UK MP Corbyn Says Execution Of Protesters In Iran ‘Deplorable’

In a historic visit to Washington and his first trip abroad since Russia’s invasion began in February, Zelenskiy addressed the United States Congress, thanking for American economic and military assistance and saying that his country is fighting not only to defend itself but security in Europe.

The United States is preparing to deliver Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine after repeated Russia missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure and other civilian targets. Iran has supplied hundreds of kamikaze drones to Russia that have been used in these attacks.

“If your Patriots stop the Russian terror against our cities, it will let Ukrainian patriots work to the full to defend our freedom,” Zelenskiy said. He added that Russia uses missile attacks to destroy Ukrainian cities.

“More than that, Russia found an ally in this — in this genocidal policy: Iran. Iranian deadly drones sent to Russia in hundreds — in hundreds became a threat to our critical infrastructure. That is how one terrorist has found the other,” Zelenskiy said.

Nato members have strongly condemned Iran for delivering the drones and have imposed punitive sanctions against individuals and companies involved in the production and delivery of the weapon.

The issue of Iranian drones and a growing military alliance between Tehran and Moscow have also hurt the prospects for further talks over Iran's nuclear program and the lifting of crippling sanctions on its economy.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks Wednesday saying he held talks with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud at a conference in Jordan the previous day.

“I had the chance to have friendly talks with my counterparts on the sidelines of Baghdad II conference...my Saudi counterpart assured me of his country's willingness to continue the dialog with Iran,” Amir-Adollahian tweeted.

Jerusalem Post reported that the Saudi foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Iranian minister’s claim comes after observers commented Tuesday that there was no breakthrough between the two countries during the one-day summit.

The Second Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership was jointly organized by Iraq and France to support stability in Iraq and the wider region where Tehran and Riyadh have backed opposite sides in proxy wars.

Saudi Arabia and Iran severed ties in 2016 and the meeting offered potential for direct talks.

“We are ready to cooperate with all countries in the region including countries south of the Persian Gulf,” Amir-Abdollahian said. In his address, the Saudi minister pledged support for Baghdad but made no reference to relations with Iran.

Tehran has intensified its rhetoric against Riyadh since the eruption of protests in Iran with the Revolutionary Guard telling Saudi Arabia to control its media and the Iranian intelligence minister warning that there was no guarantee of Tehran continuing its “strategic patience”.

All 183 members of the Council from four major parties said they will sponsor 183 prisoners including those sentenced to death for their participation in the current wave of antigovernment protests in Iran, ignited by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. 

With their symbolic move, members from the ÖVP, SPÖ, Greens and NEOS want to draw international attention to the prisoners, as they explained at a press conference in Vienna on Tuesday. The right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria FPÖ did not take on sponsorships, therefore 31 MPs from the Federal Council – the upper house -- stepped in to come up with 183 members.

After the National Council unanimously condemned the execution of detained protesters, the four parties announced that they “have to give the application more weight" and take further steps, explained the foreign policy spokesman for the ÖVP Reinhold Lopatka. 

Harald Troch from the SPÖ said that the action is primarily meant to stop the wave of executions. He praised the parliament for condemning the Iranian regime for the brutal crackdown on demonstrators but criticized the federal government for its lack of a policy on the activities of the Austrian embassy in Tehran. He also recalled the dual Austrian-Iranian citizen Kamran Ghaderi, who has been imprisoned in Iran for years, and called on the Foreign Ministry to work towards his prompt release.

"International attention means protection for prisoners, that's the most effective means," Green Club chairwoman Sigrid Maurer said in explaining the action. "The barbarism of the Iranian regime" is unacceptable, and the mandataries regularly demand information about the whereabouts of the detainees. Maurer himself has taken on the sponsorship of the journalist Niloofar Hamedi, who was arrested for reporting the death of Mahsa Amini.

Helmut Brandstätter from the NEOS is the godfather of the Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, who faces death over trumped-up charges of "war against God" and "corruption on earth” because he reportedly asked people to participate in the protests. Both allegations can result in a death sentence. Brandstätter says, "There is only one chance to save his life, that's international pressure.”

Earlier in the month, several members of the German parliament (Bundestag) announced their political sponsorship of Iranian political prisoners, most of whom are in danger of imminent execution on bogus charges.

Ye-One Rhie, a member of the Bundestag who has undertaken political sponsorship of the imprisoned dissident rapper said in a series of tweets that she has written to the Iranian ambassador, the EU special representative for human rights, the council of Europe commissioner for human rights, and the high commissioner for human rights about Toomaj’s case and expressed her great concerns for his well-being.

The number of German MPs taking political sponsorship of Iranian protesters is growing. Carmen Wegge has declared herself the sponsor of Armita Abbasi, a young woman of 20, who was missing since her arrest on October 10 before being taken to a hospital in Karaj on October 18 by security forces with multiple injuries including internal bleeding and evidence of repeated rape.

Political sponsorship (politische patenshaften in German) is a way for parliamentarians to select a specific political detainee and use their political weight to campaign for the prisoner’s freedom. This is mainly done by addressing the ambassador and the relevant government and international institutions dealing with human rights.

Maryam Jafari Azarmani, wife of the jailed cleric Vahid Heroabadi said Tuesday on twitter that her husband has been taken to Evin Prison while he has one more case pending against him.

Posting content on social media, Vahid Heroabadi was tried in the summer of 2020 by the Special Court of the Clergy on charges of “spreading lies with the intention of disturbing public opinion and propaganda activities against the state.”

The cleric, who is reportedly grown at odds with the regime, was detained at the Bazargan border with Turkey on May 31.

He formerly worked as a cultural missionary at Tehran University. However, he continued to slam policies like mandatory hijab, internet filtering, the persecution of Baha’is, a religious minority, and wide-ranging censorship of public discourse.

Once he wrote about the Baha’i community, “We can have two approaches. Killing the Baha'is, or [accepting] that they are our compatriots, Iranians, with social rights…. In the end it will be one of these two, and I will definitely be choosing the second one.”

After being dismissed from the university in 2018, he started selling small items in downtown Tehran while his photos dressed in his religious robes went viral.

Iraq and France jointly organized the conference, aimed at supporting stability in Iraq and the wider region where Tehran and Riyadh have backed opposite sides in proxy wars from Yemen to Syria and elsewhere.

Saudi Arabia and Iran severed ties in 2016 and the meeting offered potential for direct talks, but there was no word of any meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

"We are ready to cooperate with all countries in the region including countries south of the Persian Gulf," Amir-Abdollahian said. In his address, the Saudi minister pledged support for Baghdad but made no reference to relations with Iran.

As he addressed the conference in Jordan, Soleimani's successor Esmail Ghaani - speaking in Tehran - referred to Saudi Arabia as "a scum and not worth of being an enemy".

Iraq has hosted five meetings between Saudi and Iranian officials since last year, the last of which was in April. These contacts have not yielded any breakthroughs to ease tensions in Iraq and elsewhere.

Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have ticked higher since the eruption of protests in Iran with the Revolutionary Guards telling Saudi Arabia to control its media and the Iranian intelligence minister warning Riyadh there was no guarantee of Tehran continuing its "strategic patience".

A closing communique called for regional cooperation but did not spell out specific measures.

With reporting by Reuters