Perseverance of Iranian women will turn the page of history - Elham Zanjani
Free women of the West urged to support Iranian women’s struggle
Following is the speech delivered by Elham Zanjani, member of the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, at a conference in Palermo, Italy, on November 23, 2017, on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
I am here to bring to your attention the history of heroism of Iranian women and of course, the history of their sufferings.
Iranian women have a 150-year history of struggle for equality and against dictatorship. This history has placed Iranian women in a progressive position both culturally and intellectually. Women have played significant roles in three major movements in Iran during the twentieth century.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations urged for global action to combat violence against women and girls in advance of the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women.
António Guterres said: “Violence against women is fundamentally about power. It will only end when gender equality and the full empowerment of women will be a reality.”
He continued: “There is an increasing recognition that violence against women is a major barrier to the fulfilment of human rights, and a direct challenge to women’s inclusion and participation in sustainable development and sustaining peace.”
Violence against women and girls is the most extreme form of misogyny, encompassing domestic violence, sexual assault, and murder. In the most recent UN report, nearly one-fifth of women aged 15-49, across 87 countries, said that they had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in the past 12 months. While in 2012, almost half of all female murder victims worldwide were killed by an intimate partner or family member, compared with just 6% of male murder victims.
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.
In our country, Iran, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women exposes the crimes of a theocratic regime whose rule is a constant source and sponsor of violence against women.
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.”
Trade of girl children on the edge of cities has become a common practice among impoverished families afflicted with addiction and imposes a new form of slavery on destitute women.
In reality, the rule of the mullahs’ religious dictatorship is the source of expansion and aggravation of such inhuman relations. Wasting the country’s assets and revenues on criminal wars in the region, the consequent poverty and destitution afflicting the entire Iranian society, as well as the adoption and implementation of medieval laws are some of the ways in which they promote inhuman relations.
This regime has revived the most backward traditions and customs --that either had no place in society or were being eliminated four decades ago —and turned them into tools for subjugation and suppression of women. Under the mullahs’ rule, violence is promoted under the law. The regime’s anti-Islamic Penal Code as well as the laws sanctioning polygamy, temporary marriages and honor killings constantly fuel violence against women.
A plethora of inequalities and injustices have jeopardized Iranian women’s status, including their inferior positon in the family, being deprived of job opportunities, and other discriminations which have made Iranian women the main victims of the country’s economic bankruptcy and the enormous tide of dismissals and layoffs. To defend such oppression, the mullahs have openly declared war against the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations against Women (CEDAW) and have refused to sign onto the Convention for the Elimination of Violence against Women, seeing them as threatening their regime.
In contrast, Iranian women have not given in to all these discriminations and pressures, but have undertaken their place at the forefront of the struggle against the mullahs’ misogynous regime.
This is why the clerical regime holds deep resentment towards the women of Iran and particularly the resistant women.
It is common knowledge that the most savage tortures and brutish treatments were directed against female prisoners, and the PMOI women in particular in the regime’s dungeons. By torturing and executing tens of thousands of combatant and Mojahedin women, the regime tops the list of all perpetrators of violence against women in today’s world.
We will never forget the tortures inflicted on PMOI and other combatant women in the “Residential Unit” in the 1980s to crush their resistance. Nor will we forget the savagery and atrocities committed in Kahrizak and other torture chambers against Iran’s sons and daughters in 2009.
Iranian women, however, are proud to have stood firm against the mullahs’ barbarism. They include young high school and college students who exposed the mullahs’ true nature and staged protests against them in the very first years of their rule, the heroines who persevered in Ashraf, and the PMOI’s Central Council that leads the democratic movement against the mullahs. Together, they have built an insurmountable barrier against the clerical regime.
Today, we can see that Iranian women play an active and pioneering role in all anti-government protests, sit-ins and strikes by various sectors.
In the free Iran of tomorrow, Iranian women will uproot violence and injustice with their active and equal participation in political leadership. With creativity and determination, they will eliminate all forms of coercions and prohibitions for women and create a democratic and free society.
A call to stop state-sponsored violence against women in Iran
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, this is a call to stop the state-sponsored violence against women in Iran.
Not only the clerical regime's Constitution and laws institutionalize violence against women and sanction the cruel punishments of flogging, stoning and blinding, but the regime systematically and formally undertakes violent measures against Iranian women day and night, throughout the country, an ongoing trend which follows an unprecedented brutal crackdown in the 1980s, eliminating thousands of oppositionist women. Read more
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps resident in Lebanon
20, 2018 - In 1982, exploiting a political power vacuum in Lebanon, the Iranian regime sent in a thousand-man strong group of Revolutionary Guard agents into the country to train and equip a Shiite group that sided with Khomeini to create the terrorist Lebanon Hezbollah. The aim of the Iranian regime was to create a military and political presence in the heart of the Middle East for itself.
US Designates Hezbollah, 4 Other Groups as Top Threats
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday designated five groups, including the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Central American street gang MS-13, as “top transnational organized crime threats,” targeting them for stepped up prosecutions by the Justice Department.
