Since the fall of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s clerical leaders have taken control of the vast resources he had accumulated, and setting up various foundations that were supposedly to aid the deprived, they swallowed up all of the assets left behind by wealthy Iranians who were connected to the deposed Shah’s leadership, many of whom had fled the country, or had been been jailed or executed.

An Iranian woman walks in a poor neighbourhood in the town of Ghaleh Hassan Khan on the southwestern outskirts of Tehran on March 11, 2008

By Tony Duheaume
Al Arabiya, 31 March 20 17 - While many of Iran’s citizens have suffered all of the hardships of a failing economy, in a land of increasing unemployment and low pay, the ruling mullahs lead the lives of past emperors, living in absolute luxury, with billions they have made off the backs of the Iranian people, now insulating them from the crumbling nation they reside over.

Beggars wander the streets of Iran in droves, drug addicts with nothing to live for litter the thoroughfares, while the homeless find shelter where they can, some known to have taken up residence living under bridges, or in the sewerage canals that run alongside the country’s highways.

But as recently as 2016, photographs shot by renowned photographer Saeed Gholamhoseini, and published in the Shahrvand Daily, have depicted many of these hapless vagrants sleeping in empty graves in Hahriar, a town about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Tehran, the nation’s capital, images that shocked the nation.

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News Conference in Geneva calling for prosecution of Iranian regime’s officials involved in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran

Geneva: Iran's 1988 Massacre of Political Prisoners Condemned by UN

The speakers condemned the wave of executions and inhumane crimes by the mullahs’ regime against the Iranian people. They also called for an international probe into the 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners and the persecution by Iranian regime officials on crimes against humanity.
Dr. Taher Boumedra, a former UN human rights office chief in Iraq, emphasized the UN had been following the massacre in 1988. 

Professor Reynaldo Galindo Pohl received information from the victims’ families daily as the events unfolded. There is also a list of mass graves and the locations that have been identified, which was described as a major breakthrough.

Currently, the UN and all its apparatus and mechanisms have placed the 1988 massacre on their agenda. The results of the past six months of their work will be presented to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran with the goal of establishing an investigative commission on this issue.

Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former European Parliament vice president, praised the report about the victims. He added that the 1988 massacre of political prisoners is considered the biggest massacre of political prisoners since the end of World War II.

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US) held a Nowruz celebration at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on March 24, 2017.

NCRI-US: Former U.S. Officials Join Nowruz Event in Washington, Highlight Need for Tough Iran Policy

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US) held a Nowruz celebration at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on March 24, 2017.

For Iranians, Nowruz symbolizes change. It heralds the end of the dark, dull days of winter, and the arrival of the flourishing days of spring. The dawn of a "new day," Nowruz, and the coming of spring bear a simple, yet, at the same time, compelling message: The freedom of springtime is inevitable. It may be delayed, but it can't be stopped.

Guests from different academic institutions, think tanks, the U.S. Government, and the U.S. Congress joined senior former U.S. officials and leaders of the Iranian-American communities at the colorful and lively event.  The traditional Haftseen table and a beautiful exhibition of Iranian handcraft decorated the room, bringing important culture to the celebration. Persian cuisine was served while the audience enjoyed listening to folk and traditional Iranian music.

NCRI's Washington Representative, Soona Samsami, General James Conway, former Commandant of the Marine Corps, Ambassador Robert Joseph, former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield Jr., former Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs, P.J. Crowley, former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, and Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, former US Ambassador to Morocco were among the speakers.

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Khamenei’s mirage during the last 5 years, undermines domestic production and not just for thousands but for millions of women and men the questions arose: Where do we now find our source of revenue? Who destroyed our domestic production? And replace it with Corruption as a way of life in Iran.

Key government officials benefit more from the focus on the region versus dealing with the miserable living situation facing the Iranian people and its economy.

After weeks of regime in-fighting and attention in Syria, resulted in atrocities and massacre in Aleppo, and sending advanced weapons and military advisers to Yemen, and building a number of weapons production factories in Lebanon for Hezbollah.

Both the Supreme Leader and President Rouhani turned to the state of Iran’s economy in their messages for Nowruz, Iran’s New Year.

On Tuesday march 21 in the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Iran’s northeastern holy city of Mashhad the supreme leader Khamenei reiterated the significance of domestic production in the new Iranian year’s speech. “What is obvious today is that “economic vacuums are huge”, the leader noted, pointing to “unemployment and harsh living conditions.”. “Weak management”, “recession in domestic production”......

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Iran: Minister of Labor: The Unemployment Rate Will Not Reduce Soon

Since the authorities announced that 1 million and 200 thousand new jobs have to be created in the New Year. Observers predict that the unemployment rate will increase in this year too.

NCRI - The rate of unemployment will not reduce since a large number of young graduates are entering the job market. The Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, Ali Rabiei stipulated.
On March 21st , IRIB News released a report quoting Ali Rabiei that unemployment rate will remain at the current level if the creation of jobs continues similarly in the next four or five years.

Ali Rabiei gave the speech on Monday evening on the sidelines of a ceremony held for the launch of 60 new products of the pharmaceutical companies that are the subdivision of the Ministry of Labor and the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani attended the event as well.

Based on the Official Website of the Iranian President's report, Hassan Rouhani at the ceremony stated: “in recent years, the universities admitted young students in Iran while no plan had been formulated to provide job opportunities for the educated people. Therefore, 5 million students got university admission and currently, 800 thousand graduates are entering the job market annually."

Iran Faces Stricter Sanctions in Bipartisan House, Senate Bills

Iran sanctions

Washington Free Beacon, March 25, 2017 - Legislation introduced Thursday in the House and Senate by a bipartisan group of lawmakers would hit Iran with tougher sanctions for the ongoing development of its ballistic missile program.

While Washington focused on the health care saga in the House, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), quietly introduced a new bill that would impose mandatory sanctions on individuals involved with Iran’s ballistic missile program.

The legislation would expand terrorism-related sanctions to include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Tehran’s elite military force. The bill would codify sanctions announced by the Treasury Department last month that applied to anyone tied to Iran’s support for terrorism.
The bill has support from more than a dozen senators, including Democratic co-sponsors Ben Cardin (Md.), Robert Menendez (N.J.), Bob Casey (Pa.), and Chris Coons (Del.). Republican backers include Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), James Risch (Idaho), and Dan Sullivan (Alaska).