Movement Museum, landed her in the country’s infamous Evin Prison in 2009. A frenetic woman of 64, Shojaee constantly seemed to be holding six conversations at once with the other members of the diaspora seated at our table. These included Nayereh Tohidi and her husband Kazem Alamdari; Dutch Senator Farah Karimi, who had fled Iran in the early 1980s; University of Sussex scholar Kamran Matin; and Bayat, among many others. It was a table at which you could practically taste the smart-stew simmering, even through the scourge of jetlag. Said jetlag was subdued (or perhaps accentuated) by an unfaltering flow of booze and tea.
The next morning, I took my hangover to check out the Peace Palace and the International Court of Justice. While there, I tried to take a photo of the World Peace Flame, but it was very small and difficult to capture. Barely a flicker.
The World Peace Flame, barely flickering in The Hague.
Nick Hilden
A few weeks later, I was in Istanbul, and Azadeh walked into the room where I was working with a troubled, almost frightened expression on her face. I gave her only a fraction of my attention, focused as I was on trying to wrangle a publisher for the Egypt story. There was frustratingly little interest.
In any case, I diverted a sliver of my bandwidth to my niece-to-be and asked if something was wrong.
“A girl has been killed,” she informed me, her voice solemn. “In Tehran. By the Morality Police. They arrested her and beat her for not wearing hijab properly. And she died.”
In retrospect, my response was poor. Dismissive, almost. I believe I shook my head and said it was sad, but that was all. I was busy and perhaps resented the distraction a little. To me, it sounded like more bad news from a place where bad news, particularly bad news for women, came as no surprise. Azadeh knew better, however—she seemed to intuit that something new was happening or was about to happen, and she persisted.
“Her name was Mahsa Amini,” she continued. “She was not even from Tehran. She was from the Kurdistan of Iran. She was just visiting with her brother, but they killed her anyway.”
She pursed her lips and shrugged her tiny teenage frame as if to say, That is that. That is the way things are. But I could see that she was deeply troubled by what had happened to this woman. I, however, changed the subject and asked if she would like to go to the iconic Galata neighborhood at some point and take some photos, for she is an aspiring photographer. She agreed and I turned back to the screen.
It only took a few hours following Mahsa Amini’s death for protests to spark in Tehran before exploding across the country over the next few days. What appeared to begin as a few scattered, angry gatherings soon erupted into street battles against riot police and elements of the Revolutionary Guard. At first, the primary weapons seemed to be rocks versus batons, but it wasn’t long before Molotov cocktails and gunfire were popping up in videos emerging from all over the country.
Now I was paying attention. In Istanbul, we were watching events unfold minute by minute. Not via the news—traditional media outlets were late by days and even weeks—but by following relevant hashtags like #MahsaAmini, #IranProtests2022, and #IranRevolution2022. Social media was increasingly entering the fray, which is important considering how much the Islamic Republic’s strategy leverages propaganda and misinformation. Even Anonymous claimed to have joined the fight, with the hacker collective and affiliated groups saying they had disrupted Iranian government systems, cameras, and the website of the central bank. A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran on September 21, 2022, shows Iranian demonstrators taking to the streets of Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody. - - Getty Images
As the days passed, it became apparent that this was different from previous protests—these appeared angrier, more widespread, and more sustained. Azadeh, Najwa, and I watched videos leaking out of the country via social media late into the night, stunned by what seemed to be something heretofore unseen. Videos of women dancing and burning their hijabs in the street. Of crowds of protesters hurling barrages of rocks at police. Of crowds chanting death to the dictator and tearing down images of the Supreme Leader. Videos of the police and militias beating women with batons. Of police carefully taking aim and methodically shooting at protesters. Of a young girl apparently shot, her limp body in the arms of a desperate fleeing man. Of a mother wailing over her child’s body. Of blindfolded prisoners herded into jails en masse.
And then the government started shutting down huge swathes of the internet. This is a common tactic among authoritarians attempting not only to disrupt protests, but also hide what’s going on from the world.
News from Iran slowed to a trickle. Many on the outside agonized over its absence.
We decided to keep our niece with us for another couple of weeks to see how things would shake out. One day while Najwa was working, Azadeh and I rode the bus across the city to the bustling tourist district of Galata, where we planned to visit an art gallery and photograph the neighborhood.
On the bus, Azadeh showed me videos posted to social media by pop stars declaring their support for the people of Iran. She asked me if I thought it would help, and I told her I didn’t know—that it couldn’t hurt. That it meant the world was paying attention.
