iran panorama

  By  Reza Hoseani The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action died but trying to keep it alive, why? The Extraordinary Commission for the Comprehensive Joint Action Plan was held in Vienna, Austria on Sunday, July 28, 2019. The meeting was held at the request of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Iranian regime at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers and Managers and there were representatives of China and Russia. The JCPOA meeting, which was termed as an emergency and extraordinary meeting, ended with a repeat of the usual participants' usual words that had been heard before, so the question arises. Why was this meeting so special? Although the words of both sides are the same as before, the situation is explosive. The situation has become even more complex with the regime's shipwreck, and the new government in England has given it more urgency. On the other hand, Iran's religious regime threatens to take a third step in defiance of its obligations under t...

By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh When it comes to Iran, several important developments — such as the tanker crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the nuclear deal, and the shooting down of a US drone by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — have recently taken the spotlight among national and international news outlets. This means that less attention has been paid to the latest developments inside Iran, particularly how ethnic minorities are being treated during Hassan Rouhani’s second term as president. Iran’s ethnic minorities include Arabs, about 3 million of whom live near the Iraqi border in southwest Iran; nearly 7 million Kurds, who live in the northwest in what is known as Iranian Kurdistan; the Azeris, Iran’s largest ethnic minority with a population of about 18 million, who reside in several provinces including Tehran, Hamadan and East Azerbaijan; and the Baluchis, with an approximate population of 1.5 million, mostly re...

By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh The Islamic Republic of Iran appears determined to ratchet up its aggressive policies and subversive behavior in the region, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz. First, four tankers were targetedclose to the port of Fujairah off the coast of the UAE in May. A month later, on June 13, two tankers crossing the Gulf of Oman were sabotagedwith explosives — one went up in flames and both were left adrift. The two ships that were sabotaged were Japanese and Norwegian: The Japanese Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian Front Altair. A few weeks later, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) became more emboldened and it broadcasta video boasting about how its commandos, wearing black ski masks and military fatigues, descended from a helicopter on to a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and victoriously seized the ship. The Iranian regime’s explanations for these dangerous actions are not only unbelievable but also contradictory. On...

Whenever the mullahs are cornered and are in a deadlock internationally, their defenders rush to the scene to lay the groundwork for policies of appeasement toward the clerical regime. In so doing, they rely on a salvo of lies and assertions that have been proven baseless time and again. But even though the effects of that strategy are short-lived and increasingly futile, the talking points are repeated with greater frequency as the mullahs’ crisis becomes more acute. The Guardian has repeatedly published articles that are full of lies and biased attacks on the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). They are all comparable to articles churned out by Tehran’s state media. Ashraf-3, the place of residence for members of PMOI (MEK) in Albania witnessed five days of major international gatherings from July 11 to July 14. Some 350 political dignitaries and parliamentarians from about 50 countries including bipartisan delegations from the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, an...

Written by  Mahmoud Hakamian  on  21 July 2019 . Twitter has suspended several news accounts belonging to the Iranian regime for violating its rules of conduct. Among the Farsi-language accounts suspended by Twitter on Saturday were the official news agency IRNA; the Mehr News Agency, affiliated to the regime's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS); the state-run Young Journalists Club (YJC) and the state broadcaster IRIB. The affected agencies speculated that the suspensions were linked to their coverage of tensions in the region. A Twitter source confirmed to several news outlets, including the BBC, that the accounts were suspended for coordinated and targeted harassment of people associated with the Baha'i faith in Iran. While Twitter is banned in Iran for the general public, top officials of Iran's regime use the platform to promote the regime's fundamentalist agenda and carry out misinformation against their democratic opposition, the People...

By Hassan Mahmoudi Last month the Persian Gulf was the scene of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters. The acts of sabotage near the UAE coast highlight new threat to maritime traffic and global oil supplies On June 20, 2019, Iran  shot down a United States military drone ; the US claims the drone was shot down in international airspace. July 10, 2019, Armed Iranian boats  try unsuccessfully to impede the passage of a British oil tanker  in the Persian Gulf, according to two US officials with direct knowledge of the incident. July 14, 2019, Over the weekend, Iran  seizes an oil tanker that it claimed was carrying 1 a million liters of “smuggled fuel,”  according to state news agency Press TV. July 18, 2019, US officials  declared the US Navy destroyed an Iranian  drone in a defensive action after it came too close to the naval ship USS Boxer. July 19, 2019, Iran’s IRGCs announ...

