احرار ایران

Iran Regime Experts: We're Caught in a Pinned Position Wednesday, 28 February 2018 14:30 NCRI Staff NCRI - Statements made by European officials over the past month suggest they’ve adopted a new policy with regard to the Iranian regime and the United States, in such a way that it could significantly change the situation for Iran. “We knew that Trump would seek to align Europe with his policies and would put all his efforts towards that end. Nonetheless, we never took a positive step forward. We not only kept standing where we were, but we failed in some areas as well, allowing Europeans to move closer to Trump”, says regime’s former diplomat Ali Khoram in his interview with state-run Fararou website. Also in this regard, regime’s international affairs analyst ‘Ali Bigdeli’ points to Europeans’ change in behavior, saying “the nuclear deal is different from what Germany and France have asked us to do. This was first raised by German FM, who laid out three conditions for Iran, with

By providing a forum for murderers, the UN Human Rights Council undermines its own mission by Giulio Terzi | Feb 28, 2018, 12:01 AM Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Email this article Share on LinkedIn Print this article Seyyed Alireza Avaei, minister of justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, addressed the U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday. (Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP The United Nations Human Rights Council convened a new session on Monday, and it will no doubt initiate important dialogue on how the world might make life better for all of its people. With the council now in its 12th year, one wonders whether it could have prevented atrocities and widespread abuses had it been founded much earlier than 2006. The free and democratic nations of the world have shamefully turned a blind eye to mass killings and systematic repression at various points in recent history. One of the worst instances of past neglect occurred in the summer of 1988, when the Islamic Republic o

ANXIETY CAUSED BY THE PRESENCE OF AVAIE, IRANIAN REGIME’S MEMBER OF ‘DEATH COMMITTEE’ AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS MEETING Created: 23 February 2018 Iran NCRI PMOI/MEK Iranian Resistance Political Prisoner Iranian children 1988 Massacre Iran's justice minister, Alireza Avaie’s travel to Geneva, planned for next week, to address the United Nation's top human rights body, triggered the critics of the human rights activists and the victims of the violation of human rights in Iran. This trip is scheduled despite the European Union has already designated and sanctioned this man, Alireza Avaie, for being directly involved in violations of human rights in Iran. The EU sanctions bar Avaie from travel to the EU and freeze any assets he might hold in the bloc. As Tehran's former top prosecutor Avaie was responsible for human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, denials of prisoners' rights and an increase in executions. Alireza Avaie along with some 100 government ministers and other dig

FRIENDS OF A FREE IRAN IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS THE PLANNED SPEECH OF IRANIAN REGIME’S JUSTICE MINISTER AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Created: 26 February 2018 Iran NCRI PMOI/MEK TEHRAN Ahvaz Press release- Brussels- Friends of a Free Iran in European Parliament – 26 February 2018 We have been shocked by the reports that Seyyed Alireza Avaei (a.k.a Avaee), who is currently Minister of “Justice” in the cabinet of President Rouhani, is scheduled to speak before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva tomorrow 27 February 2018.Alireza Avaei is currently on EU’s and Switzerland’s black lists for serious human rights violations. The European Union added him to its sanctions lists in October 2011, stressing that “As President of the Tehran Judiciary he has been responsible for human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, denials of prisoners’ rights and an increase in executions.” Avaei was previously the Prosecutor-General and member of the “Death Commission” in Khuzestan province, south

Iran: Friday Prayer Leaders and Military Officials Harshly Attack Dervishes25 February 2018 Iran Focus London, 25 Feb - While in recent days, Iranian judicial authorities have emphasized on dealing with the arrested people in the Pasdaran avenue demonstrations, some of the Friday prayer leaders in Iran called these people “terrorists” and “British affiliates”, comparing them with Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria. Iranian authorities have repeatedly called foreign countries “responsible” for protests in Iran. Earlier, government and security officials have accused the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia of being involved in the mass protests in Iran in early January. According to the state-run Fars News Agency on February 13, Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader, referring to the clashes between the Dervishes and the police and Basij forces, called on the judiciary to stricktly and severly deal with what he called “the crimina