Sessions identified the other three groups as Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, a Mexican criminal group; the Sinaloa Cartel, an international organized crime syndicate based in Mexico; and Clan del Golfo, a Colombian drug cartel, Sessions said.
Iran funding Hezbollah & Houthis with drug money
Militias linked to the Iranian regime are using money obtained from their drug trade to provide for their meddling activities, according to General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Arab coalition as cited by Al Arabiya website.
Yemen’s Houthis and the Lebanese Hezbollah are involved in the drug trade to provide for the Yemen war expenses, according to General Turki al-Maliki.
The Arab coalition took all measures to realize the Houthi delegation’s visit to Geneva for the U.N. sponsored talks in hopes of reaching a solution, the coalition spokesman added. Read more
Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah using Beirut airport for smuggling
The Lebanese Hezbollah are taking advantage of the airport in Beirut to facilitate their smuggling of arms and narcotics, parallel to the transportation of Iran-backed militia abroad, reports indicate.
Hezbollah is enabling Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) to consider the Rafic Hariri International Airport as a base for their operations, consisting of airing militias and arms to those countries and various locations to advance the IRGC’s strategy to prolong Tehran’s Middle East meddling.
Further measures indicate that Iranian citizens going to Lebanon never had their passports stamped at the Beirut airport upon return. The Lebanese embassy in Tehran claims such actions are aimed at facilitating movements. Read more
VIDEO: How to tackle the Iran/Obama drug scandal Hezbollah Moving Tons of Cocaine from Latin America to Europe to Finance Terror Operations
By: Heshmat Alavi
Al Arabiya, 25 December 2017-- Long ago I wrote explaining how Congress is taking the lead on Iran policy. Recently, major developments involving the United States, Iran, and the entire Middle East have placed the powerful US legislative body before obligations in the face of arguably the world’s most dangerous regime.
At a time when Iran’s foreign meddling and ballistic missile drive continues to raise eyebrows out of deep concern, an important spotlight is being focused on a shadowy aspect of Tehran’s notorious schemes.
Politico released what has been described as a bombshell, exposing how Iran literally demanded the Obama administration facilitate a major drug trafficking/money-laundering campaign across four continents.
While senior Obama administration officials must be held accountable for their ties with the terrorist Lebanese Hezbollah, the main issue at hand is how to tackle the root: Iran.
FOX NEWS, Dec 20, 2017-- Politico's Josh Meyer is standing by his bombshell report that the Obama administration 'shut down' a law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah for fear of jeopardizing the Iran nuclear deal. How Obama Appeased Iran by Turning a Blind Eye to Hezbollah’s Crimes
A new report shows that in its efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Tehran, the administration went so far as to stop the DEA from cracking down on Hezbollah drug-running. Over the weekend Politico’s Josh Meyer published a blockbuster report that can’t be allowed to disappear into the void of the holiday season. In painstaking detail, it documents claims that the Obama administration crippled Drug Enforcement Administration operations against Hezbollah as part of its effort to reach a nuclear deal with the Iranian regime. Why would the DEA, of all agencies, target an international terrorist organization? It turns out that Hezbollah had become a major player in international cocaine trafficking and was using proceeds from its drug-running and arms-dealing to finance — among other things — the purchase of explosively formed perpetrators (EFP’s), the deadliest IEDs used against American soldiers in Iraq. Hezbollah had transformed itself into an “international crime syndicate that some investigators believed was collecting $1 billion a year.” The DEA’s “Project Cassandra” was designed to disrupt this syndicate. And just as the operation began reaching into the highest echelons of one of the world’s worst terrorist organizations, the Obama administration started to shut it down: Read more
VIDEO: Obama administration undermined anti-Hezbollah task force to help secure Iran nuke deal, report says Decoding Iran and Hezbollah’s desires for Lebanon By Tony Duheaume Special to Al Arabiya EnglishSaturday, 18 November 2017
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the viewpoint of Al Arabiya English.
The importance of Hezbollah for Iran as an overseas fighting force, which operates alongside its own military, cannot be underestimated. Since its establishment in Lebanon in the early 1980s by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Quds Force, Hezbollah has fought wars and carried out deadly attacks against civilians in foreign lands that have proven its worth as a terror group.
