{"id":330711,"date":"2025-04-21T06:51:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T05:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=330711"},"modified":"2025-04-21T16:39:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T15:39:43","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-april-21-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-april-21-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 April 21, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Supporters of the Iranian Resistance in the Netherlands rallied in Amsterdam on April 19, 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h3>\n

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

Protest in Berlin Against Executions in Iran, Which the EU Says Have Seen a \u201cDrastic Increase\u201d<\/h3>\n

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Berlin, April 19 (EFE\/EPA) \u2013 Members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) protested this Saturday in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin against executions carried out in Iran. The European Union has expressed concern over what it described as a \u201cdrastic increase in the number of executions\u201d last year, including those of women and individuals from ethnic and religious minorities, as well as the execution of a European citizen.<\/p>\n

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

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Iranian from Germany Witnesses Execution of His Brother: \u201cAn Incurable Pain\u201d<\/h3>\n

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M\u00fcnster\/Cologne<\/strong> \u2013 For those who have grown up in a democracy like Germany and live in a safe and peaceful place such as North Rhine-Westphalia, it\u2019s almost impossible to imagine the pain and horror that tens of thousands of Iranians face on a daily basis. One man from North Rhine-Westphalia has experienced this horror up close\u2014and chose resistance over despair, even though the pain will forever remain a part of him.<\/p>\n

Bahman Bayatlari has lived in Germany since 1986. He originally comes from Iran and fled the country\u2019s terror-driven regime. His life was in danger. By then, the regime\u2019s henchmen had already taken the life of his brother. That is how he tells the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother was 17 years old when he was first arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in 1980,\u201d Bayatlari told wa.de<\/em>. It was the beginning of the end for a young life that had the misfortune of being born in the wrong place at the wrong time. The terror of the regime in Iran remains omnipresent\u2014then as now.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 11:30 AM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

UK Charity Bosses Hosted by Iranian Military Chief Linked to Terrorism<\/h3>\n

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A UK-registered charity is under investigation after its trustees met an Iranian military commander and expressed support for the regime\u2019s leaders. British charity bosses were hosted by a military chief in Iran and expressed \u00addevotion to the leaders of its regime.<\/p>\n

Syeda Umme Farwa and Ali Iffi, trustees of Labaik Ya Zahra (LYZ), a charity registered in the UK which says its \u00adobjective is to \u201chelp mankind\u201d by \u00adadvancing the Muslim faith and women\u2019s rights, flew from London to Tehran to hold \u201ccultural programmes\u201d.<\/p>\n

During the trip last year, they were filmed at a meeting with Second Brigadier General Majid Hashemi-Dana, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The general runs Defa Press, a state news agency overseen by Iran\u2019s armed forces, and invited the pair to visit its offices.<\/p>\n

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

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U.S. Airstrikes Target Houthi Strongholds in Yemen Amid Escalating Confrontation<\/h3>\n

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The United States intensified its military campaign against Houthi forces in Yemen, launching more than 50 airstrikes across the capital Sana\u2019a and the provinces of Hudaydah and Amran, according to Al Arabiya<\/em><\/a>. The strikes followed earlier waves of attacks that hit sites in Hudaydah on Friday night.\u00a0Local sources reported that explosions rocked neighborhoods in Sana\u2019a, including al-Nahda and Nuqom, as U.S. warplanes targeted multiple locations. Residents described heavy blasts and widespread damage, with some homes suffering shattered windows from the shockwaves.<\/p>\n

Houthi-affiliated media confirmed that 13 of the strikes hit Hudaydah\u2019s airport and maritime authority, with additional bombardments reported near the coastal base at al-Kuthayb. The targets are believed to include military outposts, weapons depots, and vehicle shelters.<\/p>\n

The escalation comes as CENTCOM announced that U.S. forces have carried out over 300 strikes in Yemen since mid-March. Houthi sources claim the actual number exceeds 900. The U.S. has deployed Tomahawk missiles, B-2 bombers, and two aircraft carriers \u2014 the USS Carl Vinson and USS Harry S. Truman \u2014 to the region to maintain pressure on the Iran-backed militant group.<\/p>\n

In a separate development, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced the downing of a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over Sana\u2019a using a domestically produced surface-to-air missile. The MQ-9 is considered one of the U.S. military\u2019s most advanced reconnaissance and strike drones.<\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 7:30 AM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

International Rallies Honor Iran\u2019s Political Prisoners in The 1970s, Reject Shah and Mullahs\u2019 Regimes<\/h3>\n

