Iran Focus
London, 11 Jan – Donald Trump is now expected to extend sanctions relief for the Iranian Regime that was granted as part of the 2015 nuclear pact, despite speculation that he would reimpose sanctions and effectively pull out of the deal.
Officials for the Trump Administration spoke to the Associated Press under the condition of anonymity and explained that US lawmakers had struck a compromise and amended legislation relating to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran Focus
London, 11 Jan – Today in Brussels, a delegation of EU foreign ministers and the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini met with their counterpart in the Iranian Regime, Javad Zarif, to discuss the future of the 2015 nuclear deal.
This meeting, which was called over the Regime’s fears that Donald Trump would soon pull the US out of the seven-nation agreement, coincided with the beginning of the third week of widespread anti-regime protests in Iran that have been met with severe human rights abuses by the ruling mullahs in clear violation of international human rights accords.
Iran Focus
London, 11 Jan – The European Union has been condemned for inviting the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for talks in Brussels, while widespread anti-regime protests are still ongoing in Iran.
The EU and Iranian foreign ministers, along with EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, have said that today’s talks are focused on preserving the 2015 nuclear deal, which the US may pull out of later today.
Critics have lambasted the meeting because of recent human rights abuses by the Regime- both in response to the current protests and as one of the many reasons for the protests.
Iran Focus
London, 10 Jan – On the thirteenth day of the uprising, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei acknowledged the continuation of the uprising. His tone seemed to underscore the fact that the Iranian Resistance and the PMOI/MEK are the alternative to his regime.
Iran Focus
London, 10 Jan – The US House of Representatives overwhelming voted in favour of a resolution, on Tuesday, supporting the Iranian people’s right to freedom of expression in the widespread protests and condemning the Regime’s violent crackdown.
The 415-2 vote comes after almost two weeks on anti-regime protests in which at least 50 people have been killed and 3,700 imprisoned and potentially facing the death penalty.
Republican Representative Ed Royce, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “With the passage of this resolution, we state that America stands with the Iranian people.”
Iran Focus
London, 10 Jan – The US Defense Secretary James Mattis has stated that the White House does not have any issues with the Iranian people, only with the Regime.
He also stated that the people of Iran clearly also have issues with the Regime, citing the widespread protests that broke out in the final days of 2017 as proof.
He said: “I think it’s very important that we stand up and say that we understand the Iranian people. Our beef, if we have one, is not with the Iranian people. It is specifically the same regime that the Iranian people, clearly, are fed up with as well.”
Iran Focus
London, 10 Jan – The German government is facing stronger calls to get tough on the Iranian Regime, as politicians from opposing political parties call for the prosecution of a senior cleric, Mahmood Hashemi Sharoudi, who is visiting Germany for medical treatment and Iran’s ambassador, Ali Majedi, who has allegedly been involved in a spy ring run by Iran.
The German government summoned Majedi to reprimand those involved in Iran’s espionage on groups/individuals with ties to Israel back in December, following the conviction of Pakistani cultural representative Mustufa Haidar Syed-Naqfi.
by Jubin Katiraie
As the protests in Iran began, some compared them to those that occurred in 2009. However, these protests differ in in their message. The cause for the 2009 protests was a rift within the regime. Now, the people are demanding an end to the regime. On the streets this week slogans against velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule) and against the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as President, Hassan Rouhani were heard.
In her article for the Wall Street Journal, Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an Iranian opposition coalition based in Paris, writes that, “This dispels the myth, still harbored by some governments, that Iranians distinguish between moderates and hard-liners in Tehran. It also undercuts flawed arguments depicting a stable regime.”
Iran Focus
London, 9 Jan – The Iranian Regime is terrorizing its own people and too many countries are content to keep it going.
When the United Nations Security Council held an emergency session last week to discuss the protests against the Iranian regime, they failed to take action against the Iranian theocracy and instead focused on the irrelevant Iranian nuclear deal. They turned a blind eye to the cries of the Iranian people and for what reason?
Iran Focus
London, 9 Jan – The Iranian Regime is resorting to violent crackdowns through its suppressive militias over the recent protests that have taken the country by storm, but this will not stop the people of Iran from demanding their freedom, according to one political scientist.
Iranian expert Dr. Majid Rafizadeh wrote an op-ed for Arab News entitled “Iran is permanently on the verge of a revolution” in which he explained that these crackdowns- that have so far killed at least 50 people and imprisoned 1000- will fail to suppress the Iranian people’s desire for revolution.
The Regime has not only deployed its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and volunteer militia organization Basij to fire on unarmed protesters, arrest peaceful demonstrators, and kill many, but they have also cut off the protesters access to the internet- by slowing down speeds and blocking certain apps- to prevent them communicating with each other and the outside world.
