It is worth noting that according to the state-run Tasnim news agency (December 10, 2017), “Missiles and the IRGC Quds Force are the priorities of the new year’s budget”. It becomes evident that the priority of Rouhani’s cabinet is the development of ballistic missiles and meddling in the affairs of neighboring countries not the nationwide crises inside Iran.

Rouhani’s 2018 Budget Plan And The Nationwide Crises In Iran

The budget has no place for investment in the industrial and agricultural sector. While according to Rouhani, more than 1.2 million people are added to the workforce every year, the government is doing nothing to provide these people with employment. In addition, every day, the number of unemployed people increases.

 According to the statistics declared by state-run media, each year, the IRGC and its partners smuggle more than $25 billion worth of goods into the country, contributing to the destruction of small workshops and production facilities in Iran.

In most countries of the world, when there are several nationwide crises, the government has to provide specific plans to solve those dilemmas when declaring its yearly budget to the parliament. For instance, if there is an unemployment problem, the government has to allocate a budget for job creation and present a plan to solve the issue. The same goes for other problems, such as water scarcity, pollution, and etc. In all cases, a specific budget must be assigned to fixing those problems.

However, let us see how the Iranian regime is dealing with its nationwide crises. On December 12, 2017, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani introduced his government’s budget to the parliament, which is 1194 trillion Tomans (approx. $340 billion). The budget will be provided through the sale of oil and gas, as well as the heavy taxing of the Iranian people in direct and indirect ways.

Today, addiction and use of drugs are widespread in Iran, particularly among children and students, in Iran. There is a direct correlation between poverty, homelessness and addiction, as children living on the e dge of the cities generally use drugs.

Iran: More than 1,000 drug addicts were arrested in one day

A survey carried out by a drug control group has found that about 2.8 million people are regularly consuming drugs in the country.
The head of a working group on drugs in the Expediency Council, Saeed Safatian, told the official IRNA news agency that the number of drug users might be even higher.

The majority of Iran’s at least 14 million drug users drug users are young men and women. The average age of addiction in Iran has dropped to 13, according to reports published by state media.    However, there are numerous reports of children as young as 3 and 4 who start using drugs along with their addicted parents, and an increasing number of infants who are born with drug addiction.

Disappointingly, the Iranian regime has no short or long-term plans to contain the unbridled spread of addiction especially among the young populace.

Experts argue that easy access to cheap narcotic drugs has contributed to the horrific number of drug addicts in Iran. It is common knowledge that narcotics can be purchased much easier than a loaf of bread.

Our greetings to the Virgin Mary, who endured much suffering and a major test in a dark night before she delivered Jesus, the word of love and hope, the message of rebellion against coercion and deception, and the carol of light and freedom.

MARYAM RAJAVI’S MESSAGE FOR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR 2018

Fellow Christian compatriots,

Followers of Jesus Christ around the world,
I would like to extend my sincere congratulations for Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ.
Our greetings to the Virgin Mary, who endured much suffering and a major test in a dark night before she delivered Jesus, the word of love and hope, the message of rebellion against coercion and deception, and the carol of light and freedom.

Someone came to give shelter to the poor and the needy, to be the voice of the oppressed and the light for the eyes of those who immersed in darkness. He gave the power of speech to free peoples who stood up to oppression, evil and wickedness.
Through the message of unity, Jesus taught that, Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Jesus said the secret to a better life was in giving to others, The greatest among you is your servant.

Having learned from his eternal teachings, and inspired by his suffering and perseverance, we found resistance for freedom to be the greatest service to God and our people: the struggle to free the people of Iran and overthrow the mullahs’ religious dictatorship.

Let it be that through the endeavors of the Iranian people and Resistance, and with the grace of God Almighty and the message of Christ, Iran is liberated from the brutality of the peddlers of religion; and the light of freedom and justice shines on our enchained nation and people; may religious discrimination, fundamentalism, and terrorism spread by this regime in the region be replaced with equality, fraternity and peace. 

London, 19 Dec - Ever since the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran has been dealing with an endless stream of international and domestic crises, including fevered unrest from the Iranian people who want regime change and various countries in the Middle East standing up against Iran’s malign meddling.

Tackle Iran by Supporting the Iranian People

These crises are likely to be exacerbated given the constant threat of international negotiations over Iran’s ballistic missile program and regional destabilisation efforts.

