Maryam Hejazi
March 20, 2017

Raiding private ceremonies and night parties by the police has reached new dimensions in Iran.

The most recent cases were arresting 34 girls and boys at a night party in Southwestern province of Khuzestan as well as organizers of another one in Tehran.

Khuzestan revolutionary prosecutor-general announced on Sunday March 5 that 14 girls and 20 boys have been arrested at a night party in the province.

A day before the police in Khuzestan raided a night party, Western Tehran Police Chief announced that police had raided a hen party.

Mohsen Khancharli said that “some people had advertised in social media, inviting ‘notorious’ women to attend a so-called special ‘get-together party’ held at a garden hall in western Tehran.”

Events like this raise the questions among Iranian citizens and the international community alike of where the line is drawn between public and private space, between personal libertiesand public “order”, and between freedom and oppression.
The IRGC’s ferocious enthusiasm in “catching” morally corrupt behavior leads them to practice surveillance techniques and “morality traps” that many would consider a serious breach on human rights. For one thing, reports state that the young men and women were discovered “mingling in a villa in the suburbs of Qazvin”. This statement fails to address the issue of how the youth were discovered and what personal infractions on their privacy may have been used in order to “discover” them in a private villa where they were assumed to be hidden from public view.

No matter how the youth were discovered, every single attendee of the party was arrested, supposedly for dancing, and charged with 99 lashes. This violent and horrific punishment for attending a mixed gender party seems difficult for many in the west to even comprehend, let alone condone, especially after hearing the almost constant rhetoric that Iran is moving in a “moderate” direction under the rule of current president Hassan Rouhani. Certainly, receiving 99 lashes for attending a private party is not a symbol of moderation, of tolerance, or of compassion, but of authoritarian control, oppression, and inhumanity.

This is not the only instance of individuals being arrested for mixing genders in private company. In July of this year, 150 youth were arrested for attending an “inappropriate mixed-gender” birthday party near the city of Tehran. Then, on Halloween of this year, Tehran officials “stormed a house in Sadat Abad quarter in Tehran in which 8 girls and 9 boys wearing traditional Halloween costumes.” On December 9th, 16 men and 8 women were arrested in Iran for the same alleged “crime” of attending a mixed company party; and just recently on December 14th, it was reported that Iranian authorities arrested 120 individuals who were attending a private party at a coffee shop where alcohol was allegedly being served.

These arrests are said to be “the latest in an ongoing crackdown on mixed-gender parties that has resulted in the detainment of scores of young people in the past few months.”  These “crackdowns” are not just limited to mixed gender parties. There have also been “crackdowns” on arrests regarding enforcing the hijab and strict dress code, an increase in arrests of Iranian dual citizens (often for no legitimate reason), and an increase in executions of political prisoners.

All of these atrocities are being committed under the rule of Hassan Rouhani, leading many in the international community and in Iran to wonder where his image as a progressive and moderate leader is coming from. Many critics claim that in reality, the role of president in Iran is merely a figurehead position, as all major decisions must be approved by the Supreme ruler Ayatollah Khamenei, who is known for his strict and oppressive views on gender relations, human rights, and personal freedoms.

Looking forward, if Iran hopes to make real progress integrating into the international community, a complete overhaul of the current oppressive government system will be necessary to ensure that Iranian citizens are treated with basic human dignity and respect.

Maryam Hejazi,

February 24, 2017

An editorial on February 16th in the state run daily newspaper, Mardom Salari, commented on the Iranian regime officials’ plans to reroute river waters and construct dams, which will allow a quick and inexpensive means to extract oil.

However, this will result in the destruction of ponds in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran. It will cause an environmental catastrophe that will endanger the locals’ wellbeing and lifestyle.

In reference to the dust storms that make life difficult for the province locals, the editorial says:  “A large number of people believe in addition to foreign sources and various centers of these dust storms, the drying of border ponds, including the Hour al-Azeem Pond or Karkhe Nour, are amongst the main reasons behind the growing dust storm crisis in Khuzestan Province.”

The destruction of one pond disrupts the natural life cycle of ecosystems in the surrounding geographical area, possibly for centuries. According to global standards, such measures are considered anti-nature; additionally, it is also an inhumane act. Human beings should be in balance with the natural cycle and ecology.

For nearly two decades, and through the construction of various dams, the Khuzestan biosystem has undergone widespread tensions, and dust storms are one of the end results.

Another result is a decrease in Khuzestan’s water supply for the people of in the region.

These issues have led to illnesses for Khuzestan’s citizens, including blood and lung cancer, prematurely born babies, increased costs for health care and preventive measures, as well as water and power cut-offs. Electronic and digital systems will also be affected with major damage, which will create huge expenses for the government.

