Iran: Demonstration of 10,000 people in Mashhad chanting "Death to the dictator" "No to High Prices"

Thousands of protesters demonstrate in Mashhad saying Death to the Dictator

The demonstration of the people of Mashhad, which began this morning at Shohada square in front of the city's municipality, spread quickly to a vast area of the city, with the participation of about 10,000 people. Demonstrators, who included men and women, elderly people and children, chanted 'No to high prices', 'Rouhani’s government; with empty promises', 'If you stop one case of embezzlement, our problems will be solved', 'Neither Gaza, nor Lebanon, my soul is sacrificed for Iran'.The presence of women in this gathering was impressive.

 

 

 

Before the rally started, a large number of repressive forces and counterinsurgency guards were present in the place. However, due to large number of people they could not do anything. People pushed the police forces aside and continued to demonstrate. Half an hour after the gathering, the crowd moved to the shrine of Imam Reza. The people who were plundered by various financial institutions joined the rally too. Police officers began shooting into air and throwing tear gas in order to intimidate and disperse the people, but the youth threw back the tear gas to the regime's forces. People chanted: 'Police, go and arrest the thief', 'Death to Rouhani' and 'Death to the dictator.'

 

 

When people gathered in front of the shrine of Imam Reza, police forces attacked the people and severely beat a number of them, and sprayed tear gas at the eyes of a woman. This made people furious and in protest against this brutal attack, they broke a number of middle-of-the-road blocks and signs and fences and punished the officers who had beaten the women. The arrival of water cannon vehicles made people angrier who attacked the water cannons with rocks, wood and glass, and clashed with the repressive forces who were shooting at them. The clashes left a number of people harmed and wounded. A number of repressive forces, scared of people, escaped from the scene by their motorcycles.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

Iranian Judiciary Insists on Pursuing Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iranian judiciary insists pursuing former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , who faces charges of corruption. Judicial spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei rejected Friday prayers' leader proposal for arbitration between the judiciary and Ahmadinejad, following days of exchanged accusations between the two sides through the media.

Last week, Ahmadinejad launched unprecedented criticism of Iran's judiciary, particularly the head of the judiciary, Sadeq Larijani.

Larijani, according to Ahmadinejad, is a “greedy, land-grabbing tyrant” and a totally “unjust” figure who should immediately resign as chief-justice, otherwise the whole ruling system would collapse.

The judiciary was among the institutions highly criticized by President Hassan Rouhani who accused it of blocking his government's efforts in fighting corruption, however tensions between the two subsided after Rouhani’s second presidential term.

The dispute between the judiciary and Ahmadinejad peaked after the judiciary summoned a number of Ahmadinejad's aides and advisers over the past three months and charged them with various charges including corruption and propaganda against the regime.

Ahmadinejad's group denied the charges, accusing the judiciary of politicizing the issues, settling personal disagreement between Speaker Ali Larijani and head of the judiciary Sadeq Larijani on one side and Ahmadinejad on the other.

Earlier, Iran’s Guardian Council rejected Ahmadinejad's request and his assistant Hamid Baghaei for the presidential election.

On Sunday, Mohseni-Ejei said that the justice system is determined to face criminals, referring to Ahmadinejad's criticisms, Mohseni-Ejei said that 'the hype' will not prevent the legal course from being followed, justifying the delay in facing Ahmadinejad's behavior with 'wisdom' without giving further details.

'Some say we should refer these to medical jurisprudence to determine their mental capabilities. If we are to refer someone to medical jurisprudence, we will do it,' he added.

Mohseni-Ejei also commented on Friday prayers' leader proposal Mohammad Emami Kashani for the formation of an arbitration committee to discuss the issues raised by Ahmadinejad against the judiciary, saying that nothing like that has been discussed.

Regarding holding a public trial for Ahmadinejad, Mohseni-Ejei said that public and non-public trials have their own conditions and the court hadn’t been formed yet, describing it as a “secondary issue.”

Last month, Ahmadinejad sent an open letter to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei demanding that his judicial file be referred to the former president of Iran's judiciary, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi.

