Dissident Provides Harrowing Account Of Iran's Prisons

Former Iranian political prisoner Shabnam Madadzadeh

The Middle East has been topping headlines recently as ISIS is being defeated in both Iraq and Syria, and Iran is playing a significantly destructive role in both campaigns and across the region.

All the while, the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is gearing up for its massive annual convention in Paris. The July 1st rally will be the stage of hundreds of prominent figures from four corners of the globe and most likely over 100,000 members of the Iranian Diaspora expressing support for the NCRI President Maryam Rajavi’s and her ten-point-plan platform for a future Iran without the mullahs.

I had a chance recently to sit down and talk with Shabnam Madadzadeh, a young Iranian woman and former political prisoner who just recently was able to exit Iran. She has written articles and delivered remarks in different events shedding light on Iran’s dungeons atrocious conditions.

Shabnam Madadzadeh:

I was a college student in Iran and like my brother I spent five years in the regime’s jails as a political prisoner. Long interrogations, solitary confinement, forced to witness my brother being beaten, deprived of any contact with my family, death threats and mock executions were the tortures I was placed through.

These methods are used by the Iranian regime to obtain so-called “confessions” and forge a case against you in court, while depriving you of legal representation. I was sentenced to prison and exiled in the notorious Gohardasht Prison in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran.

During my time behind bars I was deprived of any furlough. I witnessed many crimes by the regime authorities, many executions and tortures inflicted not only on political prisoners, but also ordinary inmates arrested on other charges.

In prison I was in a ward with hundreds of other women and up close I witnessed the human rights violations they suffered. Time and again in prison I was deprived of family visits and phone calls for informing the world about the harsh conditions those women went through and the circumstances inside the prison walls. I was also deprived of medical care.

Former EU Vice-President: West Must Be Vigilant Against Iran Propaganda

Iran Focus

London, 30 Jun - The Former European Parliament Vice-President Alejo Vidal-Quadras has warned that the West needs to be more vigilant against Iranian propaganda, which depicts the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism as an ally in the War on Terror.

Vidal-Quadras, president of the Brussels-based International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ), wrote that the Iranian Regime often tries to paint its actions, like launching missiles towards the Deir-es-Zour region of eastern Syria, as justified in the war on terror, but they aren’t.

If we believe that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were firing on ISIS in response to a terror attack, we have to ask why they gave no warning to the US-backed troops who were fighting ISIS on the ground. Iran does not care which side you’re on; they only want control of the region.

Even the terror attack that the Regime claim to have been avenging, may have been orchestrated by the Regime as a way of conveying the rest of the world to feel pity for them.

Maryam Rajavi, president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that the number one state sponsor of terror was trying the switch its media portrayal from murderer and victim while still supporting terrorism.

Vidal-Quadras wrote: “The real victims of these vicious actions are the innocent people killed or wounded that deserve indeed our solidarity, and not the cruelest and oppressive regime of the planet…. [The Regime is] trying to overcome the country’s economic and political isolation without compromising on its violent and destabilising activities in the region and the world.”

Even if the attacks were really perpetrated by ISIS, it still doesn’t excuse the Regime’s past behaviour; if a serial killer got his arm broken by another serial killer, he’d still be tried for the murders he committed, right?

Vidal-Quadras wrote: “The latest ISIS attacks change nothing about the Iranian regime’s history, ideology, or conduct. Since its co-opting of the 1979 popular revolution, that regime, and in particular its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has been the main driving force behind Islamic extremism on both sides of the sectarian divide.”

This divide may have even created ISIS and other Sunni militant groups in the Middle East, so the Iranian Regime is in effect the founder of ISIS. In many ways, the Iranian Regime and ISIS are two sides of the same coin; the abhor human rights, have adversarial relationships with the West, and promote terrorism around the world.

Vidal-Quadras wrote: “It is important for the entire international community to remember that any expansion in economic, political, or security cooperation with Tehran will be an act of outreach to the totalitarian regime that has had the most profoundly destructive impact on the lives of the Iranian people, killing untold numbers of dissidents and activists since the inception of the Islamic Republic, including 30,000 political prisoners, mostly from the opposition group MEK, in the summer of 1988.”

This is why we must support the Iranian Resistance (NCRI/MEK) and its elected leader Maryam Rajavi, who currently serves as a government-in-exile and have a ten-point plan to create an Iran for the 21st century. They believe in having better relations with other countries, ending Iran’s links to terrorism, and putting human rights at the centre of their organisation.

On July 1, the Resistance is holding a Free Iran rally in Paris with over 100,000 dignitaries, politicians and activists in attendance, where they will call for freedom for their people. The blacklisting of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terror organisation and convince Western government that they don’t have to support the lesser of two evils in Iran.

