{"id":314271,"date":"2023-12-15T08:49:27","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T07:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=314271"},"modified":"2023-12-15T20:01:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T19:01:50","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-december-15-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-december-15-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 December 15, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"iranians<\/p>\n

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

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

Former Iranian Minister Says Political Rivals Are Tearing Each Other Apart over Election Gains<\/h3>\n

\"iran<\/p>\n

In a surprising revelation, Ali Soufi, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Welfare under the regime’s former president Mohammad Khatami, has exposed an internal conflict within the regime during a recent interview. Soufi spoke candidly about the ongoing power struggles and corrupt practices within the government, shedding light on a controversial issue involving tea imports.<\/p>\n

Talking to the state-run website Roudad24<\/a>, Soufi said,\u00a0“In the current election season, the competition among profit-seekers and power-hungry individuals has escalated. For example, in the case of tea corruption, they would announce inflated per capita consumption figures to justify imports. When domestic production was relatively low per capita, such imports seemed justifiable. The higher they pushed the per capita figures, the more they could import.”<\/p>\n

“It was announced that for every two kilograms of Iranian tea exported, one kilogram of foreign tea could be imported. They were buying domestic tea, dumping it into the sea, and importing foreign tea, thus securing their illicit gains using the foreign exchange allocated for these transactions. To the extent that several tea importers took their share and handed it over to the Debsh Company, constantly raising their share of foreign currency. Here, competitors have exposed this corruption, and since it is an election season, they are in the process of tearing each other apart,” Soufi revealed.<\/p>\n

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

Conference in Berlin<\/h3>\n

\"conference<\/p>\n

On Thursday, December 14, 2023, dozens of members of the federal and state parliaments of Germany, political personalities, human rights advocates, and members of the Iranian diaspora gathered for a major conference in Berlin to discuss issues related to Iran.<\/p>\n

Professor Dr. Rita S\u00fcssmuth, former Speaker of the Federal Parliament of Germany (Bundestag), Leo Dautzenberg, Co-Chair of the German Solidarity Committee for a Free Iran, Carsten M\u00fcller, senior member of the Legal Commission of the Federal Parliament, Christoph de Vries, member of the Committee for Home Affairs and Community, and member of the Oversight Panel of the Federal Parliament, Diana St\u00f6cker, member of the Health Committee, alternate member of the Education and Research Committee, and Secretary of the Federal Parliament, Dr.France Josef Jung, former Minister of Defense,\u00a0 \u00a0Martin Patzelt, former member of the Federal Parliament and Co-Chair of the German Solidarity Committee for a Free Iran, and Christian Zimmermann, Secretary of the German Solidarity Committee were among those who attended and addressed the conference.<\/p>\n

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

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Conference in the Netherlands Condemns Human Rights Violations in Iran<\/h3>\n

\"netherlands<\/p>\n

During a\u00a0conference<\/a>\u00a0held in the Netherlands on Saturday, December 9, 2023, dozens of political figures, representatives of the Dutch Parliament, and members of the European Parliament participated and delivered speeches regarding the human rights conditions in Iran.<\/p>\n

Ms. Dorien Rookmaker, MEP from the Netherlands, expressed deep concern over the invitation of Iranian regime president Ebrahim Raisi by the UNHCR\u00a0in Geneva, calling for a condemnation by the international community. She also condemned the ongoing impunity for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. She applauded the Iranian Resistance\u2019s determination to seek justice and hold the Iranian regime accountable.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran\u2019s Regime Faces a Legitimacy Crisis Ahead of Elections<\/h3>\n

\"khamenei<\/p>\n

In the Iranian regime, the presence and participation of the people outside the country\u2019s fate and important decisions neither alter anything nor hold significance. Nevertheless, the regime\u2019s officials persistently assert that the country operates as a republic based on democratic principles. To bolster their legitimacy, they consistently emphasize free elections and people\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n

Phrases such as \u2018passionate elections,\u2019 \u2018passionate march,\u2019 and \u2018passionate presence and participation\u2019 have been frequently echoed by the regime\u2019s officials and media over the past four decades. Even when public attendance was meager, such claims persisted. However, the rulers of the\u00a0regime\u00a0now recognize that people\u2019s participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections will be so low that it can no longer be labeled a \u2018passionate election.\u2019<\/p>\n

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

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Mahsa Yazdani, the Mother of Slain Protester, Is Summoned To Serve 5 Years in Prison<\/h3>\n

\"Mahsa<\/p>\n

Mahsa Yazdani was summoned, today, Thursday, December 14, 2023, to report to the Office of the Implementation of Verdicts within three days to serve her five years of prison time for seeking justice for her son. She has another son, only four years old.\u00a0The First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Sari had handed down a 13-year sentence to Mahsa Yazdani, the mother of a slain protester, Mohammad Javad Zahedi.<\/p>\n

The first branch of the Revolutionary Court has\u00a0sentenced<\/a>\u00a0Mahsa Yazdani to two counts of five-year sentences for \u201cinsulting the sanctities\u201d and \u201cprovoking people against national security.\u201d She is sentenced to two years for insulting Ali Khamenei, and to one year in prison for \u201cactivities against the Islamic Republic.\u201d These make a total of 13 years. According to the clerical regime\u2019s punishment law, Mrs. Yazdani would have to serve five years in prison.<\/p>\n

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

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3.5 Million Iranian Students Under Roofs of 100 Thousand Risky Classrooms<\/h3>\n

\"iran<\/p>\n

Hamidreza Khan-Mohammadi, Deputy Minister of Education, has announced that more than a fifth of the country\u2019s students, equivalent to 3.5 million, study in\u00a0dangerous<\/a>\u00a0schools.<\/p>\n

On December 13, Khan-Mohammadi mentioned that the country has a student population of 16 million and claimed that an additional 3.5 million square meters of educational space has been added to address the issue of risky classrooms.<\/p>\n

However, according to Nasser Ghofli, the head of the School-Building Charity Society, the government has been unsuccessful in completing school construction projects through the efforts of charities.<\/p>\n

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

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Paris\u2014December 14, 2023: MEK Supporters Held an Exhibition, Condemning the Wave of Executions in Iran<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Paris\u2014Dec 14, 2023: MEK Supporters Held an Exhibition, Condemning the Wave of Executions in Iran.<\/div><\/div>
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