Over the past two weeks, the former president posted two recordings on his website criticizing Iran's justice system.

Judges considered Ahmadinejad's behavior an attempt to evade legal accountability, but Ejei denied that Ahmadinejad's use of recordings could prevent prosecution on charges of spreading lies.

Meanwhile, 'Bahar News' website stated on Sunday that the Iranian security and judicial authorities summoned dozens of Ahmadinejad's supporters to the Prosecutor. The website noted that over the past few weeks, the Iranian judiciary has issued arrest orders to dozens of Ahmadinejad's supporters, adding that they are 'held in solitary confinement.'

The website claimed that a number of detainees were briefed on a list of 188 Ahmadinejad supporters in social networks. The authorities ordered the suspension of their mobile phone calls or their bank accounts, the website added.

On the other hand, Ejei quoted the Iranian Prosecutor Hossein Ali Montazeri that the judiciary is following the involvement of some government officials in the smuggling of goods, hoping the announcement of the results of the investigation will not be delayed.

On Wednesday, Montazeri revealed the involvement of some Iranian officials and members of their families in the smuggling of goods.

The amount of smuggled goods is estimated between $15 billion and $25 billion annually, Iranian media reported in January 2017. Officials say the illegal merchandise reached about $25 billion, however the Iran's Central Task Force to Combat Smuggling of Commodities and Currency says the rate has reached $12.5 billion during Rouhani’s residency.

In August, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said smuggling decreased from $25 billion to $12 billions. In addition, the speaker indicated last week that Iran’s economy faces 38 challenges, ruling out a growth’s possibility over the upcoming year.

Larijani reiterated that the budget is not enough to run the country, adding that the country’s income comes from oil revenues and taxes and barely reaches $70 billion.

Saudi interior ministry: Kingdom facing terrorists with links to Iran

Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said that those involved in the murder of a judge in Qatif had links to Iran

Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry spokesman has said that the kingdom is currently facing terrorist groups with ties to Iran.

Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said on Monday that terrorists involved in the murder of a judge in the Department of Endowments in the eastern province of Qatif province, Mohammed al-Jirani, were tied to Iran.

“Terrorism sponsors avoid leaving the evidence of their involvement to not be condemned internationally, however they form proxy groups to conduct terrorism operations that are supported and financed by them like the Houthi Militias in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” Gen. al-Turki said.

“We were able to expel the terrorist elements from al-Masawara neighborhood in the town of Awamiya in Qatif province,” he said.

He also confirmed the death of wanted terrorist Salman al-Faraj, one of the kidnappers of al-Jirani, as well as the arrest of his half-brother, Zaki al-Faraj.

In his statement he said that a number of terrorists participated in the kidnapping of the judge Jirani, who was taken to an abandoned farm in Awamiyah and killed.

He said that the kingdom provides all resources available for the security services to exercise their functions in tracking terrorists.