Terrorist attacks carried out by Hezbollah, which have targeted various nations over the years, can only be construed as attacks carried out by the Iranian administration through proxy. As by using its Quds Force, the regime itself can claim plausible deniability from its deeds, which it has done for many decades. Read more
US House of Representatives unanimously passes sanctions on Hizbollah
Democratic
and Republican members of Congress unanimously voted through measures
designed to curb Iran's ballistic missile programme and Hizbollah’s
funding
The National, Oct. 25, 2017 - In a move that marks further
US escalation directed at the Iranian government and the Lebanese armed
group Hizbollah, US Congress took first step on Wednesday in approving
unanimously three resolutions that tighten the economic screws on Tehran
and the Shiite militant party. Read more House Cracks Down on Iran Terror Proxy Hezbollah
Washington,
D.C., Oct. 25, 2017 – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce
(R-CA) today issued the following statement after the House of
Representatives passed three bipartisan measures that target Hezbollah’s
ability to finance its terror and recruit new members:
“Hezbollah
is Iran’s leading terrorist proxy, and it is only growing more
dangerous. It now has an arsenal of more than 100,000 rockets aimed at
Israel and has become battle-hardened while propping up the murderous
Assad regime alongside the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Hezbollah
has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, including American lives. With
the House’s action today, we send a strong message that the United
States will not allow this threat to go unchecked. These critical
measures will impose new sanctions to crack down on Hezbollah’s
financing, and hold it accountable for its acts of death and
destruction.” Read more
Cutting off Iran Regime's Terror Proxies
The Iranian Regime has always depended on its network of terrorist proxy groups to commits crimes on its behalf across the Middle East. As a result, the Regime spends billions of dollars every year - stolen from the Iranian people- to fund them.
But now, as a strong policy against Iranian aggression in the region starts to take shape, Iran and its proxies find themselves in a dire situation.
The latest sign of this policy change came last week, after the shock resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who blamed his decision on Iran-backed Hezbollah taking the country hostage and plotting to asassinate him. Read more
Iran Regime's Fingerprints Found on Chokehold of Middle East
The fingerprints of the Iranian Regime can be found all over their crime scenes in the Middle East, from Yemen to Lebanon to Gaza to Kuwait, and they must be brought to justice.
In the two years since the Saudi-led international coalition entered Yemen to bring stability and reinstate the legitimate Yemeni government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the Houthi rebel group who deposed Yemen’s ruler has grown from a lightly armed, semi-political faction into a fully-fledged terrorist organisation.
Now the Houthi rebels are able to launch ballistic missiles towards other countries in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia, and plant sophisticated sea mines in the Red Sea and the Bab Al Mandab Strait, which poses a significant threat to all sea-going vessels using the Suez Canal.
But how have they been able to transform and expand so fast? With a little help from the Iranian Regime. Read more
Hezbollah's defeat could unravel Iran's Middle East ambitions
Iran
has long relied on proxy groups to carry out its evil deeds in
neighboring countries. And every year, the ruling regime pours billions
of dollars of the Iranian people’s wealth into aiding and abetting these
terrorist groups. However, as a firm policy starts to take shape
against their belligerence in the region, Tehran and its surrogates are
finding themselves in dire straits.
The latest manifestation of
this change of policy was a series of events triggered last week when
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri declared his resignation from the
premiership. Hariri’s statement came after a botched attempt at
assassinating him in Beirut, allegedly planned by Hezbollah, a terrorist
group with well-known ties to Iran. Hariri cited Iran’s influence and
hostage-taking of his country through Hezbollah and threats to his life
as the reason for his resignation. Read more Unraveling the global tentacles of Hezbollah’s sleeper cells By Tony Duheaume
The
West has held itself back from confronting Iran for decades. One reason
for this has to be the dread of an Iranian fightback, which would take
the form of guerrilla warfare in a multitude of lands, including the US.
This fear would have been high in 2008, when intelligence experts
warned of Iranian sleeper cells poised to attack British targets, such
as power stations, military bases, government buildings. There were also
fears about assassination of high-profile figures, should the West go
ahead and bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.
Sleeper cells lie in wait
Such
a scenario would make perfect sense, as with Iran not able to match the
West militarily in an all-out confrontation, the only way to
effectively fight back would be through asymmetric (unconventional)
warfare. One method of attack used in asymmetric warfare by the Iranian
regime comes in the form of covert action in foreign lands through the
use of sleeper cells. For decades, Hezbollah has been building up a
network of sleeper cells in the Middle East, Americas and Europe, and
should it decide to wage an insurgent war against any of its host
countries, its military training would make it a very formidable
opponent. Read more Stop Ignoring Iran and Hezbollah Terror, US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley Tells Security Council
The Algemeiner, 26 July 2107 - US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley expressed frustration on Tuesday with the UN Security Council’s attitude toward Iran and its terrorist proxies in the Middle East.
“Truth be told, the Security Council often makes the Middle East more complicated than it actually is,” Haley said at the Security Council’s monthly meeting on the region. “It obsesses over Israel. And it refuses to acknowledge one of the chief sources of conflict and killing in the Middle East — that is, Iran and its partner militia, Lebanese Hezbollah.”
Haley began her remarks by affirming that the US “shares everyone’s concern about the heightened tensions in Jerusalem.”
“All parties should work to reduce these tensions, and we offer whatever assistance we can in helping to do this,” she stated. But, she added, “I am going to refrain from further comment on this sensitive issue in the hope that wisdom will prevail over emotions.” Read more Hezbollah Is a Branch of the Iran Regime's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)
Foreign Affairs Committee held hearings on Thursday, June 8 to investigate Hezbollah as a proxy force for the Iran regime.
The
Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce in the hearings
stressed, "Hezbollah is a proxy force to the Iran regime and in fact,
the Iran deal has enabled this country to provide Hezbollah with more
equipment and facilities. Hezbollah is still an extensive criminal
network, which is also engaged in a range of illegal activities such as
trafficking, smuggling cigarette, and money laundering."
