THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
Risky Business: U.K. Research Firm LexisNexis Risk Provides Services To Sanctioned Iranian Entity
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has obtained evidence suggesting an ongoing business relationship worth in excess of half a million dollars per year between the U.K.-based LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Iran’s state-run National Petrochemical Company (NPC), sanctioned by the U.S. for its financial support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), and subject to secondary sanctions by the U.S. as a subsidiary of the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum (MOP).
UANI has requested that LexisNexis Risk Solutions clarify whether it provisioned services to NPC from November 2022 and November 2023 in consideration of payment in the amount of £487,662. LexisNexis Risk Solutions has failed to clarify its involvement more than a month after being presented with evidence of its business ties with NPC.
DeSantis: Iran Strategy One of Biden’s Worst Policy Sins
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rebuked President Joe Biden for not calling out Iran for fomenting terrorism in the Middle East and further said that his strategy toward the terrorist nation “is one of the worst parts” of foreign policy emanating from the White House. DeSantis made the comments during a town hall with Newsmax on Monday in Urbandale, Iowa. DeSantis was asked what he thought of the Biden administration unlocking billions of dollars to Iran.
“What Biden has done is empowered an enemy,” DeSantis told Newsmax. “He knowingly did that because he thinks somehow he can get a deal with them. You’re not going to get a deal with them. They have an ideology that is adverse to both Israel and the United States.”
UPDATE: 4:00 PM CET
Spain Politician Shooting: Three Detained in Anti-Terror Probe
MADRID, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Spanish police on Tuesday detained three people as part of an anti-terror investigation into the shooting of the former head of Spain’s conservative People’s Party in Catalonia on a busy Madrid street 12 days ago.
One of the suspects was arrested in the southern port city of Malaga and the other two in Granada, a police source told Reuters, confirming early reports from news website El Confidencial and radio station Cadena SER.
Two of them were Spanish men and the third arrested was a British woman, the source said. Police are looking into whether they have links with foreign countries.
UPDATE: 2:00 PM CET
Road Accidents Surge in Iran: Over 20,000 Fatalities Reported in One Year
Hassan Momeni, the head of the Traffic Police, highlighted the alarming increase in road accidents in Iran in recent years, reporting that over 20,000 people lost their lives due to this cause in the year 1401 on the Persian calendar (March 2022- March 2023)
Momeni identified “human factors” as the primary cause, constituting 62% of accidents, followed by “transportation routes and vehicles.” He listed unauthorized speeding, lack of attention, overtaking, fatigue, and drowsiness as the most significant contributors to accidents.
Many experts point to the inadequate safety standards of Iranian vehicles and the unfavorable conditions of roads as crucial factors in accidents. According to Iranian officials, 43% of those who die in traffic accidents lose their lives after being transferred to the hospital, citing reasons such as “failure to detect brain injury or internal bleeding” and “medical errors.”
Tuesday Protests in Iran
Retired individuals across Iran came together today, staging gatherings in provinces like Khuzestan, Fars, Kermanshah, and Tehran. Beyond addressing their professional and economic concerns, they also advocated for the release of imprisoned teachers.
Videos circulated from the retirees’ assembly in Kermanshah depict participants chanting slogans such as “Free the imprisoned teacher” and questioning the allocation of Iran’s substantial revenue with slogans that criticize the regime’s malign activities.
November 21—Tehran, #Iran
Government employees hold protest rally in front of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare as their lives continue to spiral into poverty as a result of the regime's destructive policies.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/XtkI2WRHQD— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 21, 2023
More footage of today's protest rally by government retirees in Kermanshah.#Iran #IranProtestspic.twitter.com/Ba7gZKCtsb
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 21, 2023
In Khuzestan, demonstrators in Ahvaz voiced discontent with slogans like “Incompetent Raeisi, return to the seminary” and reiterated the demand for the freedom of imprisoned teachers.
The trend of issuing lengthy prison sentences and detaining educators and trade union activists has notably escalated in Iran in recent months.
November 21—Someh Sara, northern #Iran
Healthcare staff hold a protest rally as the regime continues to trample the rights of nurses.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/3uxNBHNFxK— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 21, 2023
According to local reports, there are around 1,000 retirees at the protest rally in front of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare.#Iran #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/GniqKjtTRb
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 21, 2023
Clashes Erupts as Chabahar Homes are Demolished by Security Forces
On Tuesday, November 21, oppressive forces from the Revolutionary Guards and the police conducted a raid in the Rahmaan Abad neighborhood in Chabahar, Sistan and Baluchestan province, resulting in the demolition of several houses.
Despite residents and locals requesting law enforcement to show a court order, authorities stated that they have a letter from judicial authorities without providing any documentation.
Additionally, the repressive police forces physically harmed the residents of this neighborhood and obstructed attempts to film the destruction of the houses.
