{"id":324205,"date":"2024-09-18T06:52:37","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T05:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=324205"},"modified":"2024-09-18T16:36:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T15:36:55","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-september-18-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-september-18-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 September 18, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Two Years After Mahsa Amini’s Death, Western Allies Sanction A Dozen Iranian Officials<\/h3>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S., Canada, and Australia hit a group of Iranian officials with sanctions Wednesday for their participation in suppressing protests and detaining people in relation to the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman who died in the custody of Iran\u2019s morality police two years ago for improperly wearing a mandatory headscarf.<\/p>\n

Amini, 22,\u00a0died on Sept. 16, 2022<\/a>, in a hospital after being arrested for allegedly not wearing her mandatory headscarf, or hijab, to the liking of the authorities. Her death sparked nationwide protests against the country\u2019s hijab laws and its ruling theocracy.<\/p>\n

Included in Wednesday\u2019s sanctions are a dozen officials accused of killing and detaining protestors, suppressing protests in 2019 and 2022, and arresting journalists.<\/p>\n

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

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Hezbollah Hand-Held Radios Detonate Across Lebanon, Sources Say<\/h3>\n

BEIRUT, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon’s south and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a security source and a witness said, further stoking tensions with Israel a day after similar explosions launched via the group’s pagers.<\/p>\n

Three people were killed in Lebanon’s Bekaa region, the state news agency reported, and dozens of people were wounded in the latest device blast.<\/p>\n

At least one of the blasts took place near a funeral organized by Iran-backed Hezbollah for those killed the previous day when thousands of pagers used by the group exploded across the country and wounded many of the group’s fighters.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 7:00 AM CEST<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s 2022 Uprising Was Just The \u201cFirst Episode\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"iran<\/p>\n

Looking back at the 2022 uprising from any angle, we see signs of an explosive society, like a volcano ready to erupt. These signs can be observed in uprisings such as those in December 2017, November 2019, and even in 2009 and other movements.<\/p>\n

In September 2022, Iranian society, much like today, was on the verge of transforming from accumulated pressures into an unexpected new reality. One could sense this qualitative change from the rebellious atmosphere in the cities, visible in the red eyes of the people, and the exhaustion of their patience.<\/p>\n

Just four days before the tragic death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police, a state-run media outlet wrote: \u201cPeople are under pressure. People are pessimistic. If they curse at you once, they\u2019ll curse Islam ten times, and they\u2019ll curse the leadership and Imam [regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini] ten times.<\/p>\n

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

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The Corruption in Iran\u2019s Banking System: A Deep Dive<\/h3>\n

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In recent years, widespread reports have surfaced detailing the systemic corruption within Iran\u2019s banking and financial institutions. At the heart of this corruption are the regime\u2019s affiliates and loyalists, many of whom hold key positions on the boards of these banks. They exploit the nation\u2019s financial system, siphoning the deposits of ordinary citizens for their own gain. On September 14, 2024, the state-run newspaper\u00a0Etemad<\/em><\/i>\u00a0published a shocking report. It revealed that nine out of Iran\u2019s 29 banks and credit institutions paid a staggering 156.75 billion tomans to just 44 board members in the previous year. This means that each board member in these banks received an average of 3.56 billion tomans.<\/p>\n

While this report focuses on just nine banks, it would be na\u00efve to assume that the remaining 21 are free from corruption. The loans and funds funneled to regime insiders in these institutions, while potentially smaller in scale, still reflect the broader systemic rot.<\/p>\n

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

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UN Fact-Finding Mission Urges Prosecution of Iran\u2019s Perpetrators of Crimes Against Women and Girls<\/h3>\n

\"iran<\/p>\n

The Office of the\u00a0UN High Commissioner of Human Rights in Geneva issued a\u00a0press release<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on September 13, 2024, reporting the release of an update by the UN\u2019s Independent Fact-Finding Mission. The FFM was cited as saying, \u201cTwo years after the \u201cWoman, Life, Freedom\u201d protests began following the unlawful death in custody of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, the Government of Iran has intensified its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls and crush remaining initiatives of women\u2019s activism.\u201d The text of the press release follows:<\/p>\n