By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh It is critical for the international community to pay attention to the voices and demands of the Iranian people in order to form policies more efficiently. What is the public opinion in Iran regarding the political and economic systems? Some foreign polls, conducted through limited questions or phone interviews, may indicate that Iranians are solely dissatisfied with the economic situation rather than the political establishment. But it is important to point out that it is extremely difficult to conduct accurate polls and obtain public opinion under the repressive rule of the Islamic Republic. The voices of Iranians living under Iran’s theocratic and authoritarian rule can be better understood through the people’s true expressions in public and private spaces. In the last couple of years, we have witnessed tens of thousands of Iranians  pouring  on to the streets of cities across the country to protest against corruption, the thievery and tyranny...

By Hassan Mahmoudi ” … Those who are in prisons throughout the country and remain steadfast in their support for the  MEK /PMOI are waging war on God and are condemned to execution … It is naive to show mercy to those who wage war on God.”  This was the Fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini in the summer of 1988, that led to the  massacre of 30,000 political prisoners  held in jails across Iran. Death Commissions sent victims to the gallows after mock trials. Survivors and witnesses of the 1988 Iran massacre. Survivors and witnesses of Iran’s 1988 massacre gave their testimony about the crimes they witnessed. on Monday, July 15, 2019, Day 5 of the Free Iran conference at Ashraf 3, home to the MEK in Albania. First Witness Kobra Jokar “I was in the regime’s prisons for six years. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) arrested me while I was pregnant. I was taken to Evin Prison and the torture chambers. I was transferred to Ward 209. In the cell, I saw four torturers torture my...

Thursday, July 11, 2019 – Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, met today with Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney. The meeting took place at Ashraf-3 home to the Iranian Resistance in Albania. They discussed the latest developments in Iran and the region including the continuing anti-regime protests across the country, the regime’s vulnerable state and its malign activities in the Middle East region. Mrs. Rajavi  reiterated that the Iranian regime faces an explosive society, an organized resistance movement and a different international environment. “As a result of the expansion of the Resistance units and their activities nationwide coupled with the regime’s inability to address any of the underlying problems facing Iranian people, the prospect for overthrowing this regime has never been brighter,” she said, adding, “it is time for the world community to recognize the rightful demand of the Iranian people to t...

By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh Some government officials around the world may believe that Iran’s recent threats are solely directed toward the US and that the Iranian regime does not pose a national security risk to their countries. As a result, the argument goes that the most efficient policy is to leave the US alone to deal with or counter the Islamic Republic. That could be partially why the EU and some Asian countries have declined to join the US in imposing pressure on Tehran. However, it is important to point out that Iran’s actions can have negative repercussions and inflict significant damage not only on the US, but also on the rest of the world. Let us take Iran’s actions and policies on the Strait of Hormuz as an example. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the ruling clerics have always boasted about Iran’s strategic advantage and superiority over this Gulf passageway, through which roughly a third of global oil exports pass. A study by the International...

By Poorang Novak Last week, Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer and president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany (Bundesmat fur Verfassungsschutz, BfV) released a report that examines the Iranian regime’s intelligence gathering activities in Germany. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany initiated its information gathering following an increase in activity by the Iranian regime in Europe. The report notes that the regime is “intensifying” its plots against the opposition. Last year, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the main opposition to the Iranian regime, held its annual gathering just outside Paris. There were tens of thousands of people in attendance – supporters from all over the world and many guest speakers including foreign members of parliament, political figures, former U.S. administration officials, and so on. An Iranian diplomat based in the Iranian embass...

By Shahriar Kia The US office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI-US ) held a press briefing to explain to close partnership between Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when it comes to planning and carrying out terror operations abroad. NCRI-US Deputy Director Alireza Jafarzadeh discussed at length why Iran would choose to conduct terror activities on Western soil at such a critical diplomatic and political juncture, how the decision-making process works, what role Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei plays, which agencies are involved, and the nexus between the MOIS and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The event, moderated by US Ambassador Adam Ereli, coincided with the publication of the NCRI-US’ latest book, “ Iran's Emissaries of Terror : How mullahs' embassies run the network of espionage and murder.” In 2018, there was a marked increase in Iranian terror plots on Western soil, with Jaf...

By Con Coughlin, defence editor Iran is setting up a network of terror cells in Africa to attack US and other Western targets in retaliation for Washington’s decision to impose sanctions against Tehran, according to Western security officials. The new terror network has been established on the orders of Qassem Suleimani, the head of the Quds Force, the elite section of Iran’s Republican Guard Corps that has responsibility for overseas operations. The aim of the new terror cell is to target US and other Western military bases on the continent, as well as embassies and officials. The Iranian cells are said to be active in a number of African countries including Sudan, Chad, Ghana, Niger, Gambia and the Central African Republic. “Iran is setting up a new terrorist infrastructure in Africa with the aim of attacking Western targets,” a senior Western security source told  The Daily Telegraph . “It is all part of Tehran’s attempts to expand its terrorist operations across the...