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France To File Complaint Against Iranian Regime at International Court of Justice

Hoshang Amiri
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France To File Complaint Against Iranian Regime at International Court of Justice

France has announced that it will file a formal complaint against Iran’s regime at the International Court of Justice in protest over the continued imprisonment of a French couple, Cécile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, who have been detained on espionage charges for the past three years.

France stated that on Friday, May 16, it will submit a formal complaint against Iran’s regime at the International Court of Justice. According to Christophe Lemoine, spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, this move comes in response to the ongoing detention of two French citizens in Iran.

Former French Hostage: The Iranian Regime Treats Prisoners Like “Animals”

Cécile Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher, and her partner Jacques Paris were arrested on May 7, 2022, during the final day of their tourist trip to Iran.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of “relentless efforts” to secure the release of the two French citizens and referred to them as hostages of Iran. Around two weeks ago, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also stated that the French government would lodge a complaint with the International Court of Justice in protest over the violation of the rights of its two nationals being held by the Iranian regime.

Sanctions Against Iranian Regime’s “Hostage-Taking” Policy

The Iranian regime has accused Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris of “espionage.” Following their arrest, Iran’s state television aired a video in which the couple “confesses” to cooperating with French intelligence services. Paris has firmly denied these claims.

France has accused Iran’s regime of holding the two prisoners under conditions tantamount to torture in Evin Prison and of failing to provide adequate consular support. Iranian officials have denied these allegations.

The Iranian regime takes foreign or dual-national citizens hostage in order to extort concessions from the West, particularly in nuclear negotiations or in efforts to secure the release of its own agents detained in European countries.

Among these “hostages” was another French citizen, Olivier Grondeau, who was released on March 20, 2025, after serving about two and a half years in prison in Iran.

Iranian Regime Found Liable for Torture of American Hostage in Lebanon

Grondeau, who was arrested in the fall of 2022 in Iran, said in a voice message addressed to French officials less than two months before his release: “You who have the power to influence this matter, hear this truth. Cécile, Jacques, and I are at our limits. It is your responsibility to ensure the survival of three human beings.”

Grondeau had been sentenced to five years in prison on charges of conspiracy against the Iranian regime.

About four weeks ago, the European Union imposed sanctions on nine judicial and security officials and entities of the Iranian regime in response to what it described as the arbitrary detention of EU citizens and widespread human rights violations in Iran, citing state-sponsored hostage-taking.

Additionally, according to the French foreign minister, France plans to propose further punitive measures and sanctions against Iranian officials at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers.

 

Iranian Regime’s Majlis Speaker: Our Fight with the U.S. And Israel Is a Sacred Struggle

Sia Rajabi
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Iranian Regime’s Majlis Speaker: Our Fight with the U.S. And Israel Is a Sacred Struggle

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), said on the sidelines of the Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States in Indonesia: “Our fight with the United States and Israel is a sacred struggle based on Quranic teachings and the issue of right versus wrong.”

Ghalibaf continued: “The efforts of Muslim nations against Israel must be very intelligent.”

In another part of his remarks, referring to the new round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran, he said: “The Islamic Republic will never move toward building a nuclear weapon but uses this knowledge in the fields of medicine, environment, agriculture, and others.”

He added: “Utilizing nuclear capacity is our right, and we use it for the country’s industry, and we believe this capacity belongs to the entire Islamic world.”

 

New U.S. Sanctions Target Iranian Regime’s Missile Network

Mehdi Hosseini
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New U.S. Sanctions Target Iranian Regime’s Missile Network

In its latest move against the Iranian regime’s missile program, the United States has imposed sanctions on six individuals and twelve entities in Iran, China, and Hong Kong. The measure aims to disrupt the regime’s missile technology supply chain.

On Wednesday, May 14, 2025, the United States announced a new round of sanctions against six individuals and twelve entities in Iran, China, and Hong Kong. These individuals and companies are sanctioned for participating in efforts by the Iranian regime to develop its ballistic missile program—a pursuit U.S. officials describe as a serious threat to regional and international peace and stability.

