THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 8:00 PM CEST
Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Rolls on, Key Issues Stalled, IAEA Reports Show
VIENNA, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Iran’s production of highly enriched uranium continues and it has not improved cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog despite a resolution demanding this at the agency’s last board meeting, watchdog reports seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.
Despite the resolution passed at the last quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors in June, nuclear diplomacy has largely been on hold with the election last month of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the U.S. presidential election due in November.
“The (IAEA) Director General (Rafael Grossi) expresses the hope that his initial exchange with President Pezeshkian will be followed by an early visit to Iran and the establishment of a fluid, constructive dialogue that swiftly leads to concrete results,” said one of the two confidential, quarterly IAEA reports sent to member states on Thursday.
UPDATE: 12:00 PM CEST
Iran Operated Fake Human-Resources Firm to Root Out Unfriendly Spies, Researchers Say
Aug 28 (Reuters) – An Iranian hacking group ran a fake professional recruiting business to lure national security officials across Iran, Syria, and Lebanon into a cyber espionage trap, according to new research by U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant, a division of Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google Cloud.
Researchers said the hackers are loosely connected to a group known as APT42 or Charming Kitten, which was recently accused of hacking the U.S. presidential campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump. APT42 is widely attributed to an intelligence division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, an expansive military organization based in Tehran. The FBI has said it is investigating APT42’s ongoing efforts to interfere in the 2024 U.S. election.
Iranian-Linked Hackers Collaborate with Ransomware Affiliates, Feds Say
Iranian-sponsored hackers are acting as access brokers for ransomware affiliates like ALPHV, U.S. intelligence agencies warned in a joint alert Wednesday. The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Department of Defense’s Cyber Crime Center said in an advisory that hackers with likely sponsorship from Iran are moonlighting with notable ransomware affiliates and seeking out network access to organizations in education, finance, health care, and defense. Those groups will then collaborate with the affiliates to help deploy ransomware for a cut of the extortion, the alert said.
The joint advisory is the latest Iranian-backed operation highlighted by cybersecurity firms and intelligence agencies, following a slew of reports within the past few weeks. On Wednesday, Microsoft revealed that the Iranian actor Peach Sandstorm deployed backdoor malware on satellite, oil and natural gas, and communications sectors of the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
Inside Iran’s Hacking Operation That Has US Officials on Edge Ahead of 2024 Election
Two years before Iranian hackers breached Donald Trump’s campaign this summer, they used a similar ploy to target a former administration official and onetime confidant of John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser and prominent Iran critic.
After infiltrating the person’s email account, the hackers sent what seemed like a harmless request to a group of fellow US-based Iran hawks, asking them to review a supposed book the person was writing about Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs.
“I am close to finishing the manuscript and have begun asking experts like yourselves to review the chapters,” read the email from June 2022, a copy of which was obtained by CNN.
UPDATE: 7:30 AM CEST
Conference Featuring Distinguished Jurists, Legal Experts, and Eminent International Human Rights Advocates
Maryam Rajavi’s speech: “In the wake of World War II, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted, its language was profoundly shaped by the “spirit of humanity”—a spirit that had reached a state of rebellion against the unprecedented catastrophe.
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights “heralded the advent of a world in which human beings are free in expression and belief, and free from fear and want, which is proclaimed as the highest aspiration of humanity.” Today, the words of that historic document remain unchanged, yet they have practically strayed from their original essence, as they are unaffected by the pain and suffering of the millions of people who have been tortured or executed.”
Discounted Crude: How Iran’s Oil Reaches China Through a Web of Intermediaries
According to a recent report by Bloomberg News, the Iranian regime is offering the cheapest oil to China among all the countries in the world. This development highlights the complex and secretive nature of Iran’s oil trade, particularly in the face of Western sanctions.
Bloomberg’s report, issued on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, sheds light on the growing role of Malaysian intermediaries in Iran’s oil sales to China. The Iranian regime is reportedly selling its high-quality light crude oil to Chinese refineries at a discount of $6 per barrel compared to the benchmark North Sea Brent oil price.
University Students, Yekta Mirzaei and Reyhaneh Ebrahim-Vandi Face Suspensions
Two students from prominent Iranian universities, Yekta Mirzaei of Tehran University and Reyhaneh Ebrahimi Vandi of Al-Zahra University have been temporarily suspended from their studies following disciplinary actions taken by their respective institutions. Yekta Mirzaei, a sociology student at Tehran University, was sentenced to a two-semester suspension by the university’s disciplinary committee.