MEK Supporters Are Defying the Iranian Regime

Iran Focus

London, 29 Jun - The Iranian Resistance (MEK) have reported hundreds of acts of defiance within the country, ahead of the Free Iran gathering in Paris, on July 1.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)/People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (MEK) report that hundreds of MEK supporters in Iran are risking their livings and their freedom in order to show their support for the MEK; from distributing pro-MEK leaflets to sticking up posters to acts of graffiti on Regime property/propaganda.

The acts, documented with video footage or photos, have been compiled into a video clip to be easily shared.

The posters show NCRI leaders Maryam and Massoud Rajavi with slogans like: “My vote regime change, down with Khamenei, our choice Maryam Rajavi.”

These acts of defiance are incredibly risky in Iran, where merely being a supporter of the MEK could lead to imprisonment and torture or even death.

The Iranian Regime, which slanders the MEK as a terrorist group despite no evidence, executes hundreds of people each year on political offences. The MEK is not a terrorist organisation but according to the US State Department, there is ample evidence that the Iranian Regime is.

The NCRI’s secretariat said “[these acts of defiance in Iran] emphasise the fact that this regime and all its factions have no legitimacy whatsoever and that the July 1 gathering represents the will of the people of Iran.”

This is why we must support the Iranian Resistance (NCRI/MEK) and its elected leader Maryam Rajavi, who currently serves as a government-in-exile and have a ten-point plan to create an Iran for the 21st century. The MEK believes in putting human rights at the centre of their democracy and creating an Iran without political oppression.

The people of Iran are risking so much in order to voice their hatred of the Regime, the least we can do is support them.

The Free Iran gathering in Paris will have over 100,000 dignitaries, politicians and activists in attendance, calling for freedom for the people of Iran. Those who will be attending, include a Syrian opposition delegation, who are being attacked by the Regime’s support for the dictator Bashar Assad in Syria, and many bipartisan politicians from the US and Europe.

US politicians, including former ambassador to the UN John Bolton, former Democratic senator (and United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) chairman) Joe Lieberman, former Democratic National Committee chairman Ed Rendell, and former Multi-National Force Iraq commander and U.S. Army chief of staff Gen. George Casey, who will be in attendance at the Free Iran Gathering wrote a statement earlier this month, in support of the MEK and advocating for Regime change in Iran.

The statement read: “We believe that change is within reach, not only because the regime is becoming engulfed in crisis, but also because there is a large and growing movement organising for positive change.”

In order to make it clear that they are supporting the wishes of the Iranian people, rather than interfering in the affairs of a nation state, they wrote: “The obligation to stand up to this corrupt and illegitimate regime and say ‘no more’ rests with the Iranian people alone, [but] the international community must meet its responsibility by condemning the mullahs’ oppression and embracing the Iranian people’s aspirations for a free and prosperous Iran accepted and respected around the world.”

Bolton tweeted on Wednesday: “The only long-term solution to the threat Iran poses in the Middle East is, indeed, regime change” and “There are ways of supporting the efforts of the Iranian opposition that do not involve the use of American force.”

The theme of the 2017 Free Iran Gathering is “Onward with the Iranian Resistance, Regime Change within Reach.”

This year, the gathering will focus on fighting terrorism and extremism in the name of Islam, calling on the international community to stand against the Regime’s attempts to destabilise the Middle East, and calling for a new approach to tackling the Iranian Regime.

IRAN'S "WAR AGAINST TERRORISTS" SHOULD NOT DECEIVE THE WEST

INU - It was recently announced that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired mid-range missiles from western Iran into the Deir-es-Zour region of eastern Syria. Allegedly, this was a response to a “war against terrorists”. However, even before the missile strike, the Iranian authorities were using the June 7th terrorist attack on the Iranian parliament building and the mausoleum of Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini to portray themselves as both an opponent of, and target for, global terrorism.

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former vice-president of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014 and current president of the Brussels-based International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ) writes in his article for Euractiv, that “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has said that “the founder and the number one state sponsor of terror is trying the switch the place of murderer and victim and portray as such the central banker of terrorism. The real victims of these vicious actions are the innocent people killed or wounded that deserve indeed our solidarity, and not the most cruel and oppressive regime of the planet.”

Vidal-Quadras says that her statement places this “in the context of a broader Iranian project of trying to overcome the country’s economic and political isolation without compromising on its violent and destabilising activities in the region and the world.”

The Iranian regime’s response to the Tehran attacks is linked to the lightly enforced 2015 nuclear agreement that enforced restrictions on country’s nuclear enrichment program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

The agreement encouraged a number of European policymakers and business leaders to begin expanded relations with the Islamic Republic, despite the failure to address such items as the moderation of Iranian human rights behavior and tensions between the Islamic Republic and the West.

