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Showing posts from April, 2019

Countering Iran’s Threat, Strategies for Regional Stability

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  Written by Mahmoud Hakamian Two-minute read On Sunday morning, April 14, the Iranian regime launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, escalating tensions in the Middle East. Despite military experts’ assessments that the attack failed, it underscores  Iran’s role as a focal point  of regional conflict. The October 7th attack sent shockwaves globally. Despite ample evidence implicating the Iranian regime, Western governments dismissed Tehran’s involvement, adhering to a flawed appeasement policy toward the primary state sponsor of terrorism. They disregarded explicit statements from Revolutionary Guards  (IRGC) commanders boasting  about their direct role in the attack. For decades, the Iranian Resistance has urged the international community to adopt a resolute stance against the Iranian regime’s aggression and terrorism. Despite persistent calls, the failed appeasement policy of the West allowed Tehran to escalate its belligerent activities, including financing, arming, train
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IRGC Designation Sends Iran Regime Into Freefall

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By Shahriar Kia When the US designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) last week, it was a major milestone for the Iranian Regime and now the different factions of the Regime have a new angle to deal with international issues, like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Now the debates over these matters have reached a new level. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the head of the Parliament’s security committee, criticized the EU’s approach toward the FATF bills, which Iran has been asked to ratify, complaining that European countries offer “hopeful gestures” rather than “tangible result[s]”, but failed to see how Iran could escape the sanctions without Europe’s help. Earlier this month, the French ambassador to the US spoke about a potential compromise between the EU and the US over the JCPOA, which could include adding Iran’s missile program and regional meddling. This drew ex
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Can Iran Regime Close Busy Shipping Waterway?

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By Mohammad Sadat Khansari The Iranian Regime has  threatened  to close the world’s busiest shipping lane in response to the US decision to remove the sanctions waivers on the country from May 2. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed that the US would not extend sanctions waivers on eight countries – China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Greece, Italy, and Turkey – who had been allowed to keep buying Iranian oil after the sanctions snapped back last November. The sanctions came into force after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal, citing Iran’s violation of the UN resolution surrounding the deal. What did Iran Regime do? Alireza Tangsiri, a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which was recently designated a terrorist organisation by the US, vowed that they would block off the Strait of Hormuz, severely impacting the flow of goods, especially oil. This would make shipments more dangerous and more expensive. Tangsiri said: “We wi
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No Grace Period for Iran Oil Sanctions

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By Jubin Katiraie The US vowed to eliminate in May all waivers granted to eight countries that allowed them to keep buying Iranian oil from November 2018 as part of the US campaign to increase pressure on Iran by cutting off their oil revenues. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the US wanted to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero and had no plans to give any of the countries involved a grace period to comply with the sanctions. He said: “Today I am announcing that we will no longer grant any exemptions. We are going to zero. We’re going to zero across the board.” These sanctions are aimed at convincing Iran to end its nuclear program and its support for terrorist proxies. The US reimposed sanctions after Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, which he called “the worst deal ever”, last May. In the past year, Iran’s exports have fallen from over 2.5 million barrels per day to less than 1 million bpd. US envoy for Iran Brian Hook said that conditions in
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Iran Regime’s FATF Division Develops

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By Hamideh Taati The Iranian Regime’s infighting over the bills related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had already escalated to dangerous levels before the US State Department placed the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) onto its lists of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). Now, the disputes have reached a much more serious level and the passage of these bills represents a decision that will impact on Iran’s current power structure and international relations. For months now, the two bills that still need to be passed, in order to Iran to join the FATF and receive all the economic benefits that brings, have been going back and forth between the Parliament, the Guardian Council, and the Expediency Council. But the Regime appears stuck at a crossroads unsure which way to go. The state-run Etemad online website wrote that the saga had become such a “tortuous odyssey” mired with “political controversies and their interpretations” that the FATF itself has
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US TAKES MAJOR STEPS TOWARD “MAXIMUM PRESSURE” ON IRAN, BUT UNCERTAINTY LINGERS

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By Edward Carney The White House announced on Monday that it  would not be renewing sanctions waivers  for any of the eight countries that have been importing Iranian oil while also doing business with the US over the past six months. Secondary sanctions on Iran’s oil exports went back into effect last November, six months after President Donald Trump announced that the US would not be remaining a party to the nuclear deal that was signed between Iran and six world powers in 2015. The Trump administration initially suggested that it would not be granting any waivers to the re-imposed sanctions, as the previous administration had done. But Trump relented on this issue at the last moment, apparently out of fear that the immediate application of “maximum pressure” would drive up global oil prices. It was widely expected that the president would come to the same conclusion again before the first round of waivers expired at the beginning of May. Many analysts suggested that he wo
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Iran Regime Spends over Two Times Its Budget on Subsidies

