The Statistical Center of Iran, in its “Report on the Social and Cultural Situation of Iran, Spring 2023,” announced that in the academic year 2022-2023, over 556,000 children between the ages of 15 and 17 dropped out of high school, including 295,000 boys and 261,000 girls. This statistic does not include those who have dropped out of high school altogether. Economic deprivation and poverty are the main reasons for this situation.
Furthermore, according to the statement by Masoumeh Najafi Pazuki, the Deputy of Elementary Education at the regime’s Ministry of Education, in the current year, 160,000 individuals have not registered for elementary school and have remained out of education. Although she claims that this figure has remained constant over the past five years, the statistical report indicates an increasing trend.
The country’s student population, from grade one to grade twelve in the current academic year, has been evaluated at 16 million individuals, which is close to 19 percent of the total population of the country.
These figures were at 15,159,000 and 15,376,00 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Considering the ratio of the number of students to the total population of the country, this statistic indicates a decline in the enrollment of students.
The country’s student population has also experienced a declining trend in recent years. Approximately 3.2 million individuals were students in the academic year 2023-2024 throughout the country. The percentage of male and female students is 51 and 49 percent, respectively.
In the 2023 university entrance exam, 1,119,436 individuals participated, of which only about 583,000 individuals were able to choose their major. The competition in the university entrance exam is only for fifteen percent of the country’s capacity, and the rest are accepted into universities without a nationwide exam.
The peak of the country’s student population was in the academic year 2014-2015, with more than 4.8 million students. Now, after almost a decade, it has experienced a decrease of 33 percent. The country’s student population had an upward trend until the mid-2000s since the establishment of Tehran University in 1934.
The imbalanced growth of specialized fields, particularly in the doctoral level, and the prevalence of commercial relationships that did not match the university facilities and the country’s job market needs, laid the foundation for a crisis in the education system and led to negative social and economic consequences in subsequent periods.
The imbalance between the education system and the job market needs, and the disregard of this issue, have overshadowed some of the positive aspects of increasing the student population and resulted in a reverse trend since the second half of the 2010s. Now, the number of university students and individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree has decreased. The employment crisis for graduates and the high rate of emigration are important factors contributing to this negligence towards education.
The significant decline in the popularity of universities (from 2 percent of the country’s population to 0.4 percent) and the increasing number of school dropouts pose a serious threat to the sustainable and comprehensive development of the country. Moreover, this phenomenon has serious negative consequences for the job market, the survival of non-profit higher education institutions, the level of awareness in the country, and the social status of universities and the higher education system in Iran.
The mutual impact of the decrease in the student population and the high rate of emigration by specialists and individuals with university degrees will result in a shortage of skilled professionals in the coming years, necessitating the import of skilled labor from abroad.
The decline in the specialized expertise of professors, especially in technical and medical fields, has compromised the quality of university-educated professionals and created difficulties in their employment in the job market.
The Iranian regime, for political and ideological reasons, insists on disregarding scientific and specialized criteria. This reverse trend, which began during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and reached its peak during the Ebrahim Raisi administration, has expanded with the self-interest of the institutions under the control of the Supreme Leader’s apparatus, where regime loyalists are appointed as professors without merit. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the regime, recently called for disregarding the requirement of publishing articles in reputable international journals for the promotion of university professors.
The situation in schools is even worse. Inefficiency in the education system, outdated curriculum content, lack of teaching methods based on fostering creativity and initiative, commercialization of education, the proliferation of private schools, and the systematic injection of religiosity through religious teachers have lowered the quality of education. The average grade of high school students last year was eleven out of twenty.
The expansion of profit-oriented majors and the focus of universities on selling degrees to secure financial resources, along with the influence of the university entrance exam mafia, have increased the role of wealth in obtaining seats in the country’s top universities.
According to official statistics, over 80 percent of the top three thousand candidates in various fields in the university entrance exam come from the top three deciles of income in society. This upward trend in recent years has effectively made money the determining factor for studying at reputable universities in the country.