Critics Highlight Iran’s Persecution of Christians

Iranian Christians attending a church service in Tehran

 Iran’s foreign minister encountered an angry response on Sunday when he took to Twitter on Christmas Eve to wish a “happy and peaceful Christmas to all.”
Citing a verse from the Quran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif declared: “May Christ’s universal message of peace be embraced in the coming year.”
Dozens of responses to Zarif’s message emphasized Iran’s long record of persecuting Christians. Many of them highlighted the arrest of four Iranian converts to Christianity in the city of Karaj on December 12.
According to Article 18, an organization that advocates on behalf of persecuted Christians in Iran, “Milad Goudarzi, Amin Khaki, Alireza Nour-Mohammadi and Shehabuddin Shahi were all arrested by security forces on Tuesday, December 12, in Karaj.” Six houses used by the converts as a church were also reported to have been raided by the Iranian regime’s security forces.
Iranian Christian news outlet Mohabat News reported in addition that security forces raided two shops belonging to two of the detainees.
The shops were sealed off for “overcharging”, “profiteering” and “breaking guild regulations.” A Bible and a laptop computer were also confiscated.
IRNA, the Iranian regime’s official mouthpiece reported that “elements of a devious Christian cult who were promoting it and attempting to disrupt the market and economic order have been arrested.”
Iranian official figures show that more than 100,000 Christians live in Iran, although some Christian organizations believe the number could be 270,000 or even more. While traditional ethnic churches, such as the Armenian church, are generally tolerated, evangelical Christians and converts are brutally treated by the authorities. Under Iranian law, converting from Islam to another faith is a crime that can carry the death penalty.
At least five church leaders have been murdered and hundreds more have been either interrogated or incarcerated in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Publishing the Persian version of the Bible in Iran is forbidden, while several churches have been forced to shut down. Yet the persecution does not appear to have deterred the growing community of Christian believers: according to the mission research organization Operation World, Iran’s Christian population has been rising by almost 20 percent annually — more than any other country in the world.
In June 2017, one Iranian and three Azeri converts to Christianity were each sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for engaging in missionary activities and “conducting activities against national security.” The four men were arrested one year earlier, after they traveled to Tehran to visit privately with Christian friends, and incarcerated in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
Iran was listed as one of the world’s worst violators of religious liberty in the 2017 annual report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
“Since 2010, authorities arbitrarily have arrested and detained more than 600 Christians throughout the country,” the report noted. “Over the past year, there were numerous incidents of Iranian authorities raiding church services, threatening church members, and arresting and imprisoning worshipers and church leaders, particularly Evangelical Christian converts.”

UN urged to act against Iran over Houthi missiles

The United Nations emblem

 The UN was urged on Saturday to take action against Iran for breaking an arms embargo by illegally supplying missiles to Houthi militias in Yemen.
The calls followed a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution late on Friday that condemned “in the strongest possible terms” last week’s Houthi ballistic missile attack targeting Al-Yamamah Royal Palace in Riyadh.
All 15 council members “expressed alarm at the stated intention of the Houthis to continue these attacks against Saudi Arabia, as well as to launch additional attacks against other states in the region.”
The council urged all UN member states to fully implement the arms embargo against Houthi militias as required by the relevant Security Council resolutions, and expressed its grave concern about continuing violations of the embargo.
It called again for all parties to engage constructively in the peace efforts of Esmail Ould Shaikh Ahmad, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Yemen.
The condemnation was fully merited but the Security Council should have gone farther, analysts and experts told Arab News.
“In addition to expressing grave concern, the UN should take action against Iran, the country that has provided the Houthis with the missiles that targeted Riyadh. Iran is the only country that continues to violate the arms embargo imposed by the UNSC Resolution 2216, which was issued under Chapter VII of the UN Charter,” said Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg, the assistant secretary-general for political and negotiation affairs at the Gulf Cooperation Council.
“Instead of merely expressing generic concern at the continued non implementation of previous Security Council resolutions, it should have named the party that has refused so far to come back to the negotiating table. That party is the Iranian-allied Houthi militias.
“The government of Yemen has ‘engaged constructively’ with the UN special envoy, but the Houthis have failed to return to negotiations toward reaching a final and comprehensive agreement to end the conflict.”
The council’s statement “reaffirms the international community’s commitment to finding a political solution to the conflict in Yemen,” Fahad Nazer, a fellow at the National Council on US-Arab Relations, told Arab News.
“It also makes clear that the Houthis have not only alienated their fellow Yemeni citizens by trying to impose their will on the rest of Yemeni society but they have also been widely condemned by the international community.
“Their callous disregard for the safety and security of the people of Yemen and their continuing violations of international resolutions and laws by targeting civilians and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia has made them international pariahs.”

