Iran Focus
London, 4 Jul – Twenty-five Nobel laureates have declared their support for the “great campaign in pursuit of democracy and human rights in Iran,” which finds another expression in a mass rally in Paris on 9 July.
Church leaders: persecution in Iran has ‘intensified’ under Rouhani
Iran Focus
London, 4 Jul – Nearly 80 Church leaders from the United Kingdom and the United States have signed a declaration in which they say, “Reports by the UN Secretary General, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and the U.S. State Department all indicate that the repression of Christians has not only continued but intensified during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani.”
Political prisoner Ali Moezzi support “Free Iran” rally by MEK supporters
Iran Focus
Tehran, 3 Jul – Iranian political prisoner Ali Moezzi, who is father to two members of the main Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), has sent a message from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison declaring his support for the annual gathering of the Iranian Resistance held in Paris on 9 July.
West must demand “change” before deepening relations with Iran – MEP
London, 3 Jul – “No amount of trade and economic growth can make up for the suffering and loss of life caused by Iran’s brutal regime. The West must demand change before deepening relations with Tehran” ~ Gérard Deprez.
(Gérard Deprez is a veteran member of the European Parliament, is vice-president of the Belgian Liberal Mouvement Reformateur Party and chairs the Friends of a Free Iran group in the European Parliament. Please see his article, “Human Rights Deteriorate in Iran Despite European Optimism” written on June 29th, for euractiv.com)
Struan Stevenson supports the resistance to Iran’s regime
Iran Focus
London, 2 Jul – Struan Stevenson is a former Conservative MEP representing Scotland in the European Parliament from 1999 until his retirement in 2014. He chaired the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup (Caucus) in the European Parliament for over 10 years. He was President of the Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq from 2009 to 2014. He is now President of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA).
British MPs back Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan for Iran
Iran Focus
London, 2 Jul – In a press release Thursday, the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom endorsed the 10-point plan for Iran’s future emphasizing the establishment of a secular democratic republic, free elections, gender equality in all fields, prohibition of discrimination, abolition of the death penalty, and peace and coexistence in the region and the world.
Close to 400 British MPs and Peers outline new Iran policy
Iran Focus
London, 1 Jul – At a conference in the House of Commons on Thursday, June 30, UK policy toward Iran was discussed by a panel consisting of experts on Iranian affairs and parliamentarians from both Houses of Parliament and each major political party, Politics Home reported on Friday.
Tom Ridge: Don’t believe Iran’s false smile
Iran Focus
Washington, 1 Jul – In an “Opinion” piece for the Washington Times on Thursday, former US Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, wrote the following:
“About two days after an Orlando gunman carried out the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, the Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement purporting to decry the incident. Speaking via the state-run IRNA, a spokesperson said the Iranian regime ‘condemns’ the attack ‘based on its principled policy of condemning terrorism and its strong will to seriously confront this evil phenomenon.’
Raymond Tanter: NCRI is only movement that has not compromised with the Iranian regime’s assertion that radical clerics should rule
Iran Focus
London, 1 Jul – Raymond Tanter is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan and a former senior staff member of the United States National Security Council. He is an adjunct scholar of The Washington Institute, researching U.S. policy options toward Iran.
Former Iranian Ambassador condemns Tehran for its human rights abuses
London, 30 Jun – On Wednesday, a former Iranian ambassador wrote an article in The Diplomat stressing the West to take notice of the deteriorating human rights condition in Iran. Perviz Khazaii points out that the international community shouldn’t let their guard down just because Iran has signed a nuclear agreement with the P5+1. Subsequently, there have been 2,400 executions in the past three years in Iran, the highest number of executions in the past 25 years. Iran currently has the highest number of executions per capita in the world. Moreover, many of the people being executed are political dissidents, whose only crime has been wanting a free Iran. Juvenile execution, as well as the execution of religious minorities and ethnic minorities has also increased in Iran, as the Baha’i community and the Baluchi people have become a prime target of the theocratic regime.