The role of wealth is not only seen in classes, exam preparation courses, and studying at private schools but also in the performance of universities. All top universities in the country have special programs that accept students without requiring the university entrance exam but with the payment of tuition fees.
Unfortunately, not only is there no clear outlook for addressing or mitigating the multiple education crises in Iran, but the future prospects are also bleak. With the continuation of this situation, specialized, professional, and comprehensive educational structures will suffer serious damages, disrupting the path of comprehensive development of the country and the creation of human capital.
According to a report by the Statistical Center of Iran 25,900 child girls have married from last winter until now. Based on this report, over 1,300 infants have been born to mothers under the age of 15, which is higher than the previous year’s statistics.
Hammihan Newspaper, citing the report of the Statistical Center on October 19, reported that over 200 girls under the age of 15 have registered for divorce in the past winter.
Previously, the state-run Etemad newspaper reported in May that at least 27,000 children under the age of 15 had married in one year, citing data from the Statistical Center of Iran. According to the data, 27,448 cases of girls under the age of 15 getting married were registered in various parts of Iran from winter 2021 to autumn 2022.
According to these statistics, an average of 135,000 marriages of girls under 18 are registered annually in Iran, with about 1,700 of those marriages involving girls under 13.
Internationally, marriage under the age of 18 is considered child marriage, but according to the laws of the Iranian regime, marriage of girls under 13 only requires “parental consent” and “court approval based on the best interests of the child.”
The promotion of marriage and childbearing by the government has always been a subject of controversy among children’s rights activists in recent years.
In this regard, Simin Kazemi, a physician and sociologist, mentioned the high statistics of child marriages in an interview with Khabar Online website on April 15, stating that “the decision to marry children is not considered an important issue at the macro level and is defended in line with the population increase policy.” She was referring to the “Family and Youth Support Act.”
In November 2021, the regime’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, communicated this law, which was passed by the regime’s parliament, to the Ministry of Health for implementation.
The purpose of this law is to increase marriage, childbearing, and the growth of the Iranian population, stemming from the directives of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Iranian regime.
Simin Kazemi warned Khabar Online, stating, “Some officials, without considering social changes and disregarding research results, based on their own experiences or, for example, their relatives who got married as children and claim to have had no problems, deny the dangers and consequences of child marriage.”
Kazemi cautioned that “this unscientific and mistaken view about an important social issue has put the future and the physical, mental, and social well-being of girls at risk.”
Amnesty International has previously accused the Islamic Republic of violating children’s rights in Iran, considering child marriage a violation of human rights, and has called for the guarantee of children’s rights by increasing the minimum age of marriage to 18.
One of the other violations of women’s rights in Iran is forced marriage. The existing laws in Iran place it among the countries with the lowest minimum age for girls’ marriage. These marriages primarily occur through the coercion of families.
Forced marriage is an oppressive tradition that came to light after the 1979 revolution in Iran and is justified under the name of religion, cultural beliefs, economic and political problems. This inhuman phenomenon, whose primarily victims are girls, is carried out in Iran with the complete backing of the clerical regime’s leaders due to their misogynist laws.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery has announced forced marriages a type of slavery.
In the legislative reform initiative published in 2007, UNICEF writes, “Most of all, the human rights perspective helps to frame child marriage as a crime against women and the girl child”. And adds, “Child marriage violates a panoply of interconnected rights, including, the right to equality on grounds of sex and age, the right to marry and found a family, the right to life, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to education and development and the right to be free from slavery.”
Forty-six countries simultaneously called for the continuation of missile sanctions against the Iranian regime, following the end of Iran’s arms sanctions based on UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was passed in 2015.
According to a joint statement released by the US State Department on October 18, these countries stated that the lifting of Iran’s missile sanctions was contingent on the regime’s adherence to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the regime has been violating for several years.
The statement highlights that Iran’s missile program remains one of the greatest international challenges to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It further emphasizes that Iran currently possesses the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, and its missile program continues to pose a threat to regional countries and beyond.
The statement also asserts that Iran’s transfer of missile and drone technology to its proxies and surrogate groups jeopardizes international stability and exacerbates regional tensions.