Our conversation turned, as it so often had over the preceding days, to our most optimistic of topics: what things would be like after the regime fell (the ultimate goal of the protests). No more compulsory hijab! Political prisoners freed! Dance clubs! And—eventually—the normalization of relations between Iran and the rest of the world. Greater passport strength for the Iranians, meaning more freedom of movement and expanded access to opportunities. Perhaps it would become easier for Azadeh to study abroad, a proposition that currently lands somewhere between difficult and impossible.
Then there was how it could impact the Middle East in general. The Islamic Republic fuels much of the region’s conflict, from drawing the ire and involvement of the United States, to consistently ratcheting up hostility with neighbors like Saudi Arabia and Israel, to fueling terrorist organizations scattered across several countries. A new secular democratic government could dramatically ease tension across the board. The people’s ousting of a hardline Islamist government could also inspire similar efforts in nations like Iraq and Afghanistan. On a wider scope, a less isolated and antagonistic government could ease some of the proxy brinkmanship between the US and Russia.
It’s a big deal, in other words, with potentially transformative implications.
“It’s so sad that Mahsa Amini had to die before people got angry enough to do something,” Azadeh mused, more thoughtful than gloomy. She paused and considered. “Maybe the only way change happens is if somebody dies.”
Everyone near us on the crowded bus looked at her. Our apartment was in a part of the city where English speakers are few, but they all understood that.
Young women in Istanbul, hair uncovered.
Nick Hilden
At the art gallery, everything reminded her of Iran. A series of plaster casts of women’s heads hanging by their hair, mouths bloodied. Ceramic figurines of elaborately dressed women, their guts hanging out. A display of women’s portraits, the ink dripping and obscuring their features. After that we made our way down the steep alleys that snake beneath Galata Tower, and as we went along, Azadeh snapped photos of strange-looking doors, random people, and cats.
Eventually we were tired from all the heat and from walking up and down the hill, so we stopped to cool off at… Starbucks, of course. Yes, Turkey is famed for its coffee, but sometimes being an uncle requires sacrifice.
The place was packed with college students, which inspired us to discuss something other than the events in Iran—a welcome break from what was becoming an increasingly fraught subject. Azadeh would be graduating soon and was considering where she would like to attend university. Istanbul topped the list for a number of reasons, not the least of which involved the fact that it wasn’t in Iran, was relatively welcoming to Iranians, and Azadeh already had a working grasp of the language. Above all, it would offer educational and artistic opportunities and freedoms that simply aren’t an option for students in Iran.
She wanted to study graphic design, but worried that her education in Iran had not properly prepared her for a university-level program. With a scornful expression, she explained that they spent too much time studying what she called “Islamic Republic bullshit.”
“Look at that girl,” she said. I’d noticed that she had been watching one of the university students, a young woman with long brown hair who was sitting alone before her laptop and typing intently. She looked to me like a typical college kid that you would encounter anywhere in the world. Azadeh sighed. “She’s so cool. What I want is to be like her, just working on my computer at Starbucks.”
I got the sense—not for the first time and not the last—that Azadeh and the Iranians are suspended in time, waiting for its gears to re-engage and start turning so they can once again move forward. It is a country and a people imprisoned—both metaphorically and in some cases (far too many cases) literally—by an ideology of control. Girls like Azadeh wait for deceptively simple things, like the ability to wear their hair out or enroll in school free of constructed sociopolitical barriers. For those living in exile, time seems to have stopped in 1979. They’ve spent decades in anticipation, fixated on the question of their country, waiting for the day when change will come and they are free to consider new quandaries. Waiting for the day when they can return home without fear of reprisal, without fearing for their very lives or those of their families. Waiting to move on.
A few days later, I interviewed the Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk for The Washington Post. Political repression was at the core of our conversation.
“There is no free speech in Turkey,” Pamuk told me.
In Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ruled as president for nearly a decade, pushing an increasingly authoritarian agenda and courting the Islamists. In the wake of a coup attempt in 2016, the Turkish government arrested thousands of dissidents, including judges and prosecutors, and shuttered scores of media organizations. Shortly after my arrival in Istanbul, there was a large anti-LGBTQ demonstration—this came just months after a violent police assault on the local Pride march. Artists have been imprisoned (like the aforementioned Gülşen, who, reports say, spent five days in jail, fifteen under house arrest, and in October made her first appearance in court while facing a sentence of up to three years—all for joking that her bandmate became a pervert after attending a religious school). Dozens of journalists and writers have been imprisoned too. Now Pamuk has drawn the government’s ire and is currently the subject of an open investigation for insulting the flag and the country’s founder—”crimes” punishable with up to three years in prison.
