Iran’s Judiciary Restricts Legal Complaints To Protect Officials

The 15 women, who reside in Baharestan, in the central province of Isfahan, were specifically accused by the Prosecutor’s Office for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic system" and "participation in promotional and educational activities contrary to the sacred Sharia of Islam."

According to US-based NGO, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Iranian security agents searched the homes of some of the women.

The women were summoned for their first court appearance on May 1.

The regime in Iran has long persecuted the Baha'i community in Iran, denying them the freedom to worship.

Some of the women were reportedly targeted by the judiciary in 2021, when they were arrested and subsequently released on bail.

The event, HRANA said, illustrates the constant and systematic violation of Bahai religious freedoms by comparison with norms maintained by international human rights.

There are over 300,000 Baha'is living in Iran, making them the largest non-Muslim religious minority, systematically targeted since the 1979 revolution.

The current constitution only recognizes four religions: Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism.

Even when he is silent, his political rivals want to make him say something, hoping that he might shoot himself in the foot by making an odd or controversial comment that would put an end to his turbulent political career.

Conservative journalist Afifeh Abedi in an April 17 tweet quoted Ahmadinejad as having said on social media that "Any country which illegally attacks another should be responded to. That is a right for the country whose territory has been violated." This was clearly a reference to Iran’s April 13 massive missile and drone attack on Israel in response to an airstrike earlier in the month that destroyed a building within the compound of Tehran’s embassy in Damascus.

Abedi charged that "Ahmadinejad's remark reflected his ambitions in Iran's domestic politics rather than being aimed at foreign audiences." Nonetheless, Abdi criticized Ahmadinejad for acknowledging that Israel is a state.

This is one of those controversial comments that everyone in Iran can interpret to serve their political interests. Some, like Ms. Abedi, might believe Ahmadinejad was referring to Iran's unlawful attack on Israel, while others might take it as support for Iran after Israel attacked the Iranian Consulate in Damascus on April 1, and Iran's attack was a retaliation for that.

Even Ahmadinejad's former aide Abdolreza Davari was not quite clear about what Ahmadinejad meant. He asked in a tweet: "Did he condemn Iran or Israel?" On the other hand, conservative journalist Amir Seyediin said in a tweet that "No President anywhere in the world has served Israel’s interests the way Ahmadinejad has done."

Some hardliner social media users lashed out at the former President for failing to condemn Israel for attacking Iran's Consulate in Damascus in the first place and charged that Ahmadinejad had created big problems for Iranians for denying the holocaust during his presidency.

However, some foreign-based media quoted Ahmadinejad as having said in his Telegram channel that "attacking Israel was a right for Iran," possibly to avoid Khamenei’s wrath.

In a tweet on April 16 reformist cleric Rahmatollah Bigdeli called for Ahmadinejad's dismissal from the Expediency Council, a sort of higher parliamentary chamber with members appointed by the Supreme Leader, who intervene in Iran's domestic political and economic issues where the parliament and the government cannot reach a final agreement on an issue.

Bigdeli wrote: "It is essential to remove Ahmadinejad from the Expediency Council as there is an open case against him at the court about oil swap with other countries," that allegedly happened during his presidency. Bigdeli further questioned the way he was elected President in 2005 and 2009 and charged that his slogan about wiping Israel off the map created too many problems for Iran.

Bigdeli further charged that Ahmadinejad has not condemned the Israeli attack on the Iranian Consulate that killed seven top IRGC officers, and has refused to support Iran's attack on Israel. "How can such a creature be a member of the Expediency Council?" Bigdeli asked. He also called on Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei to start Ahmadinejad's trial as he has repeatedly promised in the past.

Many other Iranian politicians have been calling for Ahmadinejad’s trial and his removal from the Expediency Council after he openly criticized Khamenei in 2018. Nonetheless, he somehow managed to keep his seat at the influential council.

However, Twitter users posted a photo that showed Ahmadinejad at the Expediency Council meeting on April 17.

"The Central Bank tells producers that it has no currency," Sodeif Badri, a conservative politician and former Mayor of Ardabil said shedding some light on shortages impacting the nation's industrial sectors.

Commenting on the Iranian currency’s continued depreciation, Badri said "the currency market is currently in complete disarray."

The lawmakers’ concerns highlight the broader issues stemming from the country's economic policies amid decades-long internal mismanagement and the weight of international sanctions.

On the surface, the Iranian government has attempted to manage the devaluation of its currency by providing foreign currency at cheaper exchange rates to importers of essential goods.

Last month, the country’s Expediency Discernment Council gave authorization for the state and its management apparatuses, including the Central Bank, to spend 13.6 billion euros at a preferential exchange rate.

In an effort to mitigate the severe economic pressures facing the country, this allocation is earmarked for the import of basic items such as agricultural products, medicine and its raw materials as well as medical equipment.

