THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CEST
Iran’s Structural Transformations Could Impact Regime Leadership
One of the most critical structural challenges facing the Islamic Republic is the issue of who will succeed its 86-year-old leader. The current political structure resembles a garment tailored exclusively for Iran’s supreme leader; without him, the entire system stands on the brink of collapse. Reports indicate that Ali Khamenei intends to designate his son, Mojtaba, as deputy and successor through a pre-planned scenario.
This serves two main purposes: first, to prevent nuclear and regional concessions from being attributed directly to Khamenei himself; second, to avoid a major crisis in the event of the leader’s sudden death without an appointed successor, leading to a nationwide uprising.
U.S. Congress Report: Sanctions Remain Key Tool to Pressure Iran
WASHINGTON — A new report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS), published on August 19, 2025, emphasizes that U.S. sanctions remain a central tool to pressure the clerical dictatorship in Iran to curb its destabilizing policies, including support for terrorism, the advancement of its nuclear and missile programs, and systematic human rights violations. According to the CRS report, U.S. law authorizes extensive sanctions targeting multiple sectors of Iran’s economy and government:
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Energy — affecting foreign companies investing in Iran’s oil and gas industry and entities involved in buying, selling, or transporting Iranian oil.
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Finance — including sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank.
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Other industries — such as transportation, construction, mining, textiles, automotive, and manufacturing.
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Arms trade — restricting Iran’s ability to buy and sell weapons.
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Government entities — targeting senior officials, including the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The report highlights that sanctions are designed to compel behavioral change by the regime, not just punish its economy, and stresses growing international coordination in applying such measures.
UPDATE: 1:00 PM CEST
Cyberattack on Berlin’s Justice Senator Badenberg
Berlin’s Justice Senator Felor Badenberg (CDU) has fallen victim to a cyberattack. Sensitive data was leaked, and the politician has expressed deep concern. There are growing suspicions about who might be behind the incident.
According to the Berlin Senate Department of Justice, the attack specifically targeted a workstation computer within the department’s executive offices. Personal data was stolen, including emails sent to and from individuals who had been in contact with the executive staff of the Senate Department since February 1, 2023.
Authorities suspect that Iranian hackers could be behind the attack. Badenberg, who has Iranian roots, believes there may be state involvement. Speaking to Der Spiegel, she said: “The targeted, apparently professionally prepared attack — allegedly initiated by a foreign intelligence service — shows the methods being used to try to intimidate critical voices.”
Lebanon’s Patriarch: Hezbollah Must Surrender Weapons after State Asserts Monopoly on Arms
Lebanon’s top Christian cleric escalated his criticism of Hezbollah on Tuesday, saying the Iran-backed group has no right to keep its arsenal after the government decided that only the state can bear arms.
Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai said there is now a rare political consensus to strip all weapons from groups outside the Lebanese Armed Forces.
“This is the first time there is consensus among the president, the parliament speaker, and the prime minister to monopolize weapons under state control. This brings peace to Lebanon. No one can live without peace,” Rai told Al Arabiya in an interview.
His comments come after months of cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel that devastated southern Lebanon and large swathes of the country’s capital and Bekaa Valley and displaced tens of thousands.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CEST
How The 1953 Coup Against Democracy in Iran Created Two Dictatorships
Seventy-two years ago today, on August 19, 1953, a tripartite coalition of foreign colonial powers, the royal court, and reactionary clerics overthrew the national government of Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh.
Mosaddegh was a pioneer in democratic institutions in Iran, the rule of law, and importantly, the leader of the movement to nationalize Iran’s oil industry and help the Iranian people get their rightful due. Naturally, the shah and his cohorts in the clergy, along with their masters abroad, who were totally opposed to the Iranian people controlling their destiny, put in a concerted effort to remove Mosaddegh from power through violence and install a dictator and puppet of foreign powers.
Charles Michel to Simay Azadi: “Appeasement Has Not Worked with Iran, Silence Is Complicity”
On July 30, 2025, immediately after the high-profile Italian parliamentary conference titled “Iran Crisis: The Third Option for Change,” featuring Maryam Rajavi I spoke with Charles Michel, the former President of the European Council and ex-Prime Minister of Belgium. He offered an assessment of the meeting and the path forward for Iran.
Why Every Evangelical American Should Care About Iran and Support Its Democratic Opposition
One of the most important rights we enjoy in the United States is the freedom to practice our faith. Sadly, this is not a reality for hundreds of millions around the world. As evangelical Christians, we believe this right is not merely granted by governments but is given by God. It should transcend borders, which is why evangelical Americans should care deeply about Iran and support its secular democratic opposition.