I asked Pamuk if he would go into prison or flee into exile. He was flippant, saying the question was too hypothetical, but I was not so sure. I’d been spending a lot of time around Iranians for whom prison or exile was an all too real consideration, and Turkey was looking more and more like Iran. This was a concern that Azadeh had raised.
“My niece is Iranian and wants to go to school in Turkey,” I mentioned, “but she’s worried that Erdoğan is turning Turkey into Iran.”
“It’s not true,” he said. “Turkish bureaucracy for many years resisted Erdoğan and now forty percent is secular. Even some people who voted for Erdoğan are secular. Now Turkey is suffering from immense, immense poverty because of the mismanagement of Erdoğan. He will lose even Islamist votes or conservative votes in the next election. So it's not the same situation.
“I respect, admire, and back the brave people of Iran, the brave women of Iran who went out in the streets and protested against power,” he said. “If there were free elections in Iran, no one would vote for the present government. So at least we have a ballot to vote, and the government may change. I hope it will change. I believe it will change. In Iran, they don't have that.”
Ten days after speaking with Pamuk about hypothetical imprisonment, I was confronted by the real deal.
We’d flown back to The Hague, Najwa and I, for an event called “From Evin with Love”—the opening of an exhibition of artwork and handicrafts created by women activists held captive at Iran’s infamous Evin Prison. Launched by Mansoureh Shojaee, who herself had been incarcerated in Evin, the event featured speeches by Senator Farah Karimi (who said that two days before, her niece had been attacked in the street by three men who thought her hijab wasn’t up to snuff), Halleh Ghorashi (another Iranian academic and refugee), and British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Evin following her 2016 arrest, before being moved to house arrest in 2020, then finally released in March of this year.
There was supposed to be another speaker—Mehraveh Khandan, the daughter of human rights lawyer and activist Nasrin Sotoudeh—but according to Karimi, when she arrived at the airport to fly to the Netherlands, police agents prevented her from leaving the country.
During her speech, Shojaee summed up the situation:
“The citizens of Iran are calling for justice, equality, and freedom, and the world should listen to their chant: Women, Life, Freedom… Women, Life, Freedom is a movement to reveal not only women’s dignity, but human dignity. In this slogan, women represents all of the groups being oppressed in Iran. Life stands for people’s demand for a dignified life, where citizens have access to basic civil rights. Freedom, because Iranians want a democratic society where freedom of expression is a right and nobody can be put in jail for expressing their ideas, gender identity, religion, or political stance. Although these demands may seem natural to you, in the past forty years under the Islamic Republic, thousands of Iranians have been imprisoned or even executed for demanding such rights… We are dedicating this year’s exhibition to Mahsa Amini, whose life was taken by Morality Police violence.” Protestors in London hold up "Woman, Life, Freedom" signs and Iranian flags.
SOPA Images - Getty Images
Woman, Life, Freedom, or in the original Kurdish Jin, Jiyan, Azadi, has become the rallying cry for Iranian protesters. You hear it chanted by both women and men on the front lines of the battle against the forces of the Islamic Republic, and it is the spirit of a movement that has spread to universities, high schools, and even primary schools. As I stood at the back of the room listening to the speeches, watching the crowd of mostly women—many of whom had been waiting for change for decades—I could sense a palpable feeling in the air: hope. There was also, however, an undeniable atmosphere of anticipation that bordered on dread—for who knew what horrors awaited between that moment and the hopeful victory?
After the speeches, we were all separated into groups and blindfolded before being led into the exhibition by volunteers shouting directions. The intention was to provide visitors with a taste of what it’s like to be herded into Evin Prison at the cajoling of the Secret Police—the blindfolds, the uncertainty, the shouted commands.
Finally, we removed our blindfolds to reveal an array of handicrafts by the women prisoners of Evin, each of which had been carefully smuggled out of Iran. These included dolls, scarves, leatherworks, bags, paintings, poems, and other pieces of art, a few of which had been produced by Nasrin Sotoudeh (whose daughter had been prevented from attending the exhibition), as well as the renowned activist Narges Mohammadi, whose recent book chronicles the experiences of women held in solitary confinement in Iran.
Knowing where and under what conditions they were made gave these simple items a surfeit of power. Many were colorful—almost playful even, as they were originally crafted as gifts for the imprisoned women’s children. The effect of this incongruity—blithe color emerging from a place of stone and torture—was both uplifting and chilling. The latter sensation was heightened by the soundtrack playing over the exhibit: the distorted wails, we were told, of mothers whose children had been murdered by the Islamic Republic during the protests.
The following evening, by coincidence, there came more alarming news from Iran: Evin Prison was on fire.