UAE Ambassador Declares Support for Resolution to Curb Iran's Supply of Weapons to Houthis in YemenTerrorism 26 February 2018 Iran Focus London, 25 Feb - Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh has expressed her hope that the Security Council will support a resolution regarding Iran’s supply of rockets to Houthi rebels in Yemen. Nusseibeh said that it is imperative for action to be taken to stop Iran providing such weapons to the Houthis and other extremist groups. The resolution is led by Britain and it hopes to gain the support of the Security Council for sanctions-related efforts with regards to the war in Yemen. It includes condemning Iran for its breech of an arms embargo in war-struck Yemen. There is optimism that the draft resolution is passed imminently. It has already got backing from Russia. Nusseibeh said: “The UAE supports a proposed resolution to renew sanctions against those fuelling the conflict in Yemen, which has be

Protest Planned Following News of Iranian Minister’s Invitation to UNPooya Stone Blog 26 February 2018 CEREMONY TO INSTALL ALIREZA AVAEI AS THE IRANIAN'S JUSTICE MINISTER, 22 AUGUST 2017 It has been reported that a protest will take place in Geneva in front of the United Nations headquarters because the Human Rights Council is allowing Iranian Justice Minister Alireza Avaie to attend the its annual meeting in Geneva this week. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is also slamming the organisation for allowing him to attend later this week too. At the weekend she released a statement saying that she is astounded that a minister with such a reputation would be allowed to speak at the meeting. She said that it should be “ashamed” that someone who has been called out for participating in violations of human rights will be present at such an event. In her statement, Haley said that the Human Rights Council is discrediting itself. “The Human Rights Council should be ashamed

Strikes in Protest to Closure of Border Markets of Iran Monday, 26 February 2018 20:11 Iran Uprising- No. 87 Call for general solidarity The strike by marketers and shopkeepers in the Iranian Kurdistan cities of Baneh and Piranshahr, who had gone on strike on Saturday February 24 in protest of closing border markets, continued on Monday for the third day. Marketers and shopkeepers in Sardasht also joined the strike on Monday, February 26, and refused to open their shops. The mullahs’ regime, in fear of spreading the strike to other strata of the population, deployed a large number of riot guards, intelligence agents and plainclothes agents in different parts of these cities. The people of Kurdistan who have no grounds for employment, because of the destruction of the country's industries and economy, have chosen the very difficult and dangerous work of cross-border porter as their job to make a living. According to some reports, more than 68,000 porters work in the border provinc

Friends of a Free Iran in European Parliament Condemns the Planned Speech of Iranian Regime’s Justice Minister at Un Human Rights Council Monday, 26 February 2018 20:33 Press release- Brussels- Friends of a Free Iran in European Parliament – 26 February 2018 We have been shocked by the reports that Seyyed Alireza Avaei (a.k.a Avaee), who is currently Minister of “Justice” in the cabinet of President Rouhani, is scheduled to speak before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva tomorrow 27 February 2018. Alireza Avaei is currently on EU’s and Switzerland’s black lists for serious human rights violations. The European Union added him to its sanctions lists in October 2011, stressing that “As President of the Tehran Judiciary he has been responsible for human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, denials of prisoners’ rights and an increase in executions.” Avaei was previously the Prosecutor-General and member of the “Death Commission” in Khuzestan province, south of Iran. He issued many d

