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High number of Iran executions in 2021 signals worsening rights condition

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IRAN HRM     |     October 7, 2021

October 10 is World Day Against the Death Penalty. More than 140 countries have agreed to abolish the death penalty, according to Amnesty International. The Iranian regime, however, holds the world record for both executions of women and the highest per capita execution rate.

The death penalty is a violation of Articles 3 and 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which emphasize the right to life of every human being.It is also contrary to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.The Iranian regime continues to use the death penalty as a tool to intimidate and repress dissidents; And many regime officials also defend it.

In his first news conference after the June 2021 election, the regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi, who is responsible for the massacre of political prisoners in 1988 and other crimes against humanity, defends himself over the executions and said that he should be rewarded for defending people’s rights and security. 

Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, the current head of the regime’s judiciary, who was appointed to the post by Khamenei on July 1, has also a dark record regarding the execution of dissidents in Iran.

According to statistics compiled by Iran Human Rights Monitor, at least 267 people were executed in Iran since the beginning of 2021.

This shows an increase over the last year, when 255 people were executed throughout 2020.

The actual number of executions is much higher. The clerical regime carries out most executions in secret and out of the public eye. No witnesses are present at the time of execution but those who carry them out.

At least 92 executions were carried out for drug-related offenses in 2021 and 130 were carried out for murder. Nine women, eight political prisoners and two child offenders are among those executed.

The high number of Iran executions in 2021 once again proved that the clerical regime uses the executions as a mean to its survival.

There is irrefutable evidence that torturing defendants for making false confessions against themselves is a common practice in Iran’s prisons.

On the World Day against the Death Penalty, Iran Human Rights Monitor once again calls on the UN Secretary-General, the Human Rights Council and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as European countries, to take immediate action to save the lives of prisoners on death row in Iran. It is time for Iran’s human rights record to be referred to the UN Security Council.

Execution of juvenile offenders in 2021

Iranian authorities have continued to execute child offenders in violation of their international obligations. Since January, at least two child offenders were executed in Iran. Dozens of juvenile offenders in prisons are also currently at risk of execution.

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet in June pointed to Iran’s “widespread use of the death penalty” and said that “over 80 child offenders are on death row, with at least four at risk of imminent execution”.

Responding to the criticism Majid Tafreshi a senior Iranian official said that the death penalty for crimes committed as minors does not mean it violates human rights. Tafreshi, the council’s deputy head of international affairs argued that executes convicts for crimes they committed while under-age “three to four times” a year.

Execution of women

At least nine women were executed in Iran since January 2021. The clerical regime in Iran is the world’s chief executioner of women. The regime frequently hands down the death penalty for women.

The international law recommends alternative punishments for the imprisonment of mothers who must take care of their children. In Iran, however, the regime imprisons mothers and hands down death sentences for them.

In an infamous example of the death penalty for women Zahra Esmaili, 42, who died of a heart attack while waiting to be executed was still hanged on February 17, 2021. She was sentenced to death for having claiming responsibility for the murder of her husband who was a senior official in the Ministry of Intelligence. She did so to save her teenage daughter, who had shot her father in the head. According to her lawyer, she was made to watch as 16 men were hanged in front of her while waiting her turn at Rajai Shahr Prison, west of the capital Tehran.

Execution of political prisoners

Since January 2021, at least nine political prisoners were executed in Iran.

Hassan Dehwari and Elias Ghalandarzehi, two Sunni Muslim Baluch political prisoners were executed in Sistan and Baluchistan Province on January 3, 2021, for the charge of armed attacks on police and collaborating with opposition groups. They were tortured to make confessions.

Javid Dehghan, 31, a member of Iran’s Baluchi ethnic minority, was hanged on January 30, 2021. He was sentenced to death for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) in May 2017 in connection with his alleged membership in an armed group.  In convicting and sentencing him to death, the court relied on torture-tainted “confessions” and ignored the serious due process abuses committed by Revolutionary Guards agents and prosecution authorities during the investigation process.

Ahwazi Arab prisoner Ali Motairi was on hunger strike when he was executed on 28 January 2021. He was also sentenced to death despite serious due process violations, including allegations of torture and forced “confessions”.

Hossein Silawi, Ali Khasraji, Naser Khafajian and Jassem Heidari were executed in secret in Sepidar prison on 28 February 2021.

At the time they had sewn their lips together and been on hunger strike since January 23, 2021, in Sheiban prison in Ahvaz, “in protest at their prison conditions, denial of family visits, and the ongoing threat of execution.”

Their relatives who saw their bodies after execution said that bruising was visible on all four men, raising concerns that they had been tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and their lips had not healed from when they sowed them shut on hunger strike.

Iran executed another Arab political activist, Ali Motiri on January 28, 2021 who had been accused of killing two members of the IRGC’s Basij militia in 2018.

Executions on rape charges

At least nine prisoners were executed on rape charges since the beginning of 2021. Under international law, countries that still use the death penalty must limit its use to the most serious crimes, namely premeditated murder. With the execution of those accused of rape, the Iranian regime continues to brutally violate the right to life in violation of its international obligations.

On 29 September, despite domestic and international interventions, Iranian officials executed Farhad Salehi Jabehdar, a 30-year-old man sentenced to death for the rape of a child. He was sentenced to death by Criminal Court One of Alborz Province on 12 March 2019. The conviction and sentence were upheld by the Supreme Court.

The father of the child formally requested that the authorities not impose the death penalty on Farhad Salehi Jabehdar in November 2019. His lawyer appealed to President Ebrahim Raisi in his former capacity as head of the judiciary to stop the execution, and order a review of the case, but Ebrahim Raisi did not accept the request.

Executions on drug charges

The use of the death penalty for drug charges is prohibited under international law. However, the Iranian regime continues to execute drug offenders.

In 2021, the number of executions was much higher than the previous year.

In 2020, at least 26 people were executed in various Iranian prisons for drug offenses. This is while the figure reached 91 in the first 9 months of this year.

Executions for murder

At least 130 prisoners were executed on murder since January 2021 in Iran. Many of them were executed in an unfair trial in Iran on murder charges. On several occasions, these detainees have been reportedly denied the right to a lawyer during the trial or have been tortured for forced confessions.

Two prisoners were executed in September based on Qassameh. Qassameh, which means “sworn oath”, is described as a certain number of people swearing an oath on the Quran. It is used when the judge decides that there is not enough evidence of guilt to prove the crime but still thinks it is likely that the defender is guilty. The people who swear in Qassameh are not usually direct witnesses to the crime.

https://iran-hrm.com/2021/10/07/high-number-of-iran-executions-in-2021/

 

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Iranian Intelligence Officials Indicted on Kidnapping Conspiracy Charges

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Department of Justice     |     July 13, 2021

Iranian Intelligence Services Allegedly Plotted to Kidnap a U.S. Journalist and Human Rights Activist from New York City for Rendition to Iran

A New York federal court unsealed an indictment today charging four Iranian nationals with conspiracies related to kidnapping, sanctions violations, bank and wire fraud, and money laundering. A co-conspirator and California resident, also of Iran, faces additional structuring charges.