Videos showed the building in flames while gunfire could be heard from within. Security forces, including a branch of the Revolutionary Guard, were deployed to the scene and analysts later concluded that they launched stun grenades into the prison. At the time, there was no explanation for the fire, but Iranians widely assumed that it was part of an effort to liquidate the political prisoners held there. Fear and outrage coursed through online networks.
According to The Washington Post, one prisoner later told his family that when he and other political prisoners attempted to smash through the gates of their ward to escape the fire, guards responded with bullets and tear gas. Amnesty International said in a statement that its investigation into the incident “raises serious concerns” that the authorities used the fire and resulting unrest as an excuse to justify a “bloody crackdown” on prisoners. Later, officials would claim that eight were killed and about sixty injured, but many activists say that the actual numbers are higher. According to activists, many prisoners were then transferred to prisons across the country, an intentional tactic used by the Islamic Republic to create distance between the imprisoned and their families.
Shojaee didn’t sleep that night. I know because Najwa (who also barely slept) and I went to her home for dinner the following day, where she fed us the traditional Iranian dish ghormeh sabzi (a stew of lamb, herbs, dried limes, and beans) along with saffron-dusted rice. She’d been up all night, then spent hours walking from her home in the heart of The Hague to the beach, then back again.
All evening, Shojaee spoke fast and nervous, but she was always charming and indulgent, darting around her apartment playing the good host (which is so Persian—tending to guests in the face of disaster). But her mind was obviously someplace else: with her friends and the other prisoners of Evin. We avoided the topic for a while, but after a few drinks, talk of the prison slipped out. She expressed concern about her friend Narges Mohammadi, whose health conditions could have been exacerbated by the smoke. Medical care is notoriously negligent at the prison. But in any case, Shojaee remained defiant.
“It should be written,” she declared, “that in the history of Iran, even in prison, they fought.”
This image obtained from the Iranian news agency IRNA on October 16, 2022, shows a fire truck in front of Evin Prison, after the blaze.- - Getty Images
How the Iranian protests of 2022 are written into history will depend on how they end. In Istanbul, before Najwa and I returned to the Hague for the Evin exhibition, we spent weeks watching the protests in Iran, thinking each day might be the last, that people would tire of being beaten and gassed and shot and arrested and murdered by riot police. But it didn’t happen. The unrest—which was looking more like a revolution every day—went on. Within less than two months, some 15,000 Iranians would be arrested for protesting or otherwise associating with the demonstrations, and an overwhelming majority of the country’s parliament would sign a letter making a case for their execution. On November 13th, the first death sentence was handed down.
A young woman wearing her hair out in Istanbul.
Courtesy of Azadeh
But that was all yet to pass. After a month, the time came to send Azadeh home, violence or no, because she couldn’t miss any more school. But as the protests continue, the schools have ceased to be places of education and have instead become battlegrounds. Girls are speaking up and removing their hijab. A video shared widely in October showed them chanting at and chasing a man, allegedly an official from the Iranian Ministry of Education, throwing water bottles at him as he fled, while some teachers have joined strikes in opposition to the government. Videos have been circulating in private networks appearing to show girls being attacked, beaten, and arrested on school grounds after pro-regime principals reported them to authorities for the “crimes” of refusing hijab and chanting protest slogans.
Before taxiing Azadeh to the airport, we went shopping for a few things for her to bring back to Najwa’s family—mundane but quality products like laptop bags and milk frothers that cannot be obtained in Iran due to sanctions—then stopped for a lunch of kebab.
When we left the restaurant, the day was trying to decide whether it would storm or shine. The sky was cloudy and the wind strong, but the sun was trying to break through. As we walked down the street, I heard Azadeh giggle from behind me, and I turned to find her patting down her frizzy black mane, which was flying unkempt and wild in the wind.
“My hair,” she giggled again, a wide smile on her face. My heart sank knowing that in a few short hours, she would be forced to corral it beneath compulsory hijab once again, and she would be faced with uncertain dangers.
Azadeh photographing Istanbul.
Nick Hilden
We collected her luggage from our apartment, then went out to meet the taxi. As it carried us to the airport, I didn’t have much to say. I was worried. The news out of Iran was bad. The number of protesters killed was soaring, among them a 16-year-old girl named Nika Shakarami, whose mother accused the authorities of murdering her and extracting forced statements from members of her family saying otherwise. Now she was just another hashtag on Twitter, and when I looked at her photograph, I saw in it the young face of my soon-to-be niece. It made me feel ill.