On its World Watch List 2025, Open Doors International ranked the Islamic Republic of Iran as the ninth-worst country for Christian persecution. Global Christian Relief also placed Iran in the same position.
While Iran’s theocracy nominally recognizes the rights of Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, public expressions of faith are routinely suppressed through both official and unofficial means.
Iran’s Regime Faces Crisis as Propaganda Collapses After 12-Day War
In the days following the 12-Day War, the Iranian regime’s propaganda machine went into overdrive. State-controlled outlets and regime agents declared that a new “unity between the nation and the state” had been formed. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei personally launched an “Iran, Iran” campaign, while the Tehran Municipality plastered the capital’s main thoroughfares with billboards featuring symbols of ancient Iran.
These orchestrated displays were designed to conceal the depth of the crisis engulfing the regime both domestically and internationally. Yet, the illusion lasted barely two weeks before the cracks reemerged. Today, it is the regime’s own media that is issuing stark warnings about “imminent punishments” and a “dangerous slope” threatening the so-called “sacred Islamic system.”
UN Rapporteur Warns of Imminent Risk in Iran as Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence for Labor Activist
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ms. Mai Sato, has condemned the Iranian Supreme Court’s confirmation of the death sentence for imprisoned labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, describing the case as a clear example of the urgent need to abolish the death penalty. On Monday, August 18, Sato wrote on the social network X that although Branch 39 of the Supreme Court had previously overturned Mohammadi’s death sentence on grounds of serious legal and procedural flaws, the same court has now upheld the execution ruling.
Iran’s Housing Market: Two Decades of Widening Class Divide
A new report by the Majlis (Parliament) Research Center highlights the worsening divide in Iran’s housing market, showing that while the wealthy have steadily increased their share of homeownership over the past two decades, low-income households remain overwhelmingly dependent on renting. The housing crisis has long been one of the central concerns for Iranian families, but this latest research paints a stark picture of inequality that has not only persisted but intensified.
At first glance, statistics suggest that the number of owned housing units in Iran has generally increased over the last 20 years. However, when broken down by income groups, the divide becomes clear.
“Pay for Treatment” in Iran’s Notorious Qarchak Prison
A new report reveals that officials at the infamous Qarchak Women’s Prison in Varamin, Iran, are systematically denying essential medical care to inmates, demanding payment for hospital transfers and treatment. This practice has already led to multiple deaths and places the lives of over 1,200 prisoners at daily risk. Qarchak Prison, long cited as one of the Iranian regime’s worst detention facilities for women, is enforcing a deadly “money for treatment” policy, according to sources from inside the facility. Officials at the prison infirmary are reportedly refusing to provide necessary medical services or transfer sick prisoners to outside hospitals unless the inmates or their families pay for the services in advance.
Execution of Six Prisoners in Four Iranian Cities
Amid the escalating wave of death penalties in Iran, six prisoners were executed in recent days in the prisons of Shiraz, Ahvaz, Rasht, and Borazjan. With these executions, the number of people executed in just one month has reached at least 131 individuals. This means that, on average, nearly five prisoners are executed daily, and one execution takes place every five hours in Iran.
On the morning of Sunday, August 17, 2025, two prisoners, Ahmadreza Younesi Gelezan (from Kavar) and Mehdi Najafi (23 years old, from Marvdasht), were executed on murder charges.
On Wednesday, August 13, 2025, Eskandar Bazmandegan was hanged in the same prison on security-related charges and “corruption on earth.”
Iranians Gather in Aarhus to Protest Executions, Demand Regime Change and Democracy in Iran
Aarhus, Denmark – August 16, 2025 – Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) gathered in Aarhus to raise the alarm over the imminent execution of five political prisoners in Iran: Vahid Bani-Amerian, Pouya Ghobadi, Shahrokh Daneshvarkar, Mohammad Taghavi, and Babak Alipour. The Iranian regime has transferred them to Ghezel Hesar Prison, a facility notorious for mass executions, placing their lives in grave danger.
MEK Supporters in Sydney, Australia Promote ‘Free Iran’ Rally in Brussels on September 6, 2025
Sydney, Australia – August 16, 2025: Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally and exhibition in Sydney, urging freedom-loving Iranians to take part in the upcoming “Free Iran” demonstration in Brussels on September 6, 2025. The event highlighted the importance of uniting voices across Europe to demand justice, human rights, and a democratic future for Iran.