U.S. Slaps New Sanctions on Tehran’s Missile Fuel Supply Network

These sanctions have been implemented under Executive Order 13382 and coordinated by the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce. According to an official statement by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the action is intended to disrupt the technical and logistical supply chain of Iran’s missile program and prevent Tehran from acquiring advanced technologies.

The OFAC statement explains that the sanctioned entities and individuals played a key role in procuring and supplying sensitive items—including carbon fiber, specialized centrifuges, and equipment used in the production of intercontinental missiles—for Iran. These items are technologies commonly used in the development of advanced ballistic missiles and are subject to international sanctions.

List of Sanctioned Entities: From Iran to East Asia

On this list, the Iranian company Advanced Fiber Development Company (AFDCO), along with several of its executives—including Mohammad Rezai and Hamed Dehghan—has been sanctioned due to its collaboration with the Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization, which operates under the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The list also includes Pishtazan Kavosh Gostar Boshra LLC (PKGB) and several other Iran-based technology firms. Alongside these Iranian entities and individuals, the United States has also sanctioned several Chinese companies and nationals for their support of Iran’s missile program.

Among them is Shanghai Tanchain New Material Technology Co Ltd, which has directly exported carbon fiber to Iran. The company’s executives have been sanctioned for collaborating with networks that supply sensitive items to already sanctioned Iranian entities. Subsidiaries of this Chinese company operating in China and Hong Kong—such as Reso Trading and Super Sources—have also been added to the sanctions list due to being owned or operated by sanctioned individuals.

These sanctions come at a time when the Iranian regime has, in recent years, been seeking to localize production of components needed for its missile program while simultaneously working to circumvent international sanctions through a complex network of front and intermediary companies.

In the final part of the statements, the U.S. government called on its allies and partners in Europe and Asia to take these sanctions seriously and to adopt similar measures to cut off the Iranian regime’s missile technology supply chain.

 

Daily Death of 27 and Annual Death of 10,000 Workers in Iran

Esmaeil Mohades
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Daily Death of 27 and Annual Death of 10,000 Workers in Iran

Alireza Raeisi, deputy for health at the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, announced a figure that starkly contrasts with previously released statistics, stating that 10,000 workers die annually in Iran due to workplace accidents.

This comes while the Iranian regime’s Legal Medicine Organization had previously reported that approximately 2,000 workers died on duty in 2024, and in prior years, reports from the Ministry of Labor, the regime’s Majlis (parliament) research center, and the Legal Medicine Organization consistently put the annual death toll below 2,000.

The Minimum Wage for Iranian Workers in 2025 Announced

However, according to the regime’s official IRNA news agency, Raeisi has now stated that “every year, around 10,000 people in Iran die due to work-related incidents,” emphasizing the need to revise environmental and occupational health standards to protect workers’ well-being.

These figures reveal that Iran’s annual average of worker fatalities—caused by a lack of safety and proper standards—is more than triple the total number of workers who died across the entire European Union. According to global statistics, in 2024, a total of 3,286 workers died due to workplace accidents across all 27 EU member states; for instance, the number in the United Kingdom was 138.

The Iranian regime’s deputy health minister added: “This level of mortality is not low, and measures must be taken to reduce preventable deaths. Many disabilities also result from workplace incidents, with the effects of some becoming evident only in the long term. For example, workers exposed to coal vapors or benzene fumes at gas stations may not develop problems immediately, but the consequences of their work exposure appear after several years.”

Protest rallies and marches by retirees, workers, and students in Iran

The state-run ILNA news agency called this “drastic discrepancy from previous official statistics” “strange.” It noted, however, that although data from the Legal Medicine Organization has so far been more accurate than that of the Ministry of Labor and the Social Security Organization regarding worker fatalities, “according to many labor activists, even the figures released by the Legal Medicine Organization cannot reflect the true scale of workplace accidents, as the practice of concealing real statistics—common in other areas—also plagues the reporting of labor incident data.”

The deputy health minister’s remarks imply that over 800 workers die each month in Iran due to occupational accidents—equating to around 26 to 27 workers dying every single day.