Najwa and Azadeh, on the other hand, chatted amiably with our taxi driver, who recognized their Farsi and informed them that he used to work as a truck driver in Iran. A beautiful country, he said, and expressed his support for the protests and his distaste for the mullahs. The driver told us that if the regime fell but Erdoğan was reelected, he would move to Iran. It’s a sentiment I’ve heard all over the world. Everyone everywhere has their own “Canada” they say they’ll move to if everything goes to shit. And damned if an awful lot of us aren’t eyeing our Canadas these days.
At the airport, we checked Azadeh into her flight, then walked her to security. Once there, she embraced Najwa and held her for a very long time. She said that she didn’t want to go back. That her month away from Iran was one of the best of her life.
“When will I see you again?” she asked through tears.
Najwa held her and tried to smile. “Soon.”
Eventually they parted. Azadeh and I exchanged a quick hug, and I attempted to say something but most of it ended up stuck in the hollow feeling in my stomach.
Azadeh’s headscarf was in her backpack, but she wouldn’t wear it until she absolutely had to. We watched her raven-colored head as it wove through the line, eventually making it to passport control, where she was held up for longer than necessary—Iranians always receive extra scrutiny. Finally she was through. She turned and waved, then disappeared from view.
Thursday, September 29, 2022
UPDATES
Iran's protesters chant from buildings amid crackdown In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Ebrahim Raisi speaks in an interview with the state TV at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Raisi again vowed to investigate death of Mahsa Amini, whose death in morality police custody over his veil, but said authorities would not tolerate any threats to public security. Amini's death sparked nearly two weeks of widespread unrest that has reached across Iran's provinces and brought students, middle-class professionals and working-class men and women into the streets. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
The Associated Press Thu, September 29, 2022
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian anti-government protesters chanted from windows and rooftops in parts of Tehran early Thursday, but there were no reports of street protests in the country's capital, where authorities have waged a fierce crackdown in recent days.
It was not immediately clear whether that signaled a decline in the nationwide protests over the death earlier this month of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely. Her death has triggered an outpouring of anger at the country's ruling clerics.
Iranian media have sporadically covered the demonstrations since they began. That they did not report any new protests in Tehran could mean that there weren't any or that authorities have tightened media restrictions.
There was also no sign of burned trash cans or rubble in the streets of central Tehran early Thursday, as there had been following previous nightly street protests.
Tehran’s provincial governor, Mohsen Mansouri, was quoted by state media as saying the protests in the capital have ended and security has been restored. But people could be heard chanting “Death to the dictator” from buildings, where it is harder for police to arrest them.
It was not immediately clear how extensive the protests were elsewhere in the country. Students have continued to demonstrate on some university campuses, including Shiraz University in the south.
Authorities are still blocking access to WhatsApp and Instagram, social media services used by protesters to organize and share information. They are also heavily restricting internet access in the afternoons to prevent demonstrations from forming.
Iranian police have clashed with protesters in dozens of cities over the past 12 days.
State TV has reported that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since the demonstrations began Sept. 17. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 14 dead, with more than 1,500 demonstrators arrested.
Norway advised against all unnecessary travel to Iran and urged its citizens inside the country to "exercise caution and avoid demonstrations and large crowds.”
Authorities have meanwhile arrested Elahe Mohammadi, a journalist who reported on Amini's funeral earlier this month in the Kurdish town of Saqez. She is among several journalists to have been detained since Amini's death.
Late Thursday, Iranian media reported the arrest of female songwriter Mona Borzoui and a former soccer player, Hossein Mahini, claiming they were “encouraging rioting.” Iranian hard-liners have regularly urged for the arrest of celebrities and influential public figures who have openly supported the protests. No further details on their arrests were immediately available.
The police say Amini died of a heart attack after being detained by the morality police and was not mistreated. Her family has questioned that account, saying they were told by other detainees that she was severely beaten and were not allowed to see her body.
In a speech late Wednesday, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi again vowed to investigate her death but said authorities would not tolerate any threats to public security.
In death, Amini has emerged as an icon of resistance to Iran's theocracy, which requires women to dress conservatively and cover their hair in public. Authorities have faced waves of protests in recent years, mostly linked to a long-standing economic crisis worsened by international sanctions.
Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, said the latest protests are different from earlier ones, telling the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that “there is a possibility of overthrowing the regime.”
“Unlike previous protests, people aren’t passive. When they are beaten by the security forces, they respond by beating the security forces as well,” said Ebadi, who fled the country in 2009 during an earlier crackdown on dissent.
She called on the international community to withdraw ambassadors from Iran and impose sanctions on those involved in killing protesters.
Iran's leaders have blamed the protests on unnamed foreign entities that they say are trying to foment unrest. The Foreign Ministry summoned the French charge d'affaires on Thursday, accusing French officials of meddling in Iran's internal affairs by expressing support for the protests, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.