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By Mahmoud Hakamian The Iranian Plan and Budget Organization (PBO) has said that the Regime will spend more than two times the government’s budget on hidden and direct subsidies in this financial year. The PBO said that Iran is estimated to spend 8,900 trillion rials (or $63.7 billion, based on the current USD exchange rate on the open market) on total subsidies, which is 2.2 times the government’s budget, during the current fiscal year of March 21, 2019, to March 20, 2020. If we based the exchange on Iran’s artificial exchange rate, which was fixed in April 2018, the amount in dollars would be at least three times higher. The subsidiaries Roughly a third of the subsidies are paid directly from the government budget and state-run financial entities. These are cash subsidies and include things like financial aid to the agricultural and industrial sectors. Two-thirds of the subsidiaries, which equates to about 6,490 trillion rials ($46.35 billion), are hidden. This mainl
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IRGC; Iran Regime’s Main Apparatus Of Terrorism And Suppression

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IRGC; Iran regime’s main apparatus of terrorism and suppression By Ali Latifi Nowadays, the international community is well aware of the devastating consequences of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) meddling in the Middle East, as well as its crimes, including providing financial support and weapons for acts of international terrorism. The war in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, supporting Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other terrorist groups in the world is only part of the IRGC’s malign activities. The IRGC trains and arms terrorist groups to foment proxy and civil wars in the region. The IRGC is the cruelest force of the Iranian regime; actually, it is the main means of preserving the totalitarian mullahs, via terror and crime. The IRGC is responsible for the repression of labor protests, popular uprisings, the arrest and torture of the political dissidents in its secret prisons, and the reconnaissance and assassination of political and cultural opponents inside and outside t
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Iran Regime Spends over Two Times Its Budget on Subsidies

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By Mahmoud Hakamian The Iranian Plan and Budget Organization (PBO) has said that the Regime will spend more than two times the government’s budget on hidden and direct subsidies in this financial year. The PBO said that Iran is estimated to spend 8,900 trillion rials (or $63.7 billion, based on the current USD exchange rate on the open market) on total subsidies, which is 2.2 times the government’s budget, during the current fiscal year of March 21, 2019, to March 20, 2020. If we based the exchange on Iran’s artificial exchange rate, which was fixed in April 2018, the amount in dollars would be at least three times higher. The subsidiaries Roughly a third of the subsidies are paid directly from the government budget and state-run financial entities. These are cash subsidies and include things like financial aid to the agricultural and industrial sectors. Two-thirds of the subsidiaries, which equates to about 6,490 trillion rials ($46.35 billion), are hidden. This mainl
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Lethal floods in Iran, and the crimes of the clerical regime

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Many people have died and their homes have been destroyed by severe flooding across Iran. Thousands of people have been suffering homelessness and lack of food for days. The people are angry with the government . They count the government for the responsibility of the flood disaster. The following article in Iran Freedom is informative. Torrent Of People’s Wrath; A Chime For Mullahs’ Demise Doubtless, the torrent caused by Iranians’ wrath will be stronger and more destructive than nature’s flood since the social wrath against usurpers of power is unstoppable. Thus, the mullahs’ scheme to censor news on country’s destructive flood will not avail them of the consequences. The propaganda machine of the religious fascism ruling Iran has focused on censoring the news and … More
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Deadly floods in Iran, a new chapter of Iranian protest against the clerical regime

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People have died and homes have been damaged after heavy rains caused severe flooding across Iran.  Many Iranians have lost their lives and many have lost everything because of the national disaster of flood. Thousands of people have been challenging with sheltering for days in the open with lack of food or warm clothes. The people are angry of misgoverning the situation by the government . Moreover, they put the blame of the fatal flood disaster on the regime due to 40 years of crimes against the environment. Iran Freedom has provided more information in this regards. Torrent Of People’s Wrath; A Chime For Mullahs’ Demise Doubtless, the torrent caused by Iranians’ wrath will be stronger and more destructive than nature’s flood since the social wrath against usurpers of power is unstoppable. Thus, the mullahs’ scheme to censor news on country’s destructive flood will not avail them of the consequences. The propaganda machine of the religious fascism ruling Iran has focus
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Iran Floods: Regime Arrests Relief Workers and Protesters

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The Iran Regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) arrested at least 27 individuals over the weekend for either voluntarily providing relief to flood victims in southwest Iran, or taking part in protests over the Regime’s lack of an appropriate response to the disaster. On Sunday, MOIS agents arrested 22 volunteer relief workers in Malashiyeh, Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, who had travelled to (or remained in) the flood-hit areas to rescue people who were trapped, erect flood barriers, provide medical aid, make food, and distribute blankets and clothing. All of these relief workers volunteered to help and are paying for resources out of their own pockets. The relief workers, who have been transferred to an unknown location, were  identified  as: 1. Ahmad Badavi 2. Ali Mousavi 3. Ali Naseri 4. Amin Seilavi 5. Aref Sarkhi 6. Ebrahim Badavi 7. Emad Heidari 8. Foad Badavi 9. Ghasem Tamimi 10. Habib Koroushat 11. Hassan Beit Eshagh 12. Hatam Dahimi 13. H
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Iran: Terrorist Designation Will Affect FATF Bill