Referring to Iran’s non-compliance with the JCPOA as a basis for keeping the missile sanctions in place, these countries have stated that it is essential for all nations to continue countering Iran’s destabilizing missile activities.
The joint statement underscores the need for effective measures to prevent the transfer of missile and drone-related equipment to Iran or from Iran to other countries. It emphasizes the importance of swift information exchange on this issue, along with the examination and deterrent efforts of each country to counter Iran’s missile and drone program.
The European Union and the United States had previously announced that these sanctions would remain due to Iran’s non-compliance with the JCPOA.
On Wednesday, Australia and the United States also imposed sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities in Iran that were previously under UN Security Council sanctions.
Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have declared that the missile restrictions against the Iranian regime, based on UN Security Council Resolution 2231, have “ended.”
On Wednesday, the regime’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Support referred to the end of missile sanctions as an “opportunity to demonstrate authority and strengthen defense capabilities” in a statement.
The statement further asserts that Iran’s Ministry of Defense is determined to pursue the enhancement of missile and armament capabilities in accordance with the requirements of the country’s national security doctrine.
The US government took new actions to intensify efforts to counter Iran’s missile program and drone production despite the expiration of the United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran’s missile program.
The expiration date of the Security Council resolution regarding Iran’s missile program was one of the complementary measures to the JCPOA. The JCPOA, signed between Iran and world powers in July 2015, lifted part of the international sanctions against Iran in exchange for strict limitations on its nuclear activities.
The US Treasury Department announced on October 18 that it has imposed sanctions on 11 individuals, eight companies and entities, and one vessel based in Iran, Hong Kong, China, and Venezuela for assisting the Islamic Republic in “the production of ballistic missiles and drones.”
In addition to pressuring Iran’s missile and drone programs, these sanctions will make arms trade between Iran and countries such as Russia and Venezuela, including the sale of drones to Russia used against civilians in Ukraine, more difficult.
A US official stated that despite the expiration of the Security Council resolution, it can be observed that Russia and Iran are perceived as odious and isolated by many countries worldwide.
The Biden administration has faced criticism from Republican opponents for the prisoner exchange with Iran that took place a few weeks before Hamas’s attack on Israel, with some accusing President Biden of using the freed Iranian assets to fund attacks by proxy groups such as Hamas.
In September, six American citizens were released in exchange for the unfreezing of $6 billion of Iranian assets in South Korean banks. The money was transferred to Qatar, and Washington states that it can only be used for humanitarian purchases.
A report from the Iranian Statistical Center shows that over 70 percent of the country’s unemployed population falls within the age group of 18 to 35 years old.
According to the Eco Iran website, the active population in the summer of 2023 reached approximately 26.8 million people. The analysis indicates that during this summer, 2.115 million individuals were unsuccessful in finding employment and were considered as unemployed.
This economic website, based on available statistics, states that in the summer of 2022, there were 1.643 million unemployed individuals aged 18 to 35 in the Iranian job market.
Meanwhile, a review of official statistics shows that the unemployment rate for women is 9 percentage points higher than that of men.
The Etemad newspaper has also emphasized, in its analysis of these statistics, that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, over three million individuals have been added to the “working-age population” in Iran. However, an equal number of jobs have not been created, and a significant portion of the new job seekers remain unemployed.
The regime’s Etemad newspaper also emphasized the unacceptable labor force participation rate in Iran and stated: “In recent years, the participation rate was around 50 percent, which dropped to 41.5 percent in the summer.”
To better understand Iran’s situation in this indicator, Etemad referred to the participation rates in neighboring countries. According to the newspaper, in 2020, the economic participation rate was 86 percent in Qatar, 63 percent in the Republic of Azerbaijan, and 50 percent in Turkey.
Another issue in the Iranian job market is the excessive working hours beyond the specified standards. Based on this, an examination of the share of workers aged 15 and above with more than 44 hours of work per week shows that 40 percent of workers typically work 49 hours or more per week. This indicator, which is one of the indicators of decent work, shows that in Iran, a significant number of workers exceed the standard working hours.
