Iranian opposition president commemorates 1988 massacre victims

An Exhibition on 1988 Massacre in Iran at the Paris District 1 City Hall

A conference held in the Paris District 1 City Hall on August 3 commemorated the memory of the victims of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran. The conference was accompanied by an exhibition of the pictures of some of the victims and the mass graves where the Iranian regime has buried them.

During the conference, Jean Francois Legaret, mayor of Paris’ 1st District, and other speakers underscored the necessity to conduct international investigation into this crime against humanity and to try the perpetrators of this crime in an international court of law.

In a message to the conference, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance (NCRI), thanked the attendants for helping keep the memory of the murdered political prisoners alive.

“Thirty years are gone but not their memories. The memories of the victims of the 1988 massacre continue to awaken the conscience of Iranian society and inspire them to rise. Those prisoners are continuing to have their impact,” Mrs. Rajavi said.

That impact can be seen in an international movement for bringing the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre to justice, Mrs. Rajavi said. Since 2016, the “Call for Justice” movement has been carrying out activities to raise awareness about this unpunished crime. At the same time, MEK activists and supporters inside Iran have been gathering evidence and new information about the victims of the crime and their places of interment.

The uptick of activism surrounding the 1988 massacre has put immense pressure on the Iranian regime.

“Under such pressures, at least 20 senior officials of the regime were forced to defend this crime,” Mrs. Rajavi said. “The mullahs’ supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, expressed anger over why the 1988 massacre is being surrounded by an aura of innocence. These confessions are new documents on the ruling mullahs’ crime against humanity.”

Mrs. Rajavi also drew a direct connection between the sacrifice of the political prisoners who were executed in 1988 and the ongoing protests in Iran. “In the past eight months, Iranian protesters have been remembering the steadfast political prisoners in their cities and how they were massacred for freedom. They remember their cause, what they sacrificed their lives for, and what their message is for today,” she said.

In retaliation, the Iranian regime has tried to carry out a terrorist plot against the Iranian resistance during the Free Iran Gathering which took place in Villepinte, Paris, on June 30, 2018. The terrorists, which involved an Iranian regime diplomat, were arrested before they could carry out their attack.

“The terrorist operation failed to reach its goal but showed that the murderers of those 30,000 political prisoners stop at nothing to physically eliminate their opposition,” Mrs. Rajavi said.

Mrs. Rajavi berated the West for having remained silent on the Iranian regime’s terrorism and the 1988 massacre in the past 30 years, which has given the mullahs a free pass to continue their crimes against the Iranian people. “The time has come to end such immunity,” Mrs. Rajavi said.

Read the full statement here.

Renowned global dignitaries pledge support for Iranian Resistance

NCRI President Maryam Rajavi

Following the June 30^th Iranian opposition convention in Paris, a significant number of highly renowned dignitaries from across the globe expressed their support for the Iranian Resistance, specifically the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and the member organization of this coalition, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Personalities including Mayor Rudy Giuliani, attorney to U.S. President Donald Trump, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Gov. Bill Richardson, former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and foreign minister John Baird, former MEP Struan Stephenson, and others attended the event held at the residential quarters of NCRI President Maryam Rajavi. They condemned the Iranian regime’s crimes and voiced support for the Iranian peoples struggle to establish freedom and democracy in their country.

A declaration signed by over 2,500 European parliamentarians in support of the Iranian people’s nationwide uprising and the Ten-Point Plan for a free Iran based on democracy and equality, a declaration of support by members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and a declaration of support for the Iranian Resistance signed by the Rt. Rev. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and 75 other bishops from across the U.K. were presented to Maryam Rajavi.

In brief remarks, Maryam Rajavi expressed her gratitude to the dignitaries who participated in the Iranian Resistance’s grand gathering.

Excerpts:

The event this year was held in a very different circumstance than last year. Iranian cities have been the scenes of major anti-regime protests. The social atmosphere is volatile and the Iranian people demand regime change.
To disappoint them, the mullahs tell the people of Iran that no one hears their voice. And to justify their appeasement of the mullahs, their proponents claim that there is no viable alternative to this regime. These efforts, however, are getting no-where.