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In a powerful display of unity and historical remembrance, supporters of the Iranian Resistance held coordinated rallies over the weekend in more than a dozen cities across four continents to mark the anniversary of political executions carried out by the Shah\u2019s regime in April 1972 and 1975. From Washington, D.C. to Amsterdam, Paris, Sydney, Vancouver, and beyond, demonstrators called for justice for Iran\u2019s fallen dissidents while delivering a clear political message for the present: \u201cNo to Shah, No to Mullahs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commemorations centered around April 19, a date seared into the nation\u2019s collective memory. On April 19, 1972, four prominent members of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) \u2014 Ali Bakeri, Nasser Sadegh, Mohammad Bazargani, and Ali Mihan-Doust \u2014 were executed by firing squad after enduring months of torture. Three years later, on April 19, 1975, nine more political prisoners, including PMOI and Fedayeen members, were taken from prison and gunned down in a covert operation by the Shah\u2019s secret police, SAVAK. The regime falsely claimed they were \u201ckilled while escaping.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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The Mullahs\u2019 Regime Foremost Concern Is Iran\u2019s Explosive Society\u2014Not Negotiations<\/h3>\n

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At the beginning of the new Persian year, Iran\u2019s regime finds itself surrounded by multiple crises: a pivotal and high-stakes negotiation with the United States, the repeated collapse of its proxy forces in the region, the intensification of internal conflicts and fractures within the regime\u2019s structure, a deepening economic crisis, a society enraged by inflation and poverty, and a rapidly escalating class divide poised for a sudden eruption.<\/p>\n

Among these concurrent crises, which one truly threatens the regime and evokes the most fear within it? The outcome of the negotiations will affect the other crises, but the immediate and primary concern of the regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the regime is the angry society on the verge of explosion. There is no doubt that while advancing negotiations, the regime\u2019s main preoccupation is how society will react to the outcome and how that connects with the volatile atmosphere. That\u2019s why, in parallel with the talks, the regime has ramped up executions to intimidate a society ready to explode.<\/p>\n

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

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A Silent Crisis: Rising Occupational Deaths and Diseases in Iran\u2019s Workforce<\/h3>\n

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Recent data from Iran\u2019s Forensic Medicine Organization reveals a troubling surge in workplace fatalities, with at least\u00a01,900 people losing their lives in occupational accidents in the past year. This figure is nearly four times higher than the 455 deaths reported by the Social Security Organization for 2022, exposing a stark discrepancy between official agencies and raising serious concerns about the accuracy of government statistics and the effectiveness of occupational safety monitoring in Iran.<\/p>\n

The Social Security Organization\u2019s data is based solely on insured workers, which may partly explain the disparity. However, the scale of the difference points to deeper systemic issues\u2014specifically, gaps in oversight and a failure to comprehensively document and prevent workplace hazards.<\/p>\n

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

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Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad: Systematic Violation of Human Dignity and Basic Rights of Women Prisoners<\/h3>\n

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The women\u2019s ward at Vakilabad Prison in\u00a0Mashhad<\/a>\u00a0has effectively become an exile camp for female inmates\u2014an environment marred by neglect<\/a>, suffering, and the complete disregard of human rights. Prisoners are subjected to deplorable sanitary, nutritional, and medical conditions, with fundamental rights routinely violated.\u00a0Despite its limited capacity, the prison currently holds at least 3,500 inmates. Many face severe shortages of essential needs such as clean drinking water, proper nutrition, and basic hygiene supplies. Meals are extremely poor in quality and lack nutritional value, leading to a wide range of physical health problems among the incarcerated women.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran\u2019s Water Crisis Turns into a Catastrophe<\/h3>\n

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Amid continued warnings about water shortages and the drought crisis in Iran, Ahad Vazifeh, head of the National Center for Climate and Drought Crisis Management at Iran\u2019s Meteorological Organization, said the country has turned into a \u201csieve\u201d due to numerous illegal wells and excessive extraction from legal wells.<\/p>\n

Speaking to ISNA, a regime-affiliated news agency, on Saturday, April 19, Vazifeh said: \u201cWe have turned the country into a sieve by digging numerous unauthorized wells and over-extracting from legal ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

The official added: \u201cOver 80 percent of the over-extraction is from legal wells. This situation cannot continue in the long term because the volume of groundwater reservoirs is finite. The lower the water table drops, the saltier it becomes, and its quality declines.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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\u201cNo to the Shah, No to the Mullahs\u201d: Maryam Rajavi Honors Iran\u2019s Fallen Heroes and Calls for Democratic Revolution<\/h3>\n
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Demonstrations in Paris, Cologne, Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Bern - #No2ShahNo2Mullahs - April 19<\/div><\/div>
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