The narrative of the Statistical Center regarding employment represents the government’s perspective, while field reports and videos shared on social networks represent the public’s perspective, which indicates a different situation than the government’s narrative.
Unemployment in small cities, especially in border cities, as well as the departure of a portion of the job-seeking population from the market, which has improved the statistics in favor of the government, indicates the failure of Ebrahim Raisi’s promises to create one million jobs annually.
In the April to June 2023 quarter, the share of unemployed individuals with higher education degrees accounted for 40.8 percent of the total unemployed. An analysis of the changes in this indicator shows a 1.1 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Analysis of statistics in this field shows that the share of unemployed individuals with higher education degrees from the total unemployed population in the country was approximately 40.2 percent in the spring of 2021, which had decreased to 39.7 percent in the spring of 2022. However, in the current year, this trend has once again increased.
The term “active population” refers to the total number of employed and unemployed individuals in the country.
Examining the statistics related to the labor force situation for the entire year of 2022, as presented by the Statistical Center of Iran, indicates that 938,461 individuals of the country’s graduates were unemployed. This means that in the past year, 12.9 percent of the total active population with higher education degrees were unemployed.
According to official reports, there are currently 2,348,957 unemployed individuals in Iran. Analyzing the share of “educated unemployed population from the total unemployed population of the country” indicates that 40 percent of the unemployed individuals in the country have higher education degrees.
Despite various policy measures taken in different periods, employment and unemployment remain one of the most significant challenges in the Iranian society, alongside high inflation and persistent increases in the costs of living, which have created difficult conditions for Iranian families.
While the Iranian regime’s officials, under the orders of the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, are trying to compel society to have more children through the adoption of various laws and incentive policies, they have still failed to provide an adequate supply of infant formula, the primary source of nutrition for infants.
On Tuesday, Sajjad Esmaili, the advisor to the head of the Food and Drug Organization, announced the entry of the first shipment of imported infant formula. This comes after several industry experts had previously warned of the shortage and “rationing” of infant formula, describing the situation as critical.
According to the semi-official ISNA news agency, citing Esmaili, the distribution program for infant formula, based on the adjusted birth rate for 2023, has been communicated to all provincial food and drug departments, and these departments are tasked to monitor and conduct field inspections. In addition, all infant formula distributors have been instructed to distribute infant formula even on holidays.
This Ministry of Health official has promised that “approximately four million cans of infant formula” will be imported within the next two weeks. However, ISNA news agency reported that “four million cans of infant formula have already been imported from Turkey and will be distributed within the next two weeks.”
Esmaili attributed the shortage of infant formula in recent months to currency problems and stated that “the currency problems have been resolved” and producers have “entered the market with seriousness and increased their production.”
While the Deputy of the Food and Drug Organization has stated that the infant formula crisis will be resolved soon, Abdulhussein Rouh-al-amini, a member of the Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, announced on Tuesday the promises of officials regarding infant formula and the disagreement between the Food and Drug Organization and the settlement of previous currency accounts.
Rouh-al-amini discussed the currency disputes between infant formula producers and the Food and Drug Organization in a television program. According to this lawmaker, infant formula producers attributed the crisis to the lack of necessary foreign exchange resources. Rouh-al-amini also claimed that the production capacity of infant formula in Iran is over 100 million cans, and the demand and consumption are 60 to 70 million cans, which have even been exported to neighboring countries in recent years.
Alongside the statements made by officials from the Ministry of Health and the Food and Drug Organization, Alireza Salem, a member of the High Council of Pharmacies and the Secretary of the Association of Pharmaceutical Employers of Tehran Province, referred to the critical conditions of infant formula supply in Iran and told the regime’s online newsletter Faraz that “in many pharmacies, the receipt and provision of infant formula are done with the national identification card, and the shortage of infant formula compared to previous years is strongly felt.”
According to Salem, infant formula “is either not available on the shelves or, if available, it is unpopular.” He attributed the main cause of the shortage of medicine and infant formula to the pricing policy of the Pricing Commission.
