State Dep. Says Will Respond To Congressional Letter Over Envoy Malley

It appears that last year's protests in Iran have even shaken Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's authority and some public figures inside Iran are less reluctant to hold him responsible for the country's problems.

Last week, a conservative member of parliament referred to Iran's leading clerics as "2-rial mullahs," using the smallest denomination of Iran's currency as a metaphor. Although some hardliners objected to the remark, the MP faced no consequences due to his affiliation with the country's intelligence community. 

Meanwhile, two prominent Western-based Iranian political analysts, Mehdi Khalaji and Mehdi Mahdavi Azad said at a talk show on Iran International TV on Saturday that clerics including Khamenei have been losing their authority during the past months and the military and intelligence organizations are likely to replace Khamenei or to determine a weak successor to him once he is dead.

Rasoul Montajebnia, the Secretary General of reformist Jomhouriat Party said in an interview with Rouydad24 on Sunday, "The group of politicians who are in power in Iran will continue to defend the current situation even if it turns ten times worse than what we witness now." Motajebnia reiterated that the all-conservative government has dealt a hard blow to Iran's national interests.

He said as a result of the performance by officials in recent years, the people have come to believe they no longer can trust them and what they say, and this is rather worrying. 

Montajebnia said, under the circumstances, a majority of the people either oppose the government, or protest its behavior, or try to be indifferent. He added that there are two major elections in March 2024 and the people need to make sure that these are competitive elections in which they can choose whoever they want for parliament and the Assembly of Experts. 

Montajebnia further highlighted that successive governments over the past two decades have disappointed the people. Financial corruption cases and restrictions on people's power to choose their representatives have eroded trust in officials and rendered elections meaningless. Consequently, the regime's legitimacy is declining, and fewer people continue to support the government.

In another development, pointing out the division between the people and the government, the former chief of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh told reporters in Tehran that the fact ordinary young people are sent to defend the borders where many conscripts are killed in clashes with smugglers and opponents, while children of well-connected families often are exempt from military service, shows a high degree of discrimination. 

Defending the government, hardline conservative politician and a member of the Islamic Coalition Party, Ahmad Karimi-Esfahani promised that "The government will gradually but slowly realize its potentials and the country's problems will be solved."

He then resorted to an outdated intimidating rhetoric and warned Iranians not to play into the hands of the enemies by criticizing the government. He added that the government hopes that prices will come down, while annual inflation is hovering between 70-120 percent, depending on who issues estimates.

Karimi-Esfahani added: "It is unfair to criticize the Raisi administration which is heir to a government that had made too many mistakes." He claimed that the Raisi administration has had major achievements that we cannot ignore.

His remarks contradict a chorus of harsh criticisms of the government from the early months of Raisi’s presidency.

"According to statements by local sources, efforts have been started to extinguish the fire, but there is a possibility of fire spreading and nearby reservoirs exploding," the official IRNA news agency said.

Bandar Abbas is located on the Persian Gulf coast and is one of the hubs for export of oil and oil products.

The official government news agency IRNA reported that six firefighters have been injured in trying to extinguish the blaze. Footage of a large black smoke coming out of an industrial compound was shared by IRNA.

The cause of the incident is still unknown, but similar industrial accidents in the past have usually led to speculations of domestic or foreign sabotage.

As the case drags past its third year, Western powers are growing tired of Iran’s lack of action and are now escalating to the global legal body, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, filing action on July 5. 

The case, listed as “concerning a dispute under the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation (the “Montreal Convention”), is a desperate bid to help gain justice for the families of the flight PS752 of January 8 2020, on which all 176 people on board died when it was downed by Iranian missiles.

The plane, which was en route to Kiev and transporting mostly Iranians, crashed minutes after takeoff near the Iranian capital, shot down by Iran’s air defenses amid tensions between Tehran and Washington following the US assassination of IRGC’s Qassem Soleimani in Iraq days earlier.