International condemnation and Iran’s responseIran has attempted to save face by showing ‘power’ from the Revolutionary Guards bully-boy tactics and the Iranian military's excursions to other Middle Eastern states, but if the international community cracked down hard on the Regime, the mullahs would soon give in and give up their dangerous military strategy.

Hassan Rouhani’s government are desperate to preserve the nuclear deal- the only thing providing the Regime with international legitimacy- but are trying to do so in such a way that they look like they are standing up to the rest of the world. 

This is not fooling anyone.The fellow signatories to the nuclear deal also seem more willing to hold Iran to account, with the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian criticising Iran’s interference in Middle Eastern conflicts whilst visiting Saudi Arabia.He said:

 “Iran’s role and the different areas where this country operates worries us. I am thinking in particular of Iran’s interventions in regional crises, this hegemonic temptation and I’m thinking of its ballistic program.

”The Regime has attempted to smear any attempt by the international community- in particular, signatories to the Iran nuclear deal- to hold Iran responsible as fake news but again, no one believes them.The Iranian Regime is scared that negotiations surrounding their malign activities will lead to more international deals and prevent Iran from interfering in neighbouring states and abusing the human rights of its citizens.

The baseless allegations against the MEK have been made by former British Deputy Secretary of State Jackus Sutter, who was expelled from the British Parliament for financial crimes, by Denis McCain.

Iran Resistance Rebukes Slur From Disgraced MP Against PMOI/MEK

Not surprisingly, the ridiculous comments of the day after a conference in the European Parliament, in which dozens of parliamentarians - including two vice presidents - criticized the regime and praised Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the Iranian Resistance . The conference revealed that the European Union should ensure its association with the Iranian regime in order to improve human rights.

Outside of the conference, a group of harsh hackers, hired by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, have been raised as resistance and incitement to violence. They even announced they wanted to destroy their website on the same day.

MacShane, who is best known for gross tax fraud, has led him to join the jail, thus saying that the PMOI / Mojahedin has harassed violence against an elderly man, and when he is trying to save The old man was also attacked.
Obviously, McCain, who was strongly opposed to removing the PMOI / MKO from a terrorist list that was strictly just for the regime, could not differentiate between the legitimate resistance of Iran and the thugs of the Iranian regime, or maybe he would like to know the difference Is.

Defense ministry officials in the European Parliament, including Mohammad Hussein Sobhani and Ghorban Ali Hossein Nejad, have previously attacked a meeting with Iranian refugees and have been injured in the National Council of Resistance and the PMOI in Paris. This is a great jumble for them who are accused of weakening the resistance by placing an attack on them.

More than 30,000 Iranians of all walks of life have signed a petition addressed to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres calling for an independent investigation into the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran.

30,000 Iranians sign UN petition seeking inquiry into 1988 massacre

The signatories to the petition are all based inside Iran, according to the organisers of the signature campaign, the 1988 Truth group.
“The 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran is the most extensive killing of political prisoners since World War II”, 1988 Truth said in a statement on 10 December 2017, coinciding with International Human Rights Day. It added that the majority of the victims were affiliated to the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI or MEK).

The petition text added: “Most of those executed were youths imprisoned for taking part in peaceful street demonstrations and/or reading the opposition’s political publications, and many had already served their time behind bars. These prisoners were executed in groups and then buried in mass graves”.

“From the first day of the Islamic Republic’s establishment, the perpetrators of this massacre have served in the highest political, judicial and security posts. While defending this crime against humanity, they are continuing such killings and executions as we speak”.

“We the signatories are asking you, through the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly to establish an ‘independent committee’ to fully investigate this massacre. This entity should be obligated to collect all documents related to this crime against humanity, along with the names of all the perpetrators, in order to have justice served in this regard”, the petition added.

The real image Earlier this year Amnesty International’s 94-page report, “Caught in a web of repression: Iran’s human rights defenders under attack,” detailed this regime’s drastic human rights violations, with a specific focus on its extensive overdose of executions.

Iran: From human rights violations to dangerous meddling

As witnessed for years running, Iran is the world’s leading executioner per capita, with many hangings continuously and horrendously carried out in public. All the while, secret executions are ongoing in dungeons across the country, including Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison.

This is the real image of Iran, cloaked by the ruling regime and their appeasers in the West for years, who continue to portray Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani as a moderate worth dealing with.
ANALYSIS: Does the Middle East’s stability hinge on Iran’s expulsion?
Rouhani heads a corrupt system responsible for executing around 3,500 people, and counting, from 2013 to this day. 350 such counts have been registered this year alone.

