{"id":335824,"date":"2025-08-21T06:37:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T05:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=335824"},"modified":"2025-08-21T22:05:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T21:05:26","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-august-21-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-august-21-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 August 21, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gothenburg:
Gothenburg, Sweden, August 19, 2025\u2014 Rally against executions in Iran, marking 82nd week of \u201cNo to Execution Tuesdays\u201d campaign<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

UPDATE: 11:00 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Treasury Targets Iranian Oil Exports and Shadow Fleet<\/h3>\n

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WASHINGTON<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Today, the Department of the Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is further disrupting Iran\u2019s oil exports by imposing sanctions on Greek national\u00a0Antonios Margaritis<\/strong>, his network of companies, and nearly a dozen vessels involved in Iran\u2019s shadow fleet. Margaritis has leveraged his decades of experience in the shipping industry to illicitly facilitate the transportation and sale of Iranian petroleum. Several other vessels and operators are also being designated today for their role facilitating Iranian oil exports, which generates revenue that contributes to Iran\u2019s advanced weapons programs.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 8:30 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran’s Ayatollah ‘Sanctions Assassination of Donald Trump’ As WW3 Fears Explode<\/h3>\n

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Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has sanctioned the execution of\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>, dissidents with access to leaked internal documents said today. The Islamic dictator\u2019s website even has a video showing a remotely controlled gun targeting the US President.\u00a0The shock revelations came at a press conference hosted by the Washington Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), where NCRI Deputy Director Alireza Jafarzadeh demanded the immediate closure of Iran\u2019s Embassy in London, which is close to Albert Hall and its Consular Section in nearby Kensington Court, South Kensington.<\/p>\n

Jafarzadeh said nothing terror-related happened in or outside of Iran without the explicit sanctioning of the Ayatollah and added: \u201cIn July, a senior cleric, Ahmad Khatami, called for the execution of\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0at Friday prayers. He did not decide that off the cuff, those Friday prayers are very carefully scripted, everything those prayer leaders say is the policy of the office of the Supreme Leader \u2013 the order has come from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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Haunting Moment Iran Hangs Murderer from Crane in Front of Ghoulish Crowd Including Kids in Latest Grim Public Execution<\/h3>\n

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Iran has repeatedly unleashed lethal force on its own people – especially at times of crisis – in a sickening bid to stamp out rebellion.<\/p>\n

Executions and arrests are weaponised to scare dissidents, and it is feared panicked Ayatollah Khamenei is planning a similar plot to the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners.\u00a0The regime was also in turmoil that year after accepting a ceasefire with Iraq.<\/p>\n

Chillingly, state-run Fars News Agency – a mouthpiece of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – last month issued a public call to repeat 1998’s inhumane massacre as the regime fears for its survival.<\/p>\n

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

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Reza Pahlavi\u2019s \u201cTransition Plan\u201d: A Blueprint for Authoritarian Rule in Iran<\/h3>\n

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On August 1, 2025, Reza Pahlavi unveiled what he describes as a roadmap for Iran\u2019s future \u2014 a document allegedly crafted by experts under his supervision and disseminated through NUFDI, his promotional apparatus. Marketed as a post-regime transition plan, it reads less like a democratic blueprint and more like a manual for consolidating unchecked power in the hands of a single unelected figure.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the proposal lies an 18-to-36-month \u201cTransitional Period,\u201d which can be extended indefinitely. During this time, all branches of state authority would report to one man: the self-appointed \u201cLeader of the National Uprising,\u201d Reza Pahlavi. The proposed \u201cTransition System\u201d comprises three entities \u2014 the National Uprising Body, the Transitional Government, and the Transitional Court \u2014 which, while superficially resembling the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, are in practice entirely subordinate to Pahlavi. He would appoint, oversee, and dismiss all members of these bodies at will, with no institutional constraints.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 1:30 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

UK Targets Iranian Oil Magnate, Four Companies with Asset Freeze<\/h3>\n

LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Britain imposed sanctions on one individual and four entities on Wednesday under its Iran sanctions regime, saying they are part of a network that supports Tehran’s overseas activities, including in Ukraine and Israel.<\/p>\n

The sanctions include an asset freeze on Iranian oil magnate Hossein Shamkhani, and on four companies operating in the shipping, petrochemical and financial sectors, according to a government notice published online.<\/p>\n

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

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Stefanik Demands Standard Chartered Investigation Over Terror Payment Claims<\/h3>\n

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Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, has called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a federal investigation into Standard Chartered Bank, alleging the British lender funneled billions in illicit payments that could have supported terrorist groups. In a letter sent Thursday, Stefanik requested the appointment of a special attorney to probe the matter, warning that a sanctions case tied to the bank was set to expire Tuesday without further action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout further action on this case, there is a grave risk of additional funds being funneled to terrorist organizations that endanger the United States and the American people,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Stefanik claimed that Standard Chartered made at least $9.6 billion in payments to terrorists and that China used the bank to purchase sanctioned Iranian oil.<\/p>\n

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

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Statement of the G7 Non-Proliferation Directors Group<\/h3>\n

