THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CEST
UK Targets London Outpost of Iran Oil Kingpin ‘Hector’
The UK government is cracking down on an oil trading empire led by Hossein Shamkhani, whose web of firms have drawn scrutiny for helping move Iranian and Russian crude around the world, people familiar with the matter said.
Companies House, the country’s corporate register, gave notice on Sept. 3 that London-based Nest Wise Trading Ltd. is to be struck off and dissolved within months if it doesn’t take requisite steps, a filing in its Gazette shows. The threatened action is due to the entity’s failure to provide sufficient information to regulators, who’ve concluded its ultimate beneficial owner is Shamkhani, according to people familiar with the UK’s deliberations.
UPDATE: 1:00 PM CEST
UK Announces New Sanctions Under Iran, Russia Laws
LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Britain on Tuesday announced a new wave of sanctions, adding seven designations under its Iran sanctions regime and three under its Russia regime.
Some of those sanctioned included firms and organisations with ties to the drone industries in Russia and Iran.
The announcement came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and would likely use them in Ukraine within weeks.
Alongside that announcement, made during a visit to Britain, Blinken said the U.S. would also impose new sanctions, including on airline Iran Air.
UN Genocide Findings Spark Another Iran Regime Backlash
Professor Javaid Rehman, the former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, concluded his six-year mandate with a groundbreaking report that accused the Islamic Republic of committing genocide against its own citizens. The report, released in July, focused on a series of mass executions that took place between 1981 and 1982, and another in 1988.
Rehman’s findings detailed a litany of human rights abuses, including mass executions, enforced disappearances, and the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners. The report also highlighted the regime’s persecution of religious minorities, women, and children.
The 1988 massacre remains a deeply painful chapter in Iran’s history. Under the orders of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian government systematically executed thousands of political prisoners. The primary targets were members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), but other leftist groups were also caught in the purge.
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CEST
Targeted Sanctions in Response to Human Rights Violations in Iran
On the second anniversary of the incarceration and tragic death of Mahsa Jina Amini, the Australian Government is imposing targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on an additional five Iranian individuals. Mahsa Jina Amini’s death galvanised months of protests in Iran, which were brutally quashed by Iranian security forces.
The individuals sanctioned today include senior security and law enforcement officials who have been complicit in the violent repression of protests in Iran.
The human rights situation in Iran remains dire, particularly for women and girls. In early 2024, Iranian authorities launched a new campaign to enforce mandatory hijab laws through increased surveillance and harassment. Female human rights activists continue to be detained and handed death sentences.
Government of Canada Announces Expanded Measure to Hold Iranian Regime Accountable
In a continued response to the egregious actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Government of Canada is sending another strong message that Canada will not be a safe haven for senior regime members who engage in terrorism and systematic and gross human rights violations.
In November 2022, the Minister of Public Safety designated the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime that engages in terrorism and systematic or gross human rights violations under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Under this designation, any senior official who served in the Iranian government at any time from November 15, 2019, onwards is inadmissible to Canada.
Following sustained involvement by the Iranian regime in terrorism and egregious human rights violations, the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs initiated a review of the initial designation, and decided to bring forward the start date of the designation to June 23, 2003.
UPDATE: 7:00 AM CEST
Iran’s People Mark the Second Anniversary of the 2022 Nationwide Uprising with Strikes and Protests
Two years after the Iranian regime’s security forces killed Mahsa Amini, the people of Iran mark the anniversary of that fateful event that marked the beginning of a nationwide uprising that lasted for several months.
Merchants in several cities marked the event by going on strike. Videos from Saqqez, Sanandaj, Oshnavieh, Kermanshah, Marivan, and Piranshahr show lines of closed shops as people honor the 2022 uprising and its martyrs.
Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman from the city of Saqqez in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, who traveled to Tehran with her family, was arrested on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at the entry of Haqqani Highway by the regime’s so-called “Guidance Patrol” and transferred to the “Moral Security” agency.