Farshad Esmaeili, a labor law expert and researcher in Iran, told ILNA: “For years, the Ministry of Labor has released statistics that only include official workshops and insured workers. Employers and contractors avoiding responsibility, workers being afraid to report workplace accidents, and employers settling with the families of deceased workers—all contribute to making the official figures on workplace incidents unreliable. The Ministry of Labor is aware of this issue and knows that the statistics it provides only cover a portion of deceased workers—those who had insurance.”

According to him, another reason for the significant gap between the real number of worker deaths and the official figures reported by government institutions is that in many death cases, the cause listed on the death certificate is—either mistakenly or deliberately—something else. For example, instead of stating “work-related accident,” the certificate may read “blunt force trauma to the head” so that the case does not appear on the official list of workplace fatalities.

The recent comments by the deputy health minister point to a deep crisis in worker safety in Iran and confirm how various officials in the Iranian regime have, for decades, engaged in falsifying statistics or deliberately concealing real figures to cover up their failings in areas such as workplace accidents, inflation, economic growth, unemployment, and poverty.

In Iran, the issue of worker safety and health has become a serious challenge due to government neglect, weak oversight, and the failure to prioritize workers’ lives. The lack of basic safety standards, especially in high-risk work environments, leads to accidents that directly endanger the lives and health of workers.

 

Iranian Regime’s Hidden Trade: Oil Smuggling and Weapons Shipments to Russia 

Sia Rajabi
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Iranian Regime’s Hidden Trade: Oil Smuggling and Weapons Shipments to Russia 

In a recent report, Bloomberg describes Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani—advisor to Iranian regime’s supreme leader, member of the Expediency Council, former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Khamenei’s representative in that council—as an Iranian oil tycoon who has covertly embedded himself in the heart of the Western financial system. He is reportedly one of those responsible for delivering weapons to Russia via the Caspian Sea. Bloomberg had previously published a report stating that Hossein Shamkhani, under the alias “Hector,” plays a role in smuggling Iranian oil, including to Russia, and referred to him as Iran’s oil smuggling kingpin.

Bloomberg: Shamkhani’s Son’s Influence in the International Banking System

Bloomberg writes that these transactions, which coincide with Russia’s increased use of Iranian weapons in attacks on Ukraine, are part of a vast global trade network that has generated immense wealth for Hossein Shamkhani. His father, Ali Shamkhani, served the longest tenure as the regime’s defense minister and remains a senior advisor to the regime’s supreme leader. Meanwhile, the names of Shamkhani’s other two children, Hassan and Zeinab, as well as his nephew and son-in-law, have appeared in financial corruption cases. Even his multi-billion rial bank account has made headlines.

According to Bloomberg’s new report, citing information from over 12 American, British, and European officials, as well as individuals with direct knowledge of these transactions, Hossein Shamkhani used a network of companies under his control—including Crios Shipping LLC, based in Dubai—to transport missiles, drone components, and dual-use goods across the Caspian Sea last year using at least two ships.

Informed sources say Russia pays for these shipments with oil cargoes, a form of barter trade that has become more common due to U.S. and European sanctions against both Russia and Iran’s regime.

Bloomberg states that Hossein Shamkhani’s corporate network manages more than one-quarter of Iran’s total weapons transfers to Russia. His commercial empire includes an investment fund with offices in London, Geneva, and Singapore, and a commodity trading company in Dubai that has done business with major Western oil firms.

The Iranian regime and Russia have acknowledged their growing defense cooperation but have not disclosed all details.

John Bolton, former U.S. National Security Advisor, had previously stated that the Shamkhani network is involved in drone supply deals for Russia’s use in Ukraine.

Shipments via the Caspian Sea

According to Bloomberg, starting from mid-2023, several ships belonging to Crios Shipping LLC—which previously operated in the Mediterranean and Black Seas—were moved to the Caspian Sea and began operating between Iran and Russia. The vessels Sea Castle and Sea Anchor are among them. Both ships have made at least five voyages from Iranian ports to Astrakhan, Russia.

Bloomberg reports that Shamkhani’s vessels often use flags from countries like Palau, which are on international blacklists. Additionally, details about these ships’ cargoes are limited due to the lack of official registration.

