Mrs. Rajavi's call to the people of Kurdistan and throughout Iran to support the people of Baneh
On the morning of Tuesday, September 5th, the merchants of Baneh (western Iran) went on strike protesting the murder of two porters by the Revolutionary Guards. They shut down their shops and the whole bazar. Also, this morning, thousands of the people of Baneh held a protest rally. The angry people from different parts of the city went to the governorate and threw rocks at the governor's building. They demanded an end to the killing of the porters.
Killing of porters is a routine by the regime of mullahs. Yesterday, two porters, Heydar Faraji, 21, and Qader Bahrami, 45, were killed with the direct shot by the regime's border guards. One of the victims called Qader Bahrami was married and had four children.
During today’s demonstrations, the repressive forces began to disperse the protesters by storming them and firing tear gas, but the people confronted them and neutralized the tear gas by burning tires.
The mullahs’ regime flew military helicopters over Baneh and attacked the people by bringing anti-riot guards to the scene, but they were not able to prevent the anger of the people.
In the course of the demonstration, a number of people were injured and more were arrested. Frightened of the angry people, It is said that the criminal governor of Baneh has escaped and is hidden in an unknown location.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, offered her condolences to the families of the porters, saluted the people of Baneh and their brave demonstrations, and called on the courageous and freedom-loving people of Kurdistan and other Iranian cities to support the people of Baneh and the toiling porters. The porters are being killed by the Revolutionary Guards while according to the regime officials, Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards and other intelligence and security agencies of the clerical regime are the main conductors of smuggling in the country that, according to the regime authorities, amounts to $25 billion a year.
In a press conference in London on March 7, 2017, the Iranian Resistance unveiled 90 piers, i.e. about 45 percent of the country's total piers, used for large-scale smuggling, and are mainly at the disposal of the IRGC
Hunger Strike by Political Prisoners Causes Deep Concern for International Community
By Rowan Scarborough
The Washington Times, September 4, 2017 - The United Nations and a human rights group are expressing alarm at Tehran’s brutal treatment of imprisoned dissidents who have stepped up criticism of Iran’s religious regime. A foreign policy analyst told The Washington Times that, despite international condemnation, Iran believes it has nothing to fear given its unchallenged ability to intervene in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as aid Israeli enemy Hamas and harass the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf. “Iran will pay no price for clamping down on dissent,” said retired Army Col. Robert Maginnis, a counterterrorism specialist. An Iranian exile opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, says more than 20 political prisoners at Iran’s most notorious maximum-security prison are on a 35-day hunger strike after being subjected to inhumane conditions. Dissidents in other prisons have joined them. Iran’s ruling mullahs have a history of crackdowns on dissenters, who in some cases are imprisoned for years or face execution by hanging. Shahin Gobadi, a spokesman for the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) , a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said the hunger strike indicates growing opposition to Iran’s hard-line Islamic rule.
“While the clerical regime is very savage and has deprived these political prisoners, the majority of whom are from the MEK, from their most rudimentary rights as political prisoners, this episode clearly indicates that the spirit of resistance is alive and growing in Iran,” he said. “These prisoners have turned into a symbol of solidarity for all Iranians as their plight has become a widely discussed social issue.” Mr. Gobadi said the dissidents have smuggled out letters telling of their treatment — angering the regime, which subjected them to even harsher conditions. On Friday, Asma Jahangir, the U.N. special rapporteur for Iran, issued an official protest to the government in Tehran. “I am deeply alarmed by reports about the deteriorating medical conditions of the prisoners on hunger strike and that their torture and ill treatment have continued since their transfer,” said Ms. Jahangir, a Pakistani lawyer who reports to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “I urge the government of Iran to look for a prompt solution to the extreme situation created by the hunger strike through good faith dialogue about the grievances and underlying human rights violations, ensuring full respect for their dignity and autonomy,” she said. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said Ms. Jahangir relied on “inauthentic sources,” according to a report in the state-run Al-Alam network, an Arabic news channel. The United Nations has posted online Ms. Jahangir’s latest report on Iran. She castigates the mullahs for crushing dissent with sham “revolutionary” courts and for subjecting prisoners to inhumane conditions. “Those arrested owing to their political or other beliefs or those who challenge the authorities are not granted a fair trial or due process — even the elements thereof that are available under Iranian laws,” she wrote. “Revolutionary courts are viewed not as a forum for granting justice, but as an extension of the coercive executive branch of the government that operates to control all criticism or independent actions for securing rights.” In Iranian prisons, she said, “punishments such as flogging, blinding, amputation and stoning, which violate the absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of ill treatment, continue to be implemented. Major overcrowding in Iranian jails, unhygienic detention facilities, lack of proper medical care, torture and ill treatment by prison officials, and solitary confinement continue to be daily realities for thousands of prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
According to Voice of America, Tehran’s prosecutor general, Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, said, “We say to some prisoners who go on hunger strike and make other threats that these actions have failed and the judiciary will not surrender.”