The Strike of Ahvaz Steel Workers Enters Its Second Week Tuesday, 27 February 2018 11:54 Iran Uprising - No. 88 Protest rallies of Steel Industry Workers in different cities of Iran The workers of the Ahvaz Steel National Group on Monday February 26 continued their strike for the seventh consecutive day. Those who gathered in front of the governorate in the past three days chanted: “I don’t go from here, until I get my right”; “Workers die, they do not accept abjection”; “No nation has seen this much injustice”; “One less embezzlement, our problem is solved”; “Today is the day of mourning, the poor national group is the victim”. They then marched and blocked the street. The national steel industry group of Iran, with 54 years of experience, has been a major manufacturer of craft products with a capacity of more than 3,000 specialist labor force. The production of this economic pole of the country has fallen to 10% as a result of the devastating policies of the mullahs regime and the

NCRI Submits a Complaint to the Swiss General Prosecutor Against Alireza Avaei Monday, 26 February 2018 20:49 Appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Human Rights Council must be a forum to investigate Avaei’s crimes Simultaneous with arrival of the Iranian regime’s Minister of Justice, Alireza Avaei, in Switzerland on February 26, Marc Bonnant, a distinguished Swiss lawyer, submitted a complaint on behalf of the NCRI to the Swiss General Prosecutor, Michael Lauber, calling for prosecution of Avaei for crimes against humanity. Avaei was one of the officials involved in Massacre of political prisoners in 1988. The complaint file that contains criminal records of Avaei states that welcoming him in Switzerland “profoundly contradicts morale and the rights” and “the Human Rights Council of the United Nations is wrongly welcoming him to speak ironically about the human rights.” The complaint goes on saying that Avaei’s record “has earned him financial sanctions within the Eur

Press Release: UN Must Immediately Withdraw Invitation to Iranian Justice Minister Tuesday, 27 February 2018 11:43 The Iranian Justice Minister is a known perpetrator of the 1988 massacre of 30.000 political prisoners, one of the greatest unanswered crimes in Iran’s modern history The British Committee for Iran Freedom is shocked over the reports of Iranian Justice Minister Ali-reza Avaee ’s plan to visit the United Nations headquarters in Geneva to address the UN Human Rights Council next week. The Iranian Justice Minister is a known perpetrator of the 1988 massacre of 30.000 political prisoners, one of the greatest unanswered crimes in Iran’s modern history. He was added to the EU and UK sanction’s list in 2011, and again in April last year, for human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, denials of prisoners’ rights and increase of execution, as President of Tehran Judiciary. The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, the late Ms Asma Jahangir, documented this massacre in her latest repor

Statement by the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Against Iran Regime's Justice Minister Tuesday, 27 February 2018 13:15 Geneva February 27, 2018 The United States is appalled to learn that the government of Iran is sending its Justice Minister, Seyyed Alireza Avaei, to address the UN Human Rights Council. Minister Avaei oversaw the summary executions of Iranians in the late 1980’s. As the recent head of the Tehran judiciary and current Minister of Justice, Avaei oversees systematic arbitrary arrests and detentions of Iranians engaging in peaceful political and civic activism, and imprisons them in a network of facilities notorious for suspicious deaths, the use of torture, and denial of medical care.

JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION (JCPOA) OR BERLIN WALL?  Created: 09 October 2017 Iran United States Europe Nuclear JCPOA Iran Deal By Mahdavi Nasim The Iranian regime is concerned that the United States will decertify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran’s concern is that, this will open a path for imposing wider sanctions. As a result, the IRGC would become under tremendous financial pressure to provide logistics for its suppressive policies inside the country and interfering in the region. Iran's former ambassador to Russia says that Iran cannot even complain because if it complains from the United States for imposing sanctions, " a mechanism will run, and within 45 days the United States can claim that it is not satisfied with Iran, and consequently by the veto vote in the Security Council all the sanctions could be imposed on Iran again.” He then concludes: "It is based on the fact that we cannot make a complaint at this time."