But even Jomhouri Eslami, a hard-line newspaper, acknowledged in an editorial that the protests reflect real anger.
“In regards to ending the protests, authorities should not think that the discontent is over and will not grow. The current situation is like embers under the ashes, which can flare up again.”
Several people try to enter Iranian Embassy in Oslo Police scuffle with demonstrators outside Iran's embassy in Oslo, Norway, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, as they protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in Iran after she was detained by the country’s morality police. Several people attempted to enter the Iranian Embassy in Oslo, police said Thursday, with scuffles breaking out and rocks being thrown at officers with authorities saying some 90 people had been detained. (Terje Pedersen/NTB Scanpix via AP)More
Thu, September 29, 2022
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Several people in a violent crowd attempted to enter the Iranian Embassy in Oslo, police said Thursday, with scuffles breaking out and rocks being thrown at officers. Authorities said 90 people had been detained.
A crowd had gathered outside the diplomatic mission in Oslo to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in Iran after she was detained by Iran's morality police. Several were shouting, others had Kurdish flags around their shoulders. Some called for freedom for Kurdistan, women’s freedom and shouted the name of Amini.
Police in the Norwegian capital said “many people were behaving violently."
Amini was arrested for allegedly breaking headscarf rules and died on Sept. 16. The Iranian police said she died of a heart attack and wasn’t mistreated, but her family has cast doubt on that account. The Oslo clashes came as protests over her death spread across dozens of Iranian cities, towns and villages.
Bipartisan group of senators condemns Iran over Amini death
Demonstrators show posters and photos as they attend a protest against the death of Iranian Mahsa Amini in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in Iran while in police custody, was arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced a resolution condemning the detention and death of Mahsa Amini, who was held by Iran's morality police this month for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely.
The 22-year-old's death sparked large-scale protests across Iran that have captured the world's attention, with women protesters making a show of taking off their headscarves and cutting their hair in solidarity with Amini.
“As co-chair of the Human Rights Caucus, I commend the thousands of brave protesters who are risking their lives to advocate for human rights in Iran, including the human rights of Iranian women," Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said in a statement. “The public response to Mahsa Amini’s death at the hands Iran’s morality police makes clear that the Iranian government’s oppression is no match for the demands for dignity and respect by the Iranian people.”
At least a dozen people have been killed since the protests erupted around the country following Amini's death in mid-September, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Iranian state media has said the toll could be much higher. The Iranian government has pushed back, clashing with demonstrators and clamping down on internet access.
Amini had been detained Sept. 13 for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely in violation of strictures demanding women in public wear the Islamic headscarves. She died three days later in police custody; authorities said she had a heart attack but hadn’t been harmed. Her family has disputed that, leading to the public outcry.
Dozens of Republican and Democratic senators showed their support for the resolution Thursday, which also comes as the U.S. is negotiating the revival of a deal with Iran meant to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear bomb in exchange for the loosening of economic sanctions.
The ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran — after former President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. from the deal in 2018 — are a point of contention for Republicans in Congress.
“The Biden Administration’s blind pursuit of a new nuclear deal only serves to empower the Iranian regime," Sen. Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. "The administration should reverse course and hold Iran accountable for its human rights abuses.”
The resolution, lawmakers say, seeks to send “a loud and clear message” to the Islamic Republic that the U.S. stands behind women's rights and the right to peaceful protest. It remains unclear when the resolution would come to the Senate floor for passage as the chamber is expected to be gone for the majority of October during campaigning for the midterm elections
Iranian woman whose death led to
mass protests was shy and avoided
politics
Protest following the death of Mahsa Amini, in front of the United Nations
headquarters in Erbil
Wed, September 28, 2022
By Parisa Hafezi
DUBAI (Reuters) - The young Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, whose death in police custody triggered nationwide protests, was a shy, reserved resident of a small town who never challenged the country's clerical rulers or its Islamic dress code, sources close to the family said.
Amini, from the northwestern Kurdish city of Saqez, died three days after she was arrested in hospital after falling into a coma. It sparked the first big show of opposition on Iran's streets since authorities crushed fuel price protests in 2019 in which 1,500 people were killed.
Authorities deny beating Amini and insisted in a statement that the cause of death was sudden heart failure, possibly from preexisting conditions. But the family has denied the 22-year-old had any previous health issues.
Amini minded her own business and steered clear of politics, two sources close to her family said, traits that most Iranians hope would keep them out of trouble in the Islamic Republic.
But on Sept 13, Amini would pay a heavy price for not paying attention to every detail of her clothing as she and her family visited her uncle in Tehran.