The Chair
of MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Subcommittee, Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen also stipulated, "Hezbollah is one of the most dangerous
and awful terrorist organizations in the world. This group is also
responsible for some of the most brutal terrorist attacks in the
history. Hezbollah is not only the partner of the Iran regime. It is
also a branch of IRGC in order to fulfill the objectives and wishes of
the Iran regime. Hezbollah supports the criminal Bashar Al-Assad in
Syria by sending weapons and ammunition. We cannot ignore the influence
and control of Hezbollah over Lebanon and its army." READ MORE
Some Details of the Terrorist Operations of Iran Regime and Lebanese Hezbollah in Kuwait
expert
said in an interview with Sky News on July 30, 2017: “The Iranian
regime thinks Persian Gulf states cannot come face to face with the
regime and block its projects. This is the view of the Iranian regime's
leader towards the Gulf States, especially the Kuwaiti government.
Dr.
Mohammad al-Sulami added: “From this point of view, when the Iranian
regime intervenes in Kuwait, it thinks no Arab country can stand against
it, and the government of Kuwait cannot do anything.”
Iran Regime Corruption Over Earthquake Deaths Is Being Covered Up
The Iranian Regime has promised to investigate the poor construction of government housing in Iran that contributed to the death toll during the recent earthquake, but as the old saying goes when you point a finger, there are three pointing back at you.
The 7.3 magnitude quake on the border between Iran and Iraq killed over 530 people, with the majority of deaths attributed to poorly built houses constructed by the Regime as part of the Mehr (kindness) housing project under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Those apartment blocks collapsed during the November earthquake while privately built buildings in the same area stayed standing; some photos in state media showed rows of apartment blocks with their façades sheared off. These buildings were effectively “coffins for [their] inhabitants” according to Regime critics. Read more
Massive Quake Damage, Destruction of Seven Cities and More Than 77.5% of the Villages in One Province
Iranian regime’s officials and state media acknowledged the massive damage caused by the earthquake in western Iran and destruction of seven cities and more than 77.5 percent of the villages in Kermanshah province.
In this regard, Kermanshah governorate announced that the damage caused by the earthquake equalled 11-year budget of this province.
The state-run Khabar-Online outlet reported that the earthquake has devoured more than a decade budget of Kermanshah province, quoting the Kermanshah governorate's report.
MARYAM RAJAVI - SOLIDARITY WITH COMPATRIOTS HIT BY EARTHQUAKE IN WESTERN IRAN
We have gathered to commemorate our fellow country men and women who lost their lives in the earthquake that struck Kermanshah Province.
Dear compatriots, sisters and brothers,
We have gathered to commemorate our fellow countrymen and women who lost their lives in the earthquake that struck Kermanshah Province. We are here to express our sympathies with those injured and wounded in this terrible incident and the tens of thousands of families whose homes were ruined and destroyed.
We have gathered to condole those whose loved ones remained under the rubbles and there was no one to help despite their cries and appeals. Our hearts go to those who managed to bring out their children and relatives from under the debris, but no one was there to dress their wounds and save their lives.
On behalf of the Iranian Resistance, I extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved and afflicted people of Kermanshah. I repeat, you are in our hearts, and we pray for you.
To our sisters and brothers and to our children in Sarpol-e Zahab, Qasr-e Shirin, Salas-e Babajani, Ezgeleh, Kerend, Islamabad, Gilan-e Gharb, Ravansar, Javanrood, Paveh, Sahneh, Dalahou, Tazeh-abad, and Kermanshah, we extend our condolences and share in your grief and sorrow.
And in the words of the great poet of Kurdistan, Mowlavi Kurd, I’d like to say:
My heart is again filled with sorrow
My soul is restless due to this separation
And my eyes are blurred by tears of sadness
May the injured get well soon upon the mercy of God and with the help of our compatriots from all across the country, especially the people of western Iran who have been deeply moved these days, and with the help of caring nurses and doctors. Everyone is deeply touched because this incident could have had much less casualties and far less damages. And our dear Kermanshah did not have to be drenched in so much blood and destruction.
We know that these days, not only in Kermanshah but all over Iran, people are in tears and pain, especially because the cities and villages across the country saw their own insecurity and vulnerability, in the earthquake that hit Kermanshah. Everyone’s economic and social fate was before their eyes.
So, we have gathered to once again repeat that in the ruins of repression, corruption, insecurity and poverty where the Velayat-e Faqih has nestled, the way out and the only way out is the overthrow of the mullahs’ religious dictatorship.
I would also like to extend my condolences to the sisters and brothers in the PMOI and among supporters of the Iranian Resistance who have lost relatives in this earthquake. At this point, I would like to express my gratitude to my countrymen and women who rushed to the aid of the earthquake victims. At this moment, I believe that the majority of the people of Iran share in this gratefulness. They deeply and sincerely appreciate everyone and especially the young men and women who were not indifferent and despite their own need did not waste any time and did not fear the threats and intimidations of the Revolutionary Guards and security forces, and rushed to the aid of the victims amidst the tears, cries and screams, death and destruction.
