{"id":236459,"date":"2021-03-17T06:07:26","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T11:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=236459"},"modified":"2023-03-28T12:21:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T11:21:58","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-march-17-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-march-17-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 March 17, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_236463\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-236463\" style=\"width: 796px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-236463\" title=\"iran-fire-festival\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-fire-festival.jpg\" alt=\"Iranians celebrated yesterday the fire festival (Charshanbehsoori). The celebration took place while the repressive forces, including the IRGC, State Security Force, and special patrols have been put on extraordinary security alert. In addition to the capital, Tehran, the Iranian people celebrated the fire festival in different cities in Iran, including Isfahan, Karaj, Shiraz, Saravan, Rudsar, Aligudarz, Ahvaz, Khorramabad, Lahijan, Mashhad, Hamedan, Shahrekord, Kashan, Tabriz, Shahriar, and Qazvin.\" width=\"796\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-fire-festival.jpg 796w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-fire-festival-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-fire-festival-768x487.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-fire-festival-150x95.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-fire-festival-696x442.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-236463\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Iranians celebrated yesterday the fire festival (Charshanbehsoori). The celebration took place while the repressive forces, including the IRGC, State Security Force, and special patrols have been put on extraordinary security alert. In addition to the capital, Tehran, the Iranian people celebrated the fire festival in different cities in Iran, including Isfahan, Karaj, Shiraz, Saravan, Rudsar, Aligudarz, Ahvaz, Khorramabad, Lahijan, Mashhad, Hamedan, Shahrekord, Kashan, Tabriz, Shahriar, and Qazvin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 9:30 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Online Briefing<\/h2>\n<h3>Revealing information on IRGC Ballistic missile sites in Western Iran<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Thursday, March 18, 2021, at 14:00 Paris time, 9:00 am New York<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BreakingNews?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BreakingNews<\/a> <br \/>Online Briefing  <br \/>Revealing information on IRGC Ballistic missile sites in Western <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a><br \/>Live here. <br \/>Thursday, March 18, 2021, at 14:00 Paris time, 9:00 am New York.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/No2MullahsMissiles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#No2MullahsMissiles<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/A55432iZeQ\">https:\/\/t.co\/A55432iZeQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy\/status\/1371820782112935939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 16, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">MFA of Ukraine about the final report of the technical investigation of the downing of the UIA flight PS752: The investigation has been biased, presented proves are selective and conclusions are deceptive<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Iran publicly released the final report of the technical investigation of the downing of the UIA flight <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PS752?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PS752<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6FM <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DmytroKuleba?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DmytroKuleba<\/a>: &quot;We are forced to conclude that the investigation has been biased, presented proves are selective and conclusions are deceptive&quot;. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sR1RU1zBwg\">pic.twitter.com\/sR1RU1zBwg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; MFA of Ukraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@MFA_Ukraine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MFA_Ukraine\/status\/1372249854269874177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 17, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Video report: Iranian opposition reveals new details about Tehran\u2019s illicit nuclear program &#8211; March 2, 2021<\/h3>\n<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Iranian opposition reveals new details about Tehran&rsquo;s illicit nuclear program - March 2, 2021\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_zwW95IqKsLk\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FzwW95IqKsLk%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zwW95IqKsLk\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT6M26S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2021-03-16T22:22:05Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_zwW95IqKsLk\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FzwW95IqKsLk%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">Iranian opposition reveals new details about Tehran\u2019s illicit nuclear program - March 2, 2021<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/zwW95IqKsLk\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FzwW95IqKsLk%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"Iranian opposition reveals new details about Tehran&rsquo;s illicit nuclear program - March 2, 2021\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In an online conference on March 2, 2021, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) revealed information about an undeclared nuclear site. The site, located in the Abadeh, Fars province, is one of two locations that the regime had denied access to IAEA inspectors for months. The NCRI\u2019s revelation comes at a time that IAEA inspectors found traces of uranium particles