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The G7 remains resolute in seeking peace and stability in the Middle East. We re-iterate that Iran can never have or acquire a nuclear weapon. We call for the resumption of negotiations aimed at achieving a comprehensive, verifiable, and durable agreement that addresses Iran\u2019s nuclear program. It is essential that Iran remain party to, and fully implement its obligations under, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), including its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, as a non-nuclear weapon State. We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory action and to urgently resume full cooperation with the IAEA, including by providing verifiable information about all nuclear material in Iran. Such measures would help build confidence that Iran\u2019s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful. We also continue to express our serious concerns about Iran\u2019s proliferation of ballistic missiles, and its support for its proxies and partners such as Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran-aligned militias in Iraq.<\/p>\n

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

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ECC Stands in Solidarity with the Women and People of Iran<\/h3>\n

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On Thursday, 7 August 2025, the CEO and several board members of the Ethnic Communities\u2019 Council of NSW (ECC) joined a powerful gathering at the NSW Parliament to stand in solidarity with the women and people of Iran.<\/p>\n

The event, titled\u00a0\u201cStand with the Women and People of Iran\u201d<\/em>, was hosted by the Hon. Sonia Hornery MP and co-hosted by the Hon. Jacqui Munro MLC, in collaboration with the Iranian Women\u2019s Association, Australia. Held in the Jubilee Room, the meeting brought together Members of Parliament, community leaders, human rights advocates, and members of the Iranian-Australian community.<\/p>\n

The special session was convened in response to the Iranian regime\u2019s continued and intensifying repression, most recently marked by the execution of two political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. These actions have raised international alarm, evoking painful memories of the 1988 political massacre, in which around 30,000 prisoners were executed.<\/p>\n

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

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Tehran\u2019s Homeland Option: Terror Pathways for Iran to Strike in the United States<\/h3>\n

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Abstract:\u00a0The 12-day Iran war may be over, but the threat of Iranian reprisal attacks now looms large, and will for the foreseeable future. European authorities exposed plots in Sweden and Germany even as the war was being waged, and Israeli authorities issued a warning over potential attacks in the United Arab Emirates a couple of weeks later, specifically citing heightened concerns in the wake of the war with Iran. Iranian operatives or their agents could also attempt to carry out attacks inside the United States, leveraging what U.S. counterterrorism officials have describe as a \u201chomeland option\u201d developed over years. Given the U.S. role in bombing the Fordow nuclear complex, it should not be a surprise that U.S. authorities quickly issued a terrorism advisory warning of potential Iranian plots in the homeland. Drawing on past cases of Iranian plots in the United States and elsewhere, this article explores the primary pathways available to Iran conduct or enable a terrorism act in the United States. These include deploying Iranian agents, criminal surrogates, terrorist proxies, or actively seeking to inspire lone offenders to carry out attacks within the homeland.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 8:00 AM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tehran\u2019s Propaganda Against PMOI Reveals Its Terror of a Viable Alternative<\/h3>\n

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A surge of frantic propaganda from the Iranian regime\u2019s state-controlled media is not a sign of strength, but an involuntary confession of its profound fear. In recent weeks, the clerical regime has unleashed a coordinated campaign of demonization against the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK), revealing a deep-seated panic about the growing influence and legitimacy of the Iranian Resistance.\u00a0This hysterical reaction has emanated from every corner of the state\u2019s repressive apparatus. On August 17, the IRGC\u2019s Javan newspaper claimed the PMOI has no support inside Iran. Similar attacks have appeared in the Quds Force\u2019s Tasnim News Agency and the Judiciary\u2019s Mizan News Agency.<\/p>\n

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

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Mahsa Akbari Hanged in Adelabad Prison, Shiraz; Five Women Executed in Iran in Just Three Weeks<\/h3>\n

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On the morning of Wednesday, August 20, 2025, a woman named Mahsa Akbari was executed by hanging in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.<\/p>\n

Just one day earlier, her husband had also been executed in public in the city of Beyram, in front of a crowd that included children. With this latest execution, the clerical regime has put five women to death between July 30 and August 20, within a span of only three weeks. The execution of Mahsa Akbari brings the total number of women executed in Iran in 2025 to 29. Iran holds the grim record for the highest number of women executed globally. According to data compiled by the Women\u2019s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), at least 292 women have been executed in Iran since 2007.<\/p>\n

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

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Forced Retirement, Dismissals for Seven Teachers Including Two Women<\/h3>\n

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The Appeals Board for Administrative Violations at Iran\u2019s Ministry of Education has issued disciplinary rulings against seven members of the Sanandaj Teachers\u2019 Union. Among those sentenced are two women teachers subjected to severe administrative penalties.
\nAccording to the final verdicts, Nasrin Karimi (with a master\u2019s degree in sociology and 27 years of service) has been forced into forced retirement with a demotion of two professional ranks. Leila Zarei (with a bachelor\u2019s degree in elementary education and 30 years of service) has been dismissed from her position as vice-principal, forced into retirement, and demoted by one rank.<\/p>\n

Other union members \u2014 Majid Karimi, Ghias Nemati, Salah Hajimirzaei, Faisal Nouri, and Mohyeddin Reyhani \u2014 have received sentences ranging from temporary dismissal and expulsion from service to forced relocation and professional restrictions.<\/p>\n

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

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MEK Supporters Rally in Vancouver to Warn of Imminent Executions of Iranian Political Prisoners<\/h3>\n
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MEK Supporters Rally in Vancouver to Warn of Imminent Executions of Iranian Political Prisoners\u2013Aug9<\/div><\/div>
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