THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 2:30 PM CEST
Iran’s ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ Must Be Prosecuted: UN Experts
Agence France Presse (AFP) – UN experts on Monday called for the prosecution of Iranian officials who may have committed crimes against humanity during a 2022 crackdown on demonstrations that particularly targeted ethnic and religious minorities.
The UN Human Rights Council mandated experts to carry out an investigation on Iran following nationwide protests triggered by the September 2022 death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.
Iran’s Protest Crackdown Disproportionately Targeting Minorities: UN Experts
Government-led crackdowns on protesters in Iran have had a disproportionate impact on the country’s ethnic and religious minorities since 2022, particularly in the Kurd and Baluch communities, according to a new advocacy paper released by the Human Rights Council-appointed International Fact-Finding Mission on Monday.
The paper highlights several ways Iranian security forces violated the rights of minorities including through “extrajudicial executions, unnecessary use of lethal force, arbitrary arrests, torture, rape” and other crimes against humanity.
The mission says this is the “direct result of long-standing discrimination” that must end immediately.
U.S. Forces Destroy Multiple Houthi Weapons, Vehicles In Past 24 Hours: CENTCOM
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Monday that American forces recently destroyed three uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) belonging to Houthis. CENTCOM said that the drones were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen over the Gulf of Aden. The weapons were all destroyed between Sunday evening and Monday evening. CENTCOM added that U.S. forces also destroyed three other weapons and vessels belonging to the Houthis within the past 24 hours. “Separately, USCENTCOM forces successfully destroyed one Houthi uncrewed surface vessel (USV), one Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), and one Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) in the Red Sea,” the press release continued.
UPDATE: 7:00 AM CEST
Shamed Mullah’s Mouthpiece Re-Emerges in Brussels
Whenever Tehran faces a crisis, it predictably dispatches its proxies to disseminate venomous propaganda against its principal opposition: the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the broader coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), of which the MEK is a prominent member.
In this ongoing saga, Eldar Mamedov, a Latvian, has re-emerged with an article replete with stale and thoroughly discredited claims churned out by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), targeting Javier Zarzalejos, a notable member of the European People’s Party (EPP) and chair of the EP’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE).
How Baluchestan’s Brave Resistance Units Are Countering The Iranian Regime’s Suppression
According to the Iranian regime’s own statistics, Sistan and Baluchestan is by far the poorest province in the country. In many images transmitted from this province, it seems as if time has stopped, and there is no sign of development or progress. One can then imagine the condition of the people not in the provincial capital but in one of the towns of this province, such as Khash.
Furthermore, one can go even further to a village in Khash called Qaderabad. It is evident that the black face of poverty is widespread everywhere there, and the few clips that have been released there show the deprivation and destitution of the residents of the region. In this village, nothing is seen except half-ruined houses, dusty spaces, and weary faces.
The NEET Crisis in Iran: An Alarming Economic and Social Challenge
Recent investigations reveal that Iran’s NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) population ratio significantly exceeds both global and regional averages. NEET individuals are those without a job who are not classified as ‘unemployed’ because they are not actively seeking employment. If the NEET population in Iran were to enter the job market and fail to find work, the country’s youth unemployment rate could increase more than sixfold.
According to 2020 statistics, out of Iran’s 16.7 million young people, more than 6.3 million (38%) are classified as NEET, meaning they do not participate in the national production process. This figure starkly contrasts with global and regional averages: 22.1% worldwide, 24.4% in Turkey, 31% in Pakistan, and 34.4% in Arab countries.
Forced Divorce: A Tool of Psychological Torture against Iran’s Political Prisoners
In May 2024, the West Azerbaijan Court of Appeals upheld a family court ruling that forced Sajjad Shahiri, an activist in the Azerbaijani National Movement, to divorce his wife. Sajjad, a political prisoner accused of “propaganda against the regime,” faced significant personal and professional threats from Iranian intelligence officers during and after his detention.
An informed source explained, “During his detention, Ministry of Intelligence interrogators repeatedly pressured Sajjad Shahiri to cooperate. They threatened to disrupt his personal and professional life if he refused.” The source added, “Shortly after Sajjad’s release, his wife’s father and brother—one employed by the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the other a retired IRGC member—were influenced by these interrogators to pressure his wife into seeking a divorce. They prevented Sajjad from meeting his wife, kept him from seeing his child for extended periods, imposed substantial financial burdens on him, and ultimately used their influence within the judiciary to finalize the divorce.”
Iran: Rent Increases Up to 50% in Some Tehran Areas
Davood Beigi-Nejad, Vice President of the Tehran Real Estate Consultants Association, says that rent in some areas of Tehran has increased by more than 50%.
Beigi-Nejad told the regime’s ILNA news agency that while the “point-to-point inflation rate is 47%” and “annual inflation is 37%,” landlords are unwilling to limit rent increases to 25%, as mandated by the government.
Previously, despite the Iranian regime setting a 25% ceiling on rent increases nationwide, Iranian media reported a 43% rise in rents and the failure of the government’s directive policy in the rental market.
Iran’s People Facing Bread Scarcity and Massive Government Debts
Simultaneously with the release of the Audit Court’s report on the significant deviation of the Iranian regime in paying bread subsidies and the 1.16 quadrillion toman (approximately $1.933 billion) outstanding debt to wheat farmers, the economic advisor to the Minister of Economy says the price of bread should increase.
The economic advisor to the Minister of Economy, without mentioning the massive government debt to wheat farmers and the deviation in the allocation of bread subsidy resources, only referred to the increased costs of bakers and stated that the price of bread should be adjusted.
Mohammad Jalal, who is also the spokesperson for the government’s smart flour and bread subsidy plan, told ILNA news agency on Sunday, August 4, that the previous administration maintained the price of subsidized flour and bread for three years and did not allow price increases to avoid raising the cost of bread for people, but during this period, rent and wages logically increased.
Oslo, August 3, 2024: MEK Supporters Rally to Honor 1988 Massacre Martyrs and Condemn Recent Brutal Executions in Iran
Oslo, Norway—August 3, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a rally in front of the Norwegian parliament to express solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. They also protested against the increasing wave of executions carried out by the Iranian regime.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – August 5, 2024