According to this Iranian regime official, the government’s foreign exchange allocation is only for the “active ingredient of medicine.” Salem emphasized in this interview that “a medicine does not consist of only the active ingredient, and it has production costs, packaging, transportation, etc. The [government allocated foreign currency] does not cover these costs.”
Following reports of the scarcity of infant formula in Iran, the Food and Drug Organization, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic, announced that as of October 12, the sales of infant formula in pharmacies in Iran would only be possible with the presentation of the infant’s national identification code. Some sources have referred to this measure as “rationing of infant formula.”
The Statistical Center of Iran has announced that at least 556,000 Iranian adolescents are forced to drop out of school before entering high school due to reasons primarily related to “poverty and deprivation.”
According to a report published by Iran’s Statistical Center, titled “Social and Cultural Status of Iran, Spring 2023,” during the academic year 2022-2023, more than 556,000 children between the ages of 15 and 17 remained out of school, including 295,000 boys and 261,000 girls.
According to this report, the “dropout rate” in elementary education in the academic year 2016-2017 was “0.99 percent,” but after five years, during the academic year 2022-2023, it reached “1.2 percent,” and in the first cycle of secondary education, it was “4.11 percent,” gradually increasing to “5.47 percent,” indicating an upward trend.
These statistics were published at a time when, according to the regime’s Etemad newspaper, Ali Asghar Fani, the former Minister of Education, on September 10, based on the statistics from the Majlis (parliament) Research Center, declared the number of “school dropouts” in Iran as “930,000 individuals,” stating that they constitute the “illiterate future.”
Furthermore, according to Didban Iran website, the latest report from Iran’s Statistical Center emphasizes that due to the expansion of poverty and further reduction in children’s access to educational resources and facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the deprivation of Iranian children from education has intensified.
On the other hand, the Fars province Teachers’ Guild Association wrote in a message on September 23 that they are starting the reopening of schools while “thousands of children are left out of education for various reasons,” and child labor, as the “victims of poverty,” are among the consequences of these dropouts.
According to the “Tajarat News” website on September 20, based on a survey by the “Sarmayeh polling agency”, the average price of stationery items has increased by 50 percent.
According to the results of this survey, about 60 percent of Tehran households pay tuition fees for their children’s education, and more than 53 percent of students in Tehran Province walk to school because the cost of school transportation has increased by more than 50 percent compared to the previous year.
Simultaneously with the increasing trend of dropping out and discontinuation of education among Iranian children, the Iranian regime takes actions such as expulsion, suspension from teaching, detention, or deprivation of certain members of the teaching staff from engaging in educational activities under the pretext of demanding trade union rights or expressing civil protests.
The information from the Statistical Center of Iran also indicates that the number of students dropping out of elementary education has been steadily increasing over a three-year period. In the academic year 2016-2017, the number of dropouts from elementary education was close to 162,000 individuals, which increased to over 210,000 individuals in the academic year 2020-2021.
Statistics also reveal that 70 percent of dropouts are associated with low-income brackets ranging from one to five.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s chief, Rafael Grossi, reminded on Monday that “North Korea kicked out International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and developed nuclear weapons.”
“The world must not fail in Iran as it did in North Korea,” He added.
Mr. Grossi’s reference to Iran’s recent action of “revoking the activity permits” of some International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and preventing their presence in Iran.
“The IAEA is the eyes and ears and presence of the international community in Iran,” Grossi told an annual U.S. State Department arms control conference in a recorded message on October 16 adding he was extremely concerned about Iran’s nuclear program.
“We have to deploy every effort to prevent this problem, this current debate on what is happening and what can be done in Iran (from) becoming a failure on the part of the international community to prevent a country that has capabilities which could potentially lead to the development of nuclear weapons from doing it,” he added.
The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, referring to the experience of North Korea, stated that, “We saw the failure of this type in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea.”
Since North Korea expelled IAEA inspectors in 2009, the agency has been denied access to the country. As a result, the IAEA now monitors North Korea’s nuclear advancements from a distance, primarily relying on satellite imagery.