Many of the advocates of trade deals and normalization may view the Tehran attacks with favor. Vidal-Quadras poses that this may be used as justification: “If Iran is a target for ISIS, they might argue, surely it can also be an asset in helping to defeat the Sunni terrorist group. If that’s the case, what harm could come of doing business with Iran and providing its government with an economic boost as its fight aids in the defeat of terrorists?”

The recent ISIS attacks change nothing about the Iranian regime’s history, ideology, or conduct. Since the 1979 popular revolution, that regime, and in particular its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has been a force behind Islamic extremism. He says, “Sometimes it has even fuelled Sunni extremism by encouraging the alienation of Sunni populations overall, as it has done in the ISIS hotbeds of Syria and Iraq, where Shiite militants with the IRGC’s backing run roughshod over the country.”

But most important is that many of these militant groups have been accused of human rights violations.

The international community must remember that any expansion in economic, political, or security cooperation with Tehran will be a deal with a regime that represses the Iranian people, and executed dissidents and activists, including 30,000 political prisoners, mostly from the opposition group PMOI (MEK), in the summer of 1988.

Iran’s record will be explained on July 1st, when the NCRI holds its annual Iran Freedom rally in Paris to endorse regime change. Hundreds of European and American politicians will attend the event, as well as tens of thousands of expat Iranians. The US and its global partners will be urged to blacklist the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

“The task thereafter will be to convince Western governments to set policy in accordance with the notion that Middle Eastern conflicts should not be competitions between two factions of extremists, but rather between extremism as a whole and the moderate Muslims who advocate for true democracy and freedom in their homelands,” Vidal-Quadras concludes.

NEWS : IRANIAN OPPOSITION

PRESIDENT MACRON: IRAN IS NO PARTNER TO FRANCE

INU - On June 17, 14 years ago, the French anti-terror police raided offices of the Iranian main opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its principle member, the Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK, near Paris. Hundreds were arrested and building were torn down.

The expressed explanation for the drastic measure was “terrorism”. It turned out, they found nothing but a group of unarmed exiles and political refugees whom their only crime was trying to expose a tyrannical theocratic regime that ruled their country for decades.

It was further revealed that the then government of France had entered a shameful deal with the terrorist regime ruling Iran to raid the offices of its democratic opposition in return for more trade contracts.

The MEK was ultimately cleared of all charges, with the investigating judge reaching the conclusion that MEK has been engaged in a legitimate struggle against repression.

The MEK was vindicated but left an eternal shame for those who were engaged in sacrificing France’s reputation as the cradle for human rights for a few commercial deals with a terrorist regime.

Nowadays, the Iranian mullahs’ regime is being recognized as the source and main supporter of terrorism around the world and specifically in the Middle East.

The MEK Struggle

For over three decades the MEK and its supporters have been struggling to bring freedom and democracy to Iran.

The MEK members have been the pioneers in the struggle to realize the desire of the Iranian people to end the mullahs’ dictatorship in their country and replace it with a democratic government.
World governments increasingly come to realize the result of what is now known as the “rapprochement policy” towards the Iranian mullahs.

The carnage in Syria and crimes against humanity committed by Bashar Assad and the Iranian regime is one example of the outcome of the policy of appeasement.

Today, the MEK is increasingly gaining ground as a legitimate and strong solution and alternative to the Iranian rulers.

The MEK message is that the world no longer has to put up with a government that supports terrorism and threatens other nations by building nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles.

Today, the MEK constitutes a strong force in the Iranian people’s struggle for democracy and freedom. That is so while over 100,000 members and sympathizers of the MEK have been executed by the clerical regime during the past four decades.

The MEK has called on world governments to stand with the Iranian people’s desire to end mullahs’ regime and bring peace and stability to the region.

The MEK’s network in Iran has in recent months extensively increased its activities inside Iran. A major movement for seeking justice for victims of mass executions by the Iranian regime has formed in Iran. In particular the movement is seeking justice for victims of 1988 massacre of political prisoners, most of whom were members and supporters of the MEK.

The strength of the movement in support of the MEK has sent shockwaves through the Iranian regime. Almost every day state run media are writing about the MEK in a futile attempt to demonize the MEK.

The mullahs are using the same method, disinformation, by their lobbyist or agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) to demonize the MEK in order to confront growing recognition of the MEK as a leading democratic force for change in Iran.

MEK And Europe

A large number of members of the MEK, were moved to Europe last year, mostly to Albania under the direct supervision of the United Nations.

According to Albanian media since the relocation to Albania, many American and European dignitaries and representatives have paid visits to the group, expressing their support for the MEK and its cause.