The event this year was also different because the international situation has dramatically changed. It appears that the policy of appeasement has run its course because it became clear that no amount of economic and political concessions will bring any change to the behavior of the ruling theocracy.

Lending support to the Iranian people and Resistance for freedom is crucial to a successful firm policy on the religious dictatorship ruling Iran. Toppling the mullahs’ regime is vital to the restoration of the human rights of the Iranian people, and to bringing peace and tranquility to the Middle East. And I am confident that the Iranian people will succeed in bringing freedom to Iran.

Thank you and God bless you all

What’s behind the Iranian regime’s recent wave of fight against corruption?

Iran regime washed with corruption and embezzlement, 

 On Sunday, dozens of people were arrested for financial crimes in Iran and Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, spokesperson of the Iranian judiciary, was fast in taking credit.

“Sixty seven suspects have been arrested, some of whom were released on bail, and more than 100 people including government employees and officials, as well as private employees and others have been given travel bans,” Ejei said in his remarks broadcasted by state television.

On August 11, Iranian media quoted Ali Khamenei, the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader, saying in a brief statement that those accused of economic corruption must be punished “swiftly and justly.”

Khamenei’s statement came as a response to a proposal by the Islamic Republic’s Judiciary Sadegh Amoli Larijani to create new Islamic revolutionary courts that will impose maximum sentences on those “disrupting and corrupting the economy.” The Iranian regime’s Judiciary request further asks for the courts to be eligible to try all suspects, including “official and military” people. The punishments issued by these courts can include the capital penalty.

The chorus of Friday prayer Imams in Iran followed by condemning corruption and asking for punishment.

Last Friday in Qazvin, the Friday prayer Imam asked who has imported thousands of illegal cars and why no one would remove these traitors?

The Imam in Qom, Iran’s religious capital and the so-called power base of the ruling mullahs, tried to take the lead on Friday by directly referencing the Aghazadehs (singular: Aghazadeh)—Persian for noble-born which in Iran’s current parlance means children of the well-connected political elite who enjoy economic advantages compared to ordinary people— saying: “Some of these Aghazadehs have turned the people against the Islamic regime and we need to confront them… the time for mere words to heal the economy is over. The Judiciary and related institutions need to counter the economically corrupt without discrimination.”

Historically, in the face of corruption and economic downfall, the Iranian regime has pointed the finger of accusation toward foreign powers, small time merchants, and most outrageously the Iranian people’s “bad culture of greed”.

But it seems that it doesn’t work this time.

A few weeks ago, US State secretary Mike Pompeo gave a speech to the Iranian-American community at the Reagan Library. Among other things he particularly named and shamed some of the prominent examples of the ongoing corruption in the Iranian regime.

His sample list of prominent Iranian corrupt officials includes former IRGC officer and Minister of Interior Sadeq Mahsouli, Grand Ayatollah Makaram Shirazi, Ayatollah Khamenei with an off-the-books hedge fund called the Setad worth a staggering $95 billion, and Iran’s head of Judiciary Sadeq Larijani worth at least $300 million.

Sadeq Larijani is the same person who asked Ali Khamenei for permission to create those courts to fight corruption.

Secretary Pompeo correctly sums it up saying: “The Iranian economy is going great – but only if you’re a politically-connected member of the elite.”

As a joint article by The Telegraph’s Josie Ensor and Ahmed Vahdat correctly report, this time Iranians blame Khamenei, not Trump, for the economic disaster.

There are a few important reasons that lead to this widespread awakening among Iranians despite contrary ubiquitous state-run propaganda.

A majority of Iran’s population are young and educated and access to the internet and satellite TV channels is the norm, although satellite receivers are illegal, and many websites are blocked.

The Aghazadehs, contrary to the previous generation of the Iranian regime, act nouveau riche and upstart. There is not a day where pretentious pictures of their exploits and wealth don’t make the rounds on Iranian social media. Luxury cars and villas and lavish parties are harsh contrasts to the plights of ordinary Iranians. Many children of the elite live and study abroad.

