Iran Focus
London, 8 November – According to a November 7 article published by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), there has been an alarming increase in abortions in Khuzestan, especially in Arab-settled areas.
Issues like unemployment, the rising cost of housing, deprivation, and a difficult life situation, has caused a prevalence of abortion in this province, which is ignored by the regime’s officials in Khuzestan.
Iran Focus
London, 8 November – The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported on November 5, that the head of the Iranian regime’s Social Workers Association, Hassan Mousavi Chalak, acknowledged that following Iraq, Iran is the second saddest country in the world.
“Iran is not among the happy countries.” According to ISNA state news agency, he said that based on average statistics on social happiness provided by several respected International organizations, “among 185 countries, Iran is ranked 105, and regarding the world’s unhappiest countries, Iran is at the bottom of the list, behind Iraq. We are the second saddest country in the world after Iraq.”
Iran Focus
London, 7 November – On Friday, the BBC reported that FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, had imposed a fine of 37,000 pounds (or about 46,000 US dollars) on the Islamic Republic of Iran over its match against South Korea last month. The match made headlines at the time because it coincided with the Shiite Islamic holiday of Ashura, marking the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. The coincidence led to criticism by Iranian clerics, because the expression of joy is considered forbidden during the two holy days. But the country’s authorities worked around this situation by imposing guidelines on attendees at the game, ordering both Iranians and foreign visitors to refrain from cheering or applauding.
Iran Focus
London, 7 November – On Friday, a report from Reuters indicated that the economic conflicts between Iran and Saudi Arabia are far from over, notwithstanding the optimism that followed earlier OPEC meetings to which both the Iranians and the Saudis had participated. Early last month, it was suggested that Saudi Arabia had stepped back from its demand for Iranian participation as a condition of OPEC putting into effect a collective output reduction aimed at raising global oil prices, which remain at approximately half of last year’s levels.
Iran Focus
London, 7 November – In 1988, during the space of just a few months, 30 000 political prisoners were executed in Iran, pregnant women and children among them. Today, the Arab Federation for Human Rights has called for justice to be brought to the victims of the massacre.
The 1988 massacre that took place in Iran was ordered by a fatwa, issued by the Supreme Leader at the time, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Actioned by a specially devised ‘Death Commission’ the fatwa led to the execution of 30,000 political prisoners. Most were executed after a short ‘mock trial’. Their only crime – political opposition to the ruling Iranian regime at the time. Most of the victims were followers of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), which remains one of the strongest forces of political opposition to the Iranian regime today.
Iran Focus
London, 7 November – During the summer of 1988, 30 000 innocent victims were executed in Iran for their opposing political beliefs. The act was an unprecedented violation of human rights, as many victims were executed after a short ‘mock trial’, and many of them were women and children. Recently a conference was held at the Central University of Sassari, Italy to commemorate the victims, support the “Justice Seeking Movement”, and condemn the 1988 Massacre, as well as the continuous suppression of women in Iran today.
Iran Focus
London, 6 November – On November 4, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported that as of now, more than 110 senior Iranian officials involved in the 1988 Massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran have been identified.
Members of the “Death Commissions” in Tehran and 16 other Iranian provinces still hold senior offices, because their identities and their role in the massacre has remained secret for nearly three decades.
Iran Focus
London, 6 November – On November 3, the National Council of Resistance of Iran reported that on November 4, the anniversary of the occupation of the United States embassy in Tehran, the deputy commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC), Hossein Salami, spoke abut the mullah’s rule that, “today reaches to the North of the Red Sea in the Bab-el-Mandeb, is present in Yemen, and geographically extends to North Africa.” He also stated that the regime’s “presence in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen… is to keep the danger away from our land.”
Iran Focus
London, 6 November – On November 4, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reports on the growing number of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who are killed during the conflicts in Syria; the death toll is increasing.
On November 1, 2016, the Turkish Anatolia News Agency reported that the number of the Iranian senior military dying in the Syrian civil war has reached fifteen. These were commanders of s of the IRGC, who were fighting in Syria since 2013.
Iran Focus
London, 5 November – Maryam Akbari-Monfared, arrested in December 2009 for alleged involvement in the Green Movement street protests, and later charged with being connected to the PMOI/MEK was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “waging war against God” in June 2010.
Four of her siblings were executed in the 1980s for their affiliations with the MEK, and in 2009 she was also accused of making phone calls to her remaining bother and sister who were at the time based in Camp Ashraf in Iraq.