Iran lacks anything even remotely comparable to a justice system and the current Justice Minister, Alireza Avaie, has been on numerous terrorist lists since 2011 for human rights violations.

Avaie is also known to have played a leading role in the 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, consisting of mostly members and supporters of Iran’s main opposition, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh wrote: “The NCRI [is] in every way an antithesis to the ruling clerics of Iran, and vies for the establishment of a secular and democratic state providing equal opportunities to all its citizens, regardless of faith, gender and ethnicity.”

Biggest Threat to Iran's Regime Is a Tolerant Islam

London, 9 Dec - The Iranian Regime has been facing a range of ever-increasing political and military challenges in the Middle East, particularly the US’s tougher policy on confronting Iranian belligerence and expansionism, but the biggest threat to the Regime is a challenge to its extremist interpretation of Islam, according to a leading Iranian-American political scientist.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, president of the International American Council, wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post in which he laid out how ideological challenges to the Iranian Regime were destroying its chokehold on power.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh wrote: “Since the 1979 founding of the Islamic Republic, the Iranian regime’s main weapon has been the demented interpretation of Islam, based on zero-tolerance for other religions, lack of respect of freedoms and the debasing of women. This ideology manifests itself as misogynistic laws and practices, a record number of executions, and brutal torture of its own citizens.

 Tehran has used this extremist ideology to suppress freedom and democracy at home and wreak havoc in neighbouring countries. This has rendered sectarian violence triggered by Iran’s Shiite surrogates in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, among others, to rampant levels. In a nutshell, the Iranian regime’s extremist ideology has been its shield and armour against foreign and domestic threats. That armour, however, is increasingly showing wear and tear.”

Thankfully, the fanatical interpretation of Islam- which disrespects women and people of other religions- is on its way out. Just last week Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reaffirmed his promise to reverse Islamic extremism, largely orchestrated by the Regime that has led to groups like ISIS and Hezbollah.
The Regime, of course, even as written evidence of their collaboration with Al Qaeda emerges from the CIA is trying to shift the blame to Saudi Arabia because they disapprove of Prince Salman’s efforts to push back against Iranian sectarianism.

Referring to NCRI's newly released book, "Iran, Where Mass Murderers Rule, The 1988 Massacre of 30,000 Political Prisoners and the Continuing Atrocities," former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, Kenneth Blackwell, called for accountability into the 1988 massacre to "put pressure on the regime to give access so that we might shine light on the evils that were done… [to give] hope to [those] inside Iran." Blackwell added, "our delegation at the U.N. [should] continue to be a leading voice, not only on international terrorism…by the regime, but …to bring justice to a regime … that is a threat to the basic fabric of humanity across the globe."

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Former Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, Linda Chavez, referred to the role of women in the opposition. "It is no accident," that Iran's opposition movement "is led by a woman, Madame Maryam Rajavi. She stands as a real affront to this regime.

 The regime hates and fears the MEK [Mujahedin-e Khalq] because in the MEK women … are allowed to lead others. And men are willing to listen and to follow them; a major threat to a regime that wants to imprison half its people."

NCRI's U.S. Representative, Soona Samsami said, "why the regime continues to perpetrate such atrocities and continuing? The answer is simple; it fears its population. Despite harsh crackdown, Tehran has been unable to extinguish the Iranian people's yearning for change, freedom, and human rights."

Former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, Marc Ginsberg emphasized, "The violation of human rights has become an inconvenient truth to those who have decided that the Iran nuclear agreement is what begins and ends our engagement with Iran… We need to begin holding Iran accountable."     

A group of political and security prisoners at Zahedan Prison who wanted to keep their identity secret, wrote an open letter about the tortures they were subjected to by their interrogators.

Iran: Baluch political prisoners write letter on systematic torture in prison

10:53 am Iran: Baluch political prisoners write letter on systematic torture in prison
Iran: Baluch political prisoners write letter on systematic torture in prison
December 7, 2017 by IranHRM 0  49
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Zahedan prison
A group of political and security prisoners at Zahedan Prison who wanted to keep their identity secret, wrote an open letter about the tortures they were subjected to by their interrogators.

This letter reads in part:
“There are numerous figures and documents on physical and psychological torture in the detention centers and prisons in these areas, but unfortunately, they are denied by the Iranian authorities, including the head of the judiciary, who orders the crimes … So in response to Larijani, who requested testimonies about the use of torture by their agents, we have noted some points below.