The lack of a comprehensive environment management system, and weak planning lets each entity with an interest in this region pursue its own plans. This has accelerated the environmental crises, according to an article published by the NCRI.

The situation is spreading in an alarming pace, and such a crisis will not be resolved without managers who have programming and planning experience. The alarm bells are ringing for Khuzestan Province, once considered a very fruitful region, that may soon become an abandoned desert.

Source: INU

Defense News-Feb 8, 2017

Diplomatic activism by Russia in Syria is producing speculation about the Kremlin’s possible willingness to encourage genuine peace talks and spur transition from corrupt, incompetent and brutal family rule toward something stabilizing and inclusive. If Russia proves genuinely interested in converting military success to a sustainable political settlement, it would put Moscow sharply at odds with Iran and with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Is Russian President Vladimir Putin truly prepared to turn a page in Syria? The litmus test will be Moscow’s view of whether or not Assad rule should be restored to areas eventually liberated from the Islamic State group..

Russian air power and Iranian-led Shia foreign fighters saved Assad from military defeat. Intervening militarily in Syria allowed Putin to tell his countrymen that Russia was back as a great power; that Russia had thwarted a purported American regime-change campaign in Syria. Iran, on the other hand, has supported Assad because Assad alone, in a nationalistic Syria, is willing to be Iran’s servant on all matters having to do with Lebanon’s Hezbollah: the terrorist long arm of Iranian penetration into the Arab world.

Having saved Assad and all but declared military victory, Russia may be asking itself now if Assad is a liability for its longer-term interests in Syria. It would be an apt question.

The Kremlin is aware of the regime’s shortcomings. Russia knows that a stable Syria — a place where it would be possible to have secure military bases and a strong, beneficial trade and defense relationship — is unattainable with Assad at the helm. When it comes to reconciliation and reconstruction, the name “Assad” is pure poison in Syria and far beyond. The Syrian equivalent of North Korea headed by a mass murderer may not be something Russia seeks as a long-term client.

Can Russian diplomacy end the Syrian War?

Hypothetically, therefore, Russia might be interested in a political transition formula that gradually marginalizes Assad and vests executive power in a national unity government. Iran, however, would have no such interest. Tehran knows that, beyond the Assad family and entourage, there is no Syrian constituency accepting subordination to Iran and putting the Syrian state at the disposal of a Lebanese terror organization.

Well-informed Syrian opposition figures say they are hearing from Russians that they are disgusted with the undisciplined, looting Shia militiamen brought by Iran to Syria. These Shia militias — including Hezbollah — advance Iran’s sectarian agenda and incite Sunni Islamist extremist backlash. They are kerosene on a fire Russia says it wants to extinguish.

Opposition representatives also claim to be finding Russian interest in helping them separate nationalist rebel forces from al-Qaida’s Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the former Nusra Front. The prerequisite for separation is a real cease-fire. When the nationalists and extremists are all under fire from Assad and Iran, they have no choice but to stick together. Enabling separation and the ultimate destruction of al-Qaida therefore requires Russia to keep a tight leash on the Assad regime and the Shia militias. But the regime and Iran — contrary to Russia — want to target as terrorists all anti-Assad rebels: even the ones Moscow recently invited to Astana, Kazakhstan, to discuss peace.

So: Russia and Iran may have conflicting views about the future of Assad. But do they really? Would Russia actually be willing and able to neutralize Iran’s toxic presence in Syria by getting the Shia militias out and then marginalize the polarizing Assad clique?

If Russia is able and willing to do so, clearly it would be for its own interests: a stable, unified Syria closely aligned with Moscow; a place that can attract the reconstruction investment and assistance so sorely needed. What Putin might want from Washington is a commitment to assist with reconstruction once decent, non-Assad governance is in place. Otherwise, if Putin calculates that the Assad-Iran page must be turned for the interests of Russia, then clearly there is need for a geopolitical inducement from Washington.

Naturally, Assad and his Iranian masters will push back if Russia sees them as obstacles to the kind of Syria that Moscow wants. The Kremlin’s ability to sideline the twin destroyers of the Syrian state may be limited. But does Russia even want to do it?

Central and eastern Syria will likely provide the answer. The United States aims to liberate these areas from the other side of Syria’s terrorist coin: ISIS. If Russia calls for Assad rule to be restored in areas liberated from ISIS — if Moscow wishes to reimpose the governance malpractice that made Syria safe for ISIS in the first place — then clearly it wants Assad and Iran in the Syrian saddle indefinitely, regardless of the consequences.

