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Iran News in Brief – February 26, 2023

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THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS

UPDATE: 10:00 PM CET

Cleric Close to Khamenei Warns Against Dire Times for The Regime

Ahmad Alamolhoda

According to the local Khorasan TV network, Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader in Mashhad said on February 24: “Today, the hegemony of Islam on the face of the earth is due to the hegemony of our Revolution… If God forbid, this revolution falls, Islam will fall.”

“We are at war,” Alamolhoda added. “War neither recognizes specific weapons nor specific methods. In war, any weapon or tactic is made use of, and any trick or method that can be employed will be used. War has no limitations in terms of methods or weapons.”

Referring to the uprising, he said: “Recently, with these disturbances, they have used two things as their tools and weapons in this soft war. Let us help defend against this enemy who has engaged with these two tools. In order to prevent our revolution from falling and, consequently, prevent our Islam from falling.”


CIA Director: Iran’s Nuclear Program Advancing at “Worrisome Pace”

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Iran’s nuclear enrichment program is more advanced than previously known and “if they chose to cross that line,” Tehran would only need a “matter of weeks” to enrich uranium capable of powering a nuclear weapon, CIA director William Burns told CBS News in an exclusive interview with “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday.

Burns noted that Tehran has also been advancing its missile systems, and is now nearing the threshold of being a nuclear state, though it has not resumed weaponization.

U.S. intelligence analysts believed Iran paused working on nuclear weapons in 2003, but that they have continued to develop nuclear technology and expertise, including improved abilities to enrich uranium which can be used as nuclear fuel. Uranium enriched to 90% purity can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.

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UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET

Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 164

Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran

Sunday, February 26, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1

  • Days: 164
  • Protests: 282 cities
  • Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 664 identified by MEK
  • Detentions: 30,000

Iran’s nationwide uprising witnessed its 164th day on Sunday as more people were protesting poor living conditions and low paychecks. The country’s economy is in shambles as the national currency, the rial is nosediving in unprecedented fashion, trading at 583,500 rials per one U.S. dollar on Sunday morning. Just one week ago on February 19, the U.S. dollar was selling at 489,000 rials.

Retirees of the regime’s Social Security Organization rallied in different cities protesting their low pensions and deteriorating living conditions due to the country’s plummeting economy. These protest gatherings are reported in the cities of Ahvaz, Shush, and Shushtar.

Retirees of the Isfahan steel company were also on strike voicing similar grievances due to the regime’s destructive policies. A similar protest rally was held by steel workers in the city of Yazd on Sunday.

City municipality workers in Yasuj, the capital of Kohgiluyeh & Boyer-Ahmad Province in southwest Iran, held a gathering on Sunday and protested delayed paychecks. These workers have not been paid in the past 8 to 13 months.

Last night till the early hours of Sunday morning, locals in Tehran’s Chitgar and Farmanieh districts began chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
“Death to the dictator!” referring to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“Death to Khamenei!”
“We won’t have a nation as long as the mullahs are in power!”

Last night in Fardis, west of Tehran, at 10:30 pm local time A large image of Iranian Resistance Leader Massoud Rajavi and opposition coalition NCRI President-elect was projected on the wall of an apartment complex building.

According to the report of the Iranian Free Workers’ Union, around 4:00 AM on Sunday, the security forces and special guards attacked the workers of the Isfahan steel company and arrested dozens of workers. Their condition is unknown.

During the past few days,  a number of MEK-affiliated Resistance Units carried out anti-regime campaigns and marched in the streets of the capital Tehran and other cities.


UPDATE: 10:30 AM CET

Iran’s Currency Continues Rapid Downward, Panics MPs

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On Sunday, February 26, the exchange rate of the US Dollar in the Iranian free market reached a record high of 58,500 Tomans, with a jump of 1,500 Tomans compared to the previous day. The increase in foreign currency exchange rates comes as an informal session was held in the Iranian parliament on Sunday with some government economic officials in attendance.

During today’s informal session of the parliament, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, Ehsan Khandouzi, the Minister of Economy, and Mohammad Reza Farzin, the head of the Central Bank, were present.

At the session, the Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated: “We need serious and strong coordination between the parliament and the government to regulate the foreign exchange market.”

Predicting a grave future for the regime, the state-run website Tejarat News wrote: “Market analysts believe that market drivers currently do not have serious control tools. Effective variables on the dollar price and financial markets are in the most complex state possible, and inflation expectations, especially for next year, are very high. Therefore, as long as these issues are not facilitated, the price of the dollar will not go down with empty talk!”

Ahmad Hatami Yazd, a banking expert, also pointed out the inefficiency of the Russian model in Iran and said: “There is no solution to control the dollar… There is no solution to get out of such conditions… Unfortunately, this government is not familiar with economics and is not trying to solve economic problems!”


Protests Raise New Levels of Tensions for Iran’s Regime

Iran Protests February 25 2023

Iran’s regime is experiencing a new level of tension as people in various parts of the country are adamant about continuing the nationwide protests against the entirety of the mullahs’ dictatorship. Despite the regime’s heavy crackdown measures, people in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan & Baluchestan Province stood their ground and continued with their Friday prayers and follow-up weekly protests.

People throughout the country are specifically holding the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for their miseries, while also condemning the oppressive Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij units, alongside other security units that are on the ground suppressing the peaceful demonstrators.

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More Students Poisoned in Girls High School in Borujerd

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The state-run Mehr news agency has reported that another 44 students at Ahmadieh girls high school in Borujerd were poisoned on Saturday, February 25, 2023.

This latest incident follows similar poisoning cases on February 21 and 22, which saw 20 and 62 students taken to the hospital, respectively, experiencing symptoms of dizziness, weakness, and lethargy.

The girls’ high school in Borujerd had closed on Thursday, February 23, due to the poisoning incidents but resumed classes on Saturday. While the authorities are investigating, no cause has been announced yet.

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Also, read Iran News in Brief – February 25, 2023