Houthi desperation

“As the Houthis lose territory and the scant support they have left in Yemen, they have attempted to broaden and further complicate the conflict by increasing their attacks against Saudi Arabia and by threatening to attack the UAE. These tactics are indicative of their desperation, as they find themselves isolated at home and abroad.”
Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri, a political analyst and international relations scholar in Riyadh, called for serious measures to prevent the Iran-backed militias from threatening regional peace. The Security Council should take action to halt Iranian aggression, which posed a threat to many Arab countries such as Lebanon and Iraq, he said.
The international community should focus on ways of stopping Iran from supporting terrorism, Al-Shehri said. “If they don’t want to punish Iran now, at least stop these militias.”
Experts also urged the UN to ensure that Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah, which is occupied by the Houthis, was not used as a supply route for Iranian missiles and other arms.
The Saudi-led Arab Coalition in Yemen closed the port last month after a Houthi ballistic missile attack on Riyadh on Nov. 4. It later reopened to receive shipments of humanitarian aid and relief supplies, and remains operational despite last Tuesday’s further missile attack on the Saudi capital, and evidence that both missiles were supplied by Iran.
“While the UN Security Council is no doubt very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen, it should take action by deploying UN staff to supervise the port of Hodeidah to make sure that it is used solely for civilian purposes and not as a conduit for Iranian weapons,” Aluwaisheg told Arab News.

Medical and food aid

Aid delivered through the ports of Hodeidah and Salif is also being misappropriated by the Houthi militias, the Coalition said on Saturday. Its spokesman, Col. Turki Al-Maliki, accused the Houthis of hampering the distribution of vaccines and stealing medical and food aid.
The theft of vaccines is particularly serious, after the International Committee of the Red Cross said there were now one million cases of cholera in Yemen and they expect another serious outbreak next March and April.
The King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid has established more than 250 projects in Yemen at a cost of $895 million, its general supervisor, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, said on Saturday.
The projects are operated with local partners and specialized UN agencies, and cover health, sanitation and programs for women and children.

Pentagon: Iran, Russia, Pakistan Continue to Support Afghan Taliban

Iran is accused of helping Taliban

Russia, Iran, and Pakistan continue to undermine U.S. interests in Afghanistan by engaging with the Taliban, the most prominent terrorists fighting against American troops in the war-ravaged country, the Pentagon claimed in a new assessment.
In its recently unveiled assessment of security conditions in Afghanistan, which covers the period from June 1 through November 30, the Pentagon notes:
Russia continued to seek ways to undermine U.S. influence in the region by disseminating false information about U.S. objectives, engaging with the Taliban, and putting pressure on Central Asian neighbors to deny support to U.S. and NATO efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.
Iran provides some support to the Taliban and publicly justifies its relationship with the Taliban as a means to combat the spread of ISIS-K [Islamic State -Khorasan] in Afghanistan.
 Iran’s support to the Taliban undermines the Afghan Government’s credibility, adds to instability in the region, and complicates strategic partnership agreements.
Meanwhile, Pakistan reportedly continues to serve as a sanctuary for Taliban terrorists and other jihadists in the region, which is home to the “highest concentration” of extremists in the world.
“Although Pakistani military operations have disrupted some militant sanctuaries, certain extremist groups—such as the [Afghan] Taliban and the Haqqani Network—retains freedom of movement in Pakistan,” notes the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in the report.
The al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked Haqqani Network “remains the greatest threat” against U.S. troops and their allies in Afghanistan, reveals the assessment.
Alluding to Pakistan, the Pentagon states, “The exploitation of ungoverned sanctuaries outside of Afghanistan by terrorists and Afghan insurgents remains the single greatest external threat to the coalition campaign,” adding:
External sanctuary continues to hamper efforts to bring Afghan Taliban senior leadership to the negotiating table and allows space for terrorist groups like the Haqqani Network to plan coordinated operations against U.S. and coalition forces, the [Afghan forces], and civilians, and enables the Afghan Taliban to rest, refit, and regenerate.
Iran seeks to expand its influence and limit U.S. influence and military presence, particularly in western Afghanistan.
Nearly one-third of the opium and heroin that moves out of Afghanistan, the world’s top producer of the two deadly drugs, transits through Iran, acknowledged the U.S. military recently.
“About 40 percent of [the Afghan opium and heroin] does go out through Pakistan, about 30 percent through Iran, about 30 percent through the north,” U.S. Gen. John Nicholson, the top commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, told reporters late last month.
Gen. Nicholson has conceded that Iran, Pakistan, and Russia lend support to the Afghan Taliban and has urged them to stop.
The number of effective terrorist attacks in Afghanistan has “slightly” dropped in the last few months, according to the Pentagon.
Citing data from the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), the Pentagon notes, “From June 1 to November 20, 2017, the number of effective enemy-initiated attacks were slightly lower than the previous reporting period (December 2016-May 2017); averaging between 780 per month.”
The attacks are down from “4,806 effective enemy-initiated attacks, with a monthly average of 801” during December 1, 2016, to May 31, 2017.
However, the Pentagon points out that recent gains remain “fragile.”
“The hard-won gains in Afghanistan—by the Afghans, the United States, NATO and the international community—remain fragile, but are worth defending,” reports DOD, later cautioning, “Our commitment is enduring but not unlimited; our support is not a blank check.”
The DOD stressed that the U.S. combat mission remains over, noting that the ANDSF, which includes police and army units, are still leading the fighting.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama ended the combat mission at the end of 2014.
While the Pentagon assessment reveals that the ANDSF’s effectiveness has improved, it concedes that the force is still facing challenges.

