iran panorama

By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh Already eight years ago, the head of Iran's Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani boasted to the US General David Petraeus that: "You should know that I... control policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan. The ambassador in Baghdad is a Quds Force member. The individual who's going to replace him is a Quds Force member." An honest analysis of acts of terrorism in the Middle East, and throughout the world, reveals that nearly every conflict, war, and tension in the Middle East, can be traced back to the Iranian government. Despite the illusion that those who would like to appease the Iranian leaders attempt to create, it is clear that the Iran, still racing toward nuclear-breakout capability, has no interest in peace. The Quds Force has also apparently found new sources of funding to evade current US sanctions. Iran's Quds Force, commanded by Qassem Soleimani, is in charge of Iran's extraterritorial opera...

By Ken Blackwell There are several truisms about the Iranian regime. It is a deeply intolerant, religiously fanatical regime with a death grip on power through suppression and a corrupt system of bribes, payoffs and family connections. Tony Soprano has nothing on the mullahs’ regime. Like any insular group of Mafiosos, the mullahs ruling Tehran are a deeply paranoid bunch. They regularly suspect traitors in their midst and engage in periodic purges that would do Josef Stalin proud; right down to public hangings. They also desperately manipulate—sometimes clumsily—social media and the Internet in general in a vain attempt to trash opponents and to stifle debate about their abysmal corruption and mismanagement. Twitter announced last week that it was suspending thousands of accounts engaged in state-backed influence campaigns originating in Iran and Russia. The action listed over 2,000 new accounts linked to Iran alone and comes on the heels of similar actions by other social...

By Masoud Dalvand More than 40 years’ religious dictatorship ruling in Iran, had brought disastrous results for Iranian people also to the region and even all over the world. A look at the long list of these disasters and crimes against humanity, show importance of supporting the grand rally in Washington D.C on June 21.   The rally that its purpose is sending the message that the only way to salvation from this evil dictatorial regime, is overthrowing by the Iranian people and their organized resistance  (National Council Resistance of Iran –  NCRI)  and  (the People Mojahedin Organization of Iran-   PMOI/MEK ) . Execution of more than 120,000 political prisoners including 30,000 prisoners who were executed in 1988 massacre, political prisoners that most of them were members and supporters of  PMOI/MEK . Spending the Iranian assets for the heavy nuclear and missiles projects, that haven’t any results except of spending 100s billions dollars o...

By Struan Stevenson As tensions continue to rise over the latest criminal behaviour of the Iranian regime and its attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, four thousand Iranian protesters assembled in the centre of Brussels to demand regime change. The huge rally and protest march took place on Saturday 15th June. Prominent speakers like Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Giulio Terzi, former Foreign Minister from Italy and Ingrid Betancourt a former candidate for the Presidency of Colombia, addressed the rally in Schuman Square, right outside the British Embassy and next to the headquarters of the European Commission. As co-ordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change, I was also on the speakers’ list. I welcomed the thousands of ex-pat Iranians to the event and told them that we were fighting a dangerous enemy. I said: “The mullahs have mobilized their Ministry of Intelligence & Security (MOIS) agents to track down and eliminate oppon...

By Adena Nima The cellmate of a young political prisoner who was  killed  last week in Tehran’s Fashafuyeh Prison wrote in a letter from prison that the internet activist was murdered on orders of prison officials. Twenty-one-year-old  Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali  was stabbed to death by two prisoners on June 10. The political prisoner was sentenced to eight years of prison on charges of “blasphemy”, “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic”, “insulting the leader” and “spreading propaganda” against the regime. Shir Mohammad Ali was arrested on July 15, 2018 in connection to his internet activities. According to his lawyer, he was scheduled to appear in court to appeal his sentence on July 9. According to his mother, the judge had set an 80 million toman bail for her son’s release. An amount that she could not afford. Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali had gone on a hunger strike along with another political prisoner, Barzan Mohammadi, who was detained during the...

By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh Iranian President Hassan Rouhani continues to project himself as a defender of human and women’s rights, while evidence on the ground points to the opposite being true. The number of political prisoners being found dead in suspicious circumstances in Iran’s prisons is on the rise. The latest incident was the case of political prisoner Alireza Shirmohammadali, who was reportedly stabbed to death in the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary last week. A source told the Center for Human Rights in Iran that “prisoners in the ward said he had been stabbed so many times that he died before the prison guards got to the scene.” He was arrested on July 15, 2018, over messages he had posted on social media. Ambiguous charges were brought against him, including “insulting sacred religious beliefs,” “insulting the supreme leader” and “propaganda against the state.” The charge of insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei can carry the death penalty. The Iranian authorities ...

By Shamsi Saadati The Iranian regime’s President Hassan Rouhani recently hinted about wanting to “spread a tax culture” in Iran instead of relying on oil revenue, during a speech to introduce the new head of Iran’s Tax Organization. Then, on June 8, the regime’s Minister of Economy  stated  that Iran had entered a transitional phase of shifting from “oil reliance” to “revenue reliance”. But this increased taxation would fall squarely on the shoulders of ordinary Iranians because top regime officials and large regime institutions (mostly controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei) are exempt from taxes. For example: • the Mostazafan Foundation • the Imam Khomeini Order (known as Setad) • the Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Foundation (Bonyade Shahid) • the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (Komiteye Imdad) • the Islamic Propagation Organization • the Islamic Propagation Office of the Qom Seminary • the Bonyad Maskan of the Islamic Revolution (Housing Foundation) •...