Harsh conditions, hunger strikes
Amnesty International said the dissidents were transferred to a prison section where cells have covered windows and there is no access to clean water, food or beds. “The fact that detention conditions have become so poor that desperate prisoners feel they are forced to go on hunger strike to demand the most basic standards of human dignity is disgraceful and highlights the urgent need for reforms to Iran’s cruel prison system,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, deputy Middle East and North Africa director for Amnesty International. Tehran has spent millions of dollars to intervene in Syria with troops and militia members and to finance what could be permanent missile bases to protect the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Iran controls large numbers of Shiite militias operating in Iraq, is stirring an uprising in Yemen and has announced it is renewing aid to the extremist Palestinian Sunni group Hamas, which is dedicated to destroying Israel. Critics say some of Iran’s adventurism is being financed by pallets of cash and unfrozen bank accounts, compliments of the 2015 deal backed by the Obama administration with Tehran that lifted economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programs. President Trump is reviewing U.S. participation in the nuclear deal after harshly criticizing it as a candidate last year.
“Tehran is renewed and empowered to reach its long-sought Shia Crescent, an emerging future reality,” Mr. Maginnis said. “The region is now multipolar with centers forming in Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. As each jockeys for power, they tend to ignore criticism from abroad but focus on their power-driven agendas.” The protesting dissidents are being held at the notorious Gohardasht Prison (also referred to Rajai-Shahr) west of Tehran. It is the regime’s main holding cell for dissidents and also the site of executions. In 1988, the mullahs ordered executions of thousands of opposition leaders, and many were carried out at Gohardasht. The MEK’s Mr. Gobadi said Iran’s political prisoners have stepped up criticism in recent months “regarding the deteriorating and dreadful conditions” at Gohardasht and other prisons. “Some of the prisoners had smuggled out letters describing the inhumane conditions at different prisons,” he said. “Some had called for justice for their loved ones who have been executed by the Iranian regime, including a call for justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.” Mr. Gobadi said that in response to the dissent, the warden went to Hall 12 and told the prisoners that they would be transferred to a much more restrictive area, Hall 10. The prisoners responded with the threat of a hunger strike. “Facing resistance from prisoners, the prison’s head of security and a large number of guards entered the hall and forcibly transferred the prisoners, beating some of them in the process,” he said. “The prisoners were not allowed to take personal belongings, including their medicine. Some prisoners’ eyeglasses were broken, and some had their personal items and money stolen. The conditions at Hall 10 are unbearable.” Mr. Gobadi said that since the regime’s violent revolution, about 120,000 MEK members and allies have been executed. “Yet, despite such a spell of repression, the network of the MEK supporters and activists is the biggest network outside of the regime and includes people from all walks of life and various social strata, including the vast number of relatives and families of the regime’s victims,” he said. He said the regime fears MEK’s “growing attraction. There is almost no day that the state media is not riddled with anti-MEK propaganda.”
There is an Iranian saying that when someone is suspicious and not trustworthy, he has something in his shoes!The root of this proverb comes from a time when people used to hide dagger in their boots and used when needed. This story seems to be true for members of the Iranian regime.The announcement of Nikki Haley’s visit to Vienna on August 23 and her meeting with Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, regarding the US demanding UN inspection of Iranian military sites, has been terrifying Tehran. Are they hiding anything in their shoes?
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described the visit as the “continuation of US violations of the JCOPA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)” and in a letter to the High Representative of the European Union Federica Mogherini and Amano while “expressing concern about the stated objectives” moreover wrote that “this trip can undermine the credibility of the agency”.
In response to these concerns, Haley said: “It’s interesting to me that Iran is so worried about my trip to Vienna. If they do not have anything to hide, they should not be worried about my questions from the agency. And if the activities of the Iranian regime are peaceful and there is nothing to hide, why are they rejecting their military sites to be visited by international inspectors? The news shows that the Iranian regime has suspicious activities in Parchin.”
For several years, IAEA has insisted Iran must disclose all aspects of its atomic military program. (AFP)
The military dimension
Questions that Haley is looking to answer as a US government representative include how to resolve the “possible military dimension” case, the documents and indications of the military dimension of the nuclear program of the Iranian regime, which was one of the serious conflicts during the nuclear negotiations.
Another aspect is the permission of IAEA inspectors for access to military centres, in particular the non-transparent site in Parchin, which was bungled by the Iranian regime sampling in a formal visit by Amano.
For several years, the IAEA insisted Iran must disclose all aspects of its atomic military program, including the reason for the presence of highly enriched uranium that can solely be used to make nuclear bombs.
This issue ultimately remained on hold, however, due to the appeasement policy of the Obama administration. Now, with Haley’s trip to Vienna, the case is going to be opened and it forces the Iranian regime to choose whether to accept the request or to reject it.