On Trump’s national security plan and Iran

President Trump speaking alongside Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis as he holds a Cabinet Meeting in the White House.

 For years, Iran has been accurately labeled as the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. Now, quietly with little notice beyond the region, the militant regime in Iran has established a major land force in Syria effectively threatening the existence of Israel.
Using the cover of helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against domestic insurgents, Tehran has stationed an estimated 125,000 troops in that country, outnumbering the Syrian army, and enhanced by Russian forces. This is in addition to thousands of Iranian militia allegedly helping Iraq forces extinguish ISIS threats there.
United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley outlined last week how Iran is flouting U.N. resolutions by supporting and arming Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who recently fired an Iranian missile into Saudi Arabia.
Under pressure from U.S.-advised troops and Iranian and Russian attacks, ISIS has declined as an organized military threat, leaving Iranian and allied Hezbollah forces with time and motivation to make other mischief.
White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster’s team is developing a post-ISIS strategy focusing on neutralizing or containing the looming threat of Iran to Israel and U.S. forces.
In his national security outline this week, President Trump noted the global balance of power has shifted in recent years in ways adverse to U.S. interests. He focused on Russia and China in this congressionally mandated statement, adding realistically, “Whether we like it or not, we are engaged in a new era of competition.”
But Iran is likely to be a major policy target in the new year when the McMaster strategy is completed. With American troops fighting in Afghanistan for the 17th year, presenting a case for confronting Iran anew is likely to take considerable public education and selling, short of a direct attack by Iran on Israel or American troops.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary James Mattis has indicated the 2,000 special operations forces stationed in Syria are not going anywhere in order to stymie any ISIS rebirth. But this raises the possibility of armed encounters with Iran’s forces.
Already, U.S. planes have downed two armed Iranian drones. Israeli planes regularly bomb Hezbollah convoys in Syria. And intelligence reports say Iran is building a missile base in northwest Syria.
“What we face,” McMaster said recently, “is the prospect of Iran having a proxy army on the borders of Israel.” That’s a more imminent threat to our closest Middle Eastern ally than the long-standing — and remaining — concern about Iranian missiles traveling the 600 miles to “erase” Israel, as Tehran has threatened.
President Barack Obama preferred ineffective words, red lines and sanctions against the Syrian regime. He ignored Iran’s troop buildup in Syria in favor of negotiating his much-coveted nuclear weapons agreement with Tehran. Trump has denounced that agreement as “incomprehensibly bad” and certified to Congress this fall that Iran is not living up to the spirit of the pact.
With Trump already facing down a rapidly developing nuclear threat from North Korea, the stakes with Iran are high and growing. Such confrontations are likely to figure in the budget debate over the GOP’s enhanced defense appropriation desires vs. the domestic spending priorities of Democrats.
No U.N. resolutions, sanctions or words have halted Iran’s expansionist ambitions. Like Russia, Iran has cycled much of its armed forces through years of Syrian fighting, giving them real-life regular army training under Russians and actual combat experience for whatever Iran’s future military plans might be.
The nonpartisan Institute for the Study of War reported earlier this year that “Iranian military cooperation with Russia in Syria is dramatically increasing Tehran’s ability to plan and conduct complex conventional operations ... (and) is transforming its military to be able to conduct quasi-conventional warfare hundreds of miles from its borders. This capability, which very few states in the world have, will fundamentally alter the strategic calculus and balance of power within the Middle East.”
Washington has been consumed this month with passing the tax bill and a continuing spending resolution, both of which have been languishing all fall. And, of course, there’s a half-month recess to enjoy.
But the volatile Iranian problem, like that annual arrival of post-holiday credit-card bills, is likely to come due early in 2018.

