THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:00 PM CEST
Despite the Cold and Snow, Calls for Justice in Iran Continue to Echo in Stockholm
Today, Iranians and supporters of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization rallied in front of the court of Stockholm, where Hamid Noury, a former prison guard and one of the perpetrators of the mass executions of political prisoners was tried by the Swedish Judiciary. The demonstrators demanded justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre. In the snowy and cold weather of Stockholm, they chanted slogans and asked the international community to address the four decades-long genocide in Iran and hold Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, president Ebrahim Raisi and Chief Justice Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei to account for crimes against humanity.
UPDATE: 5:00 PM CEST
Tehran Doubles Down on Regional and Missile Advancements
Today, marking the day when a referendum was held on 30 and 31 March 1979 in Iran on creating the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement, doubling down on the regime’s red lines to exclude Tehran’s regional and ballistic missile ambitions from the new nuclear agreement with the world powers.
The IRGC statement reads: “The missile power and the regional popularity and influence of our dear Iran, which is associated with the name of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has always been prone to the greed and hollow imaginations of the united front of enemies of the Islamic system, particularly the mafia-style, crisis-thriving and terrorist regime of the United States. Both have always been the red lines of the Iranian nation. We explicitly state that a strong Iran has never defined its path to empowering deterrence and guaranteeing its progress and security under the menus and aspirations of the White House rulers and their evil allies. Hence it would not bow to pressure, labeling, threatening or seducing of their media propaganda.”
UN Extends Special Rapporteur’s Mandate on Human Rights Situation in Iran
At the UN Human Rights Council summit that was held in Geneva today, representatives of Iceland, Moldova, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom held a vote for a resolution to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. The resolution will enable the current Special Rapporteur Javid Rahman to research, monitor, and report human rights violations in Iran for another year. The resolution also called for facilitating the Special Rapporteur’s free access to the country.
On behalf of the EU member states, the French representative stated that the EU supports the mission of the Special Rapporteur on Iran. He stressed that the European Union remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation, demanding free access for the Special Rapporteur to travel to the country. The resolution was approved by the majority of UNHRC member states.
In response to the adoption of the new resolution of the UN Human Rights Council and the extension of Javid Rahman’s mandate, the Iranian regime reacted immediately and slammed the UN decision.
“Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, slammed the resolution on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and its approval at a meeting of the Human Rights Council as baseless, based on inaccurate and biased information,” the state news agency IRNA reported.
UPDATE: 12:00 PM CEST
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Says Should Not Delist IRGC
U.S. Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a statement on Thursday, March 31, opposing the removal of the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards from the US terrorist list.
The statement reads: “Delisting the IRGC would whitewash the group’s ongoing terrorism, discount the IRGC’s terror victims, and dangerously politicize terror designations moving forward. President Biden should heed the warnings from our partners on the front lines of Iran’s terrorist activity and abandon this ill-advised concession to the Iranian regime.”
Senior US Senator Asks Administration to Beware of Concessions to Tehran
“The US government must put pressure on the Iranian regime to stop supporting terrorism, killing people in various countries, and using proxy groups to kill Americans in the Middle East,” Senior US Senator Marco Rubio said in an interview with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that was published on Thursday, March 31.
“The nuclear deal does not prevent the regime from expanding its missile program, supporting terrorism, and equipping its proxies with weapons,” he said referring to the ongoing Vienna talks. “If they want to resume enrichment in the future, they already have the equipment and the knowledge. They have access to billions of dollars, with which they can develop their conventional short-term and long-term missile capabilities. And the US government is considering all options to offer concessions to Iran, which unfortunately are dangerous and contrary to our goal.”
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CEST
Iran: Regime Security Forces Attack Women Seeking to Watch a Soccer Match
Iranian regime security forces attacked hundreds of female soccer fans seeking to enter a stadium in Mashhad, northeast Iran, for a World Cup 2022 soccer qualifying match on Tuesday. The regime’s oppressive security forces used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
Regime officials had sold around stadium tickets to 2,000 women, according to the state-run ISNA news agency on Tuesday. The Iranian Football (Soccer) Federation, however, claimed on the same day that only nine women had purchased match tickets. This bears the signs of the mullahs’ regime attempting to deceive FIFA by reporting the sale of 2,000 to Iranian women, while in practice preventing the women from entering the stadium.
Iran Regime’s Ridiculous New Plan To Fight Corruption
The Iranian regime is continuing to surprise the Iranian people with new subjects that run counter to its behavior and nature. One of their latest acts, which has enraged and been mocked by the people, is the creation of a website called the ‘Whistle Blower’.
As this website explains, its purpose is to help the regime capture corrupt people and prevent the spread of corruption in the country with the help of the Iranian people acting as whistleblowers, a term this website defines as “someone who exposes corruption in the public, or private sector.”
Apparently, this seems to be the first achievement of the regime after its supreme leader Ali Khamenei named this year “the year of knowledge-based growth.”
Public Display of Humiliation: Security Forces Parade “Thugs” in Western Iran
In another public display of humiliation and degradation, the state security forces paraded several men on the streets of Kermanshah, western Iran.
These people have been called by the police as “thugs and perpetrators of recent insecurities in the city of Kermanshah” and they were paraded across the city by a court order. One video posted on social media shows security forces parading several men on police pick-up trucks.
Critical Physical Condition of Maryam Akbari Monfared in Semnan Prison
The physical condition of political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared in Semnan Prison has been reported to be serious. Maryam Akbari Monfared who is in exile in Semnan Prison is serving her 13th year of imprisonment without even a day off. The Ministry of Intelligence is preventing Maryam Akbari from being sent to the hospital, despite her poor physical condition. Political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared has been suffering from fatty liver disease for more than 11 months. However, by order of the Ministry of Intelligence, she was not allowed to see a doctor outside the prison.
Impact of Climate Change on the Health of Women in Iran
Welcome to another episode of the podcasts produced by the NCRI Women’s Committee. In this episode, we discuss the issues brought up in the latest pamphlet published by the NCRI Women’s Committee, “Climate Change in Iran; women are the prime victims, the clerical regime is the main culprit.”
The pamphlet is a report prepared by the NCRI Women’s Committee for the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York in March 2022.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – March 31, 2022