The regime has since been claiming to be open to talks for years since the tragedy but nothing has moved forward since other than some low level prosecutions, several of which have even since been appealed.

In a press release last week, the ICJ stated that the the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and Sweden “claim that Iran has violated a series of obligations under the Montreal Convention as a result of the shooting down on 8 January 2020 of a civil aircraft in service, Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, by military personnel of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”.

In the application, the joint statement accuses Iran of having “failed to take all practicable measures to prevent the unlawful and intentional commission of an offence described in Article1 of the Montreal Convention, including the destruction of Flight PS752. It also subsequently failed to conduct an impartial, transparent, and fair criminal investigation and prosecution consistent with international law”.

In a typically dogmatic response, Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday that the escalation of the case to the ICJ is only serving “political objectives”, and maintains that the country formed an independent technical group right after the incident and took necessary actions “with goodwill, transparency, and utmost seriousness” to investigate.

“Following the tragic incident involving the Ukrainian plane, the Islamic Republic of Iran has officially, in accordance with domestic laws, international commitments, and with goodwill, transparency, and utmost seriousness, taken necessary actions to shed light on various aspects of the incident,” the statement said.

However, Canda and Ukraine have repeatedly complained that Iran has stonewalled and not cooperated in allowing an independent investigation.

The recent join application reflects the growing fatigue not only for the scores of families left devastated, but for the global powers fighting for justice. 

Last year, Marilyne Guèvremont, a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada, said the issue had become futile, with inaction from Iran making any attempt at discussions in vain. She told Iran International: “We are now focused on the subsequent actions to resolve this matter in accordance with international law. We will not rest until the families get the justice, transparency and accountability from Iran that they deserve.”

It is the fifth time in the past six months that Mohammadi, a renowned author and campaigner, has been summoned but refuses to attend.

On June 18, Mohammadi received a notification from the Second Branch of the Evin District Security Court, to appear in court for her activities since her imprisonment in Evin Prison, where she continues to defy authorities by revealing the brutal conditions inside the country's notorious jail.

Mohammadi, whose punishment has included long stints of solitary confinement, has been summoned for a total of 11 times to Branches 1, 2, and 3 of the Evin District Security Court, as well as to Branch 29 of the Revolutionary Court. However, she has not attended any of the hearings.

Mohammadi has defiantly argued that the regime cannot silence her through fabricated cases, trials, and consecutive verdicts. She has also declared that she will not appear in any court and does not recognize the Islamic Republic, the judiciary, or court rulings.

She was arrested on November 16, 2021, and one year after being released, was detained again. Currently, she is serving a total sentence of 9 years and 8 months, along with 154 lashes and additional penalties in Evin Prison. She has also been denied access to medical care amid deteriorating health.

Mohammadi has been imprisoned several times over the past two decades for her work fighting for human rights.

In her letter to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March, she said she is ready to testify against the authorities of the Islamic Republic regarding the torture, harassment and abuse of prisoners.

In an interview with semi-official Mehr news agency on Monday, Issa Zarepour claimed the objective is to open up connections to remote areas.

“Although over 4,000 villages have been connected to high-speed internet since the start of the Raisi administration, we still have about 3,500 villages that are not connected to high-speed internet, so satellite internet service providers can operate in these regions,” he said.

However, he admitted there will be strict compliance rules for any company the regime agrees to work with, meaning technical cooperation for censorship of Internet content.

Iran has made the same demand from Western social media platforms for not blocking their access.

Starlink, part of the US-owned SpaceX, is already providing internet to almost 60 countries, but for its connection to work everywhere in a large country, ground stations are needed.

The regime has for years been severely restricting internet access as well as access to popular social media platforms, such as Instagram, in particular that play a key role in supporting anti-regime sentiment and protester communications.

It has meant devastation for the millions who rely on social media to promote their businesses and hugely damaged e-commerce.

Recently, an Iranian official stated around 800 Starlink satellite internet receivers have been imported to Iran, but did not specify how, given the current sanctions imposed on the country.