The policy appears to be aimed at protecting Iranian consumers from potential spikes in prices due to currency fluctuation.

But, the disparity between the official exchange rate of 285,000 rials per US dollar and the open market rate of approximately 650,000 rials per dollar underlines the deepening economic disparity.

Recent scandals, notably the case involving Debsh Tea company, have further fueled existing distrust in the system.

The Debsh company reportedly misappropriated a significant portion of subsidized currency meant for tea and machinery imports.

The embezzlement, estimated at $3.5 billion, involves officials from both the current and the previous presidential administrations -- including ministers of agriculture, industry as well as the governors of the Central Bank of Iran and the chiefs of Iranian Customs Administration.

"It is unclear what the Central Bank is doing; the Central Bank must answer to the people," Badri remarked, further demanding actions from the nation's financial regulators.

Mohammad Rais-Zadeh said on Sunday that the gaps are mostly seen within some of the most vital medical specializations like pediatrics, anesthesiologists, and emergency medicine.

The problem has been deepening since 2022 with a growing shortage of doctors, specialists, and dentists across Iran. A huge migration trend has seen medical practitioners looking for jobs abroad seeking better economic conditions amid Iran's worst economic crisis since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. The 2022 uprising has also led many to seek a life outside of Iran's increasingly oppressive social conditions.

So bad has the exodus become, that in December, there were calls by officials to ban doctors from migrating abroad. A report released by Iran Open Data (IOD) revealed that the number of doctors who leave Iran to work in more prosperous countries outweighs the number of new doctors by 30 percent on an annual basis.

The exodus of physicians has been seen with midwives and nurses leaving the sector massively under staffed. In May 2022, Iraj Fazel, the president of the Iranian Society of Surgeons, warned that specialties like children's surgery and heart surgery do not have even a single candidate.

Complicating matters, in March 2023, the Medical Council reported that the exodus of many specialists in pediatric cardiology had left hundreds of children vulnerable, waiting for years to get necessary surgeries. Most healthcare practitioners in Iran live on petty monthly incomes ranging from $200 to $300, which prohibits them from even the most basic requirements, including housing and education for children.

Further, the medical community in Iran is undergoing grave mental health issues. Reports are suggesting an increasing trend in suicide rates, especially among medical residents, as working conditions continue to decline.

In February, the head of the Iranian Psychiatric Association reported 16 suicides in the past year alone, with research indicating that suicide rates in the medical community have risen by 3.1 to 5 times over recent years, leading to the announcement of an investigation into the trend last month. 

The visit comes as the two Muslim neighbors seek to mend ties about three months after Pakistan launched airstrikes against several locations in southeastern Iran following Iran’s Revolutionary Guards hitting targets inside the Pakistani territory.

Both sides emphasized that the attacks were meant to target “terrorist hideouts” and not the civilians. Several children and women were killed in both attacks. Iran’s IRGC claimed their missiles and suicide drones targeted two bases of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl while Pakistan claimed the operation was against “Sarmachar,” a term that means insurgents or rebels in general. Iranian officials have rejected Islamabad’s allegations about the presence of Pakistani terrorists in the city where the attack took place.

The cross-border attacks have escalated tensions between Iran and Pakistan although both countries insist that Baloch separatist factions were the main target of the strikes. Earlier in April, the insurgent Sunni Baluch group launched simultaneous attacks against military posts in southeastern Iran, which left at least 11 security forces dead.

"The Iranian president is accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the group also included the foreign minister, other cabinet members and senior officials.

Raisi is scheduled to hold meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and several other officials, besides visiting the eastern city of Lahore and southern port city of Karachi, it added.

Major highways in Islamabad were blocked as part of the security measures for Raisi's arrival, while the government declared a public holiday in Karachi.

Raisi's visit is a key step towards normalizing ties with Islamabad, but Iran's supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, not the president, has the last say on state matters, such as nuclear policy.

Tension is also high in the Middle East after Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel a week ago, saying the attack was in retaliation to an airstrike on its consulate in Damascus. Several IRGC men, including a high-ranking general was killed. A few days after Iran’s attack against Israel, central Iran in turn suffered what sources said was an Israeli attack on Friday. Radar systems and S300 defense missile systems were targeted at a military base near Isfahan (Esfahan).

Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite a number of commercial pacts, with Islamabad being historically closer to Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Their highest profile agreement is a stalled gas supply deal signed in 2010 to build a pipeline from Iran's South Fars gas field to Pakistan's southern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh.

Despite Pakistan's dire need of gas, Islamabad has yet to begin construction of its part of the pipeline, citing fears over US sanctions.

Pakistan said it would seek waivers from the US, but Washington has said it does not support the project and warned of the risk of sanctions in doing business with Tehran.

Faced with the possibility of contract breach penalties running into the billions of dollars, Islamabad recently gave the go-ahead for construction of an 80-km (50-mile) stretch of the pipeline.