However, the IAEA still maintains “regular access to declared nuclear facilities” in Iran. Over the past five years, however, Iran has taken steps to remove installed monitoring equipment within the framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement, leading to a deadlock in the revival of the agreement. As a result, the agency no longer has the capability to conduct “snap inspections of undeclared sites” in Iran.
In his latest quarterly reports on Iran, Mr. Grossi indicated that the Iranian regime has achieved a significant level of uranium enrichment at 60% purity. This is close to the threshold of approximately 90% required for weapons-grade enrichment and would hypothetically provide enough material for the production of nearly three nuclear bombs, according to the IAEA’s theoretical definition. The regime denies any intention of pursuing nuclear weapons.
The IAEA is currently engaged in several disputes with Tehran, including the identification of the source of uranium particles discovered at two undeclared sites, the reinstallation of monitoring equipment that has been removed, and the regime’s recent decision to “de-designate” certain IAEA inspectors.
Furthermore, on September 16, the regime announced the “revocation” of the activity permits for some inspectors of the IAEA in Iran. Grossi strongly condemned this action on the same day, stating that these inspectors are among the “most experienced” experts of the IAEA, possessing unique knowledge in the field of enrichment technology. They were previously engaged in “essential verification activities” at Iran’s enrichment facilities.
On September 17, the European Union issued a statement, urging an immediate reconsideration of the decision from Tehran.
On August 14, 2002, The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) unveiled the Natanz nuclear site and the heavy water project in Arak during a press conference in Washington. The revelation of these projects was confirmed by the IAEA and triggered worldwide condemnation and scrutiny that dramatically slowed down the clerical regime’s pace for nuclear weapons.
The statements of the regimes’ president, Ebrahim Raisi, regarding the shortage of medicine for specific patients, have led to criticism from a wide spectrum of the people.
In his speech at the “Thirteenth National Elite Conference,” Ebrahim Raisi responded to the parents of individuals with special diseases who had protested against the shortage of medicine, saying, “First, life is in the hands of God,” and “Second, how do you know that we cannot produce the necessary medicines ourselves?”
Of course, the regime’s senior officials have made such similar statements before. For example, Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the Minister of Health of Hassan Rouhani’s government, had said to a baker who complained about the medical and physiotherapy expenses, “Massage it yourself!”
Recently, Bahram Eynollahi, the regime’s Minister of Health, claimed that Iranian medicines will be exported to “40 countries around the world,” and many countries consider Iranian medicines to be “effective and successful.”
The remarks of Raisi and his Minister of Health about the production of Iranian medicine are being discussed while the country has repeatedly faced the problem of shortage and high prices of medicine, and the medicine for special patients is still scarce.
Many people lose their lives due to the lack of medicine, including Akram Amini, a cancer patient journalist who complained about the lack of cancer medicine and eventually passed away.
In June, Younes, the head of the Iranian Thalassemia Association, said that the mortality rate of this disease has increased six fold since May 2018, and annually 260 thalassemia patients lose their lives due to “shortage and unavailability” of medicine.
Arab added that Iranian-made medicines do not work for these patients.
The use of substandard raw materials in the production of domestic medicines and the side effects resulting from their consumption are among the issues raised regarding domestically produced medicines.
The regime’s authorities blame the problem of medicine shortage on Western sanctions. However, some experts in the past have pointed out that authorities, under the pretext of sanctions, prevented the import of the drug “Desferal” for thalassemia patients so that the “low-quality” domestic product, including the production of the “Osve” company, could be sold.
The United States has stated that the export of humanitarian items, especially medical and even sanitary supplies, to Iran is exempt from sanctions. According to official statistics from the European Union, 27 members of this union exported over $2.4 billion to Iran from March to November 2021.
Iran ranks 85th in terms of pharmaceutical exports worldwide.
Data from the “World’s Top Exporters” website in 2022 shows that Israel, with $3.471 billion in sales, ranks 21st globally and first in the region in terms of pharmaceutical exports. According to this statistic, Turkey ranks 29th, Cyprus ranks 46th, Pakistan ranks 52nd, and the United Arab Emirates ranks 61st.
