{"id":315116,"date":"2024-01-12T08:46:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T07:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=315116"},"modified":"2024-01-13T08:20:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T07:20:55","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-january-12-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-january-12-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 January 12, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"iranian<\/p>\n

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

UPDATE: 7:00 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

Alleged Iran Regime Official Appears at Refugee Board as Canada Cracks Down<\/h3>\n

\"globalnews-logo-e1669716664116\"<\/p>\n

As Canada begins a crackdown on Iranian officials living in the country, a top science bureaucrat appeared before an immigration panel on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Majid Iranmanesh is one of nine alleged senior members of the Iranian regime who have turned up in Canada and face possible deportation.\u00a0In Iran, Iranmanesh was a director general at the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, according to the Iranian government\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

He said he came to Canada on May 29, 2023, hoping to conduct research at the University of Victoria for one year.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 5:30 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lessons Washington Needs To Learn From the Strike on the Houthis<\/h3>\n

\"Atlantic<\/p>\n

US President Joe Biden should be applauded for Thursday\u2019s strikes against the Houthis. International trade is constrained by eight primary maritime chokepoints, hard realities imposed by immutable geography. The United States has long recognized a vital national security interest in ensuring freedom of navigation through each of them. This strike helped protect those interests.<\/p>\n

Half of these eight global chokepoints are dispersed widely. Only one can be found in Europe (the Strait of Gibraltar), in Africa (the Cape of Good Hope), in East Asia (the Straits of Malacca), and the Americas (the Panama Canal). Unfortunately, the other half of these critical chokepoints are all concentrated in a relatively small region where southwestern Asia meets Europe and Africa: the Bosporus Strait, the Suez Canal, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Strait of Hormuz. This area also happens to be the most important single source of energy required to sustain global economic growth. Those two facts explain why US presidents keep rediscovering the need to focus disproportionately on the Middle East, despite their often-heartfelt desires to do otherwise.<\/p>\n

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

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US Issues Sanctions Targeting Revenue Supporting Houthi Attacks<\/h3>\n

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. on Friday issued sanctions targeting commodity shipments financing Iran’s Quds Force and Yemen’s Houthis as Washington stepped up pressure on the Iran-backed Houthis over attacks on international shipping.<\/p>\n

The revenue from the commodity sales supports the Houthis and their attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Treasury said it imposed sanctions on a Hong Kong-based company and a United Arab Emirates-based company shipping Iranian commodities on behalf of the network of a Quds Force-backed Houthi financial facilitator already under U.S. sanctions. It also targeted four oil tankers.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 2:30 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

McConnell Statement On U.S. Military Strikes In Yemen<\/h3>\n

\"mitch<\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome the U.S. and coalition operations against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists responsible for violently disrupting international commerce in the Red Sea and attacking American vessels. President Biden\u2019s decision to use military force against these Iranian proxies is overdue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am hopeful these operations mark an enduring shift in the Biden Administration\u2019s approach to Iran and its proxies. To restore deterrence and change Iran\u2019s calculus, Iranian leaders themselves must believe that they will pay a meaningful price unless they abandon their worldwide campaign of terror.<\/p>\n

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

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Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Coalition Strikes in Houthi-Controlled Areas of Yemen<\/h3>\n

\"U.S.<\/p>\n

In light of the illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Iranian-backed Houthi attacks against U.S. and international vessels and commercial vessels from many countries lawfully transiting the Red Sea, today the militaries of the United States and the United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, conducted strikes against military targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. This action is intended to disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ capabilities to endanger mariners and threaten global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways. Today’s coalition action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will bear further costs if they do not end their illegal attacks.<\/p>\n

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

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Us, British Militaries Launch Massive Retaliatory Strike Against Iranian-Backed Houthis in Yemen<\/h3>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by\u00a0the Iranian-backed Houthis<\/a><\/span>\u00a0in Yemen on Thursday, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Air Force\u2019s Mideast command said it struck over 60 targets at 16 sites in Yemen, including \u201ccommand-and-control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Joe Biden said the strikes were meant to demonstrate that the U.S. and its allies \u201cwill not tolerate\u201d the\u00a0militant group\u2019s ceaseless attacks<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on the Red Sea. And he said they only made the move after attempts at diplomatic negotiations and careful deliberation.<\/p>\n

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

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

Mir Yousef Younesi Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Iran<\/h3>\n

\"iranian<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s regime has sentenced political prisoner Mir Yousef Younesi to five years in prison. Mir Yousef Younesi is the father of\u00a0Ali Younesi<\/a>, a student at the Sharif University of Technology, who has been in prison since April 2020 on political charges.<\/p>\n

Regime security forces arrested Mir Yousef Younesi in January 2023 in Shahrud. He had previously served three years in prison during the shah dictatorship and nine years during the rule of the mullahs on charges of being in touch with the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK). He is 70 years old and is suffering from ear and abdominal diseases but has been denied access to vital medical care.<\/p>\n