In such circumstances, preaches of Islamic resistance and austerity and death to America don’t have the intended effect.

During the previous presidential elections, Iran’s so-called moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, promised economic prosperity, a stable currency, fight against corruption, better relations with the international community and more.

But Rouhani hasn’t kept a single one of his promises. Jokes about how the moderates are not different than the conservatives are becoming popular.

The famous JCPOA signed on 2015 had no tangible economic benefits for the ordinary Iranian. That’s why Iranians don’t blame Trump and sanctions for the freefall of rial, Iran’s currency.

There is a famous Arabic saying by the first Imam of Shiites: “A ruling system will survive blasphemy and infidelity, but not injustice and oppression.”

As history tells us, there is always a reckoning after awakening. Let’s see how the mullahs cope with the very religious fundamentals they’ve built their corrupt empire on.

#Struan Stevenson:# Maryam Rajavi and #MEK leading protests in #Iran https://irannewsupdate.com/news/iranian-opposition/5095-struan-stevenson-maryam-rajavi-and-mek-leading-protests-in-iran.html via @BowThemes

STRUAN STEVENSON: MARYAM RAJAVI AND MEK LEADING PROTESTS IN IRAN

INU - During the recent Free Iran gathering, organised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), former MEP Struan Stevenson gave a stirring speech about the Iranian people and their opposition, comparing the ongoing uprisings in Iran to a volcanic eruption, noting that things in Iran will soon change forever.

He said: “I’ve been transfixed watching television over the last month about the volcano in Hawaii. Looking at the constant tremors, the earthquakes, the explosions. And it occurred to me before coming here that that geophysical phenomenon has a lot in common, a lot in parallel with the political situation in Iran… there is going to be an eruption of volcanic proportions which sweep away this evil regime.”

That uprising began in late December, spreading quickly across 142 cities in 31 provinces with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets. The Regime responded with violence, sending in their brutal security forces to kill at least 50 people, arrest 8,000, and torture 14 to death in prison.

Stevenson said that the people of Iran have had enough of the mullah’s malign behaviour, including stealing money from the Iranian people, propping up the Bashar Assad dictatorship in Syria and financing terrorist proxies (i.e. Hezbollah) across the Middle East. That is why the Iranian people are chanting “Death to [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei” and “Death to [President Hassan] Rouhani”, exposing the notion of Regime moderates as false, and siding with the MEK and its leader Maryam Rajavi.

Stevenson also advises that the Regime can recognise the warning signs, which is why the mullahs have started to point the finger at the MEK and Maryam Rajavi as the organisers of this protest. This is strange, as the Regime constantly portrays the MEK as an insignificant group that was not popular in Iran. Even the mullahs now admit, that where Maryam Rajavi leads, the Iranian people will follow.

He said: “They fear [Maryam] Rajavi, and the reason they fear [Maryam] Rajavi is because they fear democracy, they fear justice, they fear freedom.

Stevenson then went onto explain how Europe should get tough on Iran by withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions, as the US had done as this will help bring the downfall of the Regime.

He said: “I have a message for all those European companies who seem to have forgotten the words human rights when they try to sign these rich commercial deals with the Iranians. For every dollar that they make in Iran they’re going to lose a thousand dollars in America. The reality is they cannot continue to do business with this evil Iranian regime.”

Stevenson went onto explain that Maryam Rajavi, as the leader of the MEK and NCRI, deserved an invite to the UK, as she has already visited many other capitals in Europe
He concluded: “We are facing very quickly the volcanic eruption that I spoke about. We are facing the end of this regime and it is our job to see that [the MEK], and [Maryam] Rajavi are in [a] position to take power, to restore democracy, restore freedom, and restore justice to the people of Iran. They are praying for that day.”

EU must respond firmly to Tehran terror plot on European soil

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomes EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini before a joint press conference, Tehran, Iran, 16 April 2016. [EPA/EFE]

The EU’s eagerness to further unconditional engagements with Iran seems to have only made Europe more vulnerable to state sponsored terrorism, writes Alejo Vidal-Quadras.