A REASONABLE APPROACH TO THE IRAN DEAL  Created: 05 October 2017 Iran NCRI United States Yemen Iraq Syria IRGC BY: Jennifer Rubin Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif last year at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Oslo. (State Department/European Pressphoto Agency)I vigorously opposed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) because I believed then — as I believe now — that the Obama administration, in its desperation for a legacy-creating deal, negotiated a weaker deal than we could have obtained. The JCPOA did not deliver anywhere/anytime inspections as promised or constrain Iran’s ballistic missile program. The JCPOA provided sanctions relief up-front and contains a highly troubling sunset clause. Nevertheless, the agreement is in place now, and the question is whether to stay in or exit. Circumstances have undeniably changed, both because of the new president and the operation of the deal itself. Here I part company

Iran: UN experts urge respect for protesters’ rights GENEVA (5 January 2018) – Demands by protesters in Iran for freedom and adequate living standards must be addressed and their rights respected, UN human rights experts* have stated. Four Special Rapporteurs expressed extreme concern over the reported deaths of more than 20 people including children and hundreds of arrests across the country. “We are very disturbed by the way the authorities have responded to the protests,” the experts said a joint statement. “We share the worries expressed by Iranian civil society groups over what will happen to the people who have been arrested. “The names and whereabouts of all persons detained in connection with these protests ought to be made public and they should be allowed immediate access to their families and legal counsel. “The Government’s instruction to the Revolutionary Guards to hit hard against the protesters, and the judiciary’s threats of harsh punishment, are unacceptable. “We urge

Iran,S President Would Kiss the Hands of TerroristsTerrorism 12 December 2017 Iran Focus London, 12 Dec - The President of Iran has praised terrorists in an address to the mullahs’ parliament (Majlis) on Sunday, December 10. Hassan Rouhani, wrongly described as a moderate by some in the West, described the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its mercenary militias across the Middle East (Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas) as “an element of security” in the region. He said: “I kiss the hands of the combatants of Islam and the combatants of resistance… They secured Syria. They secured Lebanon. God willing in future, they will also secure Yemen. They are endeavouring full force to make the region secure… Today is the day when we must get actively engaged in the region, economically, culturally, and politically." If it wasn’t sickening enough that he claimed terrorists provided security for the Middle East, Rouhani then welcomed the assassination of the former president of Yemen

IRAN IS NOT THE MIDDLE EAST’S NORTH KOREA — IT IS WORSE Created: 05 October 2017 Iran Terrorism Opinion Iraq Syria IRGC BY: Dr. Majid Rafizadeh Analogies have been made that the Iranian regime is the Middle East’s North Korea. Such an analogy fails to comprehensively characterize Tehran’s role in the region, as well as identify the differences between North Korea and Iran.When it comes to their roles within their respective regions, the Iranian regime plays a much more destabilizing and destructive role than North Korea does. Through its military forces, the Islamic Republic is actively engaged in intervening in the domestic affairs of other nations in the Middle East. For example, in Syria, Iranian leaders have admitted that their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its elite branch, the Quds Force, are fighting on the ground alongside Bashar Assad’s forces. In addition, Iran is providing financial, weapons, advisory and intelligence assistance to the Syrian regime app

IRAN'S PEOPLE AND THE NUCLEAR DEAL Created: 30 September 2017 Iran NCRI Iranian Opposition Human rights United States Nuclear JCPOA Yemen Iraq Syria IRGC Demonstrators shout slogans against Iranian President Hassan Rouhani near the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 19, 2017. / JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty ImagesDiscussions are continuing as we speak over the fate of the highly controversial Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Advocates and opponents are going the limits to present their case prior to the October 15th deadline when US President Donald Trump is due to determine the status of Iran’s compliance with the accord. While this is a very important discussion, what unfortunately goes neglected is the status of the Iranian people who should be the first beneficiaries of such an accord that led to many sanctions being lifted from the Iranian regime.