According to court documents, Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, aka Vezerat Salimi and Haj Ali, 50; Mahmoud Khazein, 42; Kiya Sadeghi, 35; and Omid Noori, 45, all of Iran, conspired to kidnap a Brooklyn journalist, author and human rights activist for mobilizing public opinion in Iran and around the world to bring about changes to the regime’s laws and practices. Niloufar Bahadorifar, aka Nellie Bahadorifar, 46, originally of Iran and currently residing in California, is alleged to have provided financial services that supported the plot.

“Every person in the United States must be free from harassment, threats and physical harm by foreign powers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Through this indictment, we bring to light one such pernicious plot to harm an American citizen who was exercising their First Amendment rights, and we commit ourselves to bring the defendants to justice.”

“As alleged, four of the defendants monitored and planned to kidnap a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who has been critical of the regime’s autocracy, and to forcibly take their intended victim to Iran, where the victim’s fate would have been uncertain at best,” said U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss for the Southern District of New York. “Among this country’s most cherished freedoms is the right to speak one’s mind without fear of government reprisal. A U.S. citizen living in the United States must be able to advocate for human rights without being targeted by foreign intelligence operatives. Thanks to the FBI’s exposure of their alleged scheme, these defendants have failed to silence criticism by forcible abduction.”

“As alleged in this indictment, the government of Iran directed a number of state actors to plot to kidnap a U.S.-based journalist and American citizen, and to conduct surveillance on U.S. soil – all with the intention to lure our citizen back to Iran as retaliation for their freedom of expression,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “We will use all the tools at our disposal to aggressively investigate foreign activities by operatives who conspire to kidnap a U.S. citizen just because the government of Iran didn’t approve of the victim’s criticism of the regime.”

According to the indictment, Farahani is an Iranian intelligence official who resides in Iran. Khazein, Sadeghi and Noori are Iranian intelligence assets who also reside in Iran and work under Farahani. Since at least June 2020, Farahani and his intelligence network have plotted to kidnap a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin (Victim-1) from within the United States in furtherance of the government of Iran’s efforts to silence Victim-1’s criticisms of the regime. Victim-1 is an author and journalist who has publicized the government of Iran’s human rights abuses.

Prior to the kidnapping plot, the government of Iran attempted to lure Victim-1 to a third country in order to capture Victim-1 for rendition to Iran. In approximately 2018, Iranian government officials attempted to induce relatives of Victim-1, who reside in Iran, to invite the victim to travel to a third country for the apparent purpose of having Victim-1 arrested or detained and transported to Iran for imprisonment. Victim-1’s relatives did not accept the offer. An electronic device used by Farahani contains, among other things, a photo of Victim-1 alongside photos of two other individuals, both of whom were lured from third countries and captured by Iranian intelligence, with one later executed and the other imprisoned in Iran, and a caption in Farsi that reads: “gradually the gathering gets bigger… are you coming, or should we come for you?”

On multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021, as part of the plot to kidnap Victim-1, Farahani and his network procured the services of private investigators to surveil, photograph and video record Victim-1 and Victim-1’s household members in Brooklyn. Farahani’s network procured days’ worth of surveillance at Victim-1’s home and the surrounding area, videos and photographs of the victim’s family and associates, surveillance of the victim’s residence, and the installation of and access to a live high-definition video feed of Victim-1’s home. The network repeatedly insisted on high-quality photographs and video recordings of Victim-1 and Victim-1’s household members; a large volume of content; pictures of visitors and objects around the house; and depictions of Victim-1’s body language. The network procured the surveillance by misrepresenting their identities and the purpose of the surveillance to the investigators, and laundered money into the United States from Iran to pay for the surveillance. Sadeghi acted as the network’s primary point of contact with private investigators while Noori facilitated payment to the investigators in furtherance of the plot.

As part of the kidnapping plot, the Farahani-led intelligence network also researched methods of transporting Victim-1 out of the United States for rendition to Iran. Sadeghi, for example, researched a service offering military-style speedboats for self-operated maritime evacuation out of New York City, and maritime travel from New York to Venezuela, a country whose de facto government has friendly relations with Iran. Khazein researched travel routes from Victim-1’s residence to a waterfront neighborhood in Brooklyn; the location of Victim-1’s residence relative to Venezuela; and the location of Victim-1’s residence relative to Tehran.

The network that Farahani directs has also targeted victims in other countries, including victims in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, and has worked to procure similar surveillance of those victims.

As alleged, Bahadorifar provided financial and other services from the United States to Iranian residents and entities, including to Khazein, since approximately 2015. Bahadorifar facilitated access to the U.S. financial system and institutions through the use of card accounts and offered to manage business interests in the United States on Khazein’s behalf. Among other things, Bahadorifar caused a payment to be made to a private investigator for surveillance of Victim-1 on Khazein’s behalf. While Bahadorifar is not charged with participating in the kidnapping conspiracy, she is alleged to have provided financial services that supported the plot and is charged with conspiring to violate sanctions against Iran, commit bank and wire fraud, and commit money laundering. Bahadorifar is also charged with structuring cash deposits totaling more than approximately $445,000.

Farahani, Khazein, Sadeghi and Noori are each charged with: (1) conspiring to kidnap, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; (2) conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and sanctions against the government of Iran, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; (3) conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and (4) conspiring to launder money, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Bahadorifar is charged with counts two, three and four, and is further charged with structuring, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI’s New York Field Office, Counterintelligence-Cyber Division and Iran Threat Task Force are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Nathan Swinton of the Justice Department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Lockard, Jacob H. Gutwillig and Matthew J.C. Hellman of the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/iranian-intelligence-officials-indicted-kidnapping-conspiracy-charges

 

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Former Iranian refugee represents US as karate world champion

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 UNHCR    |    By Andrea Mucino-Sanchez    |   20 June 2021

Soolmaz fled Iran as a child with her family and embarked on a harrowing journey to safety. She is now a 14-time U.S. Champion and World Champion in traditional karate.

Dr. Soolmaz Abooali, a 14-time U.S. Champion and World Champion in traditional karate, hopes that her story will inspire others to play a role in helping refugees around the world.

In the 1980’s, Soolmaz Abooali’s parents found themselves in a precarious situation. Both were activists and making a future for their family in Iran was becoming increasingly difficult. When she was four, Soolmaz and her mother made the dangerous journey to Pakistan and eventually to Bangladesh in search of safety.

With the help of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Soolmaz and her family received funding and assistance. While the modest support offered was of use, her family had to find scrappy ways to not only survive but attempt to thrive.

“My parents made it doable for me.” She said. “Fruits were expensive and hard to come by in Bangladesh, but with whatever money they had they’d buy an apple and slice it into seven pieces, so I’d have a piece of fruit every day of the week.”

It was simple experiences like this that made Soolmaz realize what conflict felt like. “I really had this mind, body, and spirit awareness. I knew that something was not right. Something was not safe or accessible. We were always having to fight for something.”

The awareness of conflict manifested itself in various ways. She remembers the weariness in which they approached people, questioning their motives and where they could be from. Yet it was this very feeling that allowed a sincere enchantment with martial art movies. How the heroes of the story would find themselves in an ominous situation and battle their way to victory – a concept Soolmaz could relate to at such a young age.

