THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 5:00 PM CEST
Boosting Iranian Presence | Fatimiyoun Militia Seizes National Defence Headquarters at Entrances to Al-bokamal Border City With Iraq
Reliable sources have informed SOHR that the Afghan Iranian-backed “Fatimiyoun” militia has expelled “National Defense” members from the former immigration and passport building at the entrance to Al-Bokamal city and from “National Defence” headquarters in the Al-Kitf area on the outskirts of Al-Bokamal border city with Iraq, east of Deir Ezzor.
According to Syrian Observatory sources, “Fatimiyoun” militiamen have smashed the locks and vandalized all the contents of offices and flats that were controlled by the “National Defense” militia.
Suspects Aiding Iranian Spies in Turkey Face Prison Terms
An investigation into a network of suspects, from a prosecutor to businesspeople, accused of helping Iranian intelligence in Turkey concluded with an indictment. The indictment asks for prison terms for 16 suspects who allegedly helped smuggle Iranian dissidents to Iran as they fled.
The suspects were detained in February after the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) discovered the inner workings of the network. Among them were I.S., a businessperson owning a defense company bearing his name, and D.Y., a prosecutor who was suspended from his job.
Gender Segregation in Iranian Parks
According to new footage taken from the Tabriz Constitutional Park, this recreational place has now been divided into two sections for men and women by fencing. Confirming the move, the mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani, announced last week that the state is considering “the Islamic aspect in the construction of new parks”.
Washington Slams Tehran’s Influence in Middle East
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Jennifer Gavito says the United States is deeply concerned about the Iranian regime’s “malign influence, especially as it undermines the stability and integrity of Iraq’s sovereignty and national institutions”.
During her special briefing, Jennifer Gavito told reporters: “Iran continues to support armed groups which conduct attacks to undermine its neighbors throughout the region, including attacking Iraqi bases where U.S. and coalition forces are co-located. Iran tries to deny responsibility, but, frankly, nobody is fooled. Iran cannot believe that it can continue to conduct diplomacy with one hand while deploying or supporting violence with the other. We will continue to make this crystal clear in any conversations with partners in the region.”
UPDATE: 10:30 AM CEST
Basij Calls on Raisi Administration to Restrict the Internet
In a letter to the heads of the three branches of power, 2,500 members of the paramilitary Basij force, expressed their concerns about widespread exposure of the regime’s atrocities and corruption on the internet, warning unless “the cyberspace is managed”, it will pose a danger for the regime.
The state-run website Aftab News which run the letter of the so-called Basij professors on April 20, wrote: “Hereby, we, the signatories of this letter, consisting of Basij faculty members of the country’s universities, educational and research centers, have expressed our concern about the current situation on the internet. We warn that if this situation continues, it will impact the psychological and moral security of Islamic society. Many of the cultural, social, and even political and security problems of the country are due to the abandoned cyberspace but unfortunately, the current authority in the country is limited to the real world, while the management of the real world is impossible without managing the virtual world.”
Teachers’ Protests Signal a Turbulent Year Ahead in Iran
Thousands of teachers across took to the streets on Thursday, April 21, rallying in over 50 cities to voice economic woes and seek answers to their long-raised and outstanding demands once again. Calls for these demonstrations were issued a few days prior to the gatherings and regime officials had their security forces on high alert to prevent any possible sign of anti-regime protests.
70 Including 40 Women Arrested During the Peaceful Gathering of Teachers in Tehran
Several dozens of teachers were arrested during a peaceful gathering in Tehran on April 21, 2022. Mohammad Habibi, the spokesman of the Teachers’ League in Tehran and a member of its board of directors, announced that 40 of the teachers arrested were women and 30 were men. Two women teachers arrested in this peaceful gathering are Shahrzad Ghadiri, a member of the Teachers’ Union, and Massoumeh Zamani. The 30 male teachers detained in Tehran’s peaceful gathering were taken to the Gisha Police Station.
“IRGC Killed Our Teacher,” Say Students in Khash, Southeastern Iran
A heartbreaking video that is being widely circulated on social media shows schoolchildren in a school in the southeastern province of Sistan & Baluchestan in Iran mourning their slain teacher who had been fatally shot by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The mourning schoolchildren say that “the IRGC killed our teacher.”
Shahram Bameri, a teacher in the school in the village of Gunich in the province, fell victim to the IRGC’s atrocities on Tuesday, April 12, as he was traveling along with two of his relatives from the city of Iranshahr to Khash County. Bameri and one of his relatives were killed and the third passenger was critically injured when their car was a target of indiscriminate shooting by IRGC, according to eyewitnesses’ accounts.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – April 22, 2022