1. Murad Mohammad Deh Baluch, 45. He was arrested by the border regiment in 2017, and was subjected to severe torture. He mentioned the name of Abdul Majid Paidar, known as Majed, 27 years old, under torture. Majid, who was charged with murder and was detained in Chabahar Prison, was transferred to the regiment border detention facility. The tortures they was subjected to are as follows:

1- They were completely stripped and boiling hot water was poured on them.
2- They put needles in their reproductive organs.
3. They were hung upside down from their feet.
4. Their nails were pulled out.
5. They were left in absolute darkness for about forty days. As a result Murad Mohammed lost about 70 percent of his eyesight.
6. They were hung from their hands and feet.
7. They were not allowed to bathe for two months.
8. They were only allowed to use the restroom once in every 24 hours.
9. Their food rations were only the size of the palm of their hands.
10. For three months, their food was given to them in the same unwashed plate, which they were forced to eat.
11. They were beaten with cables while eating.

A nationwide protest movement has been going on for one year and growing, by people whose assets have been plundered by government-backed financial institutes. These protests have on numerous occasions turned into political protests against the regime in its entirety. In the meantime, the movement calling for justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre, which has been actively organized by the Iranian Resistance, has now turned into an expansive social movement. This was one of the main reasons for Kh

Maryam Rajavi's speech at the European Parliament on the eve of the International Human Rights Day
Distinguished Members of European 

Parliament,
It is a great privilege to be here, once again, among the representatives of the people of Europe, men and women who are pioneers in the modern world in defending democracy and human rights.

As I am standing here, today, the situation in Iran is reaching an explosive state.
Last month a devastating earthquake in western Iran took a heavy toll.
Nevertheless, it highlighted a number of major realities:
 The extensive corruption pervading the regime,
 the catastrophic state of the country’s infrastructures,
 the government’s disability to solve the most basic problems of our people,
 and the general solidarity with earthquake victims vis-à-vis the regime.

Fearing eruption of the local people’s outrage, the regime dispatched its Revolutionary Guards and anti-riot forces to the region before sending any relief. But this did not prevent the people’s furious protests.
The government’s corruption is to the extent that large parts of the popular aid collected for the victims were stolen before reaching them.
Another indication of the popular desire for regime change emerged on October 29, known as the Day of Cyrus, the Great. He declared the world’s first human rights charter. The regime’s suppressive forces were mobilized to prevent people from converging from all across the country on the tomb of Cyrus, the Great in Pasargadae.

 But thousands of people travelled long distances towards Pasargadae and the country saw a popular confrontation with the ruling religious dictatorship.
The country’s financial structure is about to collapse.
Two weeks ago, the regime’s Interior Minister admitted

In Syria there are signs of hostilities nearing an end after nearly seven years of carnage. This is in fact against Iran’s interests as this regime thrives on unrest outside of its borders to keep the flame of turmoil burning and focus attention at bay from its domestic woes back home.

ANALYSIS: Does the Middle East’s stability hinge on Iran’s expulsion?

While standard viewpoints and common sense lead us to the conclusion that certain measures signal Iran’s strengths, this piece is meant to argue otherwise. Iran, nowadays, is forced to choose between bad and worse.

With Yemen slipping out of its control, Tehran is desperate and resorting to a variety of measures to maintain a straight face despite significant setbacks. This includes deadly clashes between Houthi forces and those loyal to ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Salah, significantly endangering Tehran’s future interests.

The circumstances in Yemen are obvious. It has become a no-brainer that Tehran supports the Shiite Houthis against the internationally-recognized government of Yemen. Yet Iran cannot engage directly in Yemen through ground, air or sea measures. Launching missiles from Iran to Yemeni soil against the Saudi-led coalition or into Saudi soil is also out of the question.

Remains only the option of smuggling arms and missile parts through Oman and other routes into Yemen to support the Houthis and have the missiles assembled and readied to target Saudi targets. Riyadh’s missile defense units have defended their territories. Despite all the calamities, Iran is left with the sole option of continuing such measures, or succumb to forgoing its Yemen campaign and accepting defeat.

To make matters worse, the European Parliament recently adopted a resolution calling on Iran to halt its support for the Houthis. With 539 votes in favor against a mere 13 against, the European Parliament condemned the Houthis’ recent missile attacks targeting Saudi interests, especially a civilian airport in Riyadh and the King Khaled International Airport.

It has been reported that children as young as fifteen are being recruited by the Iranian regime to participate in armed conflicts. This is a blatant disregard of international law and the UN Security Council has reminded Iran that the UN Charter on children’s rights is applicable.

