Iran Focus
London, 15 May – Iranian youth have found ways to circumvent the social media restrictions within their country in order to express their discontent with the Iranian elections to the world, using the slogans “Iranian people’s vote is [for the] overthrow of the regime”, “My vote is regime change”, and “death to the principle of velayat-e faqih” .
Iran Focus
London, 15 May – Iran and Russia are both heavily invested in propping up the Assad Regime, their two countries could not be more different in their visions for the Middle East after the civil war has ended.
Baria Alamuddin, a senior middle-east correspondent, wrote an op-ed on the strange alliance between Iran and Russia for Arab News in which she asked how long their alliance could last.
Iran Focus
London, 14 May – It’s been reported that more than 9 million Iranians have fled their homeland since the Revolution in 1979. This means that more than 12 percent of Iran’s citizens chose to abandon their homes, families, and belongings, to maintain their freedom. It is estimated that close to four million Iranians have taken refuge in the U.S since 1979.
These refugees consider the International, and specifically European, trade agreements and relations with Iran, their worst nightmare.
Iran Focus
London, 14 May – In a written testimony by Daniel Coats, US Director of National Intelligence, for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday, he described the growing threat of Iran’s missile program. “Iran’s ballistic missiles are inherently capable of delivering WMD [weapons of mass destruction], and Tehran already has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East,” he wrote, adding, “We judge that Tehran would choose ballistic missiles as its preferred method of delivering nuclear weapons, if it builds them.” Coats also noted, “Iran continues to be the foremost state sponsor of terrorism.”
Iran Focus
London, 13 May – Mohammad Mohaddessin, the Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), responded to a series of questions in an interview with ncr-iran.org. The questions relate to the Iranian regime’s controversial upcoming presidential election on May 19. The following is the first part of this interview:
What are the choices before the Iranian people and what do they expect?
Iran Focus
London, 13 May – The first Dean of Tehran University after the revolution, Dr. Mohammad Maleki, called the Iranian regime’s election on May 19 a “puppet show”.
He says that the performance put on for the people, by the reformists and the conservatives are only a means to deceive. In an interview with an online television show on May 9th, Dr. Maleki, said, “What is happening in Iran, it is essentially a puppet show? It is a show, because according to them, among 1600 registered candidates, only five were chosen, who also regularly worked for the system and then they are asking people to vote for six. I think this is simply not an election.”
Iran Focus
London, 11 May – A referendum was held in the UK to decide whether to stay or to exit from the European Union. The outcome divided the British society, but the British government and EU member-states accepted the result, which shows respect for democracy.
The British Prime Minister has decided to hold an early election for the British people to choose their representatives, and all the parties will take part.
Iran Focus
London, 11 May – As they look back on the violence that followed Iran’s disputed 2009 election, authorities are fearful of a repetition, and want to avoid the ferocity of the peoples’ dissent.
According to the state-run IRNA news agency, on Wednesday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned, “Those who ignore the country’s security will definitely be slapped in the face.”
Iran Focus
London, 10 May – Iran is preparing to launch two new satellites into space, according to Iranian military leaders, but American national security experts believe that this may just be a cover-up for the test-firing of advanced intercontinental ballistic missile technology.
The Iranian Communications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi announced the proposed launch on Monday.
Iran Focus
London, 10 May – The Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, has recently rebuked the security forces, the Shiite clergy forces, and his rivals ahead of the presidential elections next week.
He called them “extremists” and criticised the arrest of reformist leaders, which is strange because he has overseen the arrest, torture, and executions of hundreds of political protesters over his four-year presidency.