She was arrested as soon as she stepped out of a train station in the evening.
Amini was suddenly confronted by the morality police, a force tasked with detaining people who violate Iran's conservative dress code in order to "promote virtue and prevent vice".
The typical unit consists of a van with a mixed male and female crew that patrols or waits at busy public spaces to police non-proper behaviour and dress.
Her crime? Wearing tight trousers.
Amini and her brother begged for mercy, saying they were not familiar with the rules in Tehran. She was begging her brother not to let them take her.
Her brother waited in front of Vozara morality police detention centre for her. But after two hours an ambulance arrived to transfer her to a hospital. The family eventualy found Amini at the Kasra hospital
Doctors kept the family in the dark. Loved ones had no access to her CT scan. In the coroner's office her body was covered in such a way that her father could not see anything except a small part of her leg that was bruised, the sources said.
"He kept begging doctors to brief him about his daughter’s condition. But no one answered him," said another source.
Women who were arrested along with Mahsa told her father that she was beaten inside a van that was transporting them. She was crying and pleading with police to let her go, the father was told.
"The police told the father that cameras in the van did not function. So, the family does not know what happened inside the van and at the detention centre," said one of the sources close to the family.
"They do not believe in the video published by authorities that shows her suddenly falling at the police station. Her family believes that the video was edited."
In an instant, she would be robbed of her dreams of one day getting married and having children after finishing university.
"She wanted to live a normal and happy life," said one of the sources.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said he had ordered an investigation into the case of Amini.
Officials said 41 people, including members of the police and a pro-government militia, had died during the protests. But Iranian human rights groups have reported a higher toll.
Amini's death has drawn international condemnation while Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to "foreign enemies" for the unrest. Tehran has accused the United States and some European countries of using the unrest to try to destabilise the Islamic Republic.
Far removed from politics, Amini's family is still trying to make sense of her death.
Her mother insists that Mahsa's hijab was proper. During the funeral, she was repeatedly saying "Why, why? My daughter had proper Hijab and her coat was long and black, but I don't know why she was arrested."
"Where is my daughter? Where is my child?,” she repeats everyday, said the sources close to the family.
A statement on Instagram from the hospital which was later taken down said she was brain dead when she arrived there.
"Resuscitation was performed on the patient and her heartbeat returned and the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit," the hospital said.
"But unfortunately, after 48 hours on Friday, she had a cardiac arrest again, due to brain death. In spite of the medical team's efforts, the medical team could not revive her and she died."
Iranian authorities have told Amini's relatives to avoid speaking about her case, said the two sources close to the family. Her father, mother and uncle do not answer their phones.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Here's How to Help Iranian Women Following the Death of Mahsa Amini
Leah Campano
Tue, September 27, 2022
Photo credit: SAFIN HAMED - Getty Images
Mass protests have erupted across Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody earlier this month. On September 13, the young woman, originally from the city of Saqqez, was apprehended by “morality police” in Iran’s capital of Tehran and taken to a “re-education center” for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. At the time of her arrest, she was with her brother, Kiaresh Amini.
According to a report from the United Nations, Amini was brutally beaten by the police and taken to the Vozara Detention Center. While there, Amini collapsed and fell into a coma. She was transferred to Kasra Hospital, where she died on Friday, September 16. Iranian authorities claimed Mahsa died of a heart attack, but, according to CNN, her family affirmed she had no pre-existing heart conditions.
It’s widely believed that Amini was tortured and killed by the police. Her father, Amjad Amini, said that doctors forbade him from seeing his daughter after she died in the hospital. “They’re lying. They’re telling lies. Everything is a lie… no matter how much I begged, they wouldn’t let me see my daughter,” he told BBC Persia on September 21, per CNN.
Amini’s death has sparked outrage in Iran, mobilizing thousands — especially women and young people — to take to the streets and demand an end to repression and violence against women. Below, we explain the latest on the demonstrations, how to help, where to donate, and how you can stay informed on the protests in Iran.
Photo credit: Jenny Matthews - Getty Images
Latest Updates on Protests
Protests against the Iranian government have spread to dozens of Iranian cities since the death of Mahsa Amini. It’s reported by state media that 35 people have been killed, per The New York Times, but it’s believed by human rights organizations that the death toll is much higher. As of September 27, BBC reports that 76 protestors have been killed.
Women and young people are at the forefront of these protests. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, women have been subjected to severe, oppressive restrictions. According to The Washington Post, the regime has forced Iranian women to wear a hijab for nearly four decades. Since Amini’s death, women have taken off their headscarves, set them on fire in the streets, or cut their hair in public, in a remarkable act of defiance.