GENEVA<\/strong> \u2013 Two years after the \u201cWoman, Life, Freedom\u201d protests began following the unlawful death in custody of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, the Government of Iran has intensified its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls and crush the remaining initiatives of women\u2019s activism, the UN\u2019s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran warned in an\u00a0update<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0released today.<\/p>\n

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

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Poverty On the Rise Among Iran\u2019s Employed Population<\/h3>\n

\"Regime\u2019s<\/p>\n

Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Iran\u2019s security institutions, reviewed the economic events of the past two decades and reported that since 2018, the pace of poverty has accelerated, with an increasing number of employed individuals falling into poverty.<\/p>\n

Tasnim emphasized that the economic conditions are such that the workforce, which serves as the engine of the country\u2019s productivity, is abandoning labor jobs and turning to other occupations, many of which are informal or precarious jobs. Labor activists have repeatedly sounded the alarm, warning that this marks the beginning of a growing\u00a0wave of poverty<\/a>\u00a0across the country.<\/p>\n

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

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Protests By Oil and Gas Workers and Retired Telecommunication Employees in Iran<\/h3>\n

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Economic protests in Iran continued yesterday with weekly gatherings of retired employees from the Telecommunication Company of Iran in several cities, marches, and protests by oil and gas industry workers in the provinces of Bushehr, Khuzestan, and Hormozgan, as well as a rally of\u00a0retirees<\/a> from various organizations in Tehran.\u00a0According to reports on social media on Monday, September 16, a number of protesting retirees from the Telecommunication Company held simultaneous gatherings in several cities, including Tabriz, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Sanandaj, Marivan, and Bijar.<\/p>\n

These retirees are protesting against poor living conditions, wages below the poverty line, ineffective supplementary insurance, the removal of grocery benefits from their job perks, and the failure of major shareholders to implement the 2010 regulations after the privatization of the state-owned Telecommunication Company of Iran.<\/p>\n

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

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The Head of Iran\u2019s Pharmacists\u2019 Association: Over 60% of Domestically Produced Medicines Are \u201cLow-Quality\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"Iran-Pharmacy\"<\/p>\n

Bahman Sabour, the head of the Pharmacists\u2019 Association, says that the Iranian government purchases and sets prices for over 60% of the medicines produced by domestic pharmaceutical companies, and this is the main reason for the low quality of these drugs.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, September 14, Sabour told the Rokna news agency that \u201cthe majority of medicines are produced under fixed pricing.\u201d For products without price regulation, \u201cthe producer sets the price based on the materials used and the production cycle costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabour further added that patients compare domestically produced medicines to a dish missing its key ingredient, saying, \u201cDomestic medicines meet the minimum standards, while foreign medicines are above the normal standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Court Sentences Eight Political Prisoners to Long Jail Terms and Exile<\/h3>\n

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In a recent ruling by Branch 26 of Tehran\u2019s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, eight political prisoners have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms and exile. These individuals, including Nasim Gholami Simyari, Hamidreza Sohailabadi, Amin Sokhanvar, Ehsan Ravazjian, Ali Herati Mokhtari, Hossein Mohammad Hosseini, Amir Shah Velayati, and Shahin Zahmatkesh, face harsh sentences.<\/p>\n

Several of these prisoners have been held in temporary detention at Evin Prison for over a year. Nasim Gholami Simyari, currently detained in Evin\u2019s women\u2019s ward, has been sentenced to six years in prison, 74 lashes, and 20 years of internal exile in Angouran, Zanjan Province. The court emphasized that her exile should be carried out in isolation from any form of social interaction.<\/p>\n

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

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Hamburg, September 14, 2024: Iranian Resistance Supporters Rally to Mark Anniversary of 2022 Uprising<\/h3>\n
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Hamburg Demonstration Marks Anniversary of Iran\u2019s 2022 Uprising \u2013 September 14, 2024<\/div><\/div>
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