Congressional Briefing
Senate Briefing Urges Policy Change on Iraq, Resettlement of Camp Liberty Residents to U.S
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Several senior former officials and a U.S. senator strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s destructive role in Iraq at a senate briefing at Capitol Hill, entitled “Tumult in Iraq: Maliki’s Role and Iran’s Nefarious Influence.”
Speakers said Tehran and its ally in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, are not part of the solution for Iraq. They also called for the urgent transfer of exiled Iranian opposition members at Camp Liberty, whose lives are in serious danger as Iraq drifts further into conflict.
Iran- Human Rights
Special Report “IRAN: THE 1988 MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN AND MEK MAKING SIGNIFICANT INROADS IN IRANIAN POLITICAL LANDSCAPE“
Twenty-six years have passed since one of the worst crimes against humanity of the latter half of the twentieth century. That crime that has been little noticed in the West and its perpetrators has never been brought to justice. In late July 1988 political prisoners were killed in a mass in a months-long wave of executions across Iran. By the time it stopped that autumn, 30,000 individuals had been slaughtered, the overwhelming majority of them activists of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Most of these victims had already served their prison terms but were never released. And by July 1988, any sense of mercy had vanished from the Iranian courts. All those who had been detained in excess of their prison sentences were executed. Very few political prisoners in Iran were spared and very few eyewitnesses survived.
IRANIAN REGIME INTENSIFIES GENDER SEGREGATION IN FEAR OF SOCIAL UNREST
NCRI – The implementation of the repressive gender segregation plan of segregating male and female employees in Tehran municipality which was announced last month by Tehran’s Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf is now spreading to other agencies within the Iranian regime, according to the reports by state-run media reports.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORTS ON SUPPRESSION OF JOURNALISTS
Iran is faced rising tide of press repression. The Amnesty International has released a briefing on that issue, which urges Iranian officials to immediately release those it has imprisoned simply for telling the truth or expressing opinions via the press.
Iran- Terrorist activities
DOES IRAN GENUINELY SUPPORT HAMAS AND THE PALESTINIANS?
Recently, Iranian President Hassan Rowani rhetorically projected Iran’s leadership by calling Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and stating that the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, and the international community, ought to take immediate and serious steps to assist Hamas and the Palestinians.
In addition, several Iranian state media outlets and officials have attempted to project an image of passivity in Arab countries towards supporting the Palestinians and Hamas. On the other hand, the Iranian press and its officials have straightforwardly referred to Iran’s unified and steadfast stance on supporting the Palestinians.
COURTING IRAN DESPITE EVERYTHING
National review on Line: Last week, the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent was arrested. The charges are unspecified, but according to the paper, Jason Rezaian, 38, his Iranian wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and two other U.S. citizens were detained. State Department spokesman Marie Harf issued a protest that didn’t even rise to the level of tepid, saying, “Our highest priority is the safety and welfare of U.S. citizens abroad.”
Iran’s fingerprints all over Hamas-Israel conflict
Terror groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have long depended on the Iranian-Syrian axis for arms, training and funding.
While media have widely reported on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, few have picked up on the significant Iranian connection to the conflict. Indeed, one cannot comprehend the events of recent weeks without an adequate understanding of Iran’s role in Gaza.
To begin, it should not be overlooked that many of the more than 1,000 missiles fired at Israelis in the past month were manufactured in Iran, transferred by Iran or built in Gaza with Iranian technology.
War in Gaza: A chance for Iran, Hamas to turn a page?
(CNN) — Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza — Protective Edge — has animated the Shia Islamist leadership in Tehran.
The bloody conflict, and the global Muslim outrage it has provoked, is held by the Iranian regime as a chance to redeem itself in the eyes of the Sunni Muslim majority in the world.
When Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this week called on the “Muslim Nation” to set aside differences and unite against Israel, he was in fact pitching Iranian leadership. Other Muslim leaders speak in such terms. The difference is Iran has the capacity to militarily make a difference by resuming arms supplies to Hamas.
Iran- Nuclear activities
IRANIAN NEGOTIATOR REJECTS AMERICAN CLAIM ON AGREEMENT ON URANIUM AND PLUTONIUM SITES
Multiple outlets including the Brookings Institution have reported that Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi rejected American claims that Iran has agreed to reconfigure its uranium-enrichment site at Fordow or its plutonium-producing heavy water reactor at Arak. In a hearing before the House of Representatives, US Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs Wendy Sherman stated that there has been steady progress on these and other key issues over the six months of nuclear negotiations. Araqchi’s response and other Iranian statements and fixed positions raise questions about the truth of this statement.
Iran- Nuclear activities
Lawmakers Voice Skepticism on Iran Nuclear Deal
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration officials engaged in nuclear negotiations with Iran ran into a wall of skepticism at two congressional hearings on Tuesday, with members of both parties insisting on a vote on any final agreement with the Tehran government and administration officials strongly hinting that they have little intention of complying.
Iran- Nuclear activities
IRAN NOT TO CHANGE NUCLEAR ENERGY PROGRAM: MP
A senior Iranian lawmaker said on Friday the Islamic Republic will not alter its nuclear energy program, rejecting allegations by a U.S. official in this regard.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Iran’s nuclear energy program has not changed and the recent remarks about the Arak and Fordo nuclear sites have been a Zionist ploy to distract public opinion from Israel’s war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
Short report of Iranian gathering for democratic change in Iran, Villepinte – Paris, 2014