there. The IAEA director Rafael Grossi expressed deep concerns over finding undeclared nuclear material in undeclared locations in Iran. The information was obtained through the network of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) inside Iran. The site in question was built under the supervision of Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) contractor companies in the mid-1990s, and is part of a project managed by SPND (Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research), the main entity in charge of research and development of nuclear weapons. The Abadeh site is involved in the Marivan project, an initiative led by SPND subsidiary METFAZ (Center for Research and Expansion of Technologies on Explosions and Impact), which is engaged in the research and construction of nuclear high-explosive detonators. The Marivan project is overseen by Dr. Saeed Borji, one of the regime\u2019s top explosives and high-impact specialists. According to internal SPND reports, for years worked directly with IRGC Brig. Gen. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the director of SPND (aka AMAD). Fakhrizadeh was killed in the outskirts of Tehran on November 27, 2020. Ali Safavi: \u201cAmong Borji&#039;s activities was working with the Ukrainian nuclear scientists Vyacheslav V. Danilenko and Vladimir Padalko on high explosive testing and also on explosive chamber for nuclear weapons in Parchin site (southeast Tehran).\u201d \u201cAccording to credible intelligence, [Borji] and some other senior SPND experts have formed front companies to conduct their research to advance SPND\u2019s objectives,\u201d Among these front companies is the Azar Afrooz Saeed LLC, which builds spherical tanks that are shaped to explode quite similar to explosions used in nuclear weapons detonator experiments. Ali Safavi: \u201cSaeed Borji\u2019s position in this company is Vice Chairman of the Board,\u201d Also in the picture is Akbar Motalebizadeh, an explosives specialist and senior manager of SPND, who along with several others established the Arvin Kimia Abzar Company in Tehran in March 2019. Ali Safavi: \u201cThis front company is involved in the production, purchase, sale, export and import of tools and materials used in the drilling and operation of oil wells. Saeed Borji is the chairman of the board and Akbar Motalebizadeh is the managing director of this company,\u201d A third company, Parsian Asr Arvin Private Stock Company, which was established in Tehran in December 2015, is active in \u201ccommercial activities and services for the production, purchase, sale, export, and import of tools and materials used in the oil industry, drilling and operation of oil wells.\u201d Interestingly, Parsian Asr Arvin\u2019s headquarters were located very close to the main offices of SPND in Tehran. The company was dissolved in March 2018. Ali Safavi: \u201cIt is worth noting that in response to the IAEA\u2019s inquiry into the detonation of multiple explosives at the same time, which had dual-use in connection with the explosion of nuclear weapons (EBW), the mullahs\u2019 regime falsely claimed that it needs the technology to operate oil wells,\u201d The regime is using these and possibly other companies to continue pursuing nuclear weapons research and development secretly. In July 2019, the IRGC realized that the Abadeh site had been exposed. It began a complete sanitization of the area to destroy all traces of activity. The buildings and facilities were completely demolished. The regime only made the site accessible to inspectors one year later in August 2020. The process to sanitize the site was very similar to processes implemented in Shian-Lavizan in 2004 as well as a part of the Parchin site in 2012, where there was a special explosive chamber, Safavi said. Over the past two decades, the NCRI has made more than 100 revelations on the different aspects of the Iranian regime\u2019s nuclear program. Nuclear weapons are a vital part of the mullahs\u2019 regime\u2019s strategy for survival, especially as they are faced with increasing unrest at home and isolation abroad. Ali Safavi: \u201cIt is na\u00efve to think that by providing concessions or overlooking its violations, the regime, will change its behavior. This has not happened and will never happen. A leopard never changes spots,\u201d Read More: https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IranNCR\/ https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy Subscribe to NCRI weekly newsletter t.ly\/MybJ #Iran #Nuclearprogram #terrorism #NCRI\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 4:00 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Atena Daemi was been forcibly exiled to Lakan Prison in Rasht, yesterday<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Atena Daemi was been forcibly exiled to Lakan Prison in <br \/> Rasht, yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>We urge <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mbachelet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@mbachelet<\/a> and international human rights organizations to take immediate action to secure the immediate release of this resilient political prisoners.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/freepoliticalprisoners?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#freepoliticalprisoners<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dz1nlXqoh7\">pic.twitter.com\/dz1nlXqoh7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Women&#39;s Committee NCRI (@womenncri) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/womenncri\/status\/1372126193865129984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 17, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Long lines for poultry in Urmia, 4 days to Nowruz &#8211; March 16<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Long lines for poultry in Hamedan, NW <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/w1LvOYhaTF\">pic.twitter.com\/w1LvOYhaTF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Iran News Wire (@IranNW) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IranNW\/status\/1371828335433687040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 16, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iran: Coronavirus Disaster in 522 Cities in Iran Takes 232,500 Lives<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-236449\" title=\"iran-coronavirus-update-16032021-2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-coronavirus-update-16032021-2.jpg\" alt=\"iran-coronavirus-update-16032021-2\" width=\"800\" height=\"456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-coronavirus-update-16032021-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-coronavirus-update-16032021-2-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-coronavirus-update-16032021-2-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-coronavirus-update-16032021-2-150x86.