The Shamkhani network includes companies such as Oceanlink Maritime DMCC and Koban Shipping LLC, which are reportedly affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Defense. The United States sanctioned Oceanlink in April.

 

Nuclear Secrecy and Brutal Repression: Two Sides of the Same Coin in Iran’s Struggle for Survival

Sia Rajabi
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Nuclear Secrecy and Brutal Repression: Two Sides of the Same Coin in Iran’s Struggle for Survival

The regime ruling Iran has for years teetered on the edge of multiple crises: a crisis of legitimacy, nuclear crisis, economic collapse, international isolation, and growing social unrest. In such circumstances, a regime with no popular base—and now largely deprived of its tools of terrorism and regional warfare—resorts to two key methods for survival: nuclear secrecy on the international stage, and naked repression at home. These two strategies, though seemingly different, are in fact two sides of the same coin—both serving to sustain a decaying and disintegrating regime.

New Nuclear Revelation: A Project for Bombs, Not Power

In the latest revelation by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the United States, a secret site codenamed “Ranginkaman” in Eyvanekey, Semnan province, was identified. According to NCRI sources, this facility is part of SPND, the organization directly responsible for the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons project. The site operates under the cover of chemical industries and in the name of a company called “Diba Energy Sina.”

The exposure of such a site once again proves that the regime’s nuclear project is not peaceful, but rather a tool for acquiring nuclear weapons. The use of tritium—a substance with no peaceful application—and the effort to mount it on ballistic missiles, serve only one goal: building an atomic bomb to guarantee the regime’s survival.

Why the Regime Clings to the Bomb: Securing Survival Amid Crises

Why does a regime under severe economic pressure, international isolation, and domestic dissatisfaction continue to spend billions of dollars building secret nuclear infrastructure?

The Iranian regime sees its survival not through reform, but through repressive and deterrent power. In its logic, a nuclear bomb is a guarantee of survival.

But this project comes at an enormous cost: widespread poverty, intensified international pressure, crippling sanctions, and internal economic instability. As Iranians’ dinner tables shrink by the day, billions of dollars are spent on facilities whose sole purpose is to preserve the rule of a small, entrenched elite.

Nuclear Secrecy and Brutal Repression: Complementary Tools of Survival

On the other hand, while the Iranian regime resorts to secrecy and deception on the international stage, its domestic policy is the complete opposite: a show of force through an iron fist.

A surge in executions (dozens each month), systematic repression of students, assaults on schools, arrests of civil society activists and grieving families, and a barrage of daily crackdowns all clearly reflect the regime’s fear of popular uprisings. The regime is fully aware that it has no grassroots support, and that even the smallest spark could ignite a nationwide revolt.

The widespread repression inside Iran, like its pursuit of nuclear weapons, is part of a broader “survival defense” strategy. Knowing it lacks internal support, the regime looks outward for deterrent tools (the atomic bomb), and inward for tools of coercion (execution, torture, repression).

Deflecting the Core Conflict by Creating Artificial Ones

The regime seeks to inflame and polarize society—by amplifying issues like compulsory hijab—to prevent the emergence of national unity against itself. In reality, the regime’s survival depends on conflict and division; it sees unified society as the death knell of its rule.

Heavy Costs for the People; Profit for the Supreme Leadership

In all of this, it is the people of Iran who pay the real price of the regime’s dual policy of nuclear secrecy and domestic repression. While they struggle to afford basic necessities, their taxes and oil revenues fund secret nuclear sites like “Ranginkaman.” Their voices of protest are met with arrest, lashings, or execution.

Why Is the Regime Still Failing Despite All These Efforts?

Despite its full-force efforts to survive through repression and deception, this strategy has failed. The reason is clear: public dissatisfaction has not only persisted—it has deepened and spread.

Today, Iranian society is more aware than ever that the root cause of poverty, oppression, and crisis lies at the top of the regime.

The regime of absolute clerical rule—with all its tactics, from secret nuclear sites to public executions, from deceiving international opinion to domestic brutality—has not been able to avoid the path of collapse. The core contradiction, the conflict between the people and the regime, is becoming increasingly clear and unavoidable.