Nuclear inspectors
So far there is a sign of dismissing US demands for UN nuclear inspectors to visit Iran’s military bases. “Iran will never allow such visits. Don’t pay attention to such remarks that are only a dream,” said Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Bager Nobakht in a weekly news conference.
This path of rejection constitutes a violation of the JCOPA by the regime, which can lead to the annulment of the agreement. In this case, the previous UN Security Council resolutions are enforceable and Resolution 2231 places Iran susceptible to military action by the international community.
Agreeing with the White House request will cause a lot of trouble for the regime and all the secretive nuclear activities that have been shadowed by the appeasement policy will be exposed to the international community, leading to the same result. In this scenario, however, the Iranian regime can use the old tactic of buying time.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks at a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (AP)
Policy shift
But since Barack Obama is no longer the US president, and there is a policy shift in the US administration toward Iran, such a tactic is not going to work anymore. It seems that in the face of serious economic and social crises with no solutions, time is not on the regime’s side.
“We need to confront possible future US action pledges by the violation of JCOPA at the expense of Iran. If they do so at our expense, it means that they will create a consensus in the international community against Iran,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a recent interview.
“A challenging autumn is ahead of JCPOA!” said an Iranian TV reporter on August 24th. It is far more than that. Following the enactment of heavy sanctions imposed against the Revolutionary Guards with the signature of US President Donald Tramp, it is inevitable that the JCPOA agreement is on the brink of collapse. This should not sound very encouraging for the rulers in Tehran.
Mahmoudi is a Kurdish-Iranian political and human rights activist.
NCRI - Up to 19 men and women have been arrested in Iran after they attended a private party in the city of Sirjan in southern Iran.
The young Iranians were detained following a raid by repressive State Security Forces (police) on a house in a garden in the suburb of the city, state-run news outlets reported on Sunday, 4 September.
An official of the Iranian regime’s judiciary said the detained individuals included 7 men and 12 men while the State Security Forces are searching for a number others involved in organizing the party.
Mohsen Nikvarz, the city’s prosecutor said: “The arrestees were transferred to prison and the house in the garden was sealed.”
The judiciary official “warned about holding parties and reiterated that the violators will face fullest extent of punishment”, state-run Mehr News Agency reported.
Similar raids have been carried out on birthday and graduation parties across Iran in recent weeks.
On August 8, the Prosecutor General of the Kerman Province (Southern Iran) announced the sealing of "three centers of arranging night parties" and arresting 18 people in this regard.
"These people have been detained in the suburbs of the Kerman city and in the framework of a special plan for "fighting the vice," Dadkhoda Salari told Mizan new agency, affiliated with the judiciary, on Tuesday, August 8.
According to him, after the sealing of the centers, "the main promoters and owners of these places were prosecuted, and a total of 18 organizers of these parties were also arrested."
The judiciary official described the launching of "night parties" as a sign that "the enemy has broken our borders, entered into the realm of society and houses," and argued that the prosecution would act revolutionarily in dealing with "manifestations of depravity".
In May, up to 30 students were given 99 lashes each for attending a mixed-gender graduation party.
The young men and women were all flogged in Qazvin, about 90 miles north west of the capital Tehran, as part of a brutal new crackdown.
NCRI - The Iranian Regime must be confronted over its missile factories across the Middle East, according to an expert on Iran.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist, wrote an op-ed for Arab News in which he assessed that the Iranian regime must be confronted over its secret missile factories, in order to prevent them from creating nuclear-ready missiles and further destabilising the Middle East.
The latest intelligence reports reveal that Iran is manufacturing advanced precision-guided missiles in Syrian, Lebanese, and potentially Yemeni factories, with plans to expand into other Middle Eastern countries.
Rafizadeh wrote: “It has become crystal clear that Iran is in direct violation of UN Resolution 2231, which was adopted as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal.”
The resolution states that all countries must take measures to prevent the “supply, sale, or transfer of arms or related materiel from Iran by their nationals or using their flag vessels or aircraft and whether or not originating in the territory of Iran” unless agreed upon by the UN Security Council.
Rafizadeh wrote that Iran is trying to achieve several objectives, by setting up these factories in foreign nations, which we will address.
Avoiding Detection
Iran has been repeatedly caught smuggling weapons to their proxy groups around the Middle East but if the weapons are produced in the country where the proxy group operates, the chances of being caught and having the weapons confiscated are lower.
Cutting Costs
In order to deliver weapons to Syria to assist the Assad dictatorship in the civil war, Iran has had to smuggle them on their commercial aircraft which cost a lot of money. By producing the weapons in house, as it were, transport costs drop dramatically.
Strengthening the Shiite crescent
It is no secret that Iran wants to control the Middle East eventually and has been working on destabilising the governments of Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria through proxy groups in order to gain power. By producing the weapons in the same countries, under the control of the proxy groups, it strengthens the proxies and weakens the governments. It could even convince other rebel groups in need of arms to come begging to the Regime.