Iran worryingly recruits teenage children in its wars

• Mashallah, the youngest Defender of the Shrine who came from Islamic Iran. And this is now the last moments for the terrorists in the Abu Kamal region. The city is completely clear and our friends have gathered here. Well, it was very strange to us, the 13-year-olds, the martyrs of the understanding are still here. So why are you here?
Because I said to Hajj Qasim … (inaudible)
• Well, let us know since this is a danger zone, there was the probability of you dying. Did you think of that?
Yes.
• You weren’t worried?
No, martyrdom is an honor and a desire.
• Mashallah, Mashallah. Now that the terrorists have run away and the city is free, how do you feel? What do you have to say to the terrorists and the Americans?
I am very happy. I say to the Americans that Islam is victorious forever.
• Islam is victorious forever! Now is there anything you want to say to your compatriots my dear brother?
Support the Shrine Defenders.
• What do you want to say to the martyrs of the Shrine?
Well done to those who have given their lives for the Shrine.
• Mashallah, Mashallah, to those who have given their lives to defend the Ahl al Beit… They were people martyred from your trenches. Do you remember any of them?
Iran worryingly recruits teenage children in its wars

Since the early days of the Iranian Revolution, the U.S. and its allies have pursued a strategy of reaching out to supposed moderates within the regime, while focusing on a narrow set of issues to the detriment of human rights and the Iranian people’s struggle for democracy.

Separating Iranian people from regime a good first step

The Trump administration’s strategy of confronting the regime's onslaught is a departure from this trend. In that speech and several others, President Trump has placed notable emphasis on the plight of the Iranian people, accurately describing them as the primary victims of the clerical regime.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the fact that the Tehran regime is the leading per capita executioner of its own citizens.

It remains to be seen how far Europe will follow the United States' lead, but there is reason for optimism if the White House maintains the proper focus as it continues to develop and implement an “integrated strategy” for addressing all of Iran’s malign activities.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I salute the brave women who have put up a staunch resistance against the mullahs’ misogynous tyranny in Iran the epicenter of violence and injustice against women. I call on my fellow sisters, the women of Iran, to defy and stand up to this misogynous, anti-human regime.

Maryam Rajavi’s message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 25, 2017:

Assaults, intimidation, insecurity, lack of support, denial of rights, humiliation and discrimination against women increase every year under the mullahs’ rule.

The regime’s extensive measures to impose the compulsory veil on Iranian women and the punishments and humiliation accompanying them are yet another part of the unremitting violence directed against women.

Today, the number of victims of corruption surpasses hundreds of thousands in Iran. The age of young girls dragged into prostitution has dropped considerably and the age of run-away girls has reached 9.
At work place, at school, on the streets, at home and in the family, discrimination against women and humiliating them, and various verbal and psychological forms of violence have become a pervasive epidemic.

The life of girl children who make up a large number of child laborers is the most tragic. Hungry, injured and exhausted by hard work, these frail girls are abused and they have no refuge. The regime’s officials have admitted that “90 per cent of child laborers are outraged.” They say, “Sexual abuse is the worst ailment among young scavenger children.”

Protest gatherings by people plundered by IRGC-backed credit institutes continued in Tehran and other Iranian cities on November 11, 2017.

Iran: Plundered women and men stage protest after officials’ lie

To quell the protests, the Iranian regime’s officials had made announcements that people having deposits in Caspian and Fereshtegan credit institutes could get their money back.

However, when people cheated by Caspian Institute referred to its branches on Saturday, November 11, 2017, they saw that their 

accounts were still blocked and no money had been deposited despite promises made.

كسر الموانع من قبل جماهير المحتجين في منطقة باسارغاد

, the former House Speaker stressed, “I hope that this administration will now as part of this process of beginning to unravel both the IRGC and then ultimately the dictatorship, will reach out [to the source of that information in a much more collaborative way to coordinate information and to coordinate advice and find ways to work together. The National Council of Resistance of Iran has a tremendous potential, and [NCRI President-elect] Mrs. [Maryam] Rajavi has done an amazing job of leading an organization through a very long, very difficult period. And I would hope that at some point in the near future that she would be given an invitation to officially visit the United States, and have a chance both to meet with American leaders in Washington, but also to go around the country.