In the end, no amount of tritium, missiles, or executions can guarantee the regime’s survival. Nuclear secrecy and brutal repression may delay the inevitable, but they offer no escape from eventual overthrow.

Billions for War, Nothing for the People: The Cost of Repression and Corruption in Iran

Hoshang Amiri
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Billions for War, Nothing for the People: The Cost of Repression and Corruption in Iran

In the midst of the fourth round of nuclear negotiations between the Iranian regime and the United States held in Oman—and while media outlets are busy analyzing the details of these talks—a deeper and more fundamental question is being heard louder than ever from within Iranian society.

How much can even a potential agreement improve the situation for the people? Why does life keep getting harder for ordinary Iranians, while the regime’s spending on foreign, military, and security operations—as well as widespread theft and corruption—continues to skyrocket?

These days, amid economic instability, widespread electricity blackouts, a water crisis, rising prices of medicine and basic goods, millions of Iranians across the country begin their day with frustration and anxiety.

Many citizens rightly ask how it is possible that a government claiming budget deficits for paying contractors or repairing decaying water and electricity infrastructure is simultaneously spending billions of dollars supporting proxy military groups in the region?

A budget for non-Iranians, not the people of Iran

Over the past years, the Iranian regime’s financial support to groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen has been repeatedly acknowledged by the officials of these same groups.

For example, the new Secretary-General of Hezbollah recently stated in a speech that they had received around $400 million as a “gift” from the Iranian regime to distribute among Lebanese families. This amount is separate from the regular annual support Hezbollah receives, which various sources have previously estimated to be between $1 billion and $2 billion per year.

Additionally, the Iranian regime pays about $150 million monthly to Hamas. The same pattern is repeated with Hashd al-Shaabi and the Houthis in Yemen.

If we sum up these figures, even the most conservative estimates show that just a portion of the regime’s budget spent on foreign groups easily exceeds several billion dollars annually. This is not including four decades of support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, which various reports estimate to have cost between $30 billion and $100 billion—though the actual scale remains unknown.

On the very days when funds are being transferred to armed groups in Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, and Yemen, many cities in Iran are experiencing constant power outages, contaminated or entirely depleted drinking water sources, untreatable illnesses due to medication shortages, and the shutdown of small businesses—making everyday life bitter and unbearable for millions of Iranians.

Repression and Corruption

But the issue doesn’t end with regional aid. A significant portion of the country’s oil and tax revenues is spent on expanding and strengthening the domestic repression apparatus. Security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies—including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Basij militia, the Special Units, and other repressive institutions—are heavily equipped and funded, not to ensure national security, but to suppress the people.

During every wave of public protests, these agencies—with modern equipment, armored vehicles, surveillance cameras, lethal weapons, and sophisticated monitoring and wiretapping systems—have been responsible for cracking down on street demonstrations. A large portion of the national budget is also allocated to paying salaries, benefits, and bonuses to security forces and repressors.

At the same time, hundreds of trillions of rials have been siphoned off from the country’s resources through cronyism or major corruption scandals and ended up in the pockets of corrupt officials and regime affiliates. Cases like the petrochemical corruption scandal, Bank Sarmayeh, the Teachers’ Fund, systemic embezzlement in the banking network, and dozens more are examples of this recurring pattern—none of which have led to the return of stolen assets or real prosecution of the main perpetrators.

Priorities That Exclude the People

In Iran’s regime, budgeting is not based on public interest but is driven by the regime’s ideological and security priorities. From the development of long-range missiles and military drones to financial support and multitrillion-rial budgets for 490 Islamic seminaries and 400,000 clerics across the country—these are the regime’s top priorities.

In contrast, urban infrastructure improvements, development of healthcare and education, drought mitigation, revitalization of the electricity industry, or even the reconstruction of dilapidated schools have always been met with claims of “no budget.”

This contradiction has fueled widespread public anger, especially among the youth and middle class, who now see no prospects for progress and not even hope for maintaining basic standards of daily life. On university campuses, in marketplaces, and among the growing poor, this anger is openly expressed.

An Angry Society, the Loud Voice of a Discontented People

In countless videos and messages posted online, people repeatedly speak of power and water outages, business closures, the destruction of small investments, and irreparable losses.

