{"id":314120,"date":"2023-12-09T09:25:58","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T08:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=314120"},"modified":"2023-12-09T23:47:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T22:47:17","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-december-9-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-december-9-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 December 9, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

UPDATE: 11:30 PM CET<\/span><\/p>\n

Nasdaq To Pay $4 Mln Settlement Over Apparent Iran Sanctions Violations<\/h3>\n

Dec 8 (Reuters) – New York-based stock exchange Nasdaq Inc\u00a0(NDAQ.O)<\/a>\u00a0agreed to pay a $4 million settlement to the U.S. Department of Treasury over apparent violations of sanctions against Iran by a former Nasdaq unit, the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on Friday.<\/p>\n

Nasdaq OMX Armenia provided services to Iran and Iran’s state-owned Bank Mellat, it said.<\/p>\n

“The settlement amount reflects OFAC’s determination that Nasdaq’s conduct was non-egregious and voluntarily self-disclosed,” OFAC said.<\/p>\n

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

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George Soros Funneled More Than $50M to Iran-Sympathizer Groups Linked to Robert Malley<\/h3>\n

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Far-left billionaire George Soros has funneled more than $50 million to a\u00a0network of Iran-sympathizer groups<\/a>\u00a0whose members have gained significant sway within the Biden White House \u2014 pushing to\u00a0defang US sanctions<\/a>\u00a0on Tehran while advocating for a renewed nuclear deal.<\/p>\n

A Post examination of Soros\u2019 Open Society Foundations records shows the progressive kingmaker has given a staggering $46.7 million since 2016 to the International Crisis Group, a lefty think tank tied to an alleged Iranian plot to manipulate US policy.<\/p>\n

Robert Malley, the former US special envoy to Iran<\/a>\u00a0now under FBI investigation for his alleged mishandling of classified material, was the ICG\u2019s president until he joined the Biden administration in 2021.<\/p>\n

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

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Senior Cleric Warns Against MEK Influence in Society<\/h3>\n

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Hassan Ameli, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Ardabil province, has raised concerns about the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK\/PMOI) influencing Iranian society.<\/p>\n

In his address during the Friday prayers on December 8, he expressed, “Deceptive enemies have infiltrated our schools through various covert methods. There are schools visible to the eye, and there are also unseen schools where rumors and misinformation circulate throughout society. These rumors permeate in places like bakeries, buses, and everywhere\u2014these are all unseen schools.”<\/p>\n

“I have thoroughly investigated the origins of these rumors and reported to the FATA (cyber police). I urged them to determine the source. Upon tracing, it was found to lead all the way to Albania. When these hypocrites are the origin, why does anyone continue to echo their words?”<\/p>\n

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

Top White House Cyber Aide Says Recent Iran Hack on Water System Is Call To Tighten Cybersecurity<\/h3>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A top White House national security official said recent\u00a0cyber attacks by Iranian hackers<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on U.S. water authorities \u2014 as well as a separate spate of\u00a0ransomware attacks on the healthcare industry<\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u2014 should be seen as a call to action by utilities and industry to tighten cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger said in an interview on Friday that recent attacks on multiple American organizations by the Iranian hacker group \u201cCyber Av3ngers\u201d were \u201cunsophisticated\u201d and had \u201cminimal impact\u201d on operations. But the attacks, Neuberger said, offered a fresh warning that American companies and operators of critical infrastructure \u201care facing persistent and capable cyber attacks from hostile countries and criminals\u201d that are not going away.<\/p>\n

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

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Mexican Immigration Agents Detain 2 Iranians Who They Say Were Under Observation by the FBI<\/h3>\n

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MEXICO CITY —\u00a0<\/span>Mexico\u2019s\u00a0immigration<\/a> agency said Friday its agents have detained two Iranians who they say were under observation by the FBI.\u00a0The National Immigration Institute did not say what the supposed FBI investigation was about.\u00a0The agency said a total of five Iranians were detained along with their Haitian driver, who was apparently acting as their guide on a highway between the Baja California border cities of Tijuana and Tecate on Wednesday. It said their car was stopped at a toll booth because agents suspected they were going to try to cross into the United States.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET<\/span><\/p>\n

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Imprisoned Students Amir Hossein Moradi and Ali Younesi: Iran\u2019s Regime Can\u2019t Prevent the Next Uprising<\/h3>\n
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On the anniversary of Iran\u2019s Student Day, Amir Hossein Moradi and Ali Younesi, two elite students who have been in prison since 2020, sent a strong message of resistance despite nearly four years of suffering harsh conditions in the regime\u2019s dungeons.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Moradi and Younesi underlined the important role that students have played in Iran\u2019s uprisings. They also stressed that the struggles of Iran\u2019s people and students prove that Iran will not accept the Shah or mullahs\u2019 dictatorship, and they will only settle for a true democratic republic.<\/p>\n

The text of the open letter follows:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe mark December 7 [Iran\u2019s Student Day] in conditions that the Islamic Republic, in it fear of the next uprising that can continue until we reach freedom, is on the one resorting to mass executions and arrests and on the other hand is trying to spread despair, so that it may survive a few more days.<\/p>\n

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

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The Debsh Tea Embezzlement is Exemplary of Iran\u2019s Government Corruption<\/h3>\n

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An examination of the statistics related to large-scale embezzlement in Iran reveals an ongoing upward trend throughout its history. This trend signifies that, most of the time, new instances of corruption are not only larger but also more widespread than their predecessors.<\/p>\n

In one of the most significant embezzlements within a five-year span, over three trillion dollars of the Iranian people\u2019s assets were embezzled. Speculations suggest that various officials and institutions within the regime were implicated in this\u00a0historic looting<\/a>. Despite claims by the Ebrahim Raisi government to have uncovered and addressed the financial corruption involving \u2018Debsh Tea,\u2019 a considerable portion of public opinion, understanding the corrupt nature of the regime, perceives no difference between the regime\u2019s so-called reformists and principlists. This historical violation and corruption initiated in the previous government persists in the current administration.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran’s Sinister Web of Influence in the West<\/h3>\n

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The London-based TV station \u2018Iran International\u2019 and the news website \u2018Semafor\u2019 sent shockwaves through Europe and America in September when they revealed that an influential organization known as the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), which had consistently lobbied and advised EU governments and the European Parliament, was in fact fashioned and directed by Tehran, stirring profound implications for global diplomacy and security. Based on an avalanche of leaked emails, the two news organizations showed how the IEI had been created by the mullahs\u2019 regime in 2014 \u201cto improve Tehran\u2019s image abroad.\u201d So called \u2018experts\u2019 from the IEI had consistently peddled a misleading narrative designed by the mullahs, while also demonizing the main democratic opposition movement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its main component the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).<\/p>\n

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

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Exhibition of the Iranian Youth and Democratic Students Association in Belgium on the Occasion of Student\u2019s Day<\/h3>\n
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