To name a few, US senator John McCain, Ambassador John Bolton, Gilbert Mitterrand, a French parliamentary delegation, as well as Members of European Parliament visited the MEK members at their new home in Tirana just recently in 2017.

Every year around this time, the Iranian diaspora supporting the democratic coalition of National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), in which the MEK is a member organization, holds a large gathering in Paris, France as the annual gathering of Iranians seeking freedom and democracy in their homeland.

The Beginning Of Resistance

The month of June also marks the beginning of the massive, all out, crackdown on the Iranian opposition some thirty six years ago.

On June 21, 1981 the regime then Supreme leader called on the notorious Revolutionary Guards to open fire on the peaceful demonstration organized by the MEK.

A massive crackdown and execution rampage that was staged by the mullahs soon after, forced many Iranians including the MEK and its supporters into exile. That was the start of the resistance movement which is today recognized as the main opposition to the Iranian regime.

Paris Rally: The Call For Regime Change In Iran

In recent years, the Rally held in Paris, brings in tens of thousands of supporters to France calling for regime change in Iran and the establishment of a non-religious and elected government in that country.

Many world-recognized dignitaries and high officials have attended the gathering in the past as they will do so this year to extend support and solidarity with the Iranian voices for freedom.

The key-note speaker of the event last year was, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance, who has led the movement during the hard years of exile.

The Rapprochement Policy

The rapprochement policy may have secured some commercial contracts for EU countries, yet it has brought nothing but more terrorism and agony for the EU citizens.

The policy has brought more executions and oppression for the Iranian people and the MEK specifically.

And the policy has resulted in no true resolution to the rogue actions of the mullahs. On the contrary, the rapprochement policy has emboldened the mullahs in taking the world hostage for political ransom.

The Iranian mullahs openly support acts of terrorism throughout the world by supporting groups such as Hezbollah. Their Revolutionary Guards corps is actively involved in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and other parts of the region. The Iranian officials have openly confirmed involvement in fatal attacks on US and Western personnel in Iraq.

Just recently, 265 members of the European parliament singed a statement calling for the blacklisting of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

The statement also calls for a commission for inquiry into massacre of political prisoners in Iran. The Iranian regime went on a rampage killing over 30,000 political prisoner following the eight-year war with Iraq in the summer of 1988.

The majority of those fallen victim to the executions where members and supporters of the MEK.

MEK – Blowing The Cap Off Mullahs’ Nuclear Program

Many world parliamentarians and high-officials have recognized and commended the MEK as the original revealers of the Iranian regime’s nuclear development program - revelations that have come with great sacrifice from the part of MEK supporters inside the country.

We may never know but the MEK may have in fact saved the world from complete destruction by preventing a state-sponsor of terrorism from becoming armed with nuclear weapons.

And The Paris Rally

As the yearly rally by the Iranian opposition nears – planned for 1 July, 2017 – France will once again be at center stage of a peaceful but very significant gathering of not only Iranians but world dignitaries who care deeply about peace and security in the Middle East and the world over.

This is a gathering against extremism and advocating tolerance.

In this respect, MEK is the political force, which rejects extremism under the name of religion, advocates gender equality and separation of religion and state and in short advocates a democratic and tolerant Islam.

European leaders including President Macron who has just formed its government after a landslide victory in the Parliamentary election are expected to stand firm vis-à-vis the extremism whether it is originated by ISIS or the mullahs’ regime who are called by Iranian people as the Godfather of the ISIS.

The world is watching European leaders at this critical juncture to stand with their principles and not some petty economic interests. History will judge them.

Messages of Solidarity for a Free Iran From Brave MEK Prisoners

Iran Focus

London, 30 Jun - Political prisoners have always embodied the aspirations and desires of their nations under the yoke of dictatorships. In Iran, too, political prisoners put their lives on the line to express what many people do not dare to express.

As the Iranian opposition is about to hold its greatest gathering ever in Villepinte, Paris, on Saturday, July 1, political prisoners have sent their messages of solidarity and support for the MEK and the Iranian opposition from inside their prisons.

One such prisoner is Mr. Ali Moezzi, 66. He was also a political prisoner in young age, in the 1980s for supporting the MEK. Now, his two daughters are with the MEK, and he has been imprisoned on and off several times since they joined the MEK in Ashraf.

In his message, he wrote, “This gathering echoes the cries of all the enchained people of Iran. It echoes the voice of the deprived, the toiling porters in Kurdistan, the voice of the Sunnis, our Baluchi compatriots, and everyone else. It manifests the pride of Iran and Iranians, it is the symbol of their organized resistance, the democratic alternative and the flag they have hoisted for resistance at any cost to achieve freedom.