Under these conditions, labor and professional protests are also on the rise. From retirees to workers, from drivers to bakers in various cities, the voices of protest and demands are growing louder every day. Yet instead of responding, the regime mostly reacts with threats, arrests, or complete disregard.

The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign: Ongoing hunger strike in 41 prisons across Iran

Hoshang Amiri
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The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign: Ongoing hunger strike in 41 prisons across Iran

The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign will stage a hunger strike in 41 prisons across the country on Tuesday, May 13, for the sixty-eighth consecutive week.

While the wave of executions in Iran has intensified, with at least 96 prisoners—including one woman—executed in just the past three weeks, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign has reported the continuation of protest hunger strikes in dozens of prisons across the country.

At the same time, two other political prisoners have received harsh death sentences. Amin (Peyman) Farahavar Gisavandani, a poet from Gilan province, has been sentenced to death by Judge Ahmad Darvish-Goftar on charges of “rebellion and enmity against God.” Ehsan Faridi, a student at the University of Tabriz, was also sentenced to death by Branch 2 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court on charges of “enmity against God.” Reports indicate that these verdicts were issued without the presence of lawyers chosen by the defendants. Both prisoners are supporters of the MEK (People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran), the largest opposition group to Iran’s regime.

The continuation of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign enters its sixty-seventh week across 41 prisons in Iran

In a statement, the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign referred to the accelerated issuance and implementation of death sentences under Iran’s regime, calling on international institutions to pursue the judges who issue these rulings through independent human rights bodies and to act to stop this cycle of violence.

The campaign also commemorated Barzan Mohammadi, a former political prisoner and supporter of the protest movement, who recently died in an accident. The statement extended condolences to his family and companions.

The full statement of the sixty-eighth week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign:

Continuation of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign’s hunger strike in 41 prisons during its sixty-eighth week
Death sentences issued for two political prisoners

According to published reports, the issuance and implementation of death sentences by courts under Iran’s regime continue unabated. Since late April, more than 96 prisoners, including one woman, have been executed—an average of at least four executions per day.

In recent days, Amin (Peyman) Farahavar Gisavandani, a poet and political prisoner from Gilan, was sentenced to death by Judge Ahmad Darvish-Goftar on charges of “rebellion and enmity against God.” Ehsan Faridi, a student at the University of Tabriz, was also sentenced to death by Branch 2 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court on the charge of “enmity against God.” Notably, these inhumane verdicts were issued without the prisoners having access to legal representation of their choice.

We call on human rights organizations and anti-death penalty advocates to expose the judges responsible for these rulings and to file complaints against them through independent human rights bodies. As the regime proves incapable of resolving its internal and external crises, the pace of executions has increased. Confronting executions in such a climate is an urgent and undeniable necessity. In every corner of this land, the flag of resistance to executions must be raised, and voices of protest must be heard. This criminal regime must not be allowed to take citizens’ lives with ease. Freedom is the right of a nation that has paid a heavy price for decades in pursuit of liberty, equality, and democracy.

The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign honors the memory of Barzan Mohammadi, a former political prisoner and supporter of this movement, who tragically lost his life in a devastating accident. The campaign extends its condolences to his family and all those involved in the movement.

 

US Congress Resolution Amplifies Calls for Accountability for Iranian Regime’s Heinous Crimes

Mehdi Hosseini
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US Congress Resolution Amplifies Calls for Accountability for Iranian Regime’s Heinous Crimes

The recent passage of U.S. House Resolution 166, backed by a significant bipartisan majority of 220 Representatives, marks a pivotal moment in the international community’s stance towards the clerical regime in Iran. Beyond expressing support for the Iranian people’s aspirations for a democratic, secular, and nonnuclear republic, the resolution serves as a powerful indictment of the regime’s four-decade reign of terror, its systematic human rights abuses, and its destabilizing actions both domestically and internationally. Crucially, H.Res. 166 validates the long-standing calls from the Iranian Resistance and human rights advocates for accountability for past and ongoing atrocities, particularly the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.