Newt Gingrich: State Dept. Has Listened to Iran More Than to ‘The Resistance

“As long as that dictatorship is in power, as long as it’s able to spend money, as long as it is able to project terrorism around the world, it is ultimately a mortal danger to the United States. And of course, it was a terrible thing for the Iranian people. A dictatorship which in 1988 killed 30,000 people. They’re surviving by sheer repression. It is a fantasy to suggest that the dictatorship would survive without repression,

Huffington Post, OCT. 21, 2017-- Former House Speaker and Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich described the clerical establishment of Iran as “a dictatorship with a façade of democracy,” adding, “If you’re not part of the dictatorship, and you’re not acceptable to the dictator, you can’t run, and therefore to pretend that the elections actually offer any serious choice to the Iranian people is simply a fantasy. Mr. 

Gingrich was speaking at a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Friday, held by the Organization of Iranian American Communities, OIAC. The event was moderated by Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield Jr., the Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs under the George W. Bush administration.

TOM RIDGE: WE NEED REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN President Trump has been very clear about his strong commitment to combat the global scourge of terrorism and to combat those nations that support and enable it. He has signaled his desire to build meaningful partnerships to achieve these goals and his focus in the Middle East is particularly relevant. In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, the President unhesitatingly identified which players are our friends and which are our enemies in that unstable region.

WHY WE NEED REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN

Since taking office, he has strengthened ties between our traditional Arab allies, led by Saudi Arabia, with a determined and specific eye toward challenging a mutual, longstanding enemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This approach should be taken a step further. In addition to working with supportive countries to confront Iran, there is a meaningful partnership to be built with an Iranian democratic resistance group with a global diaspora and significant presence in Iran itself – the NCRI (National Council of Resistance in Iran).

It was the NCRI which first blew the whistle on Tehran’s hitherto 20-year clandestine nuclear weapons program in 2002, which triggered inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
President Trump also clarified his message distinguishing the repressive Iranian government from the people of Iran in his remarks before the UNGA.

For the first time since the popular revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979, a U.S. President reiterated the ties between the U.S. and the people of Iran, acknowledging their shared goal of changing the behavior and agenda of the ruling regime, and encouraged them to choose their “nation’s proud roots as a center of civilization, culture, and wealth.

The 2014 poverty line in Tehran for a family of five stood at about $900. Therefore, many teachers end up living under the poverty line. So they have to work two or three shifts or have several jobs.

A glance over the situation of Iranian teachers on World Teachers’ Day

Teachers are grossly underpaid and sometimes they do not receive their meager salaries for several consecutive months. Iranian teachers also are deprived of insurance, bonuses and other benefits.
Education Ministry statistics show that some one million Iranian teachers make between $200 to $1,400 per month.

The 2014 poverty line in Tehran for a family of five stood at about $900. Therefore, many teachers end up living under the poverty line. So they have to work two or three shifts or have several jobs.
This situation has a direct impact on the quality of their work and education of students.
Iranian teachers have been demanding enactment of the Pay Parity Bill, which could promote their livelihoods, minimum benefits and equal pay similar to other government employees.

Iranian educators are deprived of the right to organize. Nevertheless, they have staged nationwide protests over the past years to demand their basic rights. The Iranian regime has not responded to their demands and security forces have harassed, repressed and imprisoned Iranian teachers. This is while according to Articles 26 and 27 of the Iranian Constitution, holding protests and rallies are free.

May this year be a year in which you teach the children of Iran that they have to take the risk and pay the price for achieving freedom and that they must not believe the superstition that advocates passivism and continued suffering to avoid paying the price. And may this season, which you have defined as the spring of knowledge, would be transformed into the spring of freedom.

MARYAM RAJAVI’S MESSAGE ON THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR IN IRAN

Honorable teachers and professors of Iran,
On the beginning of the New Academic Year, I salute you. I wish you a year filled with academic and scientific successes. I also hope that the new school year would be a year of advancement and uprising to topple the ruling religious dictatorship and achieve freedom.

Under the mullahs’ brutal tyrannical rule where the talents of Iran’s younger generations and the efficiency and sense of responsibility of teachers and professors are fettered by repression and discrimination, the first lesson is the lesson of freedom.

I hail our country’s honorable teachers and their associations in all cities and provinces and congratulate them in advance on the World’s Teachers Day on October 5.

May this year be a year in which you teach your students the lesson of resilience and freedom more than ever before, the lesson of seeking and finding newness, the lesson of the little black fish who swam against the flow of water and did not give in to the prevalent coercions, lies and discriminations.