Rafizadeh wrote: “The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently pointed out that he would make sure that the peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, completes its mission of preventing Hezbollah’s arms stocks building up…But words are not sufficient. The UN needs to take concrete action against the main provider of these weapons: The Iranian government.”
More Influence
Iran sends intelligence, military, and training teams when it sets up these weapons factories, but these teams can help Iran exert more power over the country by gathering information.
Wars by Proxy
Iran will also be able to use these weapons factories to launch wars in foreign countries, without getting their own hands dirty so to speak, pitting other countries against each other. For instance, if Iran orders the Lebanese proxies to launch weapons against Israel, then Israel will retaliate again Lebanon.
Occupation
The huge military presence that Iran is creating in these countries will make it easier for them to seize power, because you cannot shut the border when the enemy is already inside.
Rafizadeh wrote: “This is part of Iran’s long-term hegemonic ambitions and the pursuit of imperialistic pre-eminence in the region.”
Rafizadeh concluded: “In closing, Iran is significantly extending its influence and expanding its reach in the Middle East by escalating the establishment of weapons-production facilities in foreign nations. The international community needs to hold the Iranian government to account for the further militarization, radicalization and intensifying of violence in the region, as well as for violating UN resolution 2231 and international law
The massacre in Ashraf is a chapter directly tied to the Resistance, freedom and human rights in Iran
Honorable friends, dear sisters and brothers,
We have come together to pay homage to the epical resistance and sacrifice of Ashraf residents on September 1, 2013.
This ceremony coincides with Eid Al-Adha. On the occasion of this Eid and this anniversary, we have come together to strengthen our vows to the 52 PMOI members who sealed their pledges by sacrificing their lives.
We pledge to always remember their sacrifice and wage an unrelenting battle that will overthrow the mullahs’ religious dictatorship.
Indeed, each moment in that historic confrontation in Ashraf that September day was astonishing. My beloved sister, Zohreh Ghaemi, commanded the confrontation to the last breath. In another scene of the videos captured, we witnessed four PMOI members whose hands were cuffed behind their backs. All of them had been shot in the head, and their lifeless bodies laid next to each other. The assassins shot even the wounded laying on beds at the clinic.
A glance at each and every one of them shows that they were fighting to the last moment, to their last breath and to the last drop of their blood. Let us remember the words of Massoud Rajavi, the Resistance’s Leader, who said, “If you were to ask me to give a simple definition of the word Mojahed, I would say that being a Mojahed means adhering to one’s pledge through eternal sacrifice in the history of Iran.”
Among these martyrs were also pioneers from Iran’s younger generation: Rahman Mannani, Amir Nazari, Saeed Akhavan, Nasser Habashi, and Yasser Hajian. These were pioneers for the younger generation of Iranians. Selfless and knowledgeable freedom fighters who chose to fight on the frontlines equipped with full sincerity and honesty.
Nor will we ever forget the seven residents of Ashraf who were taken hostage. The government of Iraq never informed us of their fates. Unfortunately, the UN, US, EU and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees did not compel the puppet government of Iraq at the time to hold itself accountable for this abduction.
The mullahs and their puppet, former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, were complicit in this kidnapping, but have cowardly refused to claim responsibility. But we will not forget or relent until we take the mullahs’ religious tyranny and their agents and mercenaries in Iraq to the courts to face justice.
Some human epics need the passage of time to reveal their true message. But there are also epics that immediately inspire action and regenerate themselves. The Epic of Ashraf was one such example because it immediately created a large impact led by the perseverance of the 42 brave surviving PMOI members.
You were witnesses to the scenes of the massacre. You emerged from that battle, eager to fight on under the command of Maryam Akbari in those moments of life and death. Indeed, she fulfilled her historic duty in the best way possible. At the time, you were not just 42 individuals, but representatives of an enchained nation that wishes to bring down the mullahs’ tyrannical regime. You lived to fight the murderers.
You represented the honorable history and dignity of Ashraf. Your role was crucial in exposing the massacre before the UN representatives. Your fight in those difficult days changed the entire landscape. You conveyed your message to every political prisoner and rebellious youth in Iran and showed them the way. The message has been: Rise up and resist.
The clerical regime wanted to compensate for its nuclear retreat with the executions of a long line of the Iranian people’s vanguards. But you turned this massacre into a legendary episode of perseverance, which inspired hope and rekindled the spirit of resistance among the people of Iran.
The mullahs wished to annihilate this resistance all together. They wanted to put an end, once and for all, not only to the story of Ashraf, but to the PMOI and the Resistance and even the leader of this Resistance. The clerical regime and its allies had long been planning for this plot, which ultimately led to that great crime committed on September 1, 2013.