The youths of Kermanshah indeed revived the memory of the national wrestling champion, Gholamreza Takhti, who rushed to the aid of the victims of the 1962 earthquake in Bo’ien Zahra with utmost humanity. You, too, do not spare any efforts to help the quake victims. Being a champion is caring for your destitute countrymen, and being someone on whom they can rely. In contrast to the mullahs’ regime, you can create solidarity among people.
Dear sisters and brothers,
The earthquake in Kermanshah uncovered two very significant but contrasting realities; the extent of corruption and fraud within the ruling regime and the crisis it faces on the one hand, and on the other, the Iranian people’s spirit of unity and solidarity in countering the regime.
Every one saw the first thing the mullahs’ supreme leader did was to dispatch the commanders of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and Bassij to the affected areas, and anti-riot forces were deployed in the region at the first possible opportunity because they are convinced that if they do not keep the situation in check, the earthquake region would turn into a hotbed of protests.
Earthquakes and floods are natural disasters not limited to Iran. Some countries are struck by Tsunamis which cause much more extensive damages. In contrast to Iran where the mullahs are in power, the ruling governments in those countries mobilize all their forces to rescue the victims and not to suppress them. Furthermore, they have plans for dealing with the disaster and attending to the survivors. In Iran, however, as we saw in the earthquakes of northern provinces, Bam (southern Iran), and now, Kermanshah, even people rescued from under the rubbles die in the absence of care, or are abandoned without receiving any relief. So, earthquake is a disaster, but the post-earthquake situation is ten times worse.
Indeed, in the face of such disasters, other countries reach out for help from other countries and international institutes. But why didn’t the mullahs ask for help from abroad? Because they do not want the world learn of their crimes. The mullahs even prevented the people of Kermanshah and neighboring provinces from going to the aid of earthquake victims.
In some cities like Sanandaj, the places where people collected aid were demolished. The trucks carrying popular aid were stopped and confiscated to be later distributed in the name of the Revolutionary Guards and of course, large parts of them were stolen.
In other parts, there were all sorts of discrimination at work against our Sunni compatriots, depriving them of the distributed aid. Indeed, the spirit of Islam, Shiites and their leaders, abhor such malignant manners. As I have repeatedly declared, today, genuine Shiites act in solidarity and brotherhood with Sunnis.
Yes, this regime has been programmed for suppressing people not for aiding them.
On the other hand, the damages and destruction caused by earthquake in Kermanshah could have been much more limited. And this is another example of the calamity the clerical regime brought about in the infrastructure of Iranian cities and villages, at their work and residential quarters, at schools and hospitals and in the technical and aid services. Rarely has any place in Iran remained immune from this catastrophe.
Newly-built hospitals have crumbled in the quake stricken areas.
It has been reported that a 15-million-dollar hospital built over 8 years totally crumbled in a matter of a few minutes.
The earthquake shook not only Kermanshah, but the whole country. It has created an atmosphere where some experts have expressed their untold stories. They have indicated that the regime builds towers on fault lines, devastates the gardens and destroys the environment.
As the Iranian Resistance Leader, Massoud Rajavi, once said, “When the country’s oil revenues are entirely plundered under the rule of Khomeini and his heirs, or are spent on wars and repression, it is very natural that the country’s economic and social foundations become feeble while there are no plans to forecast and prevent various natural disasters.”
Criminal plunder, pillage and repression to preserve the rule of an outdated and anti-nationalist regime have brought about a catastrophe which keeps surfacing one day in Bam, another day in the crumbling of the Plasco Building, the other days in the eruption of fire at the oil refinery and the collapse of a coal mine on its workers and engineers, and now in Kermanshah.
One should ask the mullahs why is the Iranian people’s wealth which needs to be spent on their most basic needs, is squandered in this way? The mullahs spend tens of billions of dollars every year for the war in Syria, and for buttressing the Assad dictatorship. Khamenei pays for all the expenses of the ferocious Hashd-as Sha’abi in Iraq.
Really, what happened to the 100 billion dollars unblocked for the regime by western governments after the sanctions were lifted? What did the people of Iran gain from doubling of the oil revenues in the past two years?
And why have they sent the Red Crescent to other countries to export fundamentalism instead of deploying it inside the country to serve their own people? According to the regime’s officials, the Iranian Red Crescent runs 26 relief centers in 19 Asian, African and Latin American countries.
Why is this? Because repression and killing are inherent to the clerical regime and it does not do anything but corruption, crime, and regression.
This is the security Khamenei and his accomplice brag about every day as their honor and achievement. In reality, the whole country and the entire society is unsafe in the face of earthquakes, floods, and other environmental disasters. People are unsafe in the face the depravity and corruption fomented by the mullahs. They are unsafe in the face of fraudulent financial institutes who have looted people’s savings. And most importantly, they are defenseless in the face of repression, harassment, persecution by the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a plethora of government agencies in charge of criminal suppression.