The resolution leaves no ambiguity about the nature of the Iranian regime, unequivocally condemning its “terrorism, regional proxy war, internal suppression, and for other purposes.” It highlights that “the developments over the past year have left no doubt that the source of terrorism and warmongering in the Middle East region is the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran.” This strong language from a key branch of the U.S. government reinforces the reality that the Iranian people have endured for over 45 years: a regime built on violence and sustained by repression.

Comprehensive Condemnation: A Regime Built on Terror and Repression

H.Res. 166 meticulously outlines the multifaceted malign activities of the Iranian regime. It notes that the “ruling theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran has acted as a source of terrorism and regional conflict over the past four decades to ensure its survival,” directly linking its warmongering to its efforts to maintain power. The resolution specifically points to the regime’s role in “fueling of weapons, missiles, and drones to its proxies and targeting of ships and free trade in the Red Sea and American forces in the region,” highlighting its direct threat to global peace and security.

Furthermore, the resolution addresses the regime’s dangerous nuclear ambitions, stating that it “has repeatedly and increasingly violated its commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and defied the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding its nuclear programs, and has expanded its stockpile of near weapons grade of enriched uranium, a necessary component of building a nuclear bomb.” This comprehensive condemnation underscores the international consensus that the regime’s behavior is unacceptable and poses a grave danger. The House of Representatives “unequivocally condemns the Iranian regime’s warmongering in the Middle East, which is a major source of terrorism and regional instability and calls for its end.”

Spotlight on Atrocities: The Unforgotten Crime of the 1988 Massacre

A particularly significant aspect of H.Res. 166 is its direct reference to one of the darkest chapters in modern Iranian history: the 1988 massacre. The resolution cites the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran’s July 2024 report, which “highlighted the execution of ‘tens of thousands’ of political prisoners in the 1980s and during the 1988 massacre (up to 30,000).” It further quotes the Special Rapporteur, noting that these “‘atrocity crimes’… represent the commission of the worst and the most egregious human rights abuses of our living memory whereby high-ranking state officials connived, conspired, and actively engaged to plan, order and commit crimes against humanity against the nationals of their own state.”

Crucially, the resolution acknowledges that “an overwhelming majority of the executed prisoners were members and sympathizers of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).” This explicit recognition is vital, as the regime has consistently sought to deny or downplay this systematic extermination of political opponents. By incorporating these findings, the U.S. House of Representatives lends its weight to the demand for justice for the victims and accountability for the perpetrators, many of whom still hold positions of power in Iran.

Ongoing Brutality and the Targeting of Dissent

The resolution makes clear that the regime’s brutality is not confined to the past. It notes that “in the first four months of Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidency, over 500 prisoners, including political prisoners and at least 17 women, have been executed, some publicly.” This grim statistic dispels any illusion that cosmetic changes in the regime’s presidency signal a shift towards moderation. The resolution also condemns the “arbitrarily and brutally suppressed ethnic and religious minorities.”

Furthermore, H.Res. 166 sheds light on the regime’s relentless persecution of its organized opposition, even beyond Iran’s borders. It states that “in 2023, the Iranian regime started sham trials in absentia of some 104 veteran members of the Iranian opposition, who are primarily based in Europe, including in France and Albania, to justify terrorist plots against them, and continues to target Iranian dissidents abroad.” This underscores the regime’s profound fear of the organized resistance and its determination to silence dissenting voices by any means necessary.

A Call for Accountability and Protection for Witnesses in Ashraf 3

In response to this catalogue of crimes, H.Res. 166 “calls for holding the Iranian regime and its leaders accountable for their crimes through the continued imposition of sanctions.” This call for accountability is directly linked to the protection of those who can bear witness to these crimes. The resolution specifically highlights the residents of Ashraf 3 in Albania, noting that “over 900 women and men of Ashraf 3 in Albania are former political prisoners who witnessed prison crimes of the Iranian regime, and many of them are witnesses of the 1988 massacre and other political killings in Iran, who must be fully protected for potential testimonies before any international courts investigating the killings in Iran.”