The decision was made on the grounds that she had violated the university’s dress code by failing to observe the mandatory hijab, disrespected student conduct guidelines, and allegedly insulted national or Islamic values. Of the two semesters, one will be enforced immediately, while the other is suspended. Mirzaei publicly shared the details of her suspension on her X account, bringing attention to the reasons behind the committee’s ruling.
Iran: Price Increase of Some Medications by Up to 50 Percent
Two pharmaceutical companies in Iran have received permission from the Food and Drug Administration to increase the prices of seven and 10 of their products by up to 50 percent. With the addition of four other companies that had previously received similar approval, a total of six major pharmaceutical companies are now raising the prices of their products. According to information released by the Stock Exchange, Pars Pharmaceutical announced that the selling prices of seven active items of its products have been increased based on the attached document with the approval of the Food and Drug Administration.
Zahravi Pharmaceutical also announced that the prices of some of its products have been adjusted by 7 to 50 percent by the Food and Drug Administration due to the increase in the cost of production.
Significant Recession in Iranian Industries Following Electricity Restrictions
The Research Center of the Iranian regime’s Parliament (Majlis) has reported a significant recession in the country’s industries during the first month of summer electricity supply restrictions. It states that in July of this year, industrial enterprises experienced a deeper recession in terms of production and sales indices compared to the spring season. Data from the Majlis’s Research Center report shows that in the first month of this summer, the sales index decreased more than the production index, indicating a worsening crisis of effective demand in Iran’s economy.
The state-run newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing this report, wrote: “The continuation of the current situation will cause more enterprises to operate at half of their production capacity, which will gradually decrease, ultimately putting them at risk of closure.”
Femicide in Iran: 17-Year-Old Girl Killed By Father
In one of the latest cases of “femicide” in Iran, a 17-year-old girl named Mobina Zainivand was shot and killed by her father in Darreh Shahr County, Ilam Province. The Hengaw website reported on Tuesday, August 27, that Mobina Zainivand, a 17-year-old girl from Darreh Shahr in Ilam Province, was “killed by her father.”
According to Hengaw, citing an informed source, Rahim, Mobina’s 56-year-old father, killed the teenage girl at home on Monday, August 26, due to suspicions of her having a “relationship with a teenage boy.”
The report states that “Mobina’s father, due to family disputes” with the boy’s family, “wanted to end their relationship” and “killed his daughter for this reason.”
Matin Hassani, One of The Victims of Deliberate Eye Shootings, Was Sent to Prison
On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, Matin Hassani, a young protester who suffered eye injuries during the November 2019 protests in Iran, was arrested and transferred to Bukan Central Prison to begin serving his sentence. Hassani was convicted by Branch 101 of the Second Criminal Court in Bukan and sentenced to 31 months in prison on charges of “inciting people to war and mass killing with the intent to disturb national security” and “propaganda against the regime.
The court hearing for Hassani’s case took place on May 16, 2024, presided over by a judge in the same court. Hassani had been summoned to the court on May 6, 2024, through a written notice, which led to his subsequent conviction and imprisonment.
Over 400 Days of Detention Without Charge for Baloch Prisoner Omid Kashani
As of August 27, 2024, Baloch prisoner Omid Kashani has been held in detention for over 400 days without formal charges or a trial. Kashani, a 21-year-old resident of Zahedan in southeast Iran, was arrested on July 19, 2023, after security forces raided his home on Forough Street in Zahedan. Despite the lengthy period of detention, Kashani remains in a state of legal limbo, with no clear charges brought against him.
During his imprisonment in Sections 209 and 1 of Zahedan Central Prison, Kashani has reportedly been subjected to both physical and psychological torture in an effort to coerce him into making false confessions. The security forces who arrested him also seized his brother’s car, adding to the family’s distress.
Paris, August 27, 2024: MEK Supporters Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iranian Revolution
Paris, France—August 27, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organize a photo and book exhibition. This exhibition is held in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution and as a protest against the increasing wave of executions carried out by the Iranian regime.
Manchester Exhibition Supports Iranian Revolution and Protests Human Rights Violations in Iran
Manchester—August 26, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and academics living in England, who support the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), organized an exhibition in support of the Iranian Revolution. The exhibition was also held in solidarity with Iranian political prisoners on hunger strike and in protest against torture and executions by the mullahs’ regime in Iran.