During the grand gathering of Iranians in Paris in July 2013, I spoke about the orchestrated choir of Khamenei, former UN envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler and Maliki who had specifically targeted the Resistance’s leader. The story was that in July 2012, upon the requests and mediation of a group of prominent personalities from the US and Europe, I accepted to have a meeting in their presence, with Martin Kobler. This meeting was held before the very last meeting I was to have with him. I had stopped meeting with him for some time because he was biased and openly took sides in favor of the mullahs.
Kobler had already met and held lengthy talks with officials of the mullahs’ Intelligence Ministry prior to our meeting. In addition to his deceptions with respect to the PMOI’s relocation from Ashraf to Liberty, he relentlessly asked questions and sought information about the Resistance’s Leader Massoud Rajavi. I became irritated and objected to this line of questioning, but he remained stubborn and continued with the queries. He even claimed at one point that his real intention was to provide protection for Massoud in the course of the relocation to Camp Liberty.
His malign and awkward questions even outraged the personalities at the meeting. Some of them literally rose up in protest and inquired why Kobler was asking such suspicious questions and why he needed the information. The meeting ended in a tense atmosphere.
A week after the atrocious crime on September 1 in Ashraf, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rephrased Kobler’s intentions and unmasked their corrupt and botched intentions. He said, “Massoud Rajavi has yet to react [to the massacre]. This means that either he is dead and they are not saying anything about it, or that he has suffered a psychological breakdown.” Of course, this is a dream that they would have to take with them to their graves… Mr. Tahar Boumedra, former director of the UN Human Rights Office in Iraq, had experienced first-hand the plots and conspiracies of the clerical regime and its puppet government in Iraq and their complicity with Kobler. He had information about many of their plans at the time. Twenty days after the massacre in Ashraf, he revealed that the main objective of the Iranian regime was to locate the Leader of the Resistance in Ashraf who was to be subsequently arrested and extradited to the regime along with 200 others [in Ashraf and Liberty].
On November 15, 2013, Mr. Boumedra reiterated that the regime had assumed that they would get a hold of the Resistance’s Leader during the September 1 massacre. Of course, neither the Shah nor the mullahs have succeeded in taking Massoud's life or in annihilating the generation he educated.
Hossein Ali Montazeri, the former designated heir to the regime's first supreme leader Khomeini, had accurately pointed out that “the Mojahedin should not be considered merely as individuals; they represent a school of thought and a philosophy. Killing them would not destroy but promote this.” Yes, those who were martyred in Ashraf are being replaced by dozens of others in every corner of our country.
We even saw that Ward 350 of Evin Prison turned into a bastion of rebellion and another Ashraf. And the brave Mojahed, Gholamreza Khosravi, created another wonderful epic in that ward. Those slain in Ashraf on September 1, 2013 were the trailblazers of 1,000 Ashrafs and paved the way for freedom and victory. They created soaring and towering values. Their presence is still felt and their martyrdom continues to have an impact. They continue to lead the way on the frontlines of our battle.
Distinguished guests, dear sisters and brothers, Four years have passed since the mass executions of PMOI members in Ashraf. This massacre, however, does not fade in the past. It is an unresolved chapter directly tied to the Resistance, and freedom and human rights in Iran, today. The chapter of Ashraf is where three things coincided: First, the clerical regime’s senseless efforts to destroy Resistance forces and the alternative to the regime; Second, the former US administration’s policy of appeasement, which harmed the PMOI/MEK and the entire region through betrayals; And, finally, the glorious perseverance and resistance of the PMOI/MEK.
On the anniversary of the September 1 massacre, I would like to speak about three issues. One is the true motivation behind the mass executions of the PMOI/MEK; another is the link between the dossier of Ashraf and the nuclear talks and the JCPOA; and finally, the need to activate the dossier of Ashraf and Liberty and seek justice. Consider the 14-year history of the steadfast perseverance in Ashraf and Liberty.
Both during the years that Ashraf was under US forces’ protection and also during the years when the puppet government of Iraq controlled Ashraf, the PMOI/MEK showed maximum flexibility in order to facilitate a political resolution. They repeatedly declared that they would accept any option but surrender.
The relevant parties, including the former US administration, the UN, and the Iraqi government under Maliki, had no response but betrayal. In 2011 alone, the PMOI/MEK offered 14 plans to the US and UN for relocation and transfer out of Iraq.
The Iranian Resistance published at least 50 legal opinions and well-documented legal reports on the legal status and rights of the residents of Ashraf, which refuted the hollow claims made by the Iranian regime. But none of these were issues of concern. I have said on several occasions over the past years that “the regime’s real demand was not the departure of the PMOI from Ashraf and Iraq. What they sought was to either physically annihilate the PMOI/MEK or to force them to surrender. And that left no other options.”
Over the past years, in the context of the choice between giving up or continuing the fight, the PMOI/MEK has always chosen to persevere and fight on, the very choice that has been the secret to the movement’s survival and advancement.