The resolution explicitly “calls on the United States Government, in cooperation with our ally Albania, to ensure the full protection of the Iranian political refugees in Ashraf 3 in Albania against the Iranian regime’s continued efforts to target dissidents abroad and for them to benefit from all rights stipulated in the Geneva Convention 1951 and the European Convention on Human Rights.” This is a critical demand, recognizing the invaluable role these survivors play in the pursuit of justice and the ongoing threat they face from the Iranian regime.

The Path Forward: Rejecting All Dictatorship, Embracing a Democratic Alternative

The resolution identifies that the Iranian people “oppose any form of authoritarian rule, reject monarchic dictatorship and religious tyranny, as evident in their protest slogans.” This echoes the consistent message from nationwide uprisings in Iran, where citizens have clearly articulated their desire for a fundamental change, not a mere reshuffling of dictators.

Crucially, H.Res. 166 points towards a viable democratic future by calling for “supporting the Iranian opposition and the Ten-Point Plan for the Future of Iran, which aligns with democratic values and ensures a democratic, secular, peaceful, and nonnuclear republic for the future of Iran.” This Ten-Point Plan, presented by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), advocates for universal suffrage, free elections, separation of religion and state, gender equality, and a non-nuclear Iran. The widespread international support for this plan, including from “over 4,000 parliamentarians worldwide… and over 130 former world leaders and 80 Nobel laureates,” signifies its credibility as a blueprint for a free Iran.

The U.S. House Resolution 166 is a significant step. It not only condemns the Iranian regime’s extensive crimes but also recognizes the legitimacy of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy, and the importance of holding the perpetrators of mass atrocities, like the 1988 massacre, accountable. 

 

Protest rallies and marches by retirees, workers, and students in Iran

Jubin Katiraie
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Protest rallies and marches by retirees, workers, and students in Iran

Continuing the wave of labor protests across Iran, on Sunday, May 11, dozens of rallies and protest marches were held in various cities. The participants expressed deep dissatisfaction with their living conditions and the ongoing neglect of their demands.

In Ahvaz, retirees covered by the Social Security Organization voiced their protest against economic hardship, inflation, and the regime’s failure to respond to their demands. One retiree said: “We’ve come out in 50-degree heat to say we can’t go on anymore. They have forgotten us.”

Protest gatherings by retirees and various segments of the Iranian population; condolences to Bandar Abbas

In Tehran, Social Security retirees gathered outside the organization’s headquarters and chanted:
“We won’t rest until we get our rights”
“Retirees awake and fed up with empty promises”

During the protest, when a security officer began filming the faces of demonstrators, retirees responded boldly and fearlessly, shouting:
“Film all you want! We’re not afraid!”

In Neshat, Isfahan, hundreds of retired steel and mining workers gathered to protest delays in wages and healthcare services. They chanted slogans such as:
“We want nothing but our rights, we don’t want state charity”
“What has become of this wealthy country?”

Social Security retirees in Kermanshah protested in front of the Social Security office, chanting:
“Claiming justice—shame, shame!”
“Solidarity, unity—the remedy to oppression and tyranny”

Retirees in Shush also demonstrated, protesting their deteriorating living conditions.

Bakers in Andimeshk protested outside the governor’s office over the worsening economic situation. One baker said: “The baker is losing his bread, and so are the people at their tables.”

On Saturday, May 10, students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences went on a hunger strike in protest against poor food quality and substandard living conditions. They demanded immediate improvements in university catering services.

Dump truck drivers in Rostamabad, Gilan, staged a strike and protest for the second consecutive day over low transportation fares.

On Sunday, May 11, textile industry workers in Yazd gathered outside the governor’s office to protest the frequent power outages disrupting their work.

Social Security retirees in Shush, Haft-Tappeh, Karkheh, and other parts of Khuzestan held protest marches rejecting poverty, high prices, and corruption. Chants such as “From Khuzestan to Gilan, shame on these officials” and “What happened to this wealthy country?” reflected the public’s outrage over government mismanagement and looting.

In the Kheirabad Industrial Town near Arak, factory owners blocked the town’s entrance in protest against power outages and the resulting damages. They asked, “How can a country with vast energy resources keep its industries in crisis?”

These nationwide protests not only reflect the depth of Iran’s economic and social crises but also serve as an open call to the public for uprising and revolt.

 

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