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/iran-coronavirus-update-16032021-2-696x397.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.mojahedin.org\/i\/primer-the-history-the-peoples-mojahedin-organization-iran\" rel=\"noopener\">People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK)<\/a>\u00a0announced on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, that the Coronavirus death toll in 522 cities had exceeded 232,500. The number of victims in Tehran is 54,356, Khorasan Razavi 15,205, Isfahan 15,075, Khuzestan 13,000, Mazandaran 9,895, East Azerbaijan 9,058, Qom 8,550, Gilan 8,221, Fars 6,862, Alborz 5,768, Hamedan 5,393, Kerman 5,124, Central Province 4,773, Yazd 4,222, North Khorasan 3,533, Hormozgan 2,535, Zanjan 2,530, South Khorasan 2,261, and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 1,865.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/ncri-statements\/statement-human-rights\/iran-coronavirus-disaster-in-522-cities-in-iran-takes-232500-lives\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> Coronavirus Update<\/p>\n<p>More than 232,500 people have died of the novel <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#coronavirus<\/a> in 522 cities checkered across all of Iran&#39;s 31 provinces, according to the Iranian opposition PMOI\/MEK.<\/p>\n<p>Full Report<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xtOFvntScl\">https:\/\/t.co\/xtOFvntScl<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rHFyXGOIwP\">pic.twitter.com\/rHFyXGOIwP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; People&#39;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mojahedineng\/status\/1372068095846584322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 17, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iranians Celebrate Fire Festival, Venting Their Anger at the Regime<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-236461\" title=\"Iranians-Celebrate-Fire-Festival-Venting-Their-Anger-at-the-Regime\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Iranians-Celebrate-Fire-Festival-Venting-Their-Anger-at-the-Regime.jpg\" alt=\"Iranians-Celebrate-Fire-Festival-Venting-Their-Anger-at-the-Regime\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Iranians-Celebrate-Fire-Festival-Venting-Their-Anger-at-the-Regime.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Iranians-Celebrate-Fire-Festival-Venting-Their-Anger-at-the-Regime-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Iranians-Celebrate-Fire-Festival-Venting-Their-Anger-at-the-Regime-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Iranians-Celebrate-Fire-Festival-Venting-Their-Anger-at-the-Regime-150x94.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Iranians-Celebrate-Fire-Festival-Venting-Their-Anger-at-the-Regime-696x435.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At twilight on March 16, Iranian citizens, particularly youths, flooded onto the streets in different provinces, celebrating Chaharshanbe Suri [Fire Festival] despite the State Security Forces\u2019 (SSF) heavy presence and officials\u2019 prior threats.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In other words, the people used this traditional ceremony to vent their anger at the entire ruling system. Previously, the Iranians were celebrating the eve of the final Wednesday of the Persian Calendar year by lighting small bunches of fire and jumping over them. They believed that they burn the darkness and symbols of illness, poverty, and misery to start a prosperous year on March 20 or 21.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/irannewsupdate.com\/news\/insider\/iranians-celebrate-fire-festival-venting-their-anger-at-the-regime\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iran: Workers, farmers protest declining work &amp; economic conditions<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-236460\" title=\"protest-rallies-in-different-iranian-cities\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/protest-rallies-in-different-iranian-cities.jpg\" alt=\"protest-rallies-in-different-iranian-cities\" width=\"800\" height=\"453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/protest-rallies-in-different-iranian-cities.jpg 690w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/protest-rallies-in-different-iranian-cities-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/protest-rallies-in-different-iranian-cities-150x85.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A group of electricity workers held a rally in front of the Majlis (parliament) on Tuesday, protesting officials\u2019 neglection of their demands. These workers have held similar rallies in previous weeks, protesting unpaid wages, improper hiring procedures, unfair distribution of official and contract workers, and the involvement of contractor companies that are stealing a considerable part of their income.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the banners of the protesters states that contract workers are receiving a third of the salary of official workers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.mojahedin.org\/i\/iran-protest-tehran-behbehan-gonabad-20210316\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arash Varesi was executed on Sunday, March 14<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On Sunday, March 14, Arash Varesi, a native of Bijar, western <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a>, imprisoned with his brother Nejat for 10 years, was executed in Zanjan Central Prison. Nejati has also been sentenced to death and is awaiting execution. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RRHsn5eCjA\">pic.twitter.com\/RRHsn5eCjA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IranHrm\/status\/1371932506082119684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 16, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Iran news in brief, March 17, 2021<\/h3>\n<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Iran news in brief, March 17, 2021\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_32umTd_ttR0\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F32umTd_ttR0%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/32umTd_ttR0\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT1M52S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2021-03-17T14:19:04Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_32umTd_ttR0\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F32umTd_ttR0%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">Iran news in brief, March 17, 2021<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/32umTd_ttR0\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F32umTd_ttR0%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"Iran news in brief, March 17, 2021\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Iran news in brief, March 17, 2021 Iran, Fire Festival: Torching Khamenei\u2019s Posters Following the call by the Social Headquarters of Mujahedin-e Khalq inside Iran to turn the Fire Festival, held on the eve of the last Wednesday of the Iranian Calendar, into a flame of freedom against the religious dictatorship, the youth and supporters of the MEK in Tehran, and other cities of Iran torched Ali Khamenei placards and effigies. They also distributed MEK\u2019s statement addressing the Iranian youth and people in different cities with the message of protest against the dictatorship. Iran: Coronavirus Claims 232,500 Lives Over 232,500 people have died of the novel coronavirus across all of Iran\u2019s 31 provinces, according to reports tallied by People&#039;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran as of March 16. The official death toll declared by the regime stands at 61,427 around a third of the actual figure. \u201cDuring the past 24 hours the number of new cases across the country increased by 23 percent and once again the daily death toll reached three digits,\u201d said Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi on Monday. \u201cIn Tehran, this week we witnessed a 13 percent increase in the number of new cases in comparison to last week. International organizations are forecasting up to 200 daily Covid-19 deaths in Iran during the next three months,\u201d he added, according to state TV. Read More: https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IranNCR\/ https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy Subscribe to NCRI weekly newsletter t.ly\/MybJ\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/stats.sender.net\/forms\/dGYVLa\/view\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-219239 aligncenter\" title=\"Weekly-Signe-up-logo-1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Weekly-Signe-up-logo-1.png\" alt=\"Weekly-Signe-up-logo-1\" width=\"250\" height=\"83\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Read more<\/strong>:\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-march-16-2021\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Iran News in Brie<\/strong><strong>f \u2013 March 16<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong><strong> 2021<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS UPDATE: 9:30 PM CET Online Briefing Revealing information on IRGC Ballistic missile sites in Western Iran Thursday, March [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":236463,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[234],"tags":[141,197,198,129,130],"class_list":{"0":"post-236459","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-news-in-brief-news","8":"tag-human-rights","9":"tag-mek-iran","10":"tag-ncri","11":"tag-iran","12":"tag-iran-protests"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>- Iran News in Brief \u2013 March 17, 2021<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"THE 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The celebration took place while the repressive forces, including the IRGC, State Security Force, and special patrols have been put on extraordinary security alert. In addition to the capital, Tehran, the Iranian people celebrated the fire festival in different cities in Iran, including Isfahan, Karaj, Shiraz, Saravan, Rudsar, Aligudarz, Ahvaz, Khorramabad, Lahijan, Mashhad, Hamedan, Shahrekord, Kashan, Tabriz, Shahriar, and Qazvin."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-march-17-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 March 17, 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/","name":"NCRI","description":"Official website of the National Council of Resistance of Iran","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/#organization","name":"Official website of the National Council of Resistance of Iran","alternateName":"Official website of the National Council of Resistance of Iran","url":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ncri-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ncri-logo.jpg","width":402,"height":100,"caption":"Official website of the National Council of Resistance of Iran"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/iran_policy"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6c5146100e16824f35892a237b1b5da8","name":"Hamideh Taati","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/986e7768d08998e3acca6660182a58731c8c36dca678f830d9fdf2f0d94cce82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/986e7768d08998e3acca6660182a58731c8c36dca678f830d9fdf2f0d94cce82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/986e7768d08998e3acca6660182a58731c8c36dca678f830d9fdf2f0d94cce82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hamideh Taati"},"description":"Hamideh Taati is a writer, philanthropist, and women rights activist. 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