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a Spanish professor of atomic and nuclear physics, was vice-president of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014. He is currently the president of the Brussels-based International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ).

During the weekend of 30 June – 1 July, four suspects were arrested in Belgium, France and Germany over a terror attack plot to bomb the grand gathering of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Villepinte, outside Paris. The keynote speaker at the event was Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi.

An Iranian-Belgian couple were arrested in Belgium with 500 grams of TATP (a powerful home-made explosive) and a detonation device in their vehicle, on their way to carry out the attack. To make matters more serious, the individual arrested in Germany, Mr Assadollah Assadi, who gave the device to the couple, is an accredited Iranian diplomat, the 3rd counsellor of the Islamic Republic’s mission in Vienna. Another Iranian was also arrested in France and will be extradited to Belgium.

After such a serious threat, luckily halted by the efficient work and cooperation of intelligence agencies and security forces of at least four EU member states, we could have expected a firm and forceful response from our European External Action Service (EEAS), who should have condemned the hostile and terrorist action of a diplomat accredited by a European government. However, not only has there been a deafening silence on the matter from the EU; there are signs that appeasement continues towards a regime that plotted to commit a terrorist attack in a European capital. How did we reach this point?

The American administration’s decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran Nuclear Deal, last May, and reinstate all sanctions previously imposed on Iran’s regime caused an avalanche of diplomatic actions to save what Ms Federica Mogherini sees as her main achievement as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The actions taken by the European Commission include tools to protect European investments in Iran from secondary sanctions and “confidence building” measures, with Commissioners flying to Tehran to reassure the very nervous theocracy of the mullahs.

And while European leaders keep taking desperate measures to save the nuclear deal, it is the leaders of the Islamic Republic who find themselves in a truly desperate position, as not only is the American administration’s new policy taking a great toll on the Iranian economy, but also there are growing protests, uprisings and a chaotic internal situation that has been escalating in recent months.

Starting last December, Iran has seen a wave of unrest like it had not seen since at least 2009. Workers, students, farmers, women and unions have been flooding the streets in protests that first had economic demands but quickly turned very political with slogans like “death to the dictator” resounding on the streets of cities of all sizes throughout Iran. The myth of the regime’s supposed stability that was the basis for the the EU’s policy of appeasement has been contested by the Iranian people on the streets.

This critical situation has spurred the bellicosity of the regime which, in a desperate attempt to thwart their opposition, decided to commit an ISIS-style terrorist attack in the outskirts of Paris that could not only have injured many European citizens but also important dignitaries from all over the world including Rudy Giuliani, Ingrid Betancourt, Giulio Terzi, Bernard Kouchner, Stephen Harper and many others all of who were present in the Villepinte event.

It is important to remember that this kind of action is not new. In 1997 EU withdrew its ambassadors from Iran and expelled Iranian intelligence agents from Europe following the infamous Berlin Mykonos restaurant assassinations of four Iranian-Kurdish dissidents. A German court had issued an international arrest warrant for the then Iranian Intelligence Minister. Other opposition members have been assassinated in Europe by individuals suspected of being agents of the regime, such as the cases of Dr Kazem Rajavi, NCRI representative in Geneva and former Iranian ambassador in the UN, gunned down in 1990, Kurdish leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou in Vienna in 1989 or Mohammad Hossein Naqdi, NCRI envoy and former diplomat murdered in Rome in 1998.

This month, Dutch intelligence services announced that the Netherlands recently expelled two Iranian diplomats without elaborating on the reasons. Experts have hinted this to be linked with suspicious murders of Iranian dissidents in the country last year.

The EU’s eagerness to further unconditional engagements with Iran seems to have only made Europe more vulnerable to state sponsored terrorism, as Iran has used its ease of access to the European Union countries for espionage and terror plots that jeopardize the lives of European citizens. The EU needs to wake up. We should follow up the brave actions of our intelligence and police services with firm and decisive political action. We could respond by downgrading our diplomatic relations and expelling agents that are linked to the Iranian Intelligence Ministry in order to prevent more terrorist attacks on European soil.