US imposes new sanctions against Iran, threatens to scrap nuclear deal

Iran IRGC

The last year saw many controversial steps taken by the administration of US President Donald Trump, but the harsh policy on Iran, including the introduction of new sanctions against Tehran over its ballistic missile program and refusal to certify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are among the most notable issues worth reflecting upon.
Trump’s policy on Iran created uncertainty and anxiety among the international community, which fears that the US president may follow through on his threats to scrap the deal signed in July 2015 by Iran, the European Union and the P5+1 group of nations comprising the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany after 20 months of difficult negotiations.
New Rounds of Sanctions
The agreement stipulating the gradual cancellation of the sanctions in exchange for Tehran abandoning its nuclear program did not stop the US administration from toughening the restrictions it imposed on Iran as in August Trump enacted new sanctions against the country over its missile program. According to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, any individuals who are engaged in or support in any way the Iranian government’s ballistic missile program and other programs related to weapons of mass destruction that “directly threaten the United States and key allies in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond,” should have their property seized, visas denied, or even be expelled by Washington.
The law also imposed restrictions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite faction of Iran’s military which is said to be executing Tehran’s “policy of supporting terrorist and insurgent groups” and “destabilizing activities.” The sanctions included property seizures, suspension of entry into the United States and prohibition of transactions with individuals engaged in IRGC activities.
The move was widely criticized by senior Iranian officials, who claimed that the US law had violated the provisions of the JCPOA which were signed in July 2015 by Iran, the European Union and the P5+1 group of nations comprising the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had even warned that Tehran might pull out from the nuclear deal “within days or hours” if the United States continued its hostile policy, accusing Washington of being “neither a good partner nor a reliable negotiating party.” US officials have argued that sanctions were not related to the country’s nuclear program and therefore did not violate the deal.
Trump made the US relations with Iran even tenser by announcing on October 13 more sanctions against entities related to the ballistic missile program and the IRGC. Trump’s move prompted an immediate response from Tehran, with its Foreign Ministry warning that it would have “a consistent and harsh reaction” to the measures against the IRGC. Furthermore, the Iranian military vowed to speed up the development of the country’s missile program.
The next month the US Treasury Department expanded the sanctions against Tehran even further, imposing restrictions on the IRGS-related Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization, Air Force, Al-Ghadir Missile Command, and Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization.
Even during his election campaign, Trump labeled the JCPOA as “the worst deal ever negotiated.” Since assuming the office in January, he had repeatedly slammed Iran for alleged non-compliance with the deal and threatened to pull out from the agreement which was actively promoted by his predecessor Barack Obama and led to the removal of all nuclear-related US sanctions against Tehran.
The Western diplomats and leaders exerted efforts to convince the Trump administration of the JCPOA’s merits on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. For example, the issue has been discussed at the bilateral meetings between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Theresa May, however, they did not manage to make him change his stance. Trump told May that he had already made his mind on what he would do next month, when he was due to announce whether to certify Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA.
On September 19, Trump addressed the UN General Assembly on various international issues, including the nuclear deal with Iran and Tehran’s policy in the Middle East. The US president accused the Iranian authorities of funding terrorism, backing Syrian President Bashar Assad’s “dictatorship” and fueling the war in Yemen. Trump also stated that the nuclear deal served as a disguise for Iran’s nuclear program and called the deal itself an “embarrassment” to the United States.
Next day, the foreign ministers of all signatory states convened the meeting of the Joint Commission on the deal’s implementation. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson explained to his counterparts that the Obama administration implemented the deal through the executive order without congressional ratification, and therefore the United States was seeking to renegotiate the terms of the agreement so that it satisfied the incumbent president and the US citizens. He also confirmed that Trump had decided on whether to walk away from the deal, which prompted concerns about the US potential withdrawal.