Assassination Attempt on Workers’ Representative of Iran’s Main Sugarcane Company, for Leading a Strike Wednesday, 17 January 2018 09:34 The workers of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Agri-Industrial Company in the city of Shush (Khuzestan Province) once again went on strike in protest against the non-payment of their salaries and demands. The recent strike of the Haft Tapeh workers follows the last month protest that ended conditionally on December 14, 2017, with the payment of one month salary and the promise of regime officials to address other demands of the workers. Workers demanded payment of five months' wages and insurance premiums, as well as payment of the salaries of contracting workers for 2015 and 2016. Failure to implement the promises of regime officials and the predatory employer has forced the deprived workers of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company to go on strike again. The recent strike, which began on January 14 at the Machinery Maintenance Bureau, quickly swept throug

ANALYSIS: How the tide is turning against Iran 8/28/2017 9:40:10 AM Iranian regim President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech to the parliament in Tehran on August 20, 2017, By Heshmat Alavi Al Arabiya, 28 August 2017 - As ISIS is losing ground in its two last enclaves of Raqqa and Deir el-Zor, there are many rightfully concerning reports of Iran seeking to chip further control in Syria. All the while, there are also signs of contradictory remarks heard from senior Iranian officials, parallel to indications on the ground of how international counterparts are seeking their own interests that fall completely against those of Tehran’s. Such incoherency signals nothing but troubling times ahead for Iran in losing its grasp of strategic interests across the Middle East, including Syria. ‘Not tantamount to meddling’ Similar sentiments were heard recently from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani. Zarif exerted him

Digging Into Iran's Latest Plane Crash Heshmat Alavi , CONTRIBUTOR Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. TWEET THIS Such a crash in any ordinary country prompts hurried measures to save even one life. Iran is no ordinary country. More disturbing is how Iran's regime takes advantage of such disasters to divert attention from its own calamites. TEHRAN, IRAN - FEBRUARY 18: Relatives of passengers on board the crashed passenger plane mourn at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran on February 18, 2018. An Iranian passenger plane with 66 people on board crashed in central Iran according to local media. The Aseman Airlines plane flying from Tehran to the south-western city of Yasuj went down in a mountainous area in Semirom district in Isfahan province, Iran's Emergency Department said in a statement. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) On Sunday, February 18th, Flight No. 3704 of Aseman Airlines, Iran's 3rd airline company with

Iran – Three Confessions That Point to the End of the Theocratic Dictatorship Sunday, 18 February 2018 23:1 By Struan Stevenson On Thursday evening, 1st February, many cities in Iran once again witnessed anti-government protests. According to various reports, there were clashes between young people and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in at least 14 cities. It was the second wave of the nationwide protests that have shaken Iran since 28 December 2017. These latest demonstrations showed that despite widespread repression, mass arrests and the killing of young people under torture, the Islamic Republic of Iran has failed to curb the uprising. In particular, the demonstrations took place at a time when security forces were on full alert due to celebrations for the thirty-ninth anniversary of the 1979 revolution. All indications show that the regime has entered its final stage. Three confessions by senior officials of the regime clearly demonstrate this reality. The first c

Crime Against Humanity in Eastern Ghouta by the Mullahs’ Regime Monday, 26 February 2018 19:57 Call for urgent international action to expel IRGC from Syria The mullahs' regime is continuing its criminal attacks and killings against the people in Eastern Ghouta of Syria in violation of the UN Security Council resolution 2401, which was ratified unanimously on February 24. These attacks are a clear example of crime against humanity and war crime. Following the ratification of the Security Council resolution that sets a 30-day ceasefire, Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the mullahs’ regime, announced impudently on February 25 that the resolution does not include the Eastern Ghouta. Once again, it was proved that the mullahs’ regime does not respect any international rule and law, and that the war in Syria is so vital for this medieval regime. In the February 25 attacks, carried out the day after the resolution was approved, Chlorine Gas was used in at