“For me, in my child imagination, karate came to represent a way out of conflict.”

Soolmaz’s introduction to karate came initially from her father who had practiced martial arts. As a young child, he had promised Soolmaz that when they were in a safe place where they could start rebuilding their lives, he would put her in a karate class. Years later when they were resettled in Canada, Soolmaz’s father kept his word. At first it was her parents who kept her motivated to continue training, then slowly karate started to mean so much more to her personally.

“It represented a way for me to use my own sense of power with what I had to resolve conflict. It kind of took off from there.”

A straightforward list of Soolmaz’s karate accolades and accomplishments hardly do them justice. Through unimaginable odds as a refugee in Bangladesh dreaming of taking a karate class, to now a 14-time US Champion, one-time World Champion, gold medalist across all categories in form (Kata) and fighting (Kumite) events, and a member of Team USA at a national and global level for the last 14 years, her journey is one of perseverance and grit.

Soolmaz Abooali (right) represented the United States at the 2016 World Traditional Karate-Do Championships in Kraków, Poland.   © Latos Adam

“The more I practiced, the more I realized it was making me feel really strong. I sacrificed more, I put more time and focus into it,” she said, “and the more I achieved the more I felt a deeper sense of confidence.”

While karate gave Soolmaz an outlet to test herself in conflict simulated scenarios, it also provided a sense of community, one that as a refugee had immeasurable value.

“Because we have to leave everything behind and we come with almost nothing but ourselves, our skills and our passions to a new place, feeling a sense of belonging is huge for refugees. And I think that’s what karate has given me. It’s given me this space where I can belong,” she said. “The relationships I’ve built have been fundamental and I wouldn’t be where I am without my coach or my teammates.”

Among the impressive accomplishments Soolmaz has under her karate belt, one has evaded her reach out of pure omission of the art in one of the most internationally well-known sporting competitions in the world: the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee selects twenty-five core sports that are mandatory events in Olympic competitions. However, the host organizing committee has the ability to add sports they believe represent the values of the games.

For the first time, karate will make its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. For the second time, a team of refugee athletes will compete at the summer games as part of the IOC’s Refugee Olympic Team. Two of those refugee athletes will compete for one of the 8 medals in karate. Wael Shueb from Sryia in the Kata category, and Hamoon Derafshipour from Iran in Kumite.

“Everyone needs inspiration, especially refugees,”

“Everyone needs inspiration, especially refugees,” Soolmaz said. “I think the Olympic refugee team is one way of how that’s done for refugees.”

Soolmaz’s story, from refugee to world champion, instilled a passion for further understanding the intersection of sport, conflict, and diplomacy. In 2019, Soolmaz obtained her PhD in conflict resolution from the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, another testament to the possibility to succeed against all odds, to find a sense of belonging, and find a sense of community.

“This is home. I’ve been able to not only take but to give back. And that’s what makes this country beautiful and valuable for everyone of any background,” she said. “I hope some part of my story will resonate with others and especially those who are looking in from the outside to see how they can play a role to help refugees. At the end of the day we are all in this together.”

https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/stories/2021/6/60cde22b4/former-iranian-refugee-represents-the-united-states-as-karate-world-champion.html

 

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Congress demands to see if Iran is paying Americans to help influence Biden policy

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Fox News     |     Eric Shawn     |     March. 19. 2021

New Mexico Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell, and eight of her colleagues, sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking that it ferret out and prosecute any Americans who are secretly paid to parrot Tehran’s line

The U.S. government should investigate what is alleged to be a covert Iranian propaganda operation being run on American soil, according to a congressional request.

New Mexico Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell, and eight of her colleagues, sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking that it ferret out and prosecute any Americans who are secretly paid to parrot Tehran’s line to influence Biden administration policy and U.S. public opinion about the theocratic regime.

“Iran remains one of the biggest threats to the United States in the region. It is important we ensure they are not improperly using their money to influence politicians and thought leaders in our own government. Any influence used to soften America’s stands towards Iran threatens our national security. This is why I and my colleagues wrote this letter — to protect our national security and hold Iran accountable,” Herrell told Fox News.

Herrell’s warning comes after a Massachusetts political scientist, Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in January with acting and conspiring to act as an unregistered Iranian agent. The feds say that Afrasiabi portrayed himself as an objective Iranian expert in his media interviews and writings, including penning two opinion pieces on Iran for The New York Times, while authorities say he was actually on Tehran’s payroll to spread the pro-regime party line. He allegedly was paid “approximately $265,000” by Iran’s Mission to the United Nations as “a secret employee … who was being paid to spread their propaganda,” say the feds. He is charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA.)

Herrell and the letter’s co-signers are calling on the Biden administration to create a special task force to “identify, track and arrest other Iranian Nationals who are in violation of FARA,” create a list of potential violations similar to the “FBI Most Wanted” list, establish an FBI office to focus on Iranian influence operations as well as “investigate and monitor groups, charities and think tanks that get funding from the U.S. government to ensure American taxpayer money does not directly or indirectly go to those who are Islamic Republic agents and lobbyists.”

“Iran is a sophisticated regime. They are seeking to influence the political process and even politicians to benefit their interests and harm our own interests. The Trump administration held Iran accountable for their actions and took their threats seriously. Any softening of our stance on Iran threatens our national security,” Herrell said.

“We are thrilled to learn about this letter,” said activist Bryan E. Leib, the executive director of Iranian Americans for Liberty. “Her letter sends a strong message that American lawmakers will not stand by as Iranian nationals continue to operate illegally on U.S. soil as unregistered agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Among those who co-signed the letter are New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chair of the House Black-Jewish Caucus, Minnesota  Rep. Jim Hagedorn, a member of the Oversight, Investigations and Regulations Sub-Committee, and Arkansas Rep. Rick Crawford, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Leib said that the Iranian regime has ramped up its influence operation as part of its efforts to push the Biden administration to rejoin the Iranian nuclear deal, relax sanctions and soften U.S. policy toward Tehran.

“Their ultimate goal is to neutralize the threat posed by the U.S., through sowing division, doubt and resentment,” Leib told Fox News. “The Islamic Republic’s chief weapon is terror and its favorite tactic is assassinations. They have made implicit and explicit threats to Iranian Americans for opposing them. The regime’s lobby has a long history of character assassination of Iranian Americans who oppose the regime.”

The recent report on election interference by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence said that the Iran regime engaged in a covert influence campaign, besides Russia, to sway the 2020 presidential contest. The report says Tehran’s goal was to target former President Trump “and to further its longstanding objectives by exacerbating divisions in the U.S., creating confusion, and undermining the legitimacy of U.S. elections and institutions.”

“We assess that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei probably authorized Iran’s influence campaign and that it was a whole of government effort,” said the agency. “Tehran designed its campaign to attempt to influence U.S. policy toward Iran, distract U.S. leaders with domestic issues, and to amplify messages sympathetic to the Iranian regime.”

Leib said Iran’s message is one that Iranian Americans do not want to hear and U.S. policy makers should ignore.