Iranian porters in West of the country are the targets of arbitrary killings by the Iranian border guards

A study of the arbitrary killing of porters in western Iran

Iran HRM, September 18, 2017 - Every year, hundreds of unarmed porters are killed or injured by Iranian security forces near the western borders of Iran mainly in the provinces of Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan and Kermanshah. 

The killing of porters has dramatically increased in recent months. At least 16 back carriers and petty tradesmen have been killed and 12 wounded only during the months of July and August. This is while 49 got killed and 47 wounded throughout 2016, meaning an average of four porters killed per month.

Killing of porters, as the poorest people who have to resort to this type of hard work to make ends meet for their families, has sparked a wave of outrage among the public.

In protest to these killings by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the State Security forces, demonstrations broke out in the western city of Baneh. A large number of residents gathered outside the Governor’s Office on Tuesday, September 5, demanding an end to the ongoing attacks against the porters.

I would like to congratulate all of you on your election of my dear sister, Zahra Merrikhi, whom you chose unanimously in the final phase of your election process, as the Secretary General of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.

Maryam Rajavi’s remarks at the assembly of the PMOI on its 52nd anniversary

With this choice, you have presented the PMOI and the Iranian Resistance, in general, with an important gift, which will boost the organization enormously and propel our movement forward politically and organizationally.

I could see with my own eyes that the Mojahedin (PMOI members) have become prolific. I saw a long line of those who could serve as Secretary General. And I saw how, with utmost knowledge and responsibility toward achieving your goal, you reached such unanimity.

I witnessed the glorious moments when your sisters --whom you had nominated as candidates—spoke with one heart, in unity. I felt great pride.

 I heard you speak and I greatly admired your sincerity and awareness, and the consensus you have in the principles and values by which you live. I could sense the truthfulness in each and every one of you, in your votes, and in your eyes when you spoke of the advancements of the PMOI. And I was truly pleased and honored.

Dear sisters and brothers, Another issue I would like to address is the link and relationship between the September 1st massacre in Ashraf and the nuclear talks. In fact, the mass executions of Mojahedin in Ashraf on September 1, 2013 was the hidden half of the regime’s retreat in the nuclear talks and the JCPOA. On November 24, 2013, the Iranian regime’s representatives engaged in the nuclear talks in Geneva, signed an agreement. Before the start of these talks, in September 2013, Khamenei took action through his puppet, former Iraqi prime minister Maliki, and committed the massacre in Ashraf.

The massacre in Ashraf is a chapter directly tied to the Resistance, freedom and human rights in Iran
August 30, 2017

Among these martyrs were also pioneers from Iran’s younger generation:
Rahman Mannani, Amir Nazari, Saeed Akhavan, Nasser Habashi, and Yasser Hajian. These were pioneers for the younger generation of Iranians. Selfless and knowledgeable freedom fighters who chose to fight on the frontlines equipped with full sincerity and honesty.

Nor will we ever forget the seven residents of Ashraf who were taken hostage. The government of Iraq never informed us of their fates. Unfortunately, the UN, US, EU and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees did not compel the puppet government of Iraq at the time to hold itself accountable for this abduction.

The mullahs and their puppet, former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, were complicit in this kidnapping, but have cowardly refused to claim responsibility.
But we will not forget or relent until we take the mullahs’ religious tyranny and their agents and mercenaries in Iraq to the courts to face justice.

Some human epics need the passage of time to reveal their true message. But there are also epics that immediately inspire action and regenerate themselves. The Epic of Ashraf was one such example because it immediately created a large impact led by the perseverance of the 42 brave surviving PMOI members.
You were witnesses to the scenes of the massacre. 

You emerged from that battle, eager to fight on under the command of Maryam Akbari in those moments of life and death. Indeed, she fulfilled her historic duty in the best way possible. At the time, you were not just 42 individuals, but representatives of an enchained nation that wishes to bring down the mullahs’ tyrannical regime. You lived to fight the murderers.

Maryam Rajavi vowed to carry on the struggle of the martyrs of 1988 who stood by their ideals to final fruition. She said: We vow to turn every drop of your unjustly-shed blood, into a force for struggle and battle for freedom. And we vow to carry on your glorious ideal to final victory.

COMMEMORATING THE HEROES MARTYRED IN THE 1988 MASSACRE IN IRAN

Ms. Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Senator Robert Kennedy and President of Robert Kennedy Human Rights Foundation; Mr. Mariano Rabino, member of the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights committees of the Parliament of Italy; Senator Pietro Liuzzi, member of Cultural and EU Policy committees of the Italian Senate; Ms.