Behram Eynollahi, in his recent statements, once again referred to Iran as “one of the most successful countries in the region” in controlling COVID-19 and mentioned the production of six domestic COVID-19 vaccines.
Official mortality statistics obtained from countries by “Our World in Data” – which, according to experts, are significantly lower than the actual figures in Iran – show that Iran has had the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in the region.
Iran has had the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in the region
In terms of vaccination, a recent study conducted by Iranian researchers focusing on “vaccination speed” has been published, which indicates that if Iran follows the COVID-19 vaccination model of Turkey, it could prevent an additional 50,000 deaths compared to the current mortality rate.
According to the same model, if Iran adopts the vaccination model of Bahrain, it could prevent 75,300 deaths, especially among individuals over the age of 50.
The preference for domestic vaccine production and the prohibition of Western vaccines by Ali Khamenei were among the reasons for the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccination in Iran, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
During a conference held on Wednesday, October 11, at the French National Assembly, participants including French parliamentarians, members, and supporters of the Iranian Resistance, alongside human rights activists and politicians, convened to address and engage in discussions concerning the severe human rights conditions prevailing in Iran. The occasion coincided with the World Day Against Death Penalty, emphasizing the urgent need for attention and action.
The President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran Mrs. Maryam Rajavi stated in her speech:
“The world must stand against the mullahs’ warmongering. Instrumentalizing the Palestinian issue is a well-known tactic of this deceitful regime. Today, Khamenei and Raisi want to transform the Iranian people‘s uprising and struggle against religious fascism in Iran into a Muslim-Jewish war.
“Khamenei has openly stated that if the regime does not engage in conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, it will have to confront the angry people and rebellious youth in Kermanshah, Hamedan, Isfahan, and Tehran.
“The massacre of innocent civilians fuels religious fascism in Iran and serves as a shield and cover to suppress the uprising and avoid its downfall. To achieve peace and freedom, one should target the head of the snake (leadership) in Tehran.
“The time has come to revise European politics.”
André Chassaigne, head of the Communist bloc in the French Parliament, highlighted the MEK Resistance Units’ 414+ operations in Tehran against the regime’s repression during the anniversary of the nationwide uprising. He emphasized their role as the sole unified force opposing the regime and noted that the death penalty in Iran serves as a political tool for widespread suppression.
Ms. Marietje Schaake, a member of the National Assembly from the Socialist Party, stressed the need for France to consistently address the issue of executions in the Parliament and the Senate. She argued that this struggle is ongoing and must be highlighted to showcase opposition to such crimes occurring worldwide.
Émile Blessig, a former senior MP and co-founder of the parliamentary Committee for Democratic Iran, emphasized the crucial role of the NCRI, in the quest for a free and democratic Iran with a separation of religion and state. He stressed that the world cannot ignore the rising number of executions in Iran, and the perpetrators, including the IRGC, will face prosecution.
“By supporting the Iranian people’s struggle, we are also fighting for peace in the world”, Mr. Blessing concluded.
MP Philippe Gosselin, the deputy head of the parliamentary Committee for Democratic Iran, expressed that he has roots with General de Gaulle, and on this international day against executions, like him, “I want to tell you that the flame of resistance that you have lit should not be extinguished.”
“We are all working together to ensure it does not go out, and we stand by you to achieve victory for freedom as soon as possible, victory for Iran and its people against the regime,” Mr. Gosselin added.
On this day, I would like to remember my Baluch compatriots, some 130 of whom have been hanged this year. The mullahs have resorted to the hanging noose to quell the uprisings. But the question remains, why are France and other European democracies still appeasing this murderous… pic.twitter.com/V7HpxBcntq
MP Cécile Rilhac, from the majority party (Renaissance), expressed pride in supporting the Iranian people’s struggle for a democratic republic. The initiative received widespread support from representatives across political movements. Despite facing opposition from those advocating appeasement with the mullahs.
Mrs. Dominique Attias, head of the European Lawyers’ Foundation, highlighted Ebrahim Raisi’s involvement in the massacre of 30,000 prisoners. Mrs. Attias mentioned that Mrs. Rajavi had been calling for the abolition of executions since 2006. She also mentioned that with its lies, the regime is attempting to discredit the resistance that Mrs. Rajavi represents.