“Americans should understand Iranians inside and outside of Iran are overwhelmingly sick and tired of this terror sponsoring regime in Iran,” he said. “Americans should know that, the vast majority of Iranian Americans are grateful immigrants who love and cherish the United States and the ideals of freedom and equality under law, because they had the unfortunate experience of living under the Islamic Republic.”

For his part, Afrasiabi has denied the allegations against him. In a statement to Fox News after his arrest, he said, “what I did under the U.N. norms was legal and transparent … and I had absolutely no clue that I was violating any U.S. law. I never engaged in any lobbying.”

He also explained that his “consulting role for Iran covered their international affairs and I never once deviated from my independent calling as a policy expert.”

But Leib and his group believe a wider federal effort will finally expose what Iran has really been up to.

“We are confident with an official investigation, more unregistered agents of the Islamic Regime will be identified. We expect appropriate measures will be taken, from prosecution all the way to expulsion, and rescinding of permanent residency status or citizenship to be pursued.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/congress-demands-to-see-if-iran-is-paying-americans-to-help-influence-biden-policy

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Iranian Americans Outline a Comprehensive, Bi-partisan Iran Policy for 2021

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OIAC     |     12/15/2020

WASHINGTON, DC- On December 15, 2020, the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) hosted a virtual event on US policy toward Iran. The event was titled “Iranian Americans Call for a Comprehensive US-Iran Policy” and featured several members of OIAC’s Advisory Board, members of OIAC’s Young Professionals and Students Chapter, and a panel of Iranian American community leaders. The focus was on countering the escalating human rights violations in Iran as well as the regional and terror threats posed by the Islamic Republic.

With the next U.S. administration set to take office in January 2021, the message of Iranian Americans is clear: The regime in Tehran lacks legitimacy, and the United States should stand with the people of Iran since they hold the real leverage for change from within. A key element in OIAC’s call for a comprehensive US-Iran policy was the need for bipartisanship. The speakers made it clear that the struggle for a free and democratic Iran is not a republican nor a democrat issue; it is an issue of human rights, global peace, security, and stability.

Professor Kazem Kazerounian, a senior member of OIAC’s Advisory Board, suggested that current socio-political dynamics can lead to the “final blow” to the regime. He noted that “this regime has failed the Iranian people,” with “80% of the population living below the poverty line and the economy in a freefall.” Meanwhile, the regime has escalated arrests, torture, and public executions to control the restless population that has nothing to lose. Referring to the waves of massacres, including the 1988 Massacre, and the recent high-profile executions of Navid Afkari and Ruhollah Zam, Professor Kazerounian added that the regime continues to expose its “true face to the international community” as the Iranian people’s “resistance and defiance grow day by day.”

Professor Ali Parsa of the OIAC Advisory Board explained how Iranians “refer to this regime as a religious fascism that uses terrorism at home and abroad to stay in power.” He added, “I think if anyone has any doubt about how deceptive this regime can be, all they need to do is to look at the protests and the slogans by the Iranian people.” Like: “reformers, conservatives the game is over” or, “leave Iraq, Syria, Yemen, tend our grievances” or, “the enemy is here (Mullahs), they lie saying it is the U.S.”

Dr. Majid Sadeghpour, Political Director of OIAC, outlined the bipartisan congressional support for a free Iran. He referred to Iranian terrorist activities over the last four decades and underscored that finally for the first time “an Iranian diplomat has been apprehended” to face criminal charges with “compelling evidence that demonstrates how far the regime is willing to go when it comes to eliminating opponents and conducting terrorism.” He added, “The Middle East that we have today is quite different than the Middle East of a decade ago, or even two years ago. The political shifts and alliances formed in the Middle East are no longer in favor of the regime…The situation is ripe for a major transformation not just in Iran but the entire region.”

Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad, who moderated the Advisory Board panel, summed up the key drivers for a comprehensive 2021 policy:

  • Recognizing the voice of the Iranian people and their desire for freedom and democracy.
  • Disabling Tehran’s terror and hostage-taking diplomacy
  • Promoting and encouraging a path to justice and accountability for the ongoing crimes against humanity in Iran, as called for by Amnesty International and UN experts.
  • Leveraging the regional collaboration to counter the regime’s drive for regional terror and hegemony

The second panel, moderated by Amir Emadi, member of OIAC’s Young Professionals and Students, analyzed the status of the pandemic in Iran, the change in the political environment in the US and the need for a more concerted effort by the international community to support the call for change in Iran.

Dr. Azadeh Sami shared some of the eye-opening statistics across Iran, including its COVID-19 death toll of 185,000 representing 237 deaths per 100 thousand (the worst in the world). She highlighted how the Iranian regime had grossly exacerbated the public health situation by prioritizing   to spend on export of terrorism and regional meddling instead of supporting medical care-workers and investing in the nation’s healthcare system. In fact, while the regime publicly decries sanctions for its abysmal healthcare system, Iranian government officials have declined multiple offers of assistance on COVID-19 from the rest of the world, including the help from the United States. Dr. Sami emphasized that the “regime’s priorities are clear” and that any sanctions relief would be used for nefarious regional meddling instead of alleviating the suffering of Iranian people.

Seena Saiedian, a student at UC Berkeley, suggested, “On the issue of the Iranian threat, Congress has been noticeably clear that it is not a Republican or Democrat issue, or even just an American issue; it is an issue of global peace, security, and stability.” He added, “The new administration has an opportunity to rally the international community together in order to develop a truly cohesive and concerted policy of accountability, and one that is focused on the needs and desires of the Iranian population.”

More specifically, Behrang Borhani focused on two primary goals for the next administration:

(1) Ensuring that the Iran’s regime cannot continue to export and conduct terrorism regionally and globally, while

(2) Recognizing and promoting the desires and basic rights of the Iranian people to be paramount to the peace and stability in the region.

The last panel was moderated by Zahra Amanpour, representing the Iranian American Community of New Jersey and New York. She was joined by Homeira Hesami, Chairwoman of Iranian American Community of North Texas; Nasser Sharif, President of the California Society for Democracy in Iran; and Jila Andalib, Director of the Iranian American Community of Connecticut.  The community leaders highlighted several areas for a comprehensive U.S. policy toward Iran:

  • Focus on the voice of Iranian people and their struggle for democracy and freedom. More specifically, recognize the activism of students, women, the labor movement, union workers, retired workers, environmentalists, and social justice activists.
  • Place Iran’s human rights record at the bedrock of US policy on Iran in 2021.
  • Hold to account the regime’s political, judicial and security officials who are directly involved in the arrests, undue and prolong detentions, torture, and executions of nonviolent protesters. Use sanctions as a tool to name and shame those responsible for oppression and to prevent further violence and killings.
  • Adopt zero tolerance for attacks on Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities, who are suffering even more from state-sponsored discrimination on social, economic, and political basis.

Mr. Sharif was immensely proud of the U.S. House Resolution 374, cosponsored by a strong bipartisan support, including the main two sponsors who were from California. Ms. Hesami and Ms. Andalib both echoed these sentiments and supported a firm U.S. policy that amplifies the Iranian people’s quest for a democratic, secular, non-nuclear republic of Iran. Ms. Andalib addressed Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan which is widely recognized by the majority of the House and European parliamentarian members as a doctrine for a free Iran.

OIAC’s year-end 2020 virtual conference reconfirmed a clear message: the incoming U.S. administration has a unique opportunity to stand with the Iranian people, and in favor of a comprehensive U.S.-Iran policy that benefits the Iranian people, the United States, the region, and the world.

Iranian Americans Outline a Comprehensive, Bi-partisan Iran Policy for 2021

 

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United States Seizes Domain Names Used by Iran’s IRGC

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US Department of Justice    |    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    |    October 7, 2020

United States Seizes Domain Names Used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 

Seizure Documents Describe Iranian Government’s Efforts to Use Domains as Part of Global Disinformation Campaign

The United States has seized 92 domain names that were unlawfully used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to engage in a global disinformation campaign, announced the Department of Justice.

According to the seizure documents, four of the domains purported to be genuine news outlets but were actually controlled by the IRGC and targeted the United States for the spread of Iranian propaganda to influence United States domestic and foreign policy in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and the remainder spread Iranian propaganda to other parts of the world.  In addition, the seizure documents describe how all 92 domains were being used in violation of U.S. sanctions targeting both the Government of Iran and the IRGC.

“We will continue to use all of our tools to stop the Iranian Government from misusing U.S. companies and social media to spread propaganda covertly, to attempt to influence the American public secretly, and to sow discord,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “Fake news organizations have become a new outlet for disinformation spread by authoritarian countries as they continue to try to undermine our democracy.  Today’s actions show that we can use a variety of laws to vindicate the value of transparency.”

“Today we are 92 domains closer to shutting down Iran’s worldwide disinformation campaign,” said U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson for the Northern District of California.  “This important work will continue.  Iran cannot be allowed to hide behind fake news sites.  If Iran wants to be heard using U.S. facilities, it must reveal its true colors.”

“Today, we successfully seized 92 domains involved in a disinformation campaign conducted by Iran-based actors to promote pro-Iranian propaganda.  This investigation, initiated by intelligence we received from Google, was a collaborative effort between the FBI and social media companies Google, Facebook, and Twitter,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Bennett. “This case is a perfect example of why the FBI San Francisco Division prioritizes maintaining an ongoing relationship with a variety of social media and technology companies.  These relationships enable a quick exchange of information to better protect against threats to the nation’s security and our democratic processes. The FBI also urges the public to remain vigilant about the information they find and share on social media. Every citizen must do their part to use a critical eye and look for trusted sources of information. We all have a role to play in protecting the American democratic system from foreign adversaries.”

Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), unauthorized exports of goods, technology or services to Iran, directly or indirectly from the United States or by a United States person are prohibited. Pursuant to the IEEPA, the Secretary of the Treasury promulgated the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) that prohibit the provision of services to the Government of Iran without a license.  The Department of Treasury may issue a license through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).  Further, the United States has found that the IRGC has provided material support to a number of terrorist groups, including Hizballah, Hamas, and the Taliban and, on April 15, 2019, the IRGC was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States Government.

In this case, the United States seized 92 domain names on Oct. 7, 2020, pursuant to a seizure warrant.  The seizure documents describe how the 92 seized domain names were being operated in violation of federal law.

Four of the domain names, “newsstand7.com,” “usjournal.net,” “usjournal.us,” and “twtoday.net,” were seized pursuant to FARA.  FARA establishes a registration, reporting, and disclosure regime for agents of foreign principals (which includes foreign non-government individuals and entities) so that the U.S. government and the people of the United States are informed of the source of information and the identity of persons attempting to influence U.S. public opinion, policy, and law.  FARA requires, among other things, that persons subject to its requirements submit periodic registration statements containing truthful information about their activities and the income earned from them.  Disclosure of the required information allows the federal government and the American people to evaluate the statements and activities of such persons in light of their function as foreign agents.  Here, the four domains purported to be independent news outlets, but were actually operated by or on behalf of the IRGC to target the United States with pro-Iranian propaganda in an attempt to influence the American people to change United States foreign and domestic policy toward Iran and the Middle East.  These domains targeted a United States audience without proper registration pursuant to FARA and without notifying the American public with a conspicuous notice that the content of the domains was being published on behalf of the IRGC and the Government of Iran.

In addition, the remaining 88 domains targeted audiences in Western Europe, the Middle East, and South East Asia and masqueraded as genuine news outlets while actually being operated by the IRGC to spread pro-Iranian disinformation around the globe to the benefit of the Government of Iran.  The Government of Iran and the IRGC utilized website and domain services in the United States without a license from OFAC.  All 92 domains are owned and operated by United States companies.  Neither the IRGC nor the Government of Iran obtained a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control prior to utilizing the domain names.  A list of the 92 seized domain names is available here.

Visitors to the sites received the following message:

THIS SITE HAS BEEN SEIZED

This seizure was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Special Prosecutions Section and Asset Forfeiture Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, are prosecuting the seizure.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-seizes-domain-names-used-iran-s-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20has%20seized,announced%20the%20Department%20of%20Justice.

 

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Iran’s international assassins are getting away with murder

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THE SCOTTSMAN    |    By Struan Stevenson    |    July 3, 2020

The appeasement of the murderous, fascist regime in Iran must stop, writes Struan Stevenson.

There must have been blind panic in Tehran last week when the mullahs heard that the fugitive judge Gholamreza Mansouri had been arrested in Romania on an Interpol warrant issued by the Iranian regime and, after being released from custody, was under police watch in a Bucharest hotel. Mansouri had been accused of accepting a £450,000 bribe in his capacity as a judge and the Iranian authorities were desperate to bring him back to Tehran, where he faced almost certain execution. A Romanian court on June 12 postponed the extradition of Mansouri, demanding that Tehran present documents and evidence against him. His exposure as a thief by the clerical regime surprised no-one, as almost the entire Iranian elite are venally corrupt. But Mansouri’s fate has shone some light on a murkier tale.

Mansouri fled Iran immediately after a turf war led to Ebrahim Raisi’s appointment as chief of Iran’s Judiciary last year. Raisi, a hardliner, replaced Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, with whom Mansouri had closely collaborated. The downfall of Larijani signaled deep divisions within the theocratic regime and Mansouri clearly knew he was a marked man. When it was discovered that he was in Romania, pressure mounted from human rights activists and ex-pat Iranians in the West for Mansouri to be indicted for crimes against humanity in relation to his role in jailing dozens of journalists on trumped up charges. The mullahs feared that his appearance in the International Criminal Court in the Hague might open a can of worms. Frantic efforts began to extradite Mansouri to Iran. The Iranian authorities said they would send a private aircraft to collect him, but the Romanian government said that no flights were possible due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As the legal arguments over his extradition intensified, a member of staff in the Duke Hotel in Bucharest, phoned the police on 19 June to inform them that a man had fallen to his death from a sixth-floor bedroom window onto the sidewalk below in an apparent suicide. It was Mansouri, who, with his extradition blocked, a lavish property in Turkey purchased and a fat bribe in his pocket, had no real reason to kill himself. His death bore all the hallmarks of an assassination by the clerical regime’s intelligence services, using their signature methods. Human rights activists are furious that Mansouri was not held in custody for his own protection and so that he could face justice in the EU for his crimes.