Iran: Friday Prayer Leaders and Military Officials Harshly Attack Dervishes25 February 2018 Iran Focus London, 25 Feb - While in recent days, Iranian judicial authorities have emphasized on dealing with the arrested people in the Pasdaran avenue demonstrations, some of the Friday prayer leaders in Iran called these people “terrorists” and “British affiliates”, comparing them with Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria. Iranian authorities have repeatedly called foreign countries “responsible” for protests in Iran. Earlier, government and security officials have accused the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia of being involved in the mass protests in Iran in early January. According to the state-run Fars News Agency on February 13, Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader, referring to the clashes between the Dervishes and the police and Basij forces, called on the judiciary to stricktly and severly deal with what he called “the crimina

ANXIETY CAUSED BY THE PRESENCE OF AVAIE, IRANIAN REGIME’S MEMBER OF ‘DEATH COMMITTEE’ AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS MEETING Created: 23 February 2018 Iran NCRI PMOI/MEK Iranian Resistance Political Prisoner Iranian children 1988 Massacre Iran's justice minister, Alireza Avaie’s travel to Geneva, planned for next week, to address the United Nation's top human rights body, triggered the critics of the human rights activists and the victims of the violation of human rights in Iran. This trip is scheduled despite the European Union has already designated and sanctioned this man, Alireza Avaie, for being directly involved in violations of human rights in Iran. The EU sanctions bar Avaie from travel to the EU and freeze any assets he might hold in the bloc. As Tehran's former top prosecutor Avaie was responsible for human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, denials of prisoners' rights and an increase in executions. Alireza Avaie along with some 100 government ministers and other dig

Iran: Nationwide Protests, This Time Dervishes Saturday, 24 February 2018 08:44 NCRI Staff NCRI - Tehran’s Police Chief Hossein Rahimi describing the recent clashes said that the police could show harsher behaviors. Officials of the Iranian regime have said that about 300 people have been arrested in recent clashes between police and dervishes in Golestan 7th neighbourhood, Pasdaran Avenue, in Tehran. The Ganabadi Dervishes' Majzoban Noor telegram channel has also announced that some of the detained dervishes have been “beaten and severely wounded by police”. Along with that, Tehran's police chief Hossein Rahimi speaking harshly on the events of the Pasdaran Avenue said: “The continence and moderate encounter is different from appeasement. For example, we could solve the issue by firing an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade).” Tehran's police chief Hossein Rahimi Javad Karimi Qodousi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian regime’s parl

Iran: Ahmadinejad's Questionable Requests in a Letter to Khamenei Saturday, 24 February 2018 08:49 NCRI Staff NCRI - The Iranian regime’s former president has provided suggestions to the regime’s leader, Ali Khamenei, that their acceptance requires a change in the constitution and admission to inefficiency. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a letter written to Khamenei on November 13 which was publicized two weeks later, warned that “the current conditions of the country have minimized the hope of realizing a better future through existing mechanisms.” The regime’s former president describing one of his proposals to Khamenei wrote: “The immediate and free holding of the presidential and parliamentary elections, of course without the engineering of the Guardian Council and the involvement of military and security institutions, and leaving the people free to choose, is an urgent necessity.” The remarks stated while Ahmadinejad's own victory in the elections of the years of 2005 and 2009

Senior U.S. Lawmakers Meet Maryam Rajavi Sunday, 25 February 2018 08:07 Lawmakers call for comprehensive sanctions against the regime, expulsion of the IRGC from the region Senior Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States House of Representatives, Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chair of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats, and Judge Ted Poe (R-TX), Chair of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-Proliferation and Trade, met with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi , the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran on Saturday, February 24, 2018. In this meeting which took place at Mrs. Rajavi’s residence in Auvers-sur-Oise,, the two sides discussed the uprising by the Iranian people that began on December 28, 2017, its consequences and the options before the international community. The senior U.S. lawmakers condemned the Iranian regime for its brutal crackdown on the protests and underscored that the international community must break its silence and i