Indeed, why has Iran turned into a big prison? Why are streets unsafe for youths and women? Why are all forms of freedom of expression suppressed? Why our people have to sell their kidneys out of impoverishment? Why do destitute mothers have to sell their unborn fetuses? Why are there so many homeless people who sleep in cardboard boxes and in graves? Why so many people are jobless, poor and homeless? Why so many arrests and executions? Why? Why? Why?
Nevertheless, in the midst of so much pain, suffering and destruction, all the people of Iran share a common thought and feeling that the rule of this regime and all its destruction will soon come to an end. They describe their feelings with the beautiful words of the late poetess, Simin Behbahani who wrote:
I will build you again, my dear motherland, even if it costs my life
I’ll build pillars for your roof, even if I have to do so with my bones
I’ll smell your new flowers as your younger generations wish
And I’ll wash the blood from your face with my running tears
Dear friends,
What I just recounted was just a small part of the calamity created in Iran by an ominous earthquake called the mullahs’ religious dictatorship. These days, however, another reality also surfaced and that was the solidarity and sympathy of people all across the society with the suffering people of Kermanshah.
Even foreign journalists who visited the area, reported on the fact that much of the relief was privately provided by the people.
This sense of solidarity and devotion is truly commendable. The world saw that everyone even children do not spare any effort to help despite their own difficulties and hardships. And in this way, two of our brave Kurdish countrymen from Boukan and Dalahou died during the relief effort. Yes, if people take control of the affairs, they even give their own lives for each other.
This incident is a reminder of the efforts of young supporters of the PMOI and other combatant groups in the earthquake that hit Tabas in September 1978 before the Shah’s overthrow.
What has taken place in the past week clearly shows the social readiness in Iran, the high spirit among people for resistance and struggle against the regime.
The cold season has already started particularly in western Iran. The victims of earthquake need more support. I would like to hereby urge all my compatriots to rush to the aid of the families who have lost their breadwinners, the children who have become orphaned, the parents who do not know how to provide for their hungry and sick children in the freezing cold. Yes, all of them need your assistance and relief.
Let us not forget that in the earthquake of Bam, the policies of the clerical regime created a no less catastrophic disaster for the survivors. We should not let this bitter experience be repeated in Kermanshah and this is possible through solidarity shown by the general public.
This is something that we need not only for Kermanshah, but for all the country. In contrast to the clerical tyranny that foments discord, distrust, and indifference among people, we can change the society’s spirit by our solidarity.
Those who suffer from homelessness and insecurity and are anxious about their future, need their countrymen’s love and support to gain energy. In this way, the bonds among all members of a society are reinforced and a huge force of solidarity and sympathy in the Iranian society will enter the field to challenge the clerical regime.
Our country must break the chains of poverty, repression and death. It must be free from destruction, instability and insecurity.
Iran’s children must be saved. Iran’s villagers, deprived city dwellers, suppressed women and enchained youths, the country’s economy and commerce, schools, universities and sports, everything and everywhere, need to be saved and emancipated. The way to do it is the overthrow of the entire Velayat-e Faqih regime.
Therefore, I urge all my compatriots to rise up and resist in unity and solidarity, to bring down the evil regime of the mullahs.
A short look at the earthquake in western Iran which prompted the emotions of humans.
Sometimes words can’t explain the greatness of a little child. After losing their mother, this little girl comforts her younger sister in a small village near SarpolZahab, Kermanshah province.
in witch Iranians providing help for the victims of quake after Iranian Regime Abandons people after devastating Earthquake
Yes, this is a true that the purest human emotions occur during human calamities and wars and natural disasters. Why not always have this feeling of solidarity and sympathy between humans?
Following is a good article about: The Iran lobby shamelessly takes advantage of earthquake victims' suffering to push for the lifting of pressure from a regime whose only role has been to exacerbate an already bad situation:
Earthquake an Excuse for Further Looting by Iran Regime's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)
According the state media, on November 21, 2017, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Rouhani has provided 565 billion and 400 million tomans (about 139 million dollars) to help earthquake victims. More than 53 percent of this amount, i.e. 300 billion tomans, has immediately been given to the IRGC, and the remaining 47 percent was divided among the specific treasury of the Kermanshah and Ilam provinces, the army, the Ministry of Health, the Red Crescent Society, the State Emergency Department, and the Emergency Department of Tehran and other Government organs.
They say a news event has a three-day lifespan. The regime in Tehran is counting on such a theory to have the international community move on after the recent earthquake that shook western Iran. Each passing day further reveals the scope of this vast catastrophe.
“More than 1,000 people have lost their lives,” Iranian MP Ahmad Safari said to the official ILNA news agency 72 hours after the quake. “I went to a village where they said they pulled 20 corpses from under the rubble. They were not even counted in the death toll. 70 people died just in one alley of the town of Sarpol-e Zahab. Another 250 were killed in the Mehr housing complex.”
Experts advised the government of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-13) to build 25,000 homes under the Mehr blueprint. Ahmadinejad, however, ordered the construction of 1.5 million such units, raising questions of possible negligence in construction and lack of proper supervision.