The Iranian government cut off internet access in the country last week, according to Politico, to restrict communication and suppress the proliferation of footage from protests. In response, the United States Department of Treasury announced that it’d increase internet access to Iran.
“As courageous Iranians take to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, the United States is redoubling its support for the free flow of information to the Iranian people,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a press release. “Today, Treasury is announcing the expansion of Iran General License D-2, which will expand the range of internet services available to Iranians. With these changes, we are helping the Iranian people be better equipped to counter the government’s efforts to surveil and censor them.”
How to Help
There are a number of ways to help the people of Iran and show your solidarity. You can check social media to find a protest near you, start a local demonstration, and share and repost fact-based information to lift the voices of those inside Iran on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. You can also donate to human rights organizations such as the Center for Human Rights in Iran, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, and Amnesty International, which are fighting for the rights and freedoms of all Iranian people.
You can also contact your representatives to speak out against the Iranian government’s human rights atrocities.
Who to Follow on Social to Stay Informed
Wondering how to best stay up-to-date and informed on what’s happening in Iran, and why citizens are protesting? Use social media to follow those who are breaking down the issues and sharing the efforts of Iranian citizens in the streets, bravely demanding accountability from their government. Here are some accounts to follow.
Gissou Nia, Director of Atlantic Council Strategic Litigation Project
Read These Books to Learn More
The titles below are moving, powerful depictions of life in Iran before and after the 1979 revolution, chronicling the experiences of women during times of political upheaval.
LONDON — Iran has entered its 10th day of nationwide protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. Amini had been detained by morality police on Sept. 13 for allegedly violating a religious law that decrees that a woman should wear a headscarf. She died three days later.
Activists and Amini’s family believe she died from injuries sustained from a beating by police. Authorities in Iran, however, deny any mistreatment and claim that Amini suffered “sudden heart failure.”
Iranian newspapers with headlines about the death of Mahsa Amini. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Public anger over Amini’s death has sparked some of the biggest protests Iran has seen in years. Demonstrations led by women have been held across 90 cities and towns in the Islamic Republic in the past week. Social media has been flooded with videos of what appears to be women burning their hijabs and cutting off their hair in public acts of defiance.
But as public outcry appeared to reach new heights, both online and on the streets, Iran’s government reacted by shutting off the internet to multiple cellular networks. Videos that were uploaded before the blackout show protesters fighting back against the government’s security forces. On Saturday, Iranian officials said they would continue to restrict internet access until the protests cease, CNN reported.
Protesters block the street in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 21. (AP)
This appears to be just the beginning of Iran’s crackdown on dissent in the country. On Friday, the military hinted that it was prepared to “confront the enemies’ various plots in order to ensure security and peace for the people who are being unjustly assaulted,” Reuters reported.
Elsewhere in Iran, pro-government rallies took place in cities on Friday in response to the nationwide protests over Amini’s death. Reuters reported that chants such as “Offenders of the Koran must be executed” could be heard from the crowds.
People stage a rally in Tehran to “support the administration and security forces” on Sept. 25. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The demonstrations over Amini’s death are the latest in a string of protests over the past several years in which Iranians have fought back against their government on a number of issues. In every instance, however, the Islamic Republic’s forces fought to quell the rebellion.
About three years ago, hundreds of protesters took to the streets after a decision by the authorities to raise the price of gasoline by at least 50%. In what was later labeled as “Bloody November,” hundreds of civilians were killed and demonstrations were violently crushed by government forces. It was the deadliest instance of political unrest in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
A gas station burned by protesters during a demonstration against a rise in fuel prices in Eslamshahr, near Tehran, in November 2019. (AFP via Getty Images)
“In November 2019, Iranian authorities coupled the brutal crackdown with a near blackout of the internet, so that Iranians were cut off from the outside world,” Dr. Assal Rad, research director of the nonprofit National Iranian American Council, told Yahoo News.
Iran’s state television would later acknowledge that security forces had fatally shot “rioters.” Among the dead were peaceful protesters and passersby, the report also stated.
But this time it seems as though the government’s response might be larger and deadlier.
People protest the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran on Sept. 21. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“The fact that we are seeing protesters openly confronting security forces and fighting back in this unprecedented manner may indicate a larger and deadlier crackdown than what we have seen in the past, as authorities try to repress protests that have spread across the country,” Rad said.
“If precedence is any indication, Iranian authorities have shown that they will use deadly force, mass arrests and control over communications to suppress protests.” She added: “In that respect, Iranian authorities have shown that they will go to any length to ensure their own survival over the rightful needs and demands of the people of Iran.”