Lankford, Colleagues Call for Biden Administration To Enforce Sanctions on Iran
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joins Senators Jerry Moran (R-KA) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) to call on President Biden to immediately enforce oil sanctions on Iran as mandated by Congress. The letter also urges the administration to permanently freeze the $6 billion funding mechanism established in September’s hostage agreement with Iran. “For far too long, Iran has evaded consequence for its complacency in funding radical terror,” the Senators wrote. “To prevent further atrocities and to fulfill our promise of providing unwavering support to our most important ally in the Middle East, we urge your Administration to take the necessary means in severing financial avenues available to Iran, specifically cracking down on oil exports.”
UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET
Medical Staff, Oil Workers, Hold Protest Rallies for Multiple Days
Medical staff from different hospitals have held protest rallies in several Iranian cities over the past few days. Nurses gathered in Sanandaj, Rasht, Kermanshah, Eslamabad-e Gharb, and Yazd to protest livelihood problems, including unpaid overtime work, experience bonuses, and tariffs in 2022.
In these protests, they chanted slogans against the government. According to videos posted on social media, protesting nurses in Yazd protested in front of the city’s governorate, criticizing the city’s health officials: “Incompetent officials, resign!”
This is not the first time nurses have held protest rallies in Iran. In recent months, nurses and medical staff in Sanandaj protested against the poor living conditions in front of the Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences and chanted, “Nurses, shout your rights!” and “Tariffs are paid in rials, but expenses are in dollars.”
A Deep Dive into Household Income and Consumption Trends in Tehran
The Tehran Chamber of Commerce recently unveiled a comprehensive report titled ‘Investigation of Household Income and Consumption Patterns in Tehran Province.’ This insightful document scrutinizes the shifts in household dynamics from 2017 to 2022, offering a nuanced perspective on the economic challenges faced by Iranian families.
Over the specified period, the composition of household income in Tehran has undergone a notable transformation. Freelance jobs, once a significant source of income, have been eclipsed by non-work-related sources. This shift indicates a reliance on sectors that are often perceived as unproductive. Non-working incomes, including pensions, estimated personal housing rents, and various other sources such as rent from business premises, property and land, deposit interest, insurance receipts, and educational grants, have become the primary contributors to household income.
Unraveling the Hamburg Islamic Center Controversy, With the German Police Raid To Iranian Backed Centers on Nov 16
The recent large-scale operation conducted by German law enforcement involved extensive raids to the Hamburg Islamic Center, commonly known as the Blue Mosque, and approximately fifty-four locations suspected of having ties to Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group. Hamburg Islamic Center, serving as the epicenter, this institution oversees and coordinates the activities of over 150 affiliated institutions and mosques scattered across Germany. The raids subjected these locations, particularly the Hamburg Islamic Center, to meticulous inspections, underlining the seriousness and depth of the suspicions.
Interior Minister Nancy Fesser highlighted the operation’s significance, linking it to the heightened sense of threat perceived by Jewish communities in Germany. Fesser categorically declared the government’s unequivocal stance against any form of incitement to anti-Semitic sentiments or hostile actions against Israel. This robust assertion resonates with the active monitoring carried out by Germany’s Constitution Protection Agency, which officially classified the Hamburg Islamic Center as an Islamist institution.
Journalist Saeedeh Shafiei Goes to Evin To Serve Her Time in Prison
Journalist Saeedeh Shafiei went to Evin Prison on Sunday, November 19, 2023, to start serving her 3 years and six months sentence. Her husband reported this on his account on X (former Twitter) and expressed concern over his wife’s health. Journalist Saeedeh Shafiei is a writer and a member of the International Federation of Journalists. Tehran Province’s Revision Court upheld the rulings for the imprisonment of journalist Saeedeh Shafiei and journalist Nasim Sultan Beigi on Saturday, September 18, 2023. Saeedeh Shafiei was sentenced to seven months and 16 days of imprisonment for disseminating “propaganda against the state.”
Berlin: MEK Supporters Held an Exhibition in Solidarity With the Iran Revolution, Commemorating Iran’s November 2019 Uprising
Berlin, Germany—November 18, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized an exhibition in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. They also commemorated Iran’s uprising in November 2019 and the victims of terror and torture by the mullahs’ regime.
Hamburg, Germany — November 18, 2023: MEK Supporters Rally in Solidarity With the Iran Revolution, Commemorating Iran’s November 2019 Uprising
Hamburg, Germany—November 18, 2023: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a rally and exhibition in solidarity with the Iranian Revolution. This demonstration served as a tribute to the martyrs of the nationwide Iranian uprising in November 2019 and in 2022. Among those remembered was Kian Pirfalak, a 10-year-old from Izeh who lost his life at the hands of the criminal agents of the Mullahs’ regime in November 2022.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – November 20, 2023