Mir Yousef\u2019s son Reza, who is in Sweden, declared on his X account that his father was not taken to court because he refused to wear humiliating prison uniforms. The judge was infuriated and decided to hold the session without the presence of Mir Yousef and by denying his lawyers from representing him.<\/p>\n

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

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How Iran\u2019s Regime Responds to Student Protests and Demands<\/h3>\n

\"iran<\/p>\n

While facing a severe shortage of teachers and contending with the challenging condition of schools, where at least three million students are studying in dilapidated and hazardous environments, the Iranian regime\u2019s Ministry of Education has undertaken a noteworthy initiative. In alignment with the government\u2019s strategy to exert influence and mold students\u2019 perspectives, the Minister of Education, Reza Morad Sahrai, has enlisted 19,000 clerics and scholars under the designation of \u2018educational teachers.\u2019 This move implicitly discloses the ministry\u2019s intention to deploy a cleric in each school.<\/p>\n

Sahrai, affirming the ongoing recruitment of scholars to be stationed in schools, asserted, \u201cWe emphasize the continuation of the presence of clergy in\u00a0schools<\/a>.\u201d Furthermore, he highlighted the implementation of the \u2018Mehrab Plan,\u2019 revealing plans for 64,000 congregational prayers to be conducted in schools.<\/p>\n

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

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\u201cThe Oppressive Reign of Khamenei in 2024: A Call for Liberation by Iranian People\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"Basij<\/p>\n

In Iran, the figurehead known as the \u201csupreme leader,\u201d Ali Khamenei, commands a reputation of unrelenting tyranny, orchestrating not only internal suppression but also fostering instability throughout the Middle East. His regime\u2019s backing of regional proxies has sown discord, exacerbating unrest in surrounding nations. This aggressive stance has earned Khamenei global recognition as a heartless dictator, propelling a nearly three-month-long war, and perpetuating fear and instability.<\/p>\n

Internally, Iran reels under escalating executions and a ruthless crackdown on dissent, reinforcing the image of a despotic ruler. Meanwhile, allegations of the regime\u2019s interference in foreign affairs, including acts of terrorism and assassinations, further underscore Khamenei\u2019s oppressive tactics, painting him as an adversary to the Iranian people.<\/p>\n

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

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Blinken Says Path To Palestinian State Can Isolate Iran<\/h3>\n

CAIRO, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Offering a pathway to a Palestinian state is the best way to stabilize the wider region and isolate Iran and its proxies, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, as he ended a frenetic regional tour over the Gaza war in Cairo.<\/p>\n

Shuttling between Israel and Arab states, Blinken has been pushing for a way forward from the bloodshed in Gaza, even as the conflict threatens to spread further to Lebanon, Iraq and Red Sea shipping lanes.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Blinken said the region faced two paths, the first of which would see “Israel integrated, with security assurances and commitments from regional countries and as well from the United States, and a Palestinian state – at least a pathway to get to that state”.<\/p>\n

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

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Labor Activist Sharifeh Mohammadi Languishes in Prison of Sanandaj<\/h3>\n

\"Sharifeh<\/p>\n

Labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi remains incarcerated in the Prison of Sanandaj without standing trial.
\nSharifeh Mohammadi was arrested at her home in Rasht on December 5, 2023, by agents of the Department of Intelligence.<\/p>\n

In a call to her relatives on Saturday, December 30, 2023, Ms. Mohammadi told them that she was being transferred to Sanandaj and that her temporary release on bail is not yet possible.<\/p>\n

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

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Lawyer Niloufar Sadat Hashemian Arrested for Social Media Comments<\/h3>\n

\"Niloufar<\/p>\n

An Iranian lawyer, Niloufar Sadat Hashemian, was among dozens of Iranian citizens apprehended for commenting on the explosions in Kerman near the burial site of Qasem Soleimani, which left dozens of civilians dead. Agents of the Judiciary\u2019s Counterintelligence filed a complaint against Niloufar Sadat Hashemian who was arrested by security forces in Semnan, on Saturday, January 6, 2024.<\/p>\n

Qasem Soleimani was the commander of the terrorist Quds Force, the extraterritorial branch of the Iranian regime\u2019s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in charge of the export of terrorism and fundamentalism abroad and the formation of the Iranian regime\u2019s proxy groups in the Middle East. He was killed in Iraq on January 3, 2020, in a strike by the U.S.<\/p>\n

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

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January 11, 2024\u2014Iranian Communities Worldwide: Join the 28th #FreeIranTelethon Supporting Simay-e-Azadi (INTV), January 12-14, 2024<\/h3>\n
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January 11, 2024\u2014Iranian Communities Worldwide: Join the 28th #FreeIranTelethon-January 12-14, 2024<\/div><\/div>
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