Iran Regime Is Preventing Aid From Reaching Earthquake Victims, Not US Sanctions
Apologists for the Iranian Regime are claiming that US sanctions are stopping humanitarian aid from reaching the victims of this month’s earthquake on the Iran-Iraq border but this is simply not true.
On Sunday, November 12, a massive earthquake hit the border region leaving hundreds dead and thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands homeless. It is no less than a nationwide crisis.
Shortly after, Trita Parsi, the president of National Iranian American Council (NIAC), which is effectively a mouthpiece for the Regime, took advantage of the disaster to suit his own political agenda.
The Express Tribune, November 18, 2017 Baby found alive in rubble three days after Iran quake
A picture of the child, who appears to be smiling and not in distress, has been widely circulated among Iranians on social media. Many people called the rescue a “miracle” and expressed how the child’s survival is cause for hope after the tragedy.
Women, children without basic resources in areas hit by quake
A week past the massive earthquake in western Iran, survivors in most affected areas have no water, electricity or even tents.
Survivors say thousands have died in the earthquake. Women and children live on the streets in the cold, without any shelter. At least three children have been reported killed due to the freezing cold.
Local officials say some 30 per cent of the livestock have been killed in the earthquake. No action has been taken to remove the corpses of animals and the garbage. Many sewage structures have been damaged and there is a threat of dangerous diseases spreading.
Video clips show harrowing scenes of the areas affected by the quake.
Sanctions are not keeping aid from reaching Iranian earthquake victims
The devastating earthquake that struck the western regions of Iran last week has triggered a nationwide crisis, leaving hundreds dead and thousands wounded.
But while the victims are still reeling in aftermath of the disaster, apologists of the Tehran regime abroad, who have no regard for their plight, are trying to take advantage of the situation to further their political ends. No more than a couple of days following the earthquake, Trita Parsi, the president of National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a well-known lobby for the Iranian regime, took to the media to claim U.S. sanctions are hindering donations and humanitarian aid from reaching the affected people.
AFP News Agency: Most of the aid that was distributed among the people belonged to private individuals
Iranian MP: More than 1,000 people have died, people are hungry, they lack basic shelter
Iran's State Media Reveal: Actual Facts and News on Quake Not Published
A state-run media admitted that government officials and media do not inform the public about the facts and actual news on the situation of Sunday’s earthquake in Iran’s western provinces and its victims.
The state-run Jame’eh Farda (Tomorrow’s Community) media noted the secrecy of the Iranian regime in announcing the statistics and real news about the earthquake on Sunday night in the country, which killed hundreds and injured thousands, and wrote: “We hide the outrage of nature in the same way as we distort public opinion about our political failures.”
No Supervision Over Shabby Housing Project Which Caused Most Deaths in the Recent Quake
One day after Ishaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of the Iranian regime, said most victims of the recent earthquake belong to the Mehr residence, the head of the regime's engineering system organization announced that the organization had “no oversight” over the construction of the Mehr housing project.
According to the state-run Fars news agency affiliated to IRGC, the head of the organization, Hassan Gurbankhani, said: “The engineering system organization had no supervision over the construction of the Mehr housing units, and no monitoring engineer has been introduced by the organization for the housing units.”
Iranian Regime Abandons People After Devastating Earthquake
Hundreds of people were killed by the earthquake that struck Iran and Iraq earlier this week. It was felt as far away as Turkey and Pakistan and eclipsed the deadly earthquake that hit Mexico in September.
One small village called Quik Hasan was particularly affected by the earthquake with over 50 deaths alone. The small farming village is home to just 170 households and the surviving inhabitants have had to survive outside in the cold since the earthquake struck.
Those that died have been buried in makeshift graves by their relatives.
Iran National Television (INTV) announced on Monday November 14, 2017 that all the remaining financial donations pledged to this TV Station by the Iranian people last week during the National Telethon be given to victims of the Sunday's earthquake. The INTV asked all Iranians who have pledged their donations to this station give their money and help to those who have suffered and lost their livelihood in the quake. This money would be one billion Iranian toomans or about $330,000 that should go straight to the quake stricken areas in Iran.
The INTV conducted a 3-day fundraising telethon campaign in Farsi language on November 3rd. This was the 22nd campaign by the TV station to raise fund for it continued operation. The INTV is a non-profit and non-commercial organization that runs only through the donations received from Iranians inside and outside Iran. All its staffs are volunteers and do not receive any salary. INTV is uniquely the voice for the Iranian people.
Rouhani Blames Protesting Investors, Saying Central Bank Cannot Provide Money for Earthquake Relief
between the head of Iran’s three branches, regime President Hassan Rouhani, accompanied by parliamentary chief Ali Larijani and judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani, had the audacity to blame protesting investors who have lost their entire savings to state-run financial institutes.
“The people should be careful and place their money in banks and institutions that are well known and trusted, and doubt those entities that promise high profits,” he said on Saturday.