In all these years, particularly in the midst of these attacks, those who had already surrendered and those who had already denied the value of resistance, assailed the residents of Ashraf by posing questions such as, “What is the use of perseverance in that place? Is it really worth it?” Either truly terrified or due to having ties with the religious tyranny in Iran, they were unable to understand the truth that a liberation movement’s ability to fight and persevere is its most effective weapon. Whenever a movement lays down this weapon, it loses its honor, dignity, credibility, and popular backing; and ultimately, it would not be able to maintain its physical existence.
If our judgment were to be based on a selfish vision, then it would not seem reasonable to disrupt a safe and healthy life. From this vantage point, none of the episodes of perseverance in Ashraf and Liberty, and none of the struggles of other nations has any worth or value. Therefore, we must hail Ashraf and its residents who have been the epitome of rebellion against despotism, tyranny and exploitation. From this standpoint, Ashraf represents the spirit and symbol of struggle. As such, it is the main issue of concern for Iran and every Iranian; it is the spirit of this era which will continue to live on.
Dear sisters and brothers, Another issue I would like to address is the link and relationship between the September 1st massacre in Ashraf and the nuclear talks. In fact, the mass executions of Mojahedin in Ashraf on September 1, 2013 was the hidden half of the regime’s retreat in the nuclear talks and the JCPOA.
On November 24, 2013, the Iranian regime’s representatives engaged in the nuclear talks in Geneva, signed an agreement. Before the start of these talks, in September 2013, Khamenei took action through his puppet, former Iraqi prime minister Maliki, and committed the massacre in Ashraf.
Two years later, on October 21, 2015, Khamenei wrote a letter to Rouhani and approved the nuclear agreement. Eight days after that, on October 29, 2015, Camp Liberty was attacked by rockets as a result of which 24 PMOI members were killed and hundreds were wounded.
Khamenei’s final step in preparing for the carnage in Liberty was supposed to take place in October 2016 during the mourning days of Ashura (marking the martyrdom of the third Shiite Imam, Hussein AS) or 40 days later around November 20 during the mourning ceremonies of Arba’in. But the PMOI completed its major relocation earlier and thus foiled the regime’s strategic plan before they could carry it out.
Let me summarize. All the stages of the nuclear agreement, starting from secret talks to the signing of JCPOA, were accompanied by attacks on and slaughter of Ashraf residents because the regime was focused on the annihilation of the PMOI and the Iranian Resistance, namely its alternative, in order to guarantee its survival. All this is because the Iranian Resistance, as the alternative, poses an existential threat to the regime.
This is why, in the wake of the massacre in Ashraf, the IRGC issued a congratulatory declaration. Additionally, Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC Qods Force, told the Assembly of Experts that the attack on Ashraf was more important than the regime’s counterattack against the PMOI’s 1988 Eternal Light Operation (which shook the regime to its foundations). The acting commander in chief of the IRGC said, “This incident has a far-reaching strategic impact on future developments in the region with monumental dimensions.” Yes, this was the crux of the matter: the regime’s efforts to annihilate its alternative.
This is why the clerical regime, the government of Iraq and their international accomplices, particularly Martin Kobler, planned to turn Camp Liberty into a killing field for the PMOI/MEK or at least a place for its political destruction or organizational disintegration. But the Mojahedin turned the barren desert of Camp Liberty into a lush garden. They compelled the international community to open the way for their relocation out of Iraq.
'Fain would they extinguish Allah's light with their mouths, but Allah will not allow but that His light should be perfected, even though the Unbelievers may detest [it].' (The Holy Quran, Chapter 9, Repentance, verse 32) Accordingly, the events that took place behind the scenes of JCPOA with respect to Ashraf and the Iranian Resistance, and about freedom and human rights in Iran, must be brought out to light. What were the treacherous amendments to this agreement which have not been made public yet?
Sisters and brothers, The last topic I would like to speak about is the need for activating the legal dossier on Ashraf. You are aware that the US policy over the past 16 years, especially the Obama administration’s policy, helped secure windfall gains for the mullahs’ regime. The overwhelming portion of the disasters caused by the regime in the Middle East were enabled by such concessions. Now that the world has discovered the horrible consequences of such a policy, it is essential to open the most important dossiers in this regard, including the dossier on Ashraf.
The truth is that the disarmament of the National Liberation Army of Iran in 2003, as well as the US transfer of security and protection of Ashraf to the government of Iraq and its evacuation of Ashraf, were the biggest American concessions made to the regime.
If the PMOI had not been disarmed, the Iranian regime would have never been able to infiltrate Iraq to the extent that it has. This legal dossier must be opened to deprive the regime of all the concessions and aids that have delayed its downfall.