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By Hamideh Taati Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was being designated as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO). It is a move that surprised many as it is the first time that a government of the United States has ever designated another country’s military as such. However, it is very clear that the IRGC has been meeting the FTO criteria for quite some time. The only difference is that we now see a U.S. administration that is intent on curbing the Iran threat and not in the least interested in appeasing this brutal and terrorist regime. The Iranian regime is trying to make its very weak position look anything but weak. It has tried to say that because of this FTO designation, the different factions in Iran that have been bickering and quarrelling for months over many issues, are now united against the United States – the common enemy. However, this is what the regime usually does in the time of c
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Iran Flooding Crisis Seems Set to Spark Further Protests Across the Country

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By Shahriar Kia Just over a month ago, heavy rainfall resulted in severe flooding across Iran. It has caused major damage to infrastructure across the country and many people have lost their homes. Several weeks later, many people in Iran are still dealing with the effects of the flooding. Dozens of people have lost their lives and many Iranians are homeless. The people of Iran, since the end of 2017, have been participating in anti-government demonstrations and protests. They have been calling for regime change because they are fed up with the mullahs that have been ruining their great country’s reputation for decades. They want the regime to stop spreading chaos across the region and they want it to be held accountable for its many crimes and abuses of human rights. The current flooding crisis has just added to their anger and frustration. The regime has spectacularly failed to provide an adequate response to the crisis and it has left the people to fend for themselves. As wel
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Iran steps up quest to dominate Iraq with attack on Kurds

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By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh Although Iran’s rising influence in the region is in the spotlight, Tehran’s treatment of Kurds has been receiving less attention. Interactions between the Iranian regime and the Kurdish population have been mainly subject to political polemics rather than scholarly work. Iran has ratcheted up its anti-Kurdish policy in recent months. Most recently, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked a Kurdish base in Koysinjaq, located east of Irbil in northern Iraq, killing at least 12 people and wounding 50 others. According to a statement by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), “Iran used long-range missiles in a coordinated attack on PDKI’s bases and adjacent refugee camps.” The Iranian regime strikes also hit the headquarters of a different Kurdish group, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI). Such deadly assaults point to the regime’s hypocrisy and a double standards-based policy toward the Kurds, as the Iranian leaders frequ
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Is the creation of restrictions on writers and human rights activists in social media not equal to double censorship?

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  By  Reza Hoseani Twitter while simultaneously closing the fake accounts of the Ministry of Intelligence and Cybercrime of the Iranian regime, have also closed some accounts of the opposition of religious dictatorship of Iran. Among these, Twitter accounts was Reza Hoseani's account @RezaHoseaninia, a writer and human rights activist in Iran under the rule of the mullahs who was suspended. Nearly 50 users from different countries supported him in supporting his opening account in a joint effort: https://twitter.com/IranNowNew/status/1114072655953637376 But despite that, Twitter continues to disregard. In fact, accounts of the opposition of the fascist regime in Iran are not immune from this regime's cyber-mass attacks and reports. On the other hand, Twitter in one action removed one of the Ali Khamenei's tweets, the Supreme Leader of the Mullahs regime, in which the writer's death fatwas were emphasized. Iran regime's foreign minister, Jawad Zarif,
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IRGC's Terror Designation by US Could Hurt Iran Regime's Economy

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The United States placed the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in the State Department's terrorist list Let's take a glimpse of a good article from Shahriar Kia By Shahriar Kia The US State Department’s decision to place the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on their list of foreign terrorist organisations could substantially harm the regime’s already damaged economy, according to analysts at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). The move forms part of the US’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran's regime, which is designed to bring the mullahs back to the table for negotiations over their malign behaviour. Dr. Raz Zimmt, an expert on Iran at the INSS, said that the decision had “the potential to cause a lot of damage”. The IRGC, which was created by Khomeini after the 1979 Islamic Revolution as his personal army, now controls around a third of the Iranian economy via subsidiaries and trusts, including its nuclear program, t
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IRGC Concerned Over PMOI/MEK Revelations Regarding Flood Disaster

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Worried about exposing the real dimensions of  the flood  and the destructive role of the IRGC and government agencies, the clerical regime tries to prevent the expression of people’s anger and further revelations by threats and suppression. Revolutionary Guards:  Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) , by exploiting the flood, distorts confidence in the IRGC, it must be acted upon decisively. While the role of the  Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)  and other government bodies in the severity of the flood and the spread of its consequences and its victims, especially in Shiraz, is becoming more clear every day, the IRGC News Agency (Fars) announced on March 27, “The enemies, especially the PMOI, have once again resorted to rumors and lies… And by exploiting the flood incident, they intend to distort the mentality, belief and trust of the people towards the revolutionary and popular IRGC, so that in their mind, make the Revolutionary Guards and the Armed Forces passive… In this regard, competent au
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