Rouhani, alongside Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior regime officials, is one of the main thieves of the Iranian people’s money. Read more
Reuters-Iran quake survivors complain of slow aid effort, battle freezing cold
Exhausted and exposed to freezing cold, survivors of a weekend earthquake in western Iran begged authorities for food and shelter on Tuesday, saying aid was slow to reach them. Read more Why Iran's Earthquakes Are So Devastating Heshmat Alavi
Forbes, November 14, 2017 - In this day and age we are witnessing random earthquakes here and there across the globe. Iran lies on several tectonic plates, and the Iranian people suffer extreme conditions after each earthquake.
The reaction shown to each earthquake by the ruling regime in Iran is far different from its counterparts across the globe. Media censorship, excruciating delay in sending even minimum support and imposing a tight security atmosphere to quell any possible sign of unrest is Tehran’s response to such natural disasters. Read more
Iran's Devastating Earthquake Sparks Criticism of Regime's Response
Recently, severe, random earthquakes have occurred across the globe. On Sunday evening a 7.3 Richter quake hit the Iran-Iraq border. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reports that at a minimum, 530 people were killed and more than 8,000 injured. Tens of thousands of homes and apartments were leveled.
However, casualty statistics may be well beyond those reported by the media, according to Farhad Tajari, a member of Iran’s parliament from Ghasr Shireen, a town in western Iran that suffered enormous damage. Read more
Powerful Quake Kills Hundreds in Iran by Jubin Katiraie
An earthquake, 7.3 magnitude near the Iraq-Iran border has killed more than 400 people and sent residents escaping their homes into the night, authorities said.
Iran’s western Kermanshah province bore the impact of the quake on Sunday night, with authorities saying the quake killed more than 407 people in the country and injured 6,700 up to know.
The quake was centred 19 miles (31km) outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja, according to the most recent measurements from the US Geological Survey.
Graphic locates epicentre of 7.3-magnitude earthquake on the border of Iran and Iraq
It struck at 9.48pm Iran time, just as people began retiring for the night.
It could be felt on the Mediterranean coast, some 660 miles (1,000km) away.
The earthquake struck 23.2km (14.4 miles) below the surface, a shallow depth that can amplify damage.
Iranian social media and news agencies showed images and videos of people fleeing their homes. More than 100 aftershocks followed.
The quake’s worst damage appeared to be in the town of Sarpol-e-Zahab in Kermanshah province, which sits in the Zagros Mountains that divide Iran and Iraq.
Kokab Fard, a 49-year-old housewife in Sarpol-e-Zahab, said she fled empty-handed when her apartment complex collapsed. Read more
Maryam Rajavi's Urgent Appeal to Save Victims of Earthquake in Iran
With deepest sympathies to my fellow compatriots stricken by earthquake in western Iran, particularly in Qasr-e Shirin and Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones.
In these difficult moments when all the people of Iran are anxious and concerned about the lives of those stuck under the rubbles, what adds to the public’s distress is the clerical regime’s criminal record in such natural disasters of dragging its feet and dodging its responsibility in saving the lives of people.
This is all the more reason for our compatriots, particularly the courageous youths, who reside in western Iran to rush to the aid of people in the quake-stricken areas and help those trapped under the wreckage.
Just as opposed to the practices of the clerical regime, now is the time to show solidarity. Assisting and saving the victims of the earthquake is a sacred national duty.
Our prayers are for the rescue of the quake victims and the recovery of those injured and wounded.
Expressing Condolences & Sympathy With the Quake-Stricken People, Encouraging Youth to Help the Injured
President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, expressed her condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in the last night earthquake in different areas, including Qasr-e Shirin, Islamabad, Sar-e pol Zahab, Salas Babajani and Kerend.
Reiterating the criminal background of the mullahs’ regime’s neglect and irresponsibility to save the people’s lives in such incidents, Mrs. Rajavi asked the youth, especially those in western provinces, to rescue the people who are trapped under debris, and to deliver their aids directly to the stricken people and the injured. She added that just opposite to the Velayat-e faqih regime, it is now a time of solidarity, and helping the stricken people and saving them is a sacred national duty. Read more
At least 450 died, 7,000 were injured and 70,000 left homeless by the powerful quake
The 7.3-magnitude earthquake that shook western Iran late Sunday night, November 12, 2017, has left at least 450 people dead, 7100 injured and over 70,000 people homeless in Kermanshah Province including in Qasr-e Shirin, Islamabad, Sarpol-e Zahab, Salas Babajani and Kerend. More than 500 villages have suffered damages in the earthquake which has been described as the world’s deadliest so far this year. Read more
Video: Powerful earthquake hits Iraq and Iran, killing more than 300
BAGHDAD/ANKARA, Reuters, November 13, 2017 - At least 332 people were killed in Iran and Iraq when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted the region on Sunday, state media in the two countries said, and rescuers were searching for dozens trapped under rubble in the mountainous area.
State television said more than 328 people were killed in Iran and at least 2,500 were injured. Local officials said the death toll would rise as search and rescue teams reached remote areas of Iran. Read more
