Iran Focus
London, 2 Nov – The Iranian Regime is now using fake news to discredit a female activist and the popular people’s resistance as a whole in order to pit the people against each other and divide an activist family.
Mere days after Donald Trump delivered his speech on the Iran deal and the oppression faced by the Iranian people, the Regime’s press published a false story about lifelong activist, Somayeh Mohammadi, defecting from the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK).
Iran Focus
London, 2 Nov – The Saudi Arabian ambassador to the UN has condemned the Iranian Regime for its persecution of the ethnic minorities and noted that the Regime has shown no evidence of real change.
Khalid Manzlawi, Saudi Arabia’s Acting Permanent Representative to the UN, released a statement on October 25, which states: Iran has not shown that it intends to address the oppression and persecution suffered by the Arab people of Khuzestan province, such as the outlawing of their Arab identity and their civil rights.
By Sia Rajabi
The shift in US policy on Iran has been unmistakable. After years of conciliation and appeasement – not just under the Obama administration but at various points throughout the 38-year history of the Islamic Republic – President Donald Trump is spearheading a committed strategy of confrontation and assertiveness, which serves to expose the depths of the Iranian regime’s violence and contempt for human rights.
Iran Focus
London, 1 Nov – The United Nations have expressed increased concern over the rising number of executions in Iran among other serious human rights violations.
Asma Jahangir, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, noted on October 26 that there has been no change in Iran in the past year and expressed her personal frustration about the executions, especially those of juvenile offenders and marginalised groups.
In Iran, four juneville offenders have been executed so far in 2017, while there are officially 86 teenagers on death row for crimes that they committed as children. The actual number may be much higher given the lack of transparency in the Iranian justice system.
Iran Focus
London, 1 Nov – The Iranian Regime is set to emerge as the big winner in the Kurdish Independence Referendum by taking advantage of the Iraq’s destabilisation.
Ever since Kurdish president Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), held the referendum on independence in September, the balance of power has changed dramatically, exposing the Kurds limited hand and Iran’s dominant role in the fate of the Kurds.
Despite the Kurdish people’s overwhelming vote for independence, Iraqi troops backed by the Iranian Regime swarmed the Kirkuk region, which the Kurds rescued from ISIS, on October 16, and forced the Kurds to flee.
Iran Focus
London, 1 Nov – The Iranian Resistance has issued a statement calling on the Australian government to end its mistreatment of refugees after the inhuman conditions has caused at least one Iranian- who fled the totalitarian Regime- to self-harm.
In their statement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), wrote: “The Iranian Resistance strongly condemns the shocking and disgusting behaviour toward asylum seekers who have been forcibly transferred from Australia to the remote island of Manos in Papua New Guinea, and are in effect being held in detention there, and condemned it as a flagrant violation of the holy asylum principle and other international conventions and treaties.”
Back in April, the PNG Supreme Court ruled that Australia’s detention of refugees in another country was illegal and unconstitutional and this began the process to close the detention centre.
Iran Focus
London, 1 Nov – The Iranian Regime is seizing on the chance to further destabilise the Middle East- particularly Iraq and Syria- as the threat posed by ISIS is being steadily decreased by coalition forces.
In northern Iraq, Iran-backed forces seized an oil-rich region back from the Kurdish Peshmerga (who actually won it back from ISIS) following the independence referendum that the Kurds voted overwhelmingly in favour of.
There are two Kurdish groups fighting for dominance in the region; the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who controls the majority of the Kurdish Government and is supported by the US and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), an Iranian ally.
The KDP was the group run out of Kirkuk in Iraq.
Iran Focus
London, 31 Oct – Commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Major General Qassem Soleimani, was behind the operation that resulted in the recent takeover of Kirkuk by Iranian backed militias and the Iraqi army. This shows that Iran, without a doubt, has an extremely influential role in Iraq.
It is unclear how much of a role was played by the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi, but it is certain that the big decisions were made by Iran to be followed in Iraq.
Al-Abadi is being criticised for resorting to violence against the Kurds so early on and they say that he should have engaged in talks in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region. Furthermore, Erbil played a big role alongside Baghdad in the fight against ISIS.
Iran Focus
London, 31 Oct – Smuggling and other imports by the entities of the Iranian Regime may soon bankrupt the economy according to recent reports.
The official figures from the Iran Customs Administration state that over $50 billion worth of goods is imported to Iran annually with a further $17-25 billion worth of goods being smuggled in.
It also shows that imports have risen by 15% in the first half of 2017 and non-oil exports have dropped by 3%. This is worrying because Iran’s economy is undeveloped and increased imports of goods that could easily be produced in Iran puts a real strain on native workers and contributes to the unemployment rate.
Iran Focus
London, 31 Oct – A member of the Iranian Regime’s parliament has addressed that there is a major crisis facing porters (kolbars) in Iran that is resulting in the deaths of many.
Rassoul Khezri told a state-run news agency on October 28 that there are some 75,000 people in Iran who are working as porters- many of whom are students- and risking their lives for a pittance.
A porter will carry goods across the Iranian border through mountainous areas on their back (as in many instances, no vehicle could make the journey) in order to make a living. It is believed to be very widespread amongst students in border towns, as assessed by Ali Mohammad Zadeh, a teacher.