On October 13, apart from announcing fresh sanctions, Trump stated that his administration had decided not to re-certify Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA. He added that the White House would work with Congress and its allies abroad to fix “many serious flaws” of the agreement, in particular replacing temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program with permanent ones, and threatened to otherwise unilaterally terminate the deal. The US president citied Iran’s alleged non-compliance with the deal, referring to the fact that Iran had exceeded agreed-upon limits on its heavy water stocks several times.
If Washington pulls out of the agreement, it’s likely to not only re-impose its own nuclear-related sanctions on Iran’s economy, but might also demand the reinstatement of the UNSC’s sanctions, which were promoted by former US presidents George Bush and Barack Obama, and later lifted after the JCPOA was signed.
The United States sees sanctions and strengthening restrictions under the nuclear deal as coercive means to curb Iran’s aggressive policy in the Middle East, which contradict the US security interests. This includes Iran’s funding of the Shiite militia in crisis-torn Lebanon and Yemen, primarily through its ally, the Hezbollah movement, as well as support for the Assad government in Syria and engagement in the diplomatic row between Qatar and Arab states.
Furthermore, Washington is using economic and political pressure to roll back Iran’s non-nuclear military development, first and foremost, the country’s ballistic missile program which poses a direct threat to Iran’s adversaries and the US allies in the region, namely Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council, in particular Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) think tank, noted that despite division within the Congress on the nuclear deal, the US officials were sharing concerns with Tehran’s persistent attempts to arm Hezbollah in order to increase its military role in the region.
“Whatever the debate over the JCPOA, there may well be a broader consensus in the administration that Iran’s growing military role in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere in the region must be countered,” Abrams wrote in his blog post for CFR.
The harsh stance on Iran, though broadly criticized by other parties to the JCPOA, was welcomed by the United States’ major allies in the region, which have long been countering Iran’s attempt to gain stronger influence in the region. This, in turn, forged an unlikely alliance between the Israelis and the Saudis, who hold opposing positions on the Palestinian issue.
In November, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. General Gadi Eisenkot said in an interview with the Saudi Elaph newspaper that Israel was willing to share intelligence with Saudi Arabia regarding Iran’s activities in the region, with Iranian media even alleging that Israel is directly lobbying the US Congress to abandon the deal with Iran.
At the same time, the Trump administration may pursue certain goals in its domestic policy through exerting additional pressure on Iran.
Gianluca Pastori, an adjunct professor at Italy’s Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, told Sputnik that the sanctions policy aimed at proving to Congress that the Trump administration’s international stance was tougher than the approach of the previous administration.
“[Such moves] have a strong domestic dimension, appeasing the largely anti-Iranian Congress and remarking the difference existing between the current and the previous administration,” the expert said.

General Assembly demands all States comply with UN resolution regardsing status of Jerusalem

Wide view of the General Assembly Hall. UN Photo

 By an overwhelming majority, Member States in the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday “demanded” that all countries comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the status of Jerusalem.
Through a resolution adopted by a recorded vote of 128 in favour to nine against, with 35 abstentions, the 193-member Assembly expressed “deep regret” over recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem and stressed that the Holy City “is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations in line with relevant UN resolutions.”
Action in the Assembly today follows a failed attempt by the Security Council on Monday adopt a similar text reflecting regret among the body’s members about “recent decisions regarding the status of Jerusalem,” with a veto from the United States, a permanent member of the Council.
Ahead of that failed resolution, Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Security Council that the security situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory had become more tense in the wake of US President Donald Trump's decision on 6 December to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Resolutions in the Assembly are non-binding and do not carry the force of international law as do measures agreed in the Security Council.