 Ingrid Betancourt, former Senator from Columbia, and Tahar Boumedra, former director of the Human Rights Office of UNAMI attended and addressed the ceremony.

Maryam Rajavi made a speech at this gathering. At the end of the ceremony, she laid a flower wreath at the monument commemorating the victims of the 1988 massacre and paid them respects.

In brief remarks addressed to the 30,000 proud martyrs, massacred in 1988, Maryam Rajavi said:
We are commemorating the memory of martyrs of the 1988 massacre, along with PMOI members who are continuing your path. Generation after generation, people asked about your stories and headed for your glorious destination.

 Although Khomeini sought to send you into oblivion, you have become eternal; you have turned into the rebellious conscience of the Iranian people. Khomeini was defeated by your perseverance and resorted to massacre.

August 2017 Conference Commemorates 1988 massacre of Iranian political p...

Maryam Rajavi vowed to carry on the struggle of the martyrs of 1988 who stood by their ideals to final fruition. She said: We vow to turn every drop of your unjustly-shed blood, into a force for struggle and battle for freedom. And we vow to carry on your glorious ideal to final victor

COMMEMORATING THE HEROES MARTYRED IN THE 1988 MASSACRE IN IRAN

Ms. Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Senator Robert Kennedy and President of Robert Kennedy Human Rights Foundation; Mr. Mariano Rabino, member of the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights committees of the Parliament of Italy; Senator Pietro Liuzzi, member of Cultural and EU Policy committees of the Italian Senate; Ms. Ingrid Betancourt, former Senator from Columbia, and Tahar Boumedra, former director of the Human Rights Office of UNAMI attended and addressed the ceremony.

Maryam Rajavi made a speech at this gathering. At the end of the ceremony, she laid a flower wreath at the monument commemorating the victims of the 1988 massacre and paid them respects.
In brief remarks addressed to the 30,000 proud martyrs, massacred in 1988, Maryam Rajavi said:

We are commemorating the memory of martyrs of the 1988 massacre, along with PMOI members who are continuing your path. Generation after generation, people asked about your stories and headed for your glorious destination. Although Khomeini sought to send you into oblivion, you have become eternal; you have turned into the rebellious conscience of the Iranian people. Khomeini was defeated by your perseverance and resorted to massacre.

The campaign calling for justice obtained new information about the slaughter, including a large number of names of the victims, as well as the locations of numerous mass graves which the mullahs had previously concealed.

exhibition of 1988 massacred political prisoners in Paris

  The UN Security Council must set up a special tribunal or refer the issue to the International Criminal Court to arrange for the prosecution of the leaders of the Iranian regime.

If in those days, the massacre had not been met with silence, today, the mullahs could not sink Syria in a whirlpool of blood.
Fortunately, the movement calling for justice for the victims of the massacre in Iran has expanded since last year. Today, even youths born after the massacre have risen up to call for justice for the victims.

The people of Iran want to end the impunity of those in charge of the massacre and hold them accountable. This has turned into the Iranian people’s most important political demand from the clerical regime.

The campaign calling for justice obtained new information about the slaughter, including a large number of names of the victims, as well as the locations of numerous mass graves which the mullahs had previously concealed. The people of Iran demand that the perpetrators of the massacre be held accountable and their impunity ended.

IRAN FOCUS, 08 August 2017-- 29 years ago these days, in Iran under the mullahs’ regime, the massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, mainly members, and supporters of the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) had engulfed all of Iran.

The 1988 massacre that continues to haunt Tehran

In a recent interview with state-TV Aparat, former Iranian intelligence minister Ali Fallahian said the order to massacre PMOI/MEK inmates in 1988 was issued previously by Khomeini.

“In relations to the PMOI/MEK, and all groups considered 'mohareb' (enemy of God), their rulings are execution. He emphasized in saying don’t hesitate in this regard… they have always been sentenced to execution, before or after 1988,” he said. Based on this fatwa, over 30,000 political prisoners were hanged in less than three months.

Last year in the PMOI/MEK convention in Paris the Iranian Resistance President-elect Maryam Rajavi launched a justice movement seeking accountability for those involved in the 1988 massacre of PMOI/MEK inmates and other political prisoners.

 This movement expanded throughout Iran at a rapid pace, caused major troubles for the Iranian regime and been welcomed across the globe. 

This movement is demanding that senior Iranian regime officials be brought to justice for their PMOI/MEK genocide.