{"id":311289,"date":"2023-09-02T08:29:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T07:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=311289"},"modified":"2023-09-02T19:48:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T18:48:09","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-september-2-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-september-2-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 September 2, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

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THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h2>\n

UPDATE: 8:30 P<\/span>M CET<\/span><\/p>\n

Harsh Punishments for Mourning: Regime Sentences Protesters to Jail and Flogging<\/h3>\n

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The oppressive clerical regime, with the aim of instilling fear and deterring any potential uprising, continues to commit new crimes on a daily basis. In the latest instance, the regime’s judiciary has handed down prison sentences and ordered the cruel punishment of public flogging for individuals arrested during the funeral procession of a slain protester Mehreshad Shahidi.<\/p>\n

According to a report on the state-run website Dideban-e-Iran<\/a>, as conveyed by Mohammad Reza Kargar, one of the lawyers involved in the case: “A verdict has been issued for the arrested individuals during the funeral procession of Mehreshad Shahidi. Most of the accused, with one exception, have received the maximum punishment of five years of imprisonment for insulting religious sanctities. Additionally, they have been sentenced to one year of imprisonment for charges related to disturbing public order and tranquility. Furthermore, for the latter charge, the defendants have also been sentenced to endure 74 lashes of flogging. The judge has specified that this flogging must be carried out publicly in the Beit al-Moqaddas Square in Arak, immediately following the Friday prayer sermon and in the presence of the general public.”<\/p>\n

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Nobel Foundation Bans Russian Officials After Backlash<\/h3>\n

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The Nobel Foundation has reversed the decision to include representatives from Russia, Belarus, and Iran to attend its annual prize ceremonies.<\/p>\n

Swedish and Ukrainian political leaders had condemned the possible attendance of the envoys at the prestigious awards which take place in Oslo.\u00a0Last year, ambassadors from Russia and Belarus, whose leader Alexander Lukashenko has facilitated Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion, were barred from attending the prize ceremonies and banquets.<\/p>\n

The Iranian envoy was excluded last year over protests in the Islamic Republic sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was accused of violating Iran’s rules requiring women to cover their heads with a hijab, or headscarf. The Nobel Foundation had said invitations were extended to all countries with diplomatic missions in Sweden and Norway although the Associated Press reported it was unclear whether the invitations to the ceremonies taking place on December 10 had already been sent.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 1:30 P<\/span>M CET<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Report Highlights Iranian Regime’s Growing Threat to American and Western Interests<\/h3>\n

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The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), affiliated with the United States government, has issued a warning in a report<\/a> about terrorist conspiracies orchestrated by the clerical dictatorship in Iran.<\/p>\n

The report states, “We anticipate that rising global strategic competition will lead to increased state support to terrorist actors as a foreign and security policy tool. The end of the Cold War, the subsequent rise of a U.S.-centered global order, and the forceful U.S.-led global response to al-Qa`ida\u2019s attacks of September 11, 2001, helped suppress the kinds of state support for terrorism seen in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet, the increasingly brazen and persistent activity of the Iranian government during the past four years, including support for terrorist operations inside the United States, exemplifies the spectrum of challenges still posed by state support to terrorism. Iranian intelligence and security services\u2014which have pursued several dozen lethal plots and assassinated at least 20 opponents across four continents since 1979\u2014are advancing plotting against the United States, other Western interests, and Iranian dissidents more aggressively than they have at any time since the 1980s.”<\/p>\n

The report also highlights, “The Iranian government has become increasingly explicit in its threats to carry out retaliatory attacks for the death of IRGC-QF Commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Iranian officials have created lists of dozens of current and former U.S. officials that it blames, including as primary targets a series of former senior U.S. government officials it holds primarily responsible for Soleimani\u2019s death. Militant groups aligned with the Iranian government periodically conduct rocket and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) attacks against U.S. facilities in Syria and have threatened to resume more complex or frequent attacks in Iraq. From 2003 to 2011, the Iranian government and Lebanese Hezbollah supplied explosively formed projectiles that killed 196 U.S. personnel in Iraq and wounded 861. The potential threat posed by the provision of more lethal and sophisticated capabilities by the Iranian government remains a serious concern for U.S. personnel in the Middle East.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Meta Removes Iranian Regime-Linked Accounts for Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior<\/h3>\n

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Meta has reported the removal of accounts linked to the Iranian regime from its platforms, which included 22 Facebook accounts, 21 pages, and 7 Instagram accounts.<\/p>\n

These accounts, posing as seemingly independent media outlets, aimed to influence the opinions of Turkish citizens. According to Meta’s recent quarterly report, this network comprised 22 Facebook accounts, 21 pages, and 7 Instagram accounts. According to Meta’s Adversarial Threat Report<\/a> for August 2023, they were removed due to violations of Meta’s policies, specifically, “Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior.”<\/p>\n

The fake network disseminated news articles about current events in the Middle East, primarily in Turkish. The content included supportive narratives regarding the Iranian regime, coverage of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s speeches, and critical comments about Israel, the United States, the Turkish government, and the Justice and Development Party.<\/p>\n

The organizers of this campaign sought to direct users to their websites by sharing links to content across various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.<\/p>\n

According to Meta, individuals behind this campaign used fake accounts to manage and distribute content. These accounts were removed before they could amass a substantial following.<\/p>\n

The report indicates that these pages had approximately 11,000 followers on Facebook and around 17,000 followers on Instagram. The Iranian regime spent $670 on advertising for these pages, primarily paid in Turkish Lira or US Dollars, prior to their removal, often for ad campaigns in Turkey.<\/p>\n

These accounts and pages were identified during Meta’s internal investigations, prior to the Turkish presidential elections.<\/p>\n

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Congress Investigates US Military for Feting Iranian Official Who Bragged About Efforts To Assassinate American Leaders<\/h3>\n

\"washington-freebeacon-logo\"<\/p>\n

Congress is demanding answers from senior U.S. military leaders after one of the country\u2019s premier war-fighting outfits hosted a former Iranian official who came under fire last year for bragging about the hardline regime\u2019s efforts to assassinate American leaders, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.<\/p>\n

The probe\u2014spearheaded by Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chair of the House Armed Services Committee\u2014comes on the heels of a Free Beacon report on U.S. Strategic Command\u2019s decision to host a keynote address by Hussein Mousavian, a former member of Iran\u2019s nuclear negotiating team who works as a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University. Mousavian was invited by top military brass to address STRATCOM\u2019s 2023 Deterrence Symposium, a high-level powwow that gave the former Iranian official access to high-level American leaders.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 8:30 A<\/span>M CET<\/span><\/p>\n

Huge Crowds Gather to Pay Tribute to Slaim Political Prisoner<\/h3>\n
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