“The Iranian people’s historic demands to reach a free and democratic Iran will never be forgotten. Demands such as a pluralist society with fundamental freedoms, separation of religion and state, rights of ethnic and religious minorities, gender equality…

“Mrs. Rajavi was right to say that our only asset is Resistance. She spoke of 1000 Ashrafs and of 1000 bastions of rebellion and resistance. She was right when she said no to the white turbans and the black turbans. Because any effort for a free Iran and a democratic future is not tolerated by the Velayat-e Faqih regime.

“Now, from the corner of this prison cell, I see myself with you and among you in the great and glorious gathering of this year in Paris on July 1. With pride and heart-felt love and hope, I hail each and every one of you who add to our nation’s asset of determination and faith. Hail to you, the delegations, the distinguished guests and hail to Maryam Rajavi, the shining sun and the great honor of Iran.”

Mr. Moezzi was last arrested in 2011, after he participated and gave a speech in support of the MEK in the funeral of another political prisoner, Mohsen Dokmehchi.

Mr. Dokmechi was a renowned Bazaar merchant who supported the MEK and assisted families of MEK martyrs and political prisoners. He had cancer while in prison but was deprived of treatment. Prison officials let him gradually die by going through tremendous suffering.

Mr. Moezzi completed his sentence two years ago, however, officials do not release him and have filed new spurious charges against him.

In January, he was kidnapped from Gohardasht prison after a family visit as he was returning to his cell. He was missing for a long time, until news came that he was under harsh interrogation in solitary confinement in the notorious Ward 209 of Evin Prison.

Now, he is in the Greater Tehran Prison which is a concentration camp. Nearly 70 prisoners have been packed into Mr. Moezzi’s cell made for only 25 men. This is where he wrote his message of solidarity with the great gathering of Iranians for a free Iran.

Another resistant prisoner, Mr. Arjang Davoudi, sent a message of solidarity to the MEK and Iranian opposition gathering in Villepinte. He wrote in his message, “It is not any exaggeration if I honestly and explicitly say that presently, the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (MEK), is the oldest and most organized part of the potential alternative that manages the nationwide struggle of the Iranian people for freedom from the clutches of Khamenei’s mafia and his partners.

“The MEK has become indispensable to our struggle. Therefore, I urge everyone who loves to see a free Iran and thinks of the pride and honor of Iranians to make their best effort to take part in this great gathering in Paris and make this gathering more glorious with their presence.

“We should know that extensive participation of freedom-loving Iranians in such events is greatly heartwarming for resistant prisoners who linger and spend their nights and days inside the Iranian regime’s medieval dungeons.”

Abolghassem Fouladvand also wrote from his confinement in Gohardasht Prison. Mr. Fouladvand is also imprisoned for his support for the MEK.

In his letter from prison, Mr. Fouladvand wrote, “It is time to rise up. The galaxy of freedom, is marching on with strength and determination to overthrow the clerical regime. I would like to join this galaxy and be along your side and stand beside true Iranians, and freedom-loving Iranians. I want to stand with the family of Resistance and the Army of Freedom.

“With such participation and support, I say another resounding NO to the clerical regime and declare my all-out support for the only organized resistance in Iran and abroad. We must know that at this time, there is no middle. Remaining silent and passive is not any different from standing in the ranks of the mullahs.

“I hope that with your active presence, you would be my voice and the voice of my other imprisoned comrades.”

Mr. Fouladvand is married and has two sons. He has two brothers in the MEK.

Shahin Zoghi-tabar is another political prisoner who has been detained for his activities for freedom and in support of the MEK. In his letter from Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, Mr. Zoghi-tabar wrote, “Your presence in the great gathering of the Iranian Resistance is not only a form of declaration of support for the Iranian opposition, but also echoes the voice of the oppressed women of Iran and the child workers. You can be the voice of Iran’s workers, nurses and teachers… By participating in this gathering show the world that the Iranian people’s choice is not the mullahs or the IRGC. Rather, their choice is resistance for freedom.”

Many of those arrested and imprisoned on political grounds in Iran are supporters of the main Iranian opposition force, the MEK or PMOI. They are arrested for their activities to expose the regime’s violations of human rights or for giving financial aid to the MEK.

The activities of MEK supporters during the recent presidential election sham, calling for the boycott of the election, terrified the clerical regime to a great extent. Also their calls for justice for those in charge of the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 foiled the efforts of the mullahs’ supreme leader Ali Khamenei who favored presidency of Ebrahim Raissi from his own faction.