For example, it must be made clear why the US military forces were ordered not to intervene during the savage attack on Ashraf by Maliki’s government on July 28 and 29, 2009. Why were they instructed to assume the role of observers and spectators? Why did the US military unit leave its position near Ashraf on April 8, 2011, a few hours before the Iraqi Army launched its attack? It must also become clear which parties drafted and published false and biased reports against Ashraf residents in the name of the United Nations and what were the deals made that enabled such reports? Another important question is why did the United Nations not undertake its responsibility of carrying out an independent inquiry into the massacre in Ashraf? Why didn’t the United Nations even investigate the assassination of Amer Kobaissi, the UNAMI director in Diyala Province, Iraq? Mr. Kobaissi had visited Ashraf the day after the mass executions of the PMOI members in Ashraf despite threats made by the regime’s forces and subsequently published a report on the massacre.
The pillage of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of the PMOI’s properties in Ashraf is another issue that must be seriously investigated. It is the responsibility of the US and UN to oblige the government of Iraq to reimburse the PMOI for its assets and properties, all of which were at the disposal of this government.
US House Resolution 650, adopted by the Foreign Affairs Committee, and a similar resolution adopted by the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate, have called on the US administration to take the necessary measures.
Dear friends, sisters and brothers, I would like to sincerely thank the honorable personalities, friends and supporters of Ashrafis and the Iranian Resistance, who have published valuable books and papers about Ashraf over the past years. I appreciate Mr. Juan Garces's efforts for his defense of the PMOI in the Court of Spain; I thank Mr. Paulo Casaca for his elucidations and great efforts in defense of the rights of Ashraf residents, including the report he prepared on behalf of the European Parliament;
I thank Mr. Tahar Boumedra for his book, the Untold Story of Ashraf; Mr. Stevenson for his book, Self-Sacrifice; Mr. Tanter for writing and publishing numerous reports, statements and declarations in defense of the rights of Ashraf residents; Mr. Alejo Vidal Quadras for publishing a report on his visit to Ashraf. I must also mention the publication of a comprehensive report regarding the September 1, 2013 massacre in Ashraf, which contains numerous documents as well as wide-ranging, accurate and in-depth political revelations. This report has been published by the National Liberation Army of Iran.
Distinguished guests, Under pressure from international sanctions and encircled by a disenchanted society, the mullahs’ religious dictatorship senses its imminent downfall. That is why it retreated from its nuclear program. The more important fact, however, is that two years after the signing of the JCPOA, the regime’s crises have not been resolved and the ruling mullahs have not been able to mend schisms at the top of the establishment. The regime is not capable of pulling the country’s economy out of bankruptcy, nor is it capable of responding to the demands of a defiant society. And it cannot find any way out of the quagmire in Syria. In contrast, today, the blood of the martyrs of Ashraf is more inspiring and responsible than ever for motivating protests and strengthening social efforts to establish the Army of Freedom.
At this very moment, the courageous and persevering political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison are on a hunger strike. Their long hunger strike has drawn extensive sympathy and solidarity from people all across the country and around the world. We urge the United Nations and Western governments to pressure the religious tyranny ruling Iran to end torture and mistreatment of prisoners. We salute these brave political prisoners.
Yes, the spirit of martyred residents of Ashraf continues to inspire people to establish the Army of Freedom. Today, the mission of Ashraf has been rekindled in 1,000 Ashrafs and 1,000 bastions of rebellion inside Iran.
The mission is regime change and the overthrow of the religious dictatorship in Iran. The mission is the establishment of freedom. In all certainty and without the slightest doubt, this mission will be accomplished.
ISIS fighters on a bus in a convoy from their enclave straddling Syria’s border with Lebanon
Al Arabiya, 4 September 2017 - Syrian sources announced that 113 members of ISIS militants staying in the Syrian desert between Reif-Homs and Deir al-Zour, joined forces of the Syrian regime.
The sources said on Monday that these militants insisted on not fighting in Deir al-Zour.
The Syrian regime secured the families of the ISIS militants who joined forces in Palmyra.
This came at a time when the Syrian regime's television announced on Monday that the army and its allies were within 3 kilometers of the city of Deir al-Zour.
The US-led international coalition announced on Sunday that the ISIS convoy was divided into two groups.
One is still in the desert, while another group returned to areas controlled by the Syrian regime, and they got equipped with food and water.
Army Colonel Ryan Dillon Spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), the US-led coalition against ISIS tweeted, on Sunday that 85 ISIS militants died in strikes by the coalition and 40 cars were destroyed.
An agreement was signed between ISIS and Hezbollah, to transfer ISIS militants with their families from the western Kalamoun on the Syrian-Lebanese border to Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria on 26 August.
ISIS fighters and their families evacuated from that enclave as part of a surrender deal were escorted by the Syrian army and Hezbollah to east Syria, but have been stopped by a US-led coalition from reaching Deir al-Zor.
Ten of the original 17 buses are now stuck in no-man’s land between pro-government forces and ISIS territory and six buses retreated back into government areas.