Two Years After The 2022 Uprising, Iran’s Regime Is in A State of Checkmate
Two years have passed since Iran’s nationwide uprising of 2022. At that time, the regime was facing numerous crises, and society was in an explosive state. Four days before the protests triggered by the murders of Zhina-Mahsa Amini at the hands of the so-called “morality police,” a regime media outlet wrote:
“The people are under pressure. The people are pessimistic. They insult you, and for every insult, they hurl ten at Islam, ten at the leadership, and ten at the Imam [regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini]. You’ve made the people not only severely distrustful of the Imam, the revolution, and the system but also angry. They are showing their anger in their words and actions. If you don’t believe it, give the people a day of freedom and see what happens” (Khabar Fouri, September 12, 2022).
Escalating Repression in Iran Amid Rising Protests
In response to growing public dissatisfaction, the Iranian regime has resorted to heightened repression and an alarming increase in executions. Daily killings—carried out both officially through the judicial system and unofficially through torture and beatings—are being used as tools to suppress a society on the verge of explosion. The regime hopes these brutal tactics will prevent future uprisings. According to available statistics, 150 people were executed in a short span after Masoud Pezeshkian was selected as the regime’s president, with 126 of them hanged in August alone.
However, this surge in executions, along with cases of extreme brutality like the torture and killing of Mir Mohammad Mir Mousavi, has failed to quell public unrest. Quite the opposite: protests and gatherings have surged, with people increasingly taking to the streets to demand their rights.
2022 Iran Uprising: Iranian Women at the Heart of the Struggle for Freedom
On September 16, 2022, Iran was shaken by the tragic death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, igniting a wave of protests that lasted several months across more than 200 cities. The 2022 Iran uprising became one of the most significant movements in Iran’s history, with young women standing at its forefront, leading and inspiring millions in the fight for freedom and equality.
The developments following the 2022 Iran uprising have shown that the clerical regime will never return to its previous state of stability. The rallying cry of “Death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Leader” reverberating in protests across Iran, demonstrated that the Iranian people reject any return to dictatorship and seek a society founded on freedom and equality.
Family of Mahsa Amini Not Allowed to Leave Their Home on The Second Anniversary of Her Death
On Sunday, September 15, on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, which sparked nationwide protests in 2022, her family is not permitted to leave their home.
Close relatives of Mahsa Amini‘s family reported that “this morning, the Ministry of Intelligence contacted Amjad Amini, informing him that if he or his wife leaves the house, they will be arrested.”
Previously, the Amini family had planned to hold a memorial for the second anniversary of their daughter’s death, which occurred while in the custody of the morality police, at the Aychi cemetery on September 15. Government agents informed the Amini family that “they do not have the right to leave their home.”
Iranian Regime Vice President Reports a $17 Billion Deficit
Mohammad Reza Aref, the Vice President of Iran’s regime, referring to the dire economic conditions and budget deficit, announced a deficit of one quadrillion rials (about $17 billion) in the first six months of the Persian calendar year (from March 21 to September 21). He added that last year, “Our trade balance was negative by $17 billion.”
On Saturday, September 14, Aref, during a conference of university presidents, stated, “We are facing imbalances in various sectors, and this is a very serious issue.”
According to some experts and critics, Aref’s remarks align with the “economic reforms and surgery” that the regime has tasked its president Masoud Pezeshkian with implementing.
Geneva, September 13, 2024: Iranian Resistance Supporters Rally to Mark Anniversary of 2022 Uprising
Geneva, September 13, 2024: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance, including the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), held a rally in front of the United Nations headquarters at Place des Nations to mark the second anniversary of the 2022 nationwide uprising and to show solidarity with the Iranian Revolution.
Copenhagen, September 13, 2024: MEK Supporters Exhibition Ahead of 2022 Uprising Anniversary
Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance, including the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), held an exhibition in Copenhagen on September 13, 2024, showing solidarity with the Iranian Revolution ahead of the second anniversary of the 2022 nationwide uprising.