{"id":348078,"date":"2026-09-16T06:15:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T05:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=348078"},"modified":"2026-09-16T06:15:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T05:15:53","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-september-16-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-september-16-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 September 16, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"On
On September 12, 2026, supporters of the Iranian Resistance and members of the Iranian community gathered in Stockholm, Sweden, to mark the fourth anniversary of Iran\u2019s nationwide uprising of 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

Iran\u2019s Regime Demolishes Gohardasht Prison in New Attempt to Erase Evidence of The 1988 Massacre<\/h3>\n

\"Gohardasht<\/p>\n

On September 13, 2026, Iranian state media broadcast the demolition of Gohardasht Prison<\/a> in Karaj in the presence of Heydar Asiabi, head of the Prisons Organization. Asiabi said the work had begun on orders from the judiciary chief and that the prison walls would be demolished within less than a month to prepare the site for residential or commercial development.<\/p>\n

Gohardasht, however, was one of the regime\u2019s main centers for the torture of political prisoners in the 1980s and a principal execution site during the 1988 massacre. After Evin, the highest number of prisoners in Tehran were hanged there. The demolition therefore marks an escalation: after years of destroying graves and burial grounds, the regime is now eliminating one of the massacre\u2019s best-documented crime scenes.<\/p>\n

The destruction of Gohardasht follows a pattern documented across Iran. In August 2025, Plot 41 of Tehran\u2019s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery<\/a>, containing the graves of thousands of PMOI members executed in 1981, was leveled with heavy machinery. Tehran officials later acknowledged that the area had been turned into a parking lot.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran\u2019s Rial Crisis Deepens as Dollar Surges Toward 240,000 Tomans<\/h3>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

The Iranian rial is undergoing another sharp and destabilizing decline, with the U.S. dollar surging from around 198,000 tomans to nearly 240,000 tomans within two days. The speed of the increase has intensified concerns among households, businesses, and economic actors already struggling with inflation and declining purchasing power.<\/p>\n

The latest plunge is not simply a short-term fluctuation in the foreign-exchange market. It reflects deeper weaknesses in Iran\u2019s economy, including the deterioration of its principal source of foreign-currency income, restrictions on international financial transactions, and structural corruption and mismanagement.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s economy remains heavily dependent on oil and petroleum-product exports for its foreign-currency earnings. Any major disruption to this flow immediately affects the regime\u2019s ability to supply the foreign-exchange market.<\/p>\n

Recent reports indicate that the average volume of Iranian crude being loaded onto tankers has fallen dramatically. Between January and April, the figure was reportedly around 1.8 million barrels per day. More recent estimates put the volume at only 200,000 to 250,000 barrels per day\u2014an estimated decline of roughly 85 percent.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran\u2019s Drug Crisis Deepens as Prices Soar and Shortages Persist<\/h3>\n

\"Irans-medicine-mafia-shortages-of-prescription-drugs-750x375-1\"<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s healthcare crisis is increasingly reaching patients directly, with medicine shortages, soaring prices, and mounting insurance debts making treatment less accessible across the country.<\/p>\n

Health Minister Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi said on September 14 that 32 types of medicine are currently in short supply, including both imported drugs and medicines for which domestic alternatives exist. He said the shortage had reached 63 items before the war, rose to 43 during the war, and has now fallen to 32.<\/p>\n

But the decline in the number of officially reported shortages has done little to ease pressure on patients. Reports from across Iran describe people struggling to find prescribed medicines and being forced to search multiple pharmacies to complete their treatment.<\/p>\n

Zafarghandi attributed part of the problem to disruptions in transportation. When maritime imports are unavailable, he said, shipments have to be transported by air through several stages before reaching Iran by land. According to the health minister, the cost of this process has risen to 10 times its normal level.<\/p>\n

The pharmaceutical industry, meanwhile, is confronting a much broader cost crisis.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran Regime Calls Protesters \u2018Enemies\u2019 as Economic and Social Pressure Mounts<\/h3>\n

\"Street<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s regime is once again escalating its threats against protesters, with senior security officials warning that anyone who takes part in unrest will be treated as an enemy.<\/p>\n

The latest warning came from Ahmad-Reza Radan, the regime\u2019s police chief, who declared that the country was in a \u201cwar situation\u201d and warned that anyone allegedly seeking to create insecurity would be confronted as an enemy. He emphasized that the security forces were fully prepared to respond.<\/p>\n

Radan also claimed that more than 6,000 people had been arrested as \u201crioters\u201d and referred to alleged arrests of members of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK).<\/p>\n

Behind the regime\u2019s increasingly aggressive rhetoric, however, lies a broader question: Why does the ruling establishment feel compelled to portray protesters as enemies in the first place?<\/p>\n

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

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Iran\u2019s Regime at an Impasse Over Strait of Hormuz; Regional Meeting Postponed<\/h3>\n

\"Iran<\/p>\n

A joint meeting between Iran\u2019s regime and the Gulf states on the Strait of Hormuz, which was scheduled to be held in Oman on Monday, was postponed. The development is another sign of growing regional disagreements with Iran\u2019s regime and Tehran\u2019s failure to advance its plans regarding this vital waterway.<\/p>\n

Oman\u2019s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced that the meeting had been postponed to another date with the aim of reaching \u201cconsensus.\u201d Iranian regime officials also confirmed the news.\u00a0The decision was announced just one day after Bahrain officially withdrew from the proposed meeting. Manama stressed that it was not opposed to dialogue but had already conveyed its position to Oman through official channels.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s regime has tried to portray the issue as being limited solely to the creation of \u201ctemporary and safe routes\u201d for vessel traffic. At the same time, regime officials have said that this understanding would not mean the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz or the establishment of lasting security there.<\/p>\n

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

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Calls to Remove Iran\u2019s President Masoud Pezeshkian Expose Divisions Inside the Ruling Establishment<\/h3>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

A proposal by a hardline lawmaker to strip Masoud Pezeshkian of his powers was opposed by a majority of lawmakers and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf; at the same time, conservative and reformist figures say the move contradicts Mojtaba Khamenei\u2019s directive to preserve unity.<\/p>\n

The renewed push in parliament to declare Masoud Pezeshkian politically unfit has exposed a dispute at the highest levels of the Islamic Republic<\/a>: part of the hardline faction wants to remove or restrict the president<\/a>, while other forces within the establishment say such a move directly conflicts with Mojtaba Khamenei\u2019s stated policy of preserving cohesion<\/a> under wartime conditions. The proposal, raised during a meeting between lawmakers and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf<\/a>, was opposed by the speaker and a majority of those present.<\/p>\n

According to KhabarOnline, Hamid Rasaei raised the issue of Pezeshkian\u2019s political incompetence during the lawmakers\u2019 meeting with Ghalibaf and proposed that the president\u2019s powers be taken away and transferred to the first vice president. Rouhollah Lak-Aliabadi, a member of parliament\u2019s Independents Faction, said Rasaei had argued that Pezeshkian \u201cdoes not have the necessary competence\u201d and called for his powers to be transferred. According to him, most lawmakers and Ghalibaf opposed the proposal, and the parliament speaker emphasized the need to preserve unity.<\/p>\n

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

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Iranian Resistance Supporters Rally in Vienna During IAEA Board Meeting<\/h3>\n

As the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convened in Vienna<\/strong>, freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance<\/a> held a protest rally, bringing the Iranian people\u2019s call for the overthrow of the theocratic dictatorship and the establishment of a non-nuclear Iran to the attention of the international community.<\/p>\n

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Iranian Resistance Supporters Rally in Vienna During IAEA Board Meeting<\/div><\/div>