THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 8:00 PM CEST
Kyiv Charges Iranian General in Absentia for Aiding Russian Drone Strikes on Ukraine
In a significant development, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General have announced charges in absentia against Iranian General Sharifi Molasarei Abbas Musa for his involvement in coordinating drone attacks on Ukraine. According to the SBU press service, the general played a pivotal role in facilitating at least 20 airstrikes using Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) against Ukrainian targets, beginning in August 2022.
The SBU has compiled substantial evidence against General Abbas Musa, a brigadier general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Investigations revealed that he directly assisted Russian occupational forces by training them and orchestrating the deployment of Iranian drones over Ukraine. Specifically, between August and September 2022, Iran delivered at least 1,500 combat drones, including “Shahed-136” and “Mohajer-6” models, to Russia.
UPDATE: 12:30 PM CEST
Leader McConnell Statement on Iran-Backed Terrorism
LOUISVILLE, KY – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding Iran-backed terrorism: “Iran’s violent influence is a cancer on the Middle East, from Yemen to Iraq to Syria to Gaza to Israel to Lebanon. Hizballah is the most malignant form of this cancer, and its leaders bear responsibility for perpetuating suffering in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, alike.
“Iran-backed terror yet again underscores America’s urgent responsibility to expedite assistance to Israel, without caveat or micromanagement.
“It is also time for all nations concerned about violence and instability in the Middle East to hold Iran to account. Until Tehran faces meaningful consequences, it is foolish to expect its deadly and destabilizing influence to subside.”
Pro-Iran Militants Kill Two Nigerian Police Officers
LAGOS: An attack by an outlawed pro-Iran Nigerian Shiite group on Sunday killed at least two law enforcement officers, police said, with three more found unconscious in the capital Abuja. The capital’s police force confirmed “an unprovoked attack by the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN)… on some personnel of the Nigeria Police Force,” said a statement by police spokeswoman Josephine Adeh.
During the attack on a police checkpoint, “two police personnel were killed, three left unconscious in the hospital, and three police patrol vehicles set ablaze,” Adeh added.
Iran Mocks Western Justice
The Islamic Republic of Iran may have a new president, but their propensity to humiliate and hoodwink the West has not changed. President Masoud Pezeshkian is striving to form a new cabinet of so-called ‘moderate’ politicians, with an allegedly western-friendly diplomat – Abbas Araghchi, as foreign minister, and even including the nomination of a woman – Farzaneh Sadegh, for the role of roads and urban development minister. All of the president’s nominees for the 19 cabinet posts have still to be endorsed by the hard-line Majlis (parliament), where serious splits have already emerged over Pezeshkian’s supposedly pro-western approach.
UPDATE: 7:00 AM CEST
Social Protests Increate in Iran as The New Administration Faces Deadlock and Anxiety
While Iranian regime factions continue to fight over the cabinet of new regime president Massoud Pezeshkian, various social groups and segments of the population, indifferent to this dirty power-sharing environment, continue to expand their protests daily in the streets. In recent days and weeks, almost no day has passed without protests in the streets of cities, with a general “no” rising against the entire regime and its handpicked government. This stands in stark contrast to the empty slogans and even the speech given in parliament last Saturday, where it was blatantly admitted that the new administration intends to continue Ebrahim Raisi’s path and the seventh plan, which has been rejected by economists. This path includes the same suppression of freedom, misogyny, and the theft of the remaining crumbs of bread from the poverty-stricken. This was evident in the immediate 25-percent hike in bread prices percent and the withdrawal of 40 trillion rials from the bankrupt pension fund to perform government theatrics during the Arbaeen (the 40th day of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Mohammed) pilgrimage.
Iranian Hackers Target US Political Campaigns, Prompting Cybersecurity Warnings
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, has issued a warning to members of Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s campaigns following detected attempts by hackers linked to the Iranian regime to breach the WhatsApp accounts of current and former US officials. This alert comes on the heels of similar warnings from tech giants Google and Microsoft, urging members of both Republican and Democratic election campaigns to exercise heightened caution in protecting their personal internet accounts against Iranian cyber threats.
Meta reports that Iranian regime hackers have been sending deceptive messages to the WhatsApp accounts of several American officials. These messages masquerade as communications from Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft, aiming to trick recipients into clicking malicious links that could grant hackers access to their mobile devices.