Ebrahim Raissi was a member of the Death Committee in charge of implementing death decrees for prisoners who did not renounce their support for the MEK even at the cost of their lives. The public’s outrage over Raissi’s nomination forced Khamenei to back down from his desire and let Rouhani have a second term in office.

The regime’s officials including Khamenei, himself, are seriously alarmed by the presence of the MEK and extensive support for them in society and have stepped up their misinformation against the MEK in the state-run media.

It is in such circumstances that these political prisoners and many others have taken the risk of publicly lending support to the MEK and the Iranian opposition for their annual gathering.

'Free Iran' Activists Report Hundreds of Acts of Defiance Inside the Country

Images of NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi have been posted in cities and towns across the country, according to the exiled opposition group. (Screengrab: NCRI)

(CNSNews.com) – Ahead of a large annual “Free Iran” gathering in Paris on Saturday, the exiled Iranian opposition movement says hundreds of incidents of risky expressions of support have been taking place inside Iran – from distribution of pamphlets to the appearance of posters and graffiti.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)/People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (MEK) says hundreds of videos and photos of the incidents have been taken in dozens of towns and cities, and compiled a sample in a video clip.

Photos of NCRI leaders Maryam and Massoud Rajavi feature prominently, along with slogans which the NCRI translated as saying, among other things, “My vote regime change, down with Khamenei, our choice Maryam Rajavi.”

Such demonstrations are highly risky in Iran, a repressive state that has outlawed the NCRI/MEK as a “terrorist” group and executes hundreds of people each year for crimes including political and security offenses.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman on Wednesday referred to the group as a “hypocrite cult.”

NCRI’s secretariat said the acts of defiance in Iran “emphasize the fact that this regime and all its factions have no legitimacy whatsoever and that the July 1 gathering represents the will of the people of Iran.”

The NCRI is gearing up for a major meeting on Saturday in northeast Paris, where attendees will include a group of prominent American supporters – Republicans and Democrats – as well as politicians from European and Middle East countries.

Previous such events, which typically draw tens of thousands, have seen participants – including, last year, a senior member of the Saudi royal family – call for the overthrow of the clerical regime in Tehran.

A promotional video says this year’s event will be “a gathering for a free Iran, against terrorism and extremism in the name of Islam; a call for a stand against the Iranian regime’s destructive regional interference role; and a call for a new approach to the theocracy ruling Iran.”

The 2017 theme is “Onward with the Iranian Resistance, Regime Change within Reach.”

Among the guests will be a Syrian opposition delegation. Iran is heavily involved in propping up the Assad regime, through direct involvement of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and via Hezbollah and other Shi’ite proxies.

Some of the high-profile Americans scheduled to attend signed a statement of support this week ahead of the rally, accusing the regime of responsibility for “he instability and crisis in the region today,” and voicing support for change in Iran and for the NCRI.

“We believe that change is within reach, not only because the regime is becoming engulfed in crisis, but also because there is a large and growing movement organizing for positive change,” the statement said.

“A viable organization capable of ending the nightmare of religious dictatorship by establishing freedom and democracy, tolerance, and gender equality has steadily gained visibility, popular support and international recognition,” it continued, in reference to the NCRI.

Possibly in a bid to preempt accusations of interference in Iran’s affairs, the signatories said that “[t]he obligation to stand up to this corrupt and illegitimate regime and say ‘no more’ rests with the Iranian people alone.”

But, they added, “the international community must meet its responsibility by condemning the mullahs’ oppression and embracing the Iranian people’s aspirations for a free and prosperous Iran accepted and respected around the world.”

Signatories – who are also scheduled to speak at Saturday’s event – include former ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Democratic senator – and United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) chairman – Joe Lieberman, former Pennsylvania governor and Democratic National Committee chairman Ed Rendell, former Marine Corps commander Gen. (Ret.) James Conway, and former Multi-National Force Iraq commander and U.S. Army chief of staff Gen. George Casey.

The NCRI/MEK was a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization until 2012 when then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delisted it, citing its renunciation of violence and “the absence of confirmed acts of terrorism by the MEK for more than a decade.”

Appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee two weeks ago, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it was administration policy to “work toward support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government.”

“Those elements are there certainly, as we know," he added, but without indicating whether he was referring to the NCRI, the “Green Movement,” or other elements.

Tehran accused Tillerson of violating international law and the United Nations Charter, and wrote a letter to the U.N., complaining about what it called “a brazen interventionist plan” to change the government.

Reacting to a news story on Iran’s complaint to the U.N. Wednesday, Bolton tweeted, “The only long-term solution to the threat Iran poses in the Middle East is, indeed, regime change.”

In a subsequent Twitter post, he added, “There are ways of supporting the efforts of the Iranian opposition that do not involve the use of American force.”