Iran reacts to UN’s 64th resolution with continued executions

By a recorded vote of 81 in favor, 30 against, and 70 abstentions, the Assembly adopted its resolution on the “Situation of human rights in Iran”.

 The Iranian regime hanged eight inmates on December 20, 2017, in Rajaii Shahr Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran. The prisoners had been transferred to solitary confinement on December 18, in a group of 10, in preparation for their executions.
Four of the victims are identified as Mostafa Chardouli, Amirabbas Ardestari, Nima Esmailian and 24-year-old Hamid Abdollahi, who had been on death row since five years ago.
Two prisoners identified as Mohammad Ghobad and Ali Masoumi have had their executions scheduled but were postponed at the last minute.
The mass execution came one day after the United NationsGeneral Assembly adopted its 64th resolution on Tuesday, December 19, against violations of human right in Iran.
In another development, a prisoner was hanged on December 19 in Central Prison of Zanjan, northwestern Iran. Yasin Abedi was found guilty of murder. He had been on death row since 2012.
Another inmate identified as Mehrdad Mohammadi, 33 was hanged on December 17 in Dizel Abad Prison of Kermanshah, western Iran. He was also found guilty of murder.
Iran continues its unabated executions, defying the wave of international criticism at its human rights violations.
UN General Assembly adopted its 64th resolution on Tuesday, December 19, against violations of human right in Iran.
By a recorded vote of 81 in favor, 30 against, and 70 abstentions, the Assembly adopted its resolution on the “Situation of human rights in Iran”. The Assembly expressed serious concern over use of the death penalty and urged Iran to eliminate all discrimination and rights violations against women and girls.
The UN General Assembly expressed “serious concern at the alarmingly high frequency of the imposition and carrying-out of the death penalty… including the imposition of the death penalty against minors and persons who at the time of their offence were under the age of 18, and executions undertaken for crimes that do not qualify as the most serious crimes, on the basis of forced confessions” and called on the Iranian regime “to abolish, in law and in practice, public executions.”

Iran: Continuing Executions, even on the International Human Rights Day

National Council of Resistance of Iran

Last week coinciding with International Human Rights day, the cycle of lashings, torture and executions continued in Iran under the religious fascism, taking more victims.

From December 11 to 14, Iran witnessed 11 executions in the cities of Sari, Kermanshah, Ardebil, Isfahan, Khuy and Shiraz. These included three public hangings. In this period at least 14 inmates of Karaj prison, west of Tehran, were sentenced to death.

On December 11, five prisoners were mass executed in Diesel Abad prison of Kermanshah, and a prisoner was hanged in Sari prison - Northern Iran.

Aimed at raising the atmosphere of fear across the country, the regime publicly hanged two inmates accused of killing Asghar Ghezavati, a member of Iran regime’s police force. These executions were carried out in the city of Isfahan on December 13..

One of the individuals, Abdul-Majeed Hassan Zehi, was hanged without any prior information of the timing of his execution. Two days before his hanging he was suddenly transferred to solitary confinement. This criminal measure sparked anger among the public.

On December 14 an inmate in the city of Khuy was hanged in public. Another inmate was hanged on the same day in the city of Shiraz.

The relentless continuation of ruthless hangings are aimed at intensifying a climate of fear and preventing social unrest. On December 10 Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Yazdi, commander of the so-called Mohammad Rasulollah Division, missioned to maintain security in Tehran, warned of a social earthquake.

Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of Iran’s parliament, expressed concern of “super challenges” that await this regime.

The Iranian Resistance calls on the entire Iranian populace, especially the youth, to protest these ruthless punishments and express their solidarity with the victims’ families. The international community should hinge its trade and agreements with this regime on the immediate halt of executions and torture.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran