Iran- Human Rights (Women, Minorities, Ethnics)
U.S. Contractor’s Cranes Being Used to Hang Iranians
OIAC
Cargotec has received more than $1 billion in government contract
A European machinery company that has received more than $1 billion in U.S. government contracts is coming under scrutiny after pictures emerged this week of its cranes being used to publicly execute individuals in Iran.
The company, Cargotec, acknowledged to the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday that its equipment is being used to publicly hang Iranian prisoners, but maintained that it is not responsible for directly selling the equipment to the Islamic Republic.
http://oiac.org/u-s-contractors-cranes-being-used-to-hang-iranians/
Imminent execution of 17 prisoners, including 6 young men aged 20 to 25
OIAC
Mr. Salar Shadi Zadi, a young prisoner who was merely 15 at the time of his alleged crime, is waiting to be executed on November 28 after already enduring 9 years behind bars., Amnesty International reported.
The religious fascism ruling Iran, dubbed by the people as the “Godfather of ISIS”, has in the past five days alone executed at least 17 prisoners. This follows the recent United Nations resolution condemning vicious human rights violations in Iran and a UN call to stop executions in Iran. Six of those executed had only 20 to 25 years of age.
http://oiac.org/imminent-execution-of-17-prisoners-including-6-young-men-aged-20-to-25/
Refugees from Iran Denied Safe Haven
OIAC
Hamid Yazdan
Iranian refugees fleeing persecution joined thousands of other asylum seekers in protesting new restrictions on refugees in Balkan states. According to reports, at least six Iranians sewed their lips shut and went on hunger strike to protest the closure of the Greek-Macedonian border, preventing them from traveling towards western Europe.
The protests come after Slovenia and a number of other EU countries announced that they would limit access to individuals fleeing violence from Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan, claiming those from other countries were “economic migrants.” The announcement has blocked the movement of thousands of other refugees from north Africa, South Asia, and Iran. The policy ignores the fact that many of these refugees face political repression or persecution at home, even if there is not military conflict taking place.
http://oiac.org/refugees-from-iran-denied-safe-haven/
7 Executions in North & South Iran – Including Kurdish and Pakistani Prisoners
Iran Human Rights
According to the Baluchestan Activists Campaign, five people were hanged at Minab Prison (in Hormozgan province) on the morning of Tuesday November 24. The prisoners were reportedly executed for alleged drug related offenses; one of the prisoners was Kurdish and another was a Pakistani citizen. The names of the three other prisoners have been reported as: Mousi Kadkhodaie, Shokrollah Baluchi, and Ali Faramarzi. The names of the two other prisoners are not known at this time.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reports on two executions at Tabriz Central Prison (in East Azerbaijan province) which were carried out on Wednesday November 25. The prisoners, Reza Purna and Nouralodin Purna,
http://iranhr.net/en/articles/2377/
Iran Terrorism Activities (Middle East)
Russia and Iran: an uneasy alliance
BBC
Mehrdad Frahmand
Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran this week has been greeted with much enthusiasm in official circles.
There has been warm praise for his decision to head straight from the airport to a meeting with Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
And the encounter apparently went so well that Iran’s veteran former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati was moved to describe it as “the best and the most important in the whole history of the Islamic Republic”.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34919237
Should We Trust Iran as an Ally in the Fight Against ISIS?
Iran may have joined in condemning ISIS’s vicious attack in Paris on November 13, but the terrorist strike also gives Tehran a major diplomatic opportunity to advance its goals in the region.
The United States, France and other world powers are striving to build a more effective anti-ISIS campaign, yet Iran’s own murky relationship with the extremist group may confound these efforts
On one level, Iran views ISIS as a clear danger to its national security. Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security chief Mahmoud Alavi warned the attacks in Paris represent a “serious warning” for Iran, and that ISIS remains the country’s most important threat in the field of hard (as opposed to soft or covert) war.
http://europe.newsweek.com/should-we-trust-iran-ally-fight-against-isis-397448?rm=eu
Iranian general Soleimani denies rumors of his death
Reuters
The commander of foreign operations by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards has shrugged off reports of his death or injury in fighting in Syria, an Iranian news agency said on Monday.
Suggestions that General Qassem Soleimani had been hurt or killed were widespread in recent weeks. The Guards denied them repeatedly and said they were part of a “psychological war”.
“This (martyrdom) is something that I have been seeking in the plains and the mountains,” the general was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency in comments he reportedly made at his Tehran office on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/us-mideast-crisis-iran-soleimani-idUSKBN0TJ1S320151130#IBYxCQrOtBXgYJHy.97
Iran- Nuclear Activities
UN: No Clear-Cut Picture of Whether Iran Worked on Nukes
ABC News
George John
The U.N. atomic energy agency is preparing to wrap up a more than a decade-long probe of alleged nuclear weapons work by Iran, but its report will stop short of delivering a judgment on whether the suspicions are valid, the agency’s chief said Thursday.
The report by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency is meant to put the issue to rest after years of on-and-off attempts to investigate the allegations. The U.S. and its allies say Tehran conducted past research and development of such weapons. Iran says the accusations are based on false intelligence from its adversaries.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/assurance-irans-nuclear-program-peaceful-35427989
Iran gears up for big return to world oil markets
CNN
The region of Southwest Iran boasts more proven reserves of oil than Africa’s largest producer, Nigeria, and its 60 billion barrels are central to Iran’s ambitions. Drilling is nearly complete in the biggest of the region’s five fields, called South Azadegan. But it’s been an uphill struggle, thanks to years of Western sanctions.
CNN was the first foreign TV crew allowed into Iran’s largest oil find in 30 years, in the marshlands of what was a battleground in the 1980s war with Iraq.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/24/news/economy/iran-oil-giant-revival/
Official Says Moscow To Begin Sending S-300s To Iran ‘This Year’
Radio Farda
Moscow expects to begin supplying advanced S-300 antiaircraft missile systems to Iran before the end of this year, a top Russian official has said.Presidential aide Vladimir Kozhin, in an exclusive interview with the Interfax news agency on November 25, said some components of the system would be delivered this year, with more to follow early in 2016.”Everything depends on the capabilities of our industry,” Kozhin said.
http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-iran-s-300-missile-system/27387537.html