Professor Aude de Thuin, former president of the Supreme Education Union, emphasized that the fight in Iran is about fundamental human rights, not just the hijab. Professor de Thuin noted the ongoing revolution of Iranian women, regardless of the hijab. She called on the United Nations to investigate the large number of arrests and disappearances, urging France to support the UN’s investigative mission.
Jean-François Legaret, former mayor of Paris’s first district, noted the resilience of the MEK despite the dreadful and brutal repression. He commended the organization and its efforts.
Jacques Bouthier, a unionist in the educational and university sector, stressed that the struggle for a democratic Iran is the cornerstone of the future of humanity and freedom in all countries.
Tahar Boumedra, the director of the Committee for Justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre (JVMI) and former representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Iraq for Ashraf, highlighted the need for the Iranian regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi to be prosecuted and tried for his direct involvement in the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners. He also mentioned the rise in executions in Iran despite global progress in abolishing the death penalty.
Evaz Heydarpour, a physician and former member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), stated that every day we hear about “a professor or associate professor of medical schools” migrating. He told the regime’s “Khabar Online” website: “Every year, 10,000 individuals from the Iranian medical workforce (physicians, nurses, midwives) migrate.”
He declared that the “best geriatric specialists” are leaving the country due to the wave of migrating doctors. Heydarpour added, “If I were the Minister of Health and witnessed this number of doctors migrating every day, I would resign.”
An advisor to the Minister of Health and Medical Education of the Iranian regime, citing the “Youth, Population, and Family Support Law,” announced that the country’s healthcare system is facing a shortage of 20,000 midwives.
Shahla Khosravi, an advisor to the Minister of Health and Medical Education of the Iranian regime, stated on September 10 to the semiofficial ISNA news agency that the treatment sector requires “12,000 midwives,” and the health sector also needs “8,000 midwives.”
Reza Laripour, the spokesperson for the regime’s Medical Council, had previously stated on September 3 that the “migration of the medical community” had doubled compared to the years before the coronavirus pandemic, and now Iran sends doctors to five continents.
The increase in the migration trend of Iranian healthcare professionals is due to dissatisfaction with the current situation and the disorder in the country’s affairs. During recent years, they have faced intensified confrontation by security and military institutions due to their declarations of opposition, expression of protest, or treatment of injured protesters. Some have also been killed by the Iranian regime’s repressive forces.
Professional and economic pressures on nurses in Iran continue, and the latest report from the semiofficial ILNA news agency highlights the issue of low rates of “mandatory overtime.” According to the report, nurses are required to work 130 hours of overtime for a payment of 19 million rials (approximately $37.25).
The news agency quotes members of the “Nurse House” who state that “nurses work overtime every month according to their duty hours, but the amount they receive is very insignificant.”
Based on an “overtime work deposit” text message, a nurse mentioned in the ILNA report that after several months of delay, the February overtime payment was 19 million rials for 130 hours.
The situation of nurses’ rights and wages has been one of the challenging issues since the beginning of the year. On April 16, the state-run Etemad newspaper quoted a nurse who said that for every 197 duty hours and 155 overtime hours in a month, they received approximately 18 million rials (approximately $35.29) as the nursing service fee.
In March, the continuation of discriminatory and “illegal” payments to Iranian nurses led to protests. Nurses in various provinces held protest gatherings.
In this regard, the Free Workers’ Union of Iran reported on April 17 that nurses in five provinces gathered in protest against the “government’s violation of nursing fees” and chanted slogans calling for the resignation of the “incompetent minister.”
The dire conditions for nurses and the failure to meet their minimum demands ultimately led to the President of the Iranian Nursing Organization mentioning on September 18 that the necessary “attraction and retention” conditions for nurses in the country were not being met and that “five to six Iranian nurses” are migrating daily.
Mohammad Mirzabeygi, speaking about the migration of nurses to the ILNA news agency, stated that between “100 to 150 nurses” migrate abroad monthly, which is a matter of concern for the country.
