Families Of US Hostages Left Behind Plead For Help

Musk, who owns SpaceX and the Starlink satellite internet service, shared a letter from the regime's leadership during his meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister in California on Monday.

During their one-on-one conversation, the American tycoon said it happened at the time when Starlink satellite internet was connected in Iran in a bid to give widespread internet access to the millions affected by state shutdowns.

After the nationwide protests began in Iran last year, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in detention, the Iranian government severely restricted internet access for its citizens. In response to the restrictions, which included complete and periodic internet shutdowns and slowing down internet speeds, the US government lifted some restrictions on exporting internet services to Iran, allowing SpaceX to provide satellite internet services in Iran.

In response to the support from US authorities for activating satellite internet in Iran, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the action a "violation of Iran's sovereignty" and threatened that such "efforts will not go unanswered."

However, Iran had not previously disclosed it had gone directly to Elon Musk himself to cut off Starlink services. The move was ignored, and after a year, there is still no news of Starlink being cut off in Iran.

In December, the head of the Union of Communication and Telecommunications Devices in Tehran confirmed the entry of 800 Starlink internet receiver devices into Iran and spoke of the "significant growth in the potential use of the devices" in the future.

Iran typically keeps the size of its presidential delegation for UN General Assembly visits secret, with previous trips having brought controversy when it was revealed that family members accompanied the president's delegation.

During the current UN General Assembly session, delegation members refused to answer Iran International's correspondent, Arash Aalaei's questions on the makeup of the delegation, instead pushing away the camera and insulting Aalaei.

Last year, when Raisi and his extensive entourage departed from the United States, they did so with a substantial amount of goods, in spite of ordinary Iranians struggling to make ends meet amid a 50-percent annual inflation rate.

On a separate occasion, Iran International correspondent Maryam Rahmati confronted Raisi before a meeting in New York on Tuesday, asking, "Mr. Raisi, are you aware that 520 people have been killed on the streets of Iran since the death of Mahsa Amini? Have you inquired with the security forces about the reasons behind these street killings?" However, Raisi remained silent and did not provide a response.

Raisi arrived in New York on September 18 to participate in the 78th UN General Assembly. Alongside his trip, a prisoner exchange took place between Iran and the United States.

Earlier on Monday, the US and E3 (The United Kingdom, France and Germany) issued a statement condemning Iran's move a few days after the IAEA announced that Iran has withdrawn the designation of several UN inspectors assigned to conduct verification activities in Iran under the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement. 

According to conservative website Alef in Tehran, Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of the Kayhan daily which is funded by Khamenei's office, wrote: "The United States has currently under no obligation about the JCPOA. At the same time, Europe has neither acknowledged nor fulfilled any one of its commitments under the nuclear deal. It is only Iran that has made so many concessions and brought its nuclear facilities on the brink of destruction despite enduring decades of economic and political pressure and is also expected to accept further commitments if it continues its presence in the JCPOA."

Shariatmadari further claimed that "the Raisi administration has heroically resisted against powerful countries and the United States' arrogance and has even humiliated them at times." He referred to the recent comments by the Iranian foreign minister in which he said, "Iran will not leave any hostile act by the United States without a response."

He added that "Iran's presence in the NPT is detrimental to Iran and provides an opportunity to the enemies to blackmail Tehran and hinder its progress." He asked: "Why should Iran remain in the Non-Proliferation Treaty while the United States refuses to fulfil its commitments and China and Russia have no objections to Iran's withdrawal from the treaty?"

Shariatmadari's comments came hours after the US and three European allies condemned Iran’s move to bar IAEA inspectors, considering it another step in the wrong direction. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi characterized Tehran's move as non-constructive, adding that it was not a step in the right direction.

Grossi emphasized that the only way that Iran could dispel any doubts about its nuclear program is to allow the IAEA to inspect, noting that “If they allow us to work, then there will be confidence; otherwise, it will be very complicated.”

Meanwhile, Iranian analyst Ali Bigdeli warned that barring the IAEA inspectors would pave the way for the issuance of a UN Security Council resolution against Iran. He added that Iran's move will not lead to the revival of the JCPOA, as the next meeting of the agency is likely to issue a warning to Iran and send the case to the UN Security Council. 

Bigdeli noted that in the previous cases, Iran used to show some flexibility and offer concessions to the IAEA to prevent the issuance of a resolution. Last week, 24 countries that are members of the IAEA in a statement assessed Iran's cooperation with the agency as "insufficient." In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry branded IAEA experts as "illiterate" and denied that Tehran had refused to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog.

Media expectations suggest that President Ebrahim Raisi is likely to face tough questions in New York during the UN General Assembly, as politicians and reporters will certainly ask him about this development and its timing, especially after some of Iran's frozen assets abroad have been released.

Mahmoud Fekri, who serves as the head coach of Havadar football club, voiced his concerns on Tuesday, noting the scene's ban from state TV.

The incident occurred at the Belgrade Wrestling World Championships, during which a female referee raised the hand of Iranian wrestler Hassan Yazdani.

Iran's state TV is tightly controlled by the office of Iran's authoritarian leader, Ali Khamenei, and has been experiencing a decline in viewership due to its extensive religious programming and heavy-handed censorship of news. Critics argue that it serves primarily as a propaganda tool, benefiting from significant government subsidies without any accountability.

Athletes have come under fire in the last year for supporting protests. Those who have spoken out have undergone social media bans, bank account freezes and even pay cuts. Those who have competed without hijab on the world stage have either been forced into exile or arrested and dealt severe legal consequences.

Iran International’s correspondent Arash Alaei earlier reported from outside the CFR offices in New York City that representatives of the organization told reporters gathered there that a private meeting with Raisi and invited guests had been canceled.

However, later in the day, CFR said that the meeting will take place on Wednesday at the request of the Iranian team, at Raisi's hotel, the Hilton Millennium at UN Plaza, at 11 am. The hotel is located at a cordoned-off area, as protest gatherings had been planned outside the original venue, the CFR building.

On September 9, Roya Hakakian, a CFR member and an Iranian-born writer and activist revealed that she had received an invitation to attend the meeting but had declined. In her response to CFR, she cited that the Iranian president stands accused of serious human rights violations, particularly having been a member of a secret “death commission” that ordered the killing of up to 5,000 political prisoners in 1988.

“Dialogue is reserved for those with whom we have disagreements. For criminals like Raisi, the only venue for conversation must be a court of law,” Hakakian wrote to CFR.

But Hakakian and many other Iranian Americans were furious not just for Raisi’s culpability in one crime in 1988, but also for his role and responsibility as President during the Women, Life, Freedom protests that rocked Iran after Mahsa Amini’s death in hijab police custody last year.

Another prominent Iranian dissident figure, Nazanin Boniadi, also posted on X Tuesday that she was also invited but declined.

“Democratic institutions hold the key to tipping the balance of power in favor of those risking everything for freedom. If you afford your members the opportunity to meet dictators behind closed doors, then at least offer them the chance to also hear from their opponents in the open,” she said in her post.