Nurses’ Protests Escalate Across Iran Amidst Arrests and Unfulfilled Promises
On August 24, protests and strikes by nurses and medical staff in Iran intensified, spreading to more cities and medical centers. Several nurses were summoned and arrested for their participation in these demonstrations.
Despite promises made by Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, the regime’s new Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, to address the protesters’ concerns “as soon as possible and to the best of the country’s ability,” nurses continued their protests. They declared they were “tired of hearing empty promises” and could no longer tolerate the current conditions, citing low salaries and difficult working conditions.
According to sources close to nurses’ trade unions, on Saturday, nurses in Babol, Qaem Shahr, Sabzevar, Khorramabad, Isfahan, Shahrekord, and Khomeinishahr joined their colleagues in other Iranian cities. They staged sit-ins, refused to attend work shifts, and demanded improved living conditions through slogans and protest placards.
90,000 People in Iran Own 500,000 Vacant Homes
Abolfazl Norouzi, Director General of the Housing Economics Office at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, stated that there are more than 500,000 vacant housing units in the country, owned by no more than 90,000 individuals.
On Friday, August 23, Norouzi warned the owners of vacant homes, saying that the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development is identifying these empty houses under certain articles of the Direct Tax Law and reporting them to the Tax Administration.
He added that the necessary warnings have been issued to the owners of the identified units, with priority given to those who own more than 100 housing units.
Price Of Food In Iran Almost Tripled In Three Years
New data from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that from the beginning of the Persian calendar year 1400 (March 21, 2021) to August 21, 2024, the prices of food and beverages in the country have increased by 194%.
Thus, during the three-year period of the 13th government, food prices have nearly tripled. The report from the Statistical Center, published on its website, also shows that inflation for the 12 months leading up to August this year was 34.8% compared to the same period last year.
During this period, Esfahan, West Azerbaijan, and Kurdistan experienced the highest annual inflation growth, while Sistan and Baluchestan saw the lowest, with an annual inflation rate of 25%.
Evin Prison: Deprivation of Several Female Political Prisoners from the Right to Visit and Phone Calls
According to reports received by Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM), severe punitive measures have been imposed on female political prisoners in Evin Prison. These measures include suspending phone calls and in-person visits for 17 inmates, lasting from one to three months. Additionally, a new case has emerged involving the sentencing of an Iranian woman, Elham Ostadi.
According to the latest updates, 17 female political prisoners in Evin Prison’s women’s ward have faced the suspension of their phone calls and visitation rights. This action follows two protest movements within the prison on July 23 and August 6, 2024, in response to the issuance of a death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi and the execution of Reza Rasaei.
Execution of Abbas Rashidi and Khaled Jahangiri in Prisons of Qazvin and Tabriz
Two individuals were executed in Iran in late August 2024, both convicted of drug-related offenses. The executions took place in the prisons of Qazvin and Tabriz, marking yet another instance of the Iranian judiciary’s use of capital punishment for such crimes.
On Sunday, August 25, 2024, Abbas Rashidi, a 45-year-old father of two, was executed in Qazvin Prison. Rashidi had been arrested three years earlier on charges related to drug trafficking and was subsequently sentenced to death. Before his arrest, he worked as a building painter. The execution was carried out without prior public announcement, and no details of the case have been released by Iranian state media or the judiciary.
Ottawa, Canada—August 24, 2024: MEK Supporters Rally to Condemn Wave of Executions by the Mullahs’ Regime in Iran
Ottawa, Canada—August 24, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a rally to protest the increasing wave of executions carried out by the Iranian regime. They also called for the immediate release of all political prisoners held in the prisons of the mullahs’ regime in Iran and expressed their solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. MEK supporters in Ottawa demanded the trial of the mullahs’ regime leaders for crimes against humanity in an international court.
Freedom-loving Iranians in Ottawa emphasized the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic republic and rejection of any kind of dictatorship, whether it be the mullahs’ regime or a return to the Shah’s regime.
Copenhagen, August 24, 2024: MEK Supporters Hold Exhibition to Commemorate the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran
On the eve of the 36th anniversary of the 1988 massacre, freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Copenhagen, Denmark, organized a photo exhibition on August 24, 2024, to honor the memory of 30,000 political prisoners who were executed in prisons across Iran by the mullahs’ regime.