In a similar case in 1999, Saeed Emami, a senior Iranian intelligence officer awaiting trial for murder in Iran, mysteriously died after allegedly swallowing hair remover while having a bath in prison. Like Mansouri, Emami had found himself on the wrong-side of a factional struggle within the ruling elite.

Mansouri’s assassination also revived memories of the killing in Turkey last year of Massoud Molavi, an Iranian Ministry of Defense contractor who had defected to Turkey and set up an opposition social media site. He was gunned down in Istanbul on 14 November 2019.

The on-going assassinations should come as no surprise to international observers of the fascist Iranian regime. In January 2013, the US Pentagon and Library of Congress published a report entitled: “Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security: a profile”. It made striking revelations about the extent of activities by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) against dissidents and in particular efforts to discredit the main opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The report stated: “According to Iran’s constitution, all organizations must share information with the Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The ministry oversees all covert operations. It usually executes internal operations itself, but the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps for the most part handles extraterritorial operations such as sabotage, assassinations, and espionage.

“Although the Qods Force operates independently, it shares the information it collects with MOIS. The Iranian government considers the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) to be the organization that most threatens the Islamic Republic of Iran. One of the main responsibilities of [MOIS] is to conduct covert operations against the Mojahedin-e-Khalq and to identify and eliminate its members. Other Iranian dissidents also fall under the ministry’s jurisdiction. The ministry has a Department of Disinformation, which is in charge of creating and waging psychological warfare against the enemies of the Islamic Republic.”

In the last 41 years, dozens of assassinations have been carried out by MOIS agents in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, France and Turkey. The fact that targeted eliminations can happen virtually un-challenged on European soil should be of great concern. In April 2017, Saeed Karimian, a 45-year-old London-based Iranian TV executive and chairman of the GEM satellite TV network, was assassinated in Turkey, where his TV station had a branch. In January 2017, a revolutionary court in Tehran had condemned him in absentia to a six-year prison term for spreading propaganda and acting against national security. In May 2017, Turkish media reported that two men suspected in the assassination had been arrested with fake passports in Montenegro, on their way to Iran.

In March 2017, Mustufa Haidar Syed-Naqfi, a Pakistani national, was convicted in Germany of spying for Iran, specifically of searching out potential targets for attacks by the IRGC’s Qods Force. Syed-Naqfi was sentenced to four years and three months in prison “for working for a foreign intelligence service”. The court found he had “spied against Germany and another NATO member”, France, for the Qods Force. Syed-Naqfi compiled dossiers on possible targets – namely a German lawmaker who was the former head of a German-Israeli organization and a French-Israeli economics professor. In June 2018, Assadollah Assadi, a diplomat from the Iranian Embassy in Vienna was arrested after allegedly handing 500gms of high explosives and a detonator to an Iranian couple from Antwerp. He allegedly ordered them to drive to Paris and detonate the bomb at a major rally organized by the National Council for Resistance in Iran (NCRI) and attended by over 100,000 people. A combined operation by the German, French and Belgian intelligence services led to the arrest of Assadi and the other conspirators, all of whom are now in prison in Belgium, awaiting trial on charges of terrorism.

With such a catalogue of killings, it was something of a shock when the Prosecutor’s Office in Vaud in Switzerland, announced earlier this month that they had decided to close the file on the assassination in April 1990 in Geneva of Professor Kazem Rajavi. A prominent and respected human rights activist, Kazem Rajavi was the brother of the leader of the Iranian Resistance Massoud Rajavi and the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Switzerland as well as its representative in the European Headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva. A team of 13 MOIS agents were quickly identified as the assassins, all of whom had fled back to Iran following the murder. International arrest warrants should be issued for the 13 assassins and the mullahs who ordered the killing. Appeasement of the Iranian regime must stop. Economic deals and political considerations never justify concessions to terrorism. Closing the file on Kazem Rajavi’s assassination simply facilitates and promotes more terrorism.

Struan Stevenson is the coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change and president of the European Iraqi Freedom Association

https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/irans-international-assassins-are-getting-away-murder-struan-stevenson-2903006

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Global watchdog places Iran on terrorism financing blacklist

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Reuters    |    John Irish, Leigh Thomas    |    2/21/2020

PARIS (Reuters) – The global dirty money watchdog placed Iran on its blacklist on Friday after it failed to comply with international anti-terrorism financing norms, a move that will deepen the country’s isolation from financial markets.

The decision came after more than three years of warnings from the Paris-based Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) urging the Islamic Republic to either enact terrorist financing conventions or see its reprieve from the blacklist lifted and some counter-measures imposed.

“Given Iran’s failure to enact the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions in line with the FATF Standards, the FATF fully lifts the suspension of counter-measures and calls on its members and urges all jurisdictions to apply effective counter-measures,” the group’s 39 members said in a statement after a week-long plenary session.

These would entail more scrutiny of transactions with Iran, tougher external auditing of financing firms operating in the country and extra pressure on the few foreign banks and businesses still dealing with Iran.

“The consequence of (Iran’s) inaction is higher costs of borrowing and isolation from the financial system,” a Western diplomat told Reuters.

The United States commended the task force’s action after what it said was Tehran’s failure to adhere to FATF’s standards.

Iran “must face consequences for its continued failure to abide by international norms,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

Iran’s central bank chief dismissed FATF’s decision. “(It) is politically motivated and not a technical decision,” the state news agency IRNA quoted Abdolnasser Hemmati as saying. “I can assure our nation that it will have no impact on Iran’s foreign trade and the stability of our exchange rate.”

The FATF appeared to leave the door open for some engagement with Iran saying in its statement: “Countries should also be able to apply countermeasures independently of any call by the FATF to do so.”

“It’s a middle solution. A sort of a fudge to leave the door open for the Iranians,” said one of the diplomats.

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Foreign businesses say Iran’s compliance with FATF rules is essential if it wants to attract investors, especially since the United States reimposed sanctions on Tehran in 2018 after quitting a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and other big powers.

Iran’s leaders have been divided over approach to the FATF.

Supporters of cooperation say it could ease foreign trade with Europe and Asia, offsetting U.S. sanctions. Hardliners argue that passing legislation to join the FATF could hamper Iran’s support for its allies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

MAXIMUM PRESSURE

Washington has since pushed a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, saying a broader deal should be negotiated to encompass nuclear issues, Iran’s ballistic missile program and Iranian support for proxy forces around the Middle East.

France, Britain and Germany have tried to salvage the nuclear accord but have faced growing pressure from the United States to join its efforts to isolate Iran.

“The United States was pushing for the toughest position (by FATF), while other countries like China and Russia preferred something more flexible,” said a European official. “The Europeans were looking for something in between.”

U.S. sanctions have crippled Iran’s economy, decimating its oil exports and largely sealing it off from the international financial system.

“Until Iran implements the measures required to address the deficiencies identified with respect to countering terrorism-financing…, the FATF will remain concerned with the terrorist financing risk emanating from Iran and the threat this poses to the international financial system,” the FATF said.

Iran’s action plan to meet with the FATF requirements, implemented in 2016, expired in January 2018.

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Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif this week appeared resigned to the FATF blacklisting, accusing Washington of using its maximum pressure campaign to exert influence at the FATF.

In another important decision on Friday, the FATF granted Pakistan an extra four months to meet anti-terrorism financing norms, keeping Islamabad for now on its “grey list” of countries that do not adequately comply with its rules.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-fatf/global-watchdog-places-iran-on-terrorism-financing-blacklist-idUSKBN20F1Z6

 

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US sentences 2 Iranian men to prison for spying

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abcNews    |    Morgan Winsor    |    January 16, 2020

An FBI investigation found that the two men were spying on American citizens.

Two men have been sentenced to prison in the United States for conducting surveillance on behalf of Iran‘s government.

Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 39, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, and Majid Ghorbani, 60, an Iranian citizen and resident of California, were sentenced to prison terms of 38 months and 30 months, respectively. Doostdar will also serve 36 months of supervised release and pay a fine of $14,153, while Ghorbani will serve 36 months of supervised release, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

An FBI investigation found that both men had been spying on American citizens who are members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, a group that advocates for the overthrow of the Iranian government.

“This case illustrates Iran’s targeting of Americans in the United States in order to silence those who oppose the Iranian regime or otherwise further its goals,” U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement Wednesday. “The defendants, working for Iran, gathered information on Americans that could then be used by the Iranian intelligence services to intimidate or harm them or their families. These prosecutions should serve as a reminder to anyone here working covertly for Iran that the American law enforcement will pursue you to protect this country, its citizens and the First Amendment principles upon which it was founded.”

In October, Doostdar pleaded guilty to one count of acting as an agent of the government of Iran without notifying the U.S. attorney general, in violation of a Foreign Agents Registration Act-related statute, and one count of conspiring to violate that statute. In November, Ghorbani entered a guilty plea to one count of willfully violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

As part of his plea, Doostdar admitted under oath that he had traveled from Iran to the United States on three separate occasions over the past few years in order to meet with Ghorbani and to convey directions for Ghorbani’s activities on behalf of the Iranian government.

On his first trip to the United States in July 2017, Doostdar met with Ghorbani at his workplace. Doostdar admitted that, during a subsequent conversation, Ghorbani had said he was willing to work for the Iranian government in the United States.

That September, Ghorbani attended a rally in New York City organized by the MEK where there were U.S. citizens denouncing the Iranian regime. Ghorbani photographed the attendees, including the group’s leaders. Under oath, Ghorbani admitted to attending the rally and gathering information to give to Doostdar and ultimately to individuals in Iran.

When Doostdar returned to the United States in December 2017, he met with Ghorbani and collected the photographs of the rally attendees, which included handwritten notes identifying the individuals. Doostdar paid him $2,000 for his work, which Doostdar admitted had been provided by his handler with the Iranian government.

Doostdar and Ghorbani also discussed Ghorbani’s plans to travel to Iran in March 2018, and Ghorbani offered to provide an in-person briefing on the rally attendees during this trip.

Later that same month, Doostdar departed the United States for Iran with the photographs and handwritten notes provided by Ghorbani.

In May 2018, Ghorbani went to another MEK rally, this time in Washington, D.C., where he again gathered information on participants who appeared critical of the Iranian regime. Doostdar admitted that, following that rally, he and Ghorbani spoke by telephone and discussed the ways in which Ghorbani could provide the information to him in Iran.

“The sentences in this case illustrate the high cost to those who act as agents of the Iranian government in the United States or provide services that benefit the government of Iran, especially when those activities target the free speech and peaceful assembly rights of people in the United States,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu said in a statement Wednesday. “We will continue to thwart efforts by foreign governments to endanger our national security and to stifle the freedoms that all Americans cherish.”

The case comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike in Iraq that killed Iran’s top military general. The Iranian government retaliated by firing multiple ballistic missiles into neighboring Iraq, targeting military bases housing American troops. There were no reported casualties.

“The FBI will not tolerate surveillance being conducted here in the United States at the behest of foreign nations like Iran,” Jay Tabb, executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, said in a statement Wednesday. “Such activity is intimidating, particularly to individuals who exercise their constitutional rights to free speech and criticize the Iranian government. The FBI will continue to pursue such activity on U.S. soil and disrupt efforts by any individuals who take such actions on behalf of Iran.”

 

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Special Report: Iran’s leader ordered crackdown on unrest – ‘Do whatever it takes to end it’

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Reuters    |    Reuters Staff    |    December 23, 2019

(Reuters) – After days of protests across Iran last month, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared impatient. Gathering his top security and government officials together, he issued an order: Do whatever it takes to stop them.

That order, confirmed by three sources close to the supreme leader’s inner circle and a fourth official, set in motion the bloodiest crackdown on protesters since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

About 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest that started on Nov. 15. The toll, provided to Reuters by three Iranian interior ministry officials, included at least 17 teenagers and about 400 women as well as some members of the security forces and police.

The toll of 1,500 is significantly higher than figures from international human rights groups and the United States. A Dec. 16 report by Amnesty International said the death toll was at least 304. The U.S. State Department, in a statement to Reuters, said it estimates that many hundreds of Iranians were killed, and has seen reports that number could be over 1,000.

The figures provided to Reuters, said two of the Iranian officials who provided them, are based on information gathered from security forces, morgues, hospitals and coroner’s offices.

The government spokesman’s office declined to comment on whether the orders came from Khamenei and on the Nov. 17 meeting. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

In a statement Monday following publication of this article, a spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council described the death toll figure as “fake news,” according to semi-official Tasnim news agency.

What began as scattered protests over a surprise increase in gasoline prices quickly spread into one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s clerical rulers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

By Nov. 17, the second day, the unrest had reached the capital Tehran, with people calling for an end to the Islamic Republic and the downfall of its leaders. Protesters burned pictures of Khamenei and called for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the toppled Shah of Iran, according to videos posted on social media and eye witnesses.

That evening at his official residence in a fortified compound in central Tehran, Khamenei met with senior officials, including security aides, President Hassan Rouhani and members of his cabinet.

At the meeting, described to Reuters by the three sources close to his inner circle, the 80-year-old leader, who has final say over all state matters in the country, raised his voice and expressed criticism of the handling of the unrest. He was also angered by the burning of his image and the destruction of a statue of the republic’s late founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

“The Islamic Republic is in danger. Do whatever it takes to end it. You have my order,” the supreme leader told the group, one of the sources said.

Khamenei said he would hold the assembled officials responsible for the consequences of the protests if they didn’t immediately stop them. Those who attended the meeting agreed the protesters aimed to bring down the regime.

“The enemies wanted to topple the Islamic Republic and immediate reaction was needed,” one of the sources said.

The fourth official, who was briefed on the Nov. 17 meeting, added that Khamenei made clear the demonstrations required a forceful response.

“Our Imam,” said the official, referring to Khamenei, “only answers to God. He cares about people and the Revolution. He was very firm and said those rioters should be crushed.”