Speculation about Russia and Iran splitting over Assad is interesting. The truth will be found in Moscow’s view of what should follow ISIS. Washington is free now to elicit that view and answer the question.

Frederic C. Hof, director at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, served as a special adviser for transition in Syria at the State Department in 2012.

 http://www.defensenews.com/articles/russia-and-iran-split-over-syria

INU – Feb 07, 2017

Last week four Kurdish porters were arrested in the border area of Banneh in Western Iran. Agents of the Iranian regime then proceeded to push them down into the valley. This resulted in three of the men being seriously injured. The fourth man, Azad Ghassemi, died as a result of the fall. He was father to a small child.

Two other porters witnessed the assault and murder, but they too were arrested. They have been taken to an unknown location.

The families of all six porters have been threatened by officials of the regime and have been told not to speak to anyone about the crime that took place.

In Piranshahr and Sardasht – villages in Iranian Kurdistan – five porters died on 28th and 30th January. The young men aged between 18 and 27 got trapped in an avalanche during a freezing storm. During the same incident, several other porters were seriously injured.

The death of these young people is shocking, but at the same time it is only a small sample of the consequences of the Iranian regime’s corruption. The wealth of the people of Iran has been plundered, and the huge sums of money freed up from the nuclear deal has been sent abroad to fund terrorist, war and fundamentalist activities. The people of Iran are left to suffer with high rates of unemployment and terrible social conditions.

The number of porters in Iran has increased because of the horrific unemployment situation. Very young children and elderly men and women are becoming porters, as are university graduates.

The job is dangerous enough for the less vulnerable people, so to see children and elderly people doing the job shows how desperate the situation is. Porters are targeted by the State Security Force and have to contend with extreme weather conditions and uneven terrain.

Between March and November last year, more than 70 Kurdish porters died and dozens were injured because of shootings by the State Security Force.

The Iranian regime’s laws criminalise the work of a porter which is punishable by prison or a fine to the value of the items they are carrying (which are also confiscated).

Paradoxically, the Iranian regime, including intelligence and security agencies do contraband deals including the smuggling of women and girls, drugs and contraband goods.

Majlis deputy Hossein Ali Haji Deligani indicated that the amount of contraband deals in Iran is worth $25 billion – three times more than the construction budget. This has resulted in almost a million job losses.

 

Dr. Cyrus Samet
January 27, 2016

There remain no credible challenge to the notion that Iran-backed Shiite militias significantly altered the nature of U.S. involvement and its eventual withdrawal from Iraq. Directly aided by Nouri Al-Maliki and taking advantage of ISIS infiltration, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has since 2009 cast a murderous net across Iraq.

The most conspicuous of these militia organizations are the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), the Badr Corps, the Iraqi Hezbollah, and Saraya al-Salam.  Accordingly to the Washington Post, AAH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Iran’s Quds Force, whose operatives kidnapped three Americans in Baghdad on January 16th, 2016. They were reportedly driving SUVs and wearing military uniforms too, which credible sources have attributed to their access to Iraqi state resources.

During al-Maliki’s 8-year in office, these militias enjoyed complete support from the Iraqi government.  Kidnapping, targeted assassinations, suppression and massacre of Sunnis, and killing of Shiites who oppose the Iranian regime’s interference in Iraq were and still remain the primary methods being used. In the same time frame, these militias, with suspected state support, have persistently maneuvered and contrived to massacre Iranian dissidents, first in Camp Ashraf and at Camp Liberty (Hurriya).

After the removal of Maliki from power and establishment of the Popular Mobilization Force (again, paid for by Iraqi government ostensibly to combat ISIS), these militias have taken control of the force to advance Iranian objectives.

During a recent campaign in the provincial city of Meqhdadiya located in Diyala, AAH exemplified how brutal sectarian warfare is conducted by routinely torching Sunni mosques and homes and slaughtering young men – with the dubiously stated aim of battling ISIS. Of note, the commander of the Badr brigade is Hadi Ameri, commander of Kata’ib Hezbollah is Abu Mehdi Muhandis, and the commander of AAH is Qais Khazali. All are under the command of IRGC’s Qods Force.

“Several southern provinces are not inhabitable,” recently said Haidar Mullah from the Union of Nationalistic Forces of Iraq. “The crimes that are perpetrated against the innocent in Basra Province is significant and the armed militias that have links to some political leaders spill the blood of Iraqis whether Sunni or Shia. The Popular Mobilization Force has created a cover for all armed groups,” he added.

Accordingly, containing and holding to account these militias will need to become a central component of the international campaign against Islamic fundamentalism.

Dr. Cyrus Samet is the Chair of Iranian American Community of Maryland.

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