MPs Theresa Villiers and Matthew Offord at an NCRI conference in Paris earlier this year Times, Aug. 31, 2017 - Barnet MPs will be joining with campaigners at a rally in support of Iranian political prisoners this weekend. MPs Theresa Villiers and Matthew Offord will join members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ), MPs and dignitaries in Trafalgar Square on Saturday to protest against executions and abuse of human rights in the country, and to show support for those who have been imprisoned on political grounds. The rally will also serve to call on the government to propose an independent investigation in the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran in 1988 during the upcoming UN General Assembly in September. Ms Villiers said: ''The focus of the rally on Saturday is the mass killings which took place in 1988. 'Thousands of political prisoners were executed without trial and some of my own constituents lost family members.' Ms Villiers also said she is working with the significant British Iranian community in Barnet to highlight the issue of human rights abuses in Iran, and wants more people to know what happened so those responsible can be brought to justice. According to the NCRI, Iran holds the highest number of executions per capita in the world, and Iranian authorities carried out more than 100 executions, including hanging a juvenile offender, during the month of July alone. Other people to speak at the rally include Margaret Owen OBE, a human rights barrister and director of charity Widows for Peace through Democracy, along with family members of those who were killed in 1988. The rally begins at 1.30pm in Trafalgar Square on Saturday.
Iran, 27 August 2017-- The Iranian regime’s judiciary has sentenced to death political prisoner Mohammad Ali Tehari, his attorney told news agencies on Sunday.
Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei told The Associated Press that the court has sentenced his client to death on charges of “founding a cult.”
The 61-year-old Taheri has been held in solitary confinement for over six years in Tehran’s Evin prison.
In an Urgent Action issued in July, Amnesty International had warned about Mr. Taheri facing death Penalty.
Amnesty International statement said: “Prisoner of conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri is accused of ‘spreading corruption on earth’ (efsad-e fel arz) through the establishment of the spiritual group Erfan-e Halgheh and its related teachings. His trial started on 6 March before Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.”
“This is the third time that Mohammad Ali Taheri is standing trial on the charge of ‘spreading corruption on earth’. The first time was in 2011 when a Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment for ‘insulting Islamic sanctities’ but said further investigations were necessary before it could rule on the charge of “spreading corruption on earth”
“For the next four years, the authorities kept him in solitary confinement in Section 2A of Evin prison, where he remains imprisoned, under the pretext of conducting investigations. This time counted toward his five-year sentence, which was deemed complete in February 2016. He was ultimately tried again on the charge of ‘spreading corruption on earth’ in 2015 and sentenced to death, but he was acquitted in June 2016. Despite this, he was not released and in late 2016, the authorities charged him again with ‘spreading corruption on earth’ based on the same activities that had formed the basis of his 2011 conviction.”
On Sunday, a group of Mr Taheri’s followers gathered outside “Revolutionary Court” in Tehran to protest the death penalty.
In recent weeks, authorities have detained dozens of his followers protesting ill treatment of Mr. Taheri.
Call to condemn Tehran, condition relations on halting executions
The religious dictatorship ruling Iran continues to issue death sentences and carry out executions. The number of prisoners executed in the month of August alone has reached over 50.
Seyed Jamal Seyed Mousavi, a Sunni Kurdish political prisoner, was executed on August 23 on the bogus charge of moharebe (enmity against God) for having contact with Sunni groups. He had endured nine years behind bars.
The day before Ariya Javeedan was executed in Kerman prison for moharebe and disrupting security.
Alireza Tajiki, arrested at the age of 15, was executed on August 10 after enduring six years behind bars in Diesel Abad prison of Shiraz. A large number of prisoners, arrested under the age of 18 for their alleged crimes, are currently on death row.
Moreover, another so-called court in Iran has sentenced Mohammad Ali Taheri to execution. Introducing himself as the founder of Iranian simontology, Taheri has committed no crime, possessed no weapon, and based on this regime’s own medieval and cruel laws cannot even be charged with the vague charges of moharebe or mofsed fel-arz (corruption on earth).
To justify this execution ruling the Iranian regime has charged him with “providing illegitimate education, distributing visual-audio work, and illegal use of scientific titles.” Whereas all Iranian regime officials are involved in embezzlement and huge theft from public funds.
Many senior officials of the regime, from its President Hassan Rouhani , Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaie, Expediency Council Member Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and former interior minister Ali Kordan claim to be doctors. They are all ridiculed by the Iranian people.
These titles are entirely fabricated or simply documents issued by the regime’s own educational institutions based on orders from the Ministry of Intelligence and Revolutionary Guards.
The Iranian Resistance calls on all human rights advocates and relevant United Nations organs to strongly condemn the mullahs’ regime for issuing death sentences, including the recent ruling of Mr. Taheri, and to take urgent action to halt mass executions in Iran. Continuing and expanding political and economic relations with this regime must hinge on halting executions and improving human rights conditions.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran August 28, 2017