Tehran’s clerical rulers have blamed “thugs” linked to the regime’s opponents in exile and the country’s main foreign foes, namely the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, for stirring up unrest. Khamenei has described the unrest as the work of a “very dangerous conspiracy.”

A Dec. 3 report on Iran’s state television confirmed that security forces had fatally shot citizens, saying “some rioters were killed in clashes.” Iran has given no official death toll and has rejected figures as “speculative.”

“The aim of our enemies was to endanger the existence of the Islamic Republic by igniting riots in Iran,” said the commander-in-chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hossein Salami, last month, according to Iranian media.

The Revolutionary Guards declined to comment for this report.

Iran’s interior minister said on Nov. 27 more than 140 government sites had been set on fire along with hundreds of banks and dozens of petrol stations, while 50 bases used by security forces were also attacked, according to remarks reported by Iran’s state news agency IRNA. The minister said up to 200,000 people took part in the unrest nationwide.

“SMELL OF GUNFIRE AND SMOKE”

For decades, Islamic Iran has tried to expand its influence across the Middle East, from Syria to Iraq and Lebanon, by investing Tehran’s political and economic capital and backing militias. But now it faces pressure at home and abroad.

In recent months, from the streets of Baghdad to Beirut, protesters have been voicing anger at Tehran, burning its flag and chanting anti-Iranian regime slogans. At home, the daily struggle to make ends meet has worsened since the United States reimposed sanctions after withdrawing last year from the nuclear deal that Iran negotiated with world powers in 2015.

The protests erupted after a Nov. 15 announcement on state media that gas prices would rise by as much as 200% and the revenue would be used to help needy families.

Within hours, hundreds of people poured into the streets in places including the northeastern city of Mashhad, the southeastern province of Kerman and the southwestern province of Khuzestan bordering Iraq, according to state media. That night, a resident of the city Ahvaz in Khuzestan described the scene by telephone to Reuters.

“Riot police are out in force and blocking main streets,” the source said. “I heard shooting.” Videos later emerged on social media and state television showing footage of clashes in Ahvaz and elsewhere between citizens and security forces.

The protests reached more than 100 cities and towns and turned political. Young and working-class demonstrators demanded clerical leaders step down. In many cities, a similar chant rang out: “They live like kings, people get poorer,” according to videos on social media and witnesses.

By Nov. 18 in Tehran, riot police appeared to be randomly shooting at protesters in the street “with the smell of gunfire and smoke everywhere,” said a female Tehran resident reached by telephone. People were falling down and shouting, she added, while others sought refuge in houses and shops.

The mother of a 16-year-old boy described holding his body, drenched in blood, after he was shot during protests in a western Iranian town on Nov. 19. Speaking on condition of anonymity, she described the scene in a telephone interview.

“I heard people saying: ‘He is shot, he is shot,’” said the mother. “I ran toward the crowd and saw my son, but half of his head was shot off.” She said she urged her son, whose first name was Amirhossein, not to join the protests, but he didn’t listen.

Iranian authorities deployed lethal force at a far quicker pace from the start than in other protests in recent years, according to activists and details revealed by authorities. In 2009, when millions protested against the disputed re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an estimated 72 people were killed. And when Iran faced waves of protests over economic hardships in 2017 and 2018, the death toll was about 20 people, officials said.

Khamenei, who has ruled Iran for three decades, turned to his elite forces to put down the recent unrest — the Revolutionary Guards and its affiliated Basij religious militia.

A senior member of the Revolutionary Guards in western Kermanshah province said the provincial governor handed down instructions at a late-night emergency meeting at his office on Nov. 18.

“We had orders from top officials in Tehran to end the protests, the Guards member said, recounting the governor’s talk. “No more mercy. They are aiming to topple the Islamic Republic. But we will eradicate them.” The governor’s office declined to comment.

As security forces fanned out across the country, security advisors briefed Khamenei on the scale of the unrest, according to the three sources familiar with the talks at his compound.

The interior minister presented the number of casualties and arrests. The intelligence minister and head of the Revolutionary Guards focused on the role of opposition groups. When asked about the interior and intelligence minister’s role in the meeting, the government spokesman’s office declined to comment.

Khamenei, the three sources said, was especially concerned with anger in small working-class towns, whose lower-income voters have been a pillar of support for the Islamic Republic. Their votes will count in February parliamentary elections, a litmus test of the clerical rulers’ popularity since U.S. President Donald Trump exited Iran’s nuclear deal — a step that has led to an 80% collapse in Iran’s oil exports since last year.

Squeezed by sanctions, Khamenei has few resources to tackle high inflation and unemployment. According to official figures, the unemployment rate is around 12.5% overall. But it is about double that for Iran’s millions of young people, who accuse the establishment of economic mismanagement and corruption. Khamenei and other officials have called on the judiciary to step up its fight against corruption.

“BLOOD ON THE STREETS”

Officials in four provinces said the message was clear — failure to stamp out the unrest would encourage people to protest in the future.

A local official in Karaj, a working-class city near the capital, said there were orders to use whatever force was necessary to end the protests immediately. “Orders came from Tehran,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Push them back to their homes, even by shooting them.” Local government officials declined to comment.

Residents of Karaj said they came under fire from rooftops as Revolutionary Guards and police on motorcycles brandished machine guns. “There was blood everywhere. Blood on the streets,” said one resident by telephone. Reuters could not independently verify that account.

In Mahshahr county, in the strategically important Khuzestan province in southwest Iran, Revolutionary Guards in armored vehicles and tanks sought to contain the demonstrations. State TV said security forces opened fire on “rioters” hiding in the marshes. Rights groups said they believe Mahshahr had one of the highest protest death tolls in Iran, based on what they heard from locals.

“The next day when we went there, the area was full of bodies of protesters, mainly young people. The Guards did not let us take the bodies,” the local official said, estimating that “dozens” were killed.

The U.S. State Department has said it has received videos of the Revolutionary Guards opening fire without warning on protesters in Mahshahr. And that when protesters fled to nearby marshlands, the Guards pursued them and surrounded them with machine guns mounted on trucks, spraying the protesters with bullets and killing at least 100 Iranians.

Iran’s authorities dispute the U.S. account. Iranian officials have said security forces in Mahshahr confronted “rioters” who they described as a security threat to petrochemical complexes and to a key energy route that, if blocked, would have created a crisis in the country.

A security official told Reuters that the reports about Mahshahr are “exaggerated and not true” and that security forces were defending “people and the country’s energy facilities in the city from sabotage by enemies and rioters.”

In Isfahan, an ancient city of two million people in central Iran, the government’s vow to help low-income families with money raised from higher gas prices failed to reassure people like Behzad Ebrahimi. He said his 21-year-old nephew, Arshad Ebrahimi, was fatally shot during the crackdown.

“Initially they refused to give us the body and wanted us to bury him with others killed in the protests,” Ebrahimi said. “Eventually we buried him ourselves, but under the heavy presence of security forces.” Rights activists confirmed the events. Reuters was unable to get comment from the government or the local governor on the specifics of the account.

Editing by Michael Georgy, Cassell Bryan-Low and Jason Szep.

 

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