Iran’s missiles: Dangers and policy recommendations

Iranmissile

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Arab News, 27 June 2017 - In a press conference in Washington, the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ) revealed that on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s orders, Tehran has accelerated its missile activities and tests since the nuclear deal.

Based on detailed intelligence obtained from Iran’s Defense Ministry and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Khamenei has tasked the latter’s Aerospace Force with executing this mandate. The NCRI has been one of the main sources of exposing secret aspects of Iran’s nuclear activities and its weapons-of-mass-destruction (WMD) program.

The latest revelation coincides with rising sensitivity and concern about Tehran’s missile program. The US Senate imposed wide-ranging new sanctions on Iran, partly for continuing and expanding its ballistic-missile program last week. The NCRI verified the locations of 42 centers involved in producing, testing and launching missiles. A dozen of them were revealed for the first time. Of the 42 sites, 15 are part of Tehran’s missile-manufacturing network.

These 15 centers include several factories related to a missile industry group, and together form a web of dozens of missile-production facilities. The NCRI identified four of Iran’s most important missile centers in Semnan, Lar, Khorramabad and near Karaj. Two of these centers are among the facilities that Tehran describes as missile cities.

The missile center in Semnan has been actively collaborating with the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), which is tasked with building a nuclear bomb. Some of the tests related to the organization are conducted at this site.

The SPND is the engineering unit of Tehran’s nuclear-weapons program. Its existence was first revealed in July 2011 in Washington, and it was put on the sanctions list in 2014. The IRGC’s missile sites were created based on North Korean models and blueprints. North Korean experts helped build the sites.

According to the NCRI, the regime remains in power via internal repression and exporting Islamist fundamentalism and terrorism. Its illicit nuclear-weapons program and continued expansion of ballistic missiles serve this export, which increases in importance as the regime becomes more isolated domestically and its grip on society weakens, the NCRI said.

Khamenei said on May 10: “There is no difference between change of behavior and change of regime.” As such, Iranian leaders are united in investing in the ballistic-missile program because they realize the survival of their regime and political establishment are at stake.

On May 23, President Hassan Rouhani said missile activities will continue unabated. The NCRI said the Iranian people deeply oppose Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs and its regional interference. It referred to a major gathering of Iranians and their supporters in Paris on July 1, where they will declare their opposition to Tehran’s export of Islamist terrorism and fundamentalism, its regional interventions and its nuclear and missile programs.

Iran’s ballistic-missile program underscores the need for effective, broad sanctions against the program and all related entities and individuals; designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization; and expelling the IRGC and its affiliated militias and proxies from the region, particularly from Syria and Iraq.

• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated, Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. He serves on the boards of the Harvard International Review, the Harvard International Relations Council and the US-Middle East Chamber for Commerce and Business.

US official vows Russia & Iran ‘are responsible’ if Assad launches chemical weapons attack

US ambassador Nikki Haley says Russia and Iran will also be blamed for the chemical weapons attack

EXPRESS, Jun 27, 2017 - THE US  ambassador to the United Nations has declared that any chemical weapons attack by Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government on his own citizens will also be blamed on the Russia and Iran.

Nikki Haley said on Twitter: 'Any further attacks done to the people of Syria will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia and Iran who support him killing his own people.'
Her comments came as the White House revealed it had identified potential preparations by Assad’s regime for another chemical weapons attack on its people.
The US military believes the preparations are similar to those made before the April 4 chemical weapons attack in Syria – a claim Assad’s government has repeatedly denied.
The attack – which killed at least 87 people, including 30 children – escalated tensions between Washington and Russia, which has advisers in Syria aiding its close ally Assad.

Horrific images depict sickening chemical gas attack in Syria

On Tue, April 4, 2017 at least 58 people, including nine children, were killed in an air raid that released 'toxic gas' on the rebel-held Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun

 

 A child receiving treatment at a field hospital after an alleged chemical attack in Idlib, northen Syria

The White House statement said: “The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including children.
“As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS].
“If, however, Mr Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price.”

 

Trump ordered a massive military strike against a Syria

Donald Trump blamed Assad for the chemical weapons attack which killed at least 87 people, including 30 children, in the Syria’s northern Idlib province in April.
And in retaliation, the American President launched 59 Tomahawk missiles on a Syrian air base – which according to the US Department of Defence destroyed 20 per cent of the nation’s operational aircraft.
It follows comments by Brigadier-General Zaher al-Sakat – who served as head of chemical warfare in Syria’s powerful 5th Division until he defected in 2013 – that Assad has hidden hundreds of tonnes of the nation's chemical arsenal despite the leader saying he had given over their entire supply to the United Nations.
In 2014, Syria was believed to have handed its entire chemical arsenal to the UN’s Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) after they were criticized for its involvement in sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people in September 2013.
But according to the former Assad general, the Syrian leader failed to declare large amounts of sarin precursor chemicals and other toxic materials.
Gen. Sakat told the Telegraph: “They [the regime] admitted only to 1,300 tonnes, but we knew in reality they had nearly double that. They had at least 2,000 tonnes. At least.”