Iran: Three Other Environmental Activists Detained Sunday, 25 February 2018 16:44 NCRI Staff NCRI - The Iranian regime's security officials have arrested three other environmental activists in Bandar Lengeh, province of Hormozgan (southern Iran). According to the state-run Tabnak news agency, three other environmental activists from the Lavardin Nature Conservation Institute detained by a security organization, apparently the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), were arrested in Bandar Lengeh late in February. The reasons for the detention of these environmentalists and their whereabouts are not clear. Relevant information shows that the Lavardin Institute has partnership with the Parsian Wildlife Institute, seven members of which were recently arrested by the Revolutionary Guards Corps. Examples of these programs are the construction of water catchments and observation of mountain goats. The Web site of the Lavardin Nature Conservation Institute has practically left out of activity, wit

The Continuing Protests in Different Cities of Iran Sunday, 25 February 2018 21:42 Protest gathering, hundreds of Ahvaz National Steel Group workers Iran Uprising -No. 86 On Thursday and Friday, February 22 and 23, the protests of noble workers and other deprived groups that were deprived of their basic rights continued in various cities of the country. The rising youth also expressed their disgust at the corrupt and criminal regime with various activities, including burning banners of images of Khamenei, the executioner of the Iranian people, and distributing pamphlets and writing slogans. In Mashhad, thousands of fans watching Mashhad and Esfahan soccer teams playing chanted “We do not want evil authorities” (February 23). In Bandar Abbas, a brave woman torn down Khamenei’s banner in in front of the regime’s judiciary in the city (February 23).

U.N. Slammed by Haley Over Planned Address by Iran Regime’s Minister Involved in Massacre of Political Prisoners Monday, 26 February 2018 09:19 AFP: A protest is planned in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva next Tuesday, when Avaie is due to speak US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed the world body’s Human Rights Council on Sunday, saying it should be “ashamed” for inviting an Iranian minister, sanctioned for known human rights violations, to speak at the council’s annual meeting in Geneva this week. Haley said that the council was “discredited” by Iranian Justice Minister Alireza Avaie’s slated address to the body’s membership, adding that it only reinforces the United States’ criticisms of the UN and threats to defund the world body. “The Human Rights Council should be ashamed to allow Mr. Avaei to address its membership,” Haley said in a statement.“Yet again the Council discredits itself by allowing serial human rights abusers to hijack its work and make a

A secret business: Russian mercenaries in Syria:Video 2/23/2018 10:32:48 PM Mercenaries from Russia Watch video: The business of war: Russian mercenaries in Syria A paramilitary chief who serves as a contact for Russians who want to become mercenaries in Syria discusses the grim business of making war for profit. He spoke exclusively to FRANCE 24 only on condition of anonymity. France 24, 23 february 2018 - If you live near Russia's Ekaterinburg and want to fight with pro-regime forces in Syria, there’s one man you need to speak to. He is a paramilitary chief who advises Russians wanting to work for Wagner, a shadowy Kremlin-linked private military contractor known for sending mercenaries to Syria. “Each week I receive five or six new requests,” he told FRANCE 24. “Some call me by phone, others come to see me. About a hundred people in the region are planning to go to Syria.” He said that interest has only increased since the Russian foreign ministry reported that five

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on Syria: The massacre in Eastern Ghouta must stop now 2/24/2018 10:37:41 AM The fighting must stop now - the international community should unite to stop this human suffering FEBRUARY 23, 2018-- The European Union is running out of words to describe the horror being experienced by the people of Eastern Ghouta. Hundreds of civilians, women, children are targeted deliberately and relentlessly. They are the real, innocent, victims of this war. Unhindered humanitarian access and the protection of civilians is a moral duty and a matter of urgency. It is in the responsibility of all to prevent further loss of lives, to stop the violence. The fighting must stop now - the international community should unite to stop this human suffering. The European Union calls on all parties to the conflict, as well as the guarantors of the four De-Escalation Areas, to take all necessary measures to ensure an immediate ceasefire, the protection of