US LAWYER: US ENTITLED TO SEIZE IRAN-TAINTED SKYSCRAPER

Alavi violated sanctions by hiding Iran's control over the building

NEW YORK (AP) June 26, 2017 -- A U.S. government lawyer has urged a jury to conclude a charity must give up majority ownership of a Manhattan skyscraper, saying it is secretly controlled by Iran.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lockard told New York federal court jurors Monday in closing arguments that testimony proves the Alavi Foundation violated sanctions imposed in 1995.
Attorneys for Alavi say it isn't controlled by Iran. It owns 60 percent of a 36-story office building near Rockefeller Center.
The U.S. government wants to give proceeds from a sale of the building and other properties to holders of over $5 billion in terrorism-related judgments against the government of Iran.
Lockard says Alavi violated sanctions by hiding Iran's control over the building and by supporting an Iran-controlled entity that owned 40 percent of the building.

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MATTIS: US ARMS FOR SYRIAN KURDS WILL CONTINUE AFTER RAQQA

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson talks with Secretary of Defense Jim Mathis before the start of a dinner with President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House

MUNICH (AP) June 27, 2017 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that America will continue to provide weapons to Syrian Kurdish fighters after the battle to oust Islamic State militants from Raqqa, Syria, is over.

Describing American reassurances to Turkey that the U.S. will take back weapons given to the Syrian Kurds after the IS fight, Mattis said it depends on when or where the next mission is. And he also sounded a cautionary tone when asked if all the weapons would be returned. 'We'll do what we can,' he told reporters traveling with him to Germany.
Mattis' comments marked the first time he has spoken at length publicly about the U.S. pledge to recover the weapons provided to the Kurds.

Turkish officials late last week said Mattis had reassured them by letter that arms given to the Syrian Kurds would be taken back and that the U.S. would provide Turkey with a regular list of arms give to the fighters.

The Trump administration's decision last month to arm the Kurds roiled Turkey, which views the fighters as an extension of a terror group operating in Turkey.
Mattis said the U.S. has made it clear all along that, 'we're going to equip them for the fight. If they have another fight and they need, you know, the light trucks that they've been using ... we'll get them that.'

It depends, he said, on the battle and what weapons the Kurdish fighters need.
Mattis said the U.S. gave the fighters weapons they needed for the urban fighting they are facing in Raqqa. And as the fight goes on, he said the U.S. will collect weapons and repair them, or take certain weapons back and provide others .

'When they don't need certain things any more, we'll replace those with something they do need,' said Mattis, who is expected to meet with his Turkish defense counterpart during a NATO meeting later this week in Brussels.

The U.S. is convinced that the Kurdish fighters, known as the YPG, are the most effective local force in trying to oust IS militants from their stronghold in Raqqa.
Ankara, however, fears that weapons given to the Kurdish fighters will end up in the hands of insurgents in Turkey, known as the PKK.

U.S. officials have been careful not to publicly detail the amount or specific types of weapons going to the Syrian Kurds. But officials have indicated that 120 mm mortars, machine guns, ammunition and light armored vehicles were likely. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the matter, said artillery or surface-to-air missiles would not be provided.

The initial weapons deliveries began at the end of May, and the Pentagon said they included small arms and ammunition.
Mattis also said that as the fight against IS grows more complex and moves into the Euphrates River Valley, it will require more deconfliction with the Russians.
In recent weeks, when the U.S. shot down a Syrian government war plane and an Iranian drone that were threatening U.S.-allied Syrian fighters, the angry response from the Russians was to declare they would not use the deconfliction phone line.

But Mattis said the de-confliction talks continue and are happening at several military levels, to insure that aircraft and ground forces are safe.
Syrian, Russia, U.S. and coalition aircraft all fly in the increasingly crowded skies over Syria. And as the fight moves beyond Raqqa to other IS-held territory along the river, Mattis said the crowded field of forces -- from Russia, Syria, Hezbollah and the coalition -- will have to work to avoid conflicts on the ground.

Asked if the various groups would carve up the river valley into controlled segments, Mattis said it may not look that neat.
'It'll be based on where does the river bend here and which side of the river is the town on there, this sort of thing. So it may look a little more squiggly,' Mattis said.
He said commanders can work it all out, 'however, as you mix more forces more closely together, what worked before for deconfliction is going to take more precision.'