Nobel Laureate's Campaign Targets Iran's Sexual Assault on Dissidents

According to officials, the Jordanian army has intensified its efforts to combat drug smuggling, especially after recent clashes with individuals suspected of affiliations with pro-Iranian militias. 

In January, Jordanian jets conducted four strikes inside Syria targeting suspected farms and hideouts of Iran-linked drug smugglers.

Jordan and its Western allies have attributed the surge in smuggling to Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian militias controlling significant portions of southern Syria. 

To bolster security measures, Jordan has been promised US military aid, with approximately $1 billion already allocated for establishing border posts since the onset of the Syrian conflict in 2011, as confirmed by Jordanian officials.

Experts from the United Nations, the United States, and Europe have underscored how the illicit drug trade funds pro-Iranian militia and pro-government paramilitary forces in Syria, which have emerged during more than a decade of conflict.

Syria has emerged as the primary hub for a multi-billion-dollar drug trade in the region, with Jordan serving as a crucial transit route to oil-rich Persian Gulf states for a Syrian-produced amphetamine known as captagon, according to US and Western anti-narcotics officials.

The US military, CENTCOM, called the attack "continued malign and reckless behavior" by the group designated terrorists by countries including the US, claiming the ongoing offensive threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. No injuries or damage was reported by US, coalition, or commercial ships. 

The Houthis began a blockade of the Red Sea region in mid-November in support of Iran-backed Hamas's war in Gaza following Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's call on Muslim countries to blockade Israel and Israeli-linked ships. However, since the US and UK launched direct attacks on Houthi targets, the Yemeni proxy said they are also targets of the blockade.

Dozens of hostages unrelated to Israel have been taken hostage on ships unrelated to the Jewish state since the blockade began. Claiming to be in allegiance with Hamas in Gaza amid the war sparked by the terror group's invasion of Israel of October 7, in which 1,200 mostly civilians were killed and 250 hostages taken to the strip, the blockade has since extended to the Indian Ocean. It has had a major impact on international shipping through the Red Sea, the shortest route between Asia and Europe.

In a tweet on Tuesday, prominent reformist commentator Abbas Abdi asserted that this is the first time since 1981 that clerics are not strongly represented among the registered candidates. Despite having held high positions and wield influence in the Islamic Republic, clerics now feel they have no chance of being elected.

Only three of the Islamic Republic’s eight presidents in over four decades -- Abolhassan Bani Sadr (1980-1981), Mohammad-Ali Rajai (August 1981) and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2009) -- were non-clerics. This means that in 45 years clerics occupied the presidential seat for more than 35 years.

Bani Sadr was impeached and deposed by the clerical establishment. Rajai was assassinated along with his prime minister in a bombing 28 days after being elected. Ahmadinejad who was once Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s desired president, however, fell from his favor during his second term of presidency. He was not allowed to stand in 2017 and 2021 and is very unlikely to be approved this time.

Abdi’s inference is apparently based on the predictions of the most likely candidates to be approved. Only one cleric, former minister of justice and interior Mostafa Pourmohammadi, stands out among the registered candidates. Pourmohammadi does not seem to be among the top contenders or have a considerable chance of winning against his non-clerical rivals, even if approved by the 12-member, non-elected watchdog, the Guardian Council.

The government of the late President Ebrahim Raisi, however, is strongly represented among the candidates with two vice-presidents and three ministers. Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash, Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare Sowlat Mortazavi, Vice-President and Head of the Planning and Budget Organization Davoud Manzour, Vice-President and Chief of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, and Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaili have registered to run.

Acting President Mohammad Mokhber was widely believed to aspire to the presidency, but to everyone's surprise, he did not register. It is now believed that he is eyeing the vice-presidency in the next government.

All government candidates claim they will continue Raisi’s path if elected.

The Mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani, also sits in cabinet sessions while hardliner politician and candidate Saeed Jalili who does not hold any official position in the government, is believed to wield great influence in it.

On Tuesday, Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, Raisi’s Chief of Staff, asserted on a live television program that the government does not support any specific candidate. However, he urged "consensus" among those registered to run "so that a president with a high number of votes is elected."

Among the government-aligned candidates, Bazrpash, 44, is the most controversial yet widely believed to be the most likely to succeed if approved.

Bazrpash hails from populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s circle of ‘young advisers’ when the former president was the mayor of the capital prior to 2005. He was given several high positions in Ahmadinejad’s government including chief of the National Youth Organization.

Bazrpash was voted by lawmakers in 2020 as chief of the State Audit Organization but some lawmakers who challenged his qualification for the position argued that he was inexperienced for such a high position and had not served a minimum of twenty years in government positions as required.

Rumors circulated that Bazrpash was interrogated about his last-minute change of plans and decision not to board the same helicopter as President Raisi, even before Raisi's body was recovered from the crash site last month.

On May 22, journalist Fariborz Kalantari claimed that Bazrpash and his team had already held a meeting to plan his candidacy in the June 28 elections to take Raisi’s place.

After his last-minute registration, Bazrpash showed a thick volume to reporters which he claimed was the comprehensive plan of his government. Many on social media say he could not have possibly written the plan in the less than two weeks he had to register as a candidate.

Bazrpash has also been accused of plagiarism in his Ph.D. thesis and financial corruption which rivals can use against him in election debates.

Many believe that if approved, all government officials, apparently except Esmaili, will eventually either withdraw from the race in favor of a ‘chosen’ one, or appear in a ‘supporting role’ to aid the block’s top candidate against Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Saeed Jalili or reformist candidates if any of them is approved.

“It makes no difference who wins. They make promises before getting endorsed as president but after that [their path] is obeyance of the [Supreme] Leader. We reject the entirety of this system,” one of Iran International TV’s audience said in a voice message.

Kosar Eftekhrai, joined by Sima Moradbeigi and Zaniar Tondro, said, "We asked him to align Western countries with practical solidarity with the people of Iran and to stand on the right side of history".

The focus of the meeting was to shed light on the Iranian government's crimes against humanity including the murder of over 550 protesters in the wake of the 2022 uprising and last year's record executions of over 850. The UN has claimed Iran is imposing 'gender apartheid' as it continues to enforce brutal measures against women and girls shunning the mandatory hijab.

"The Islamic Republic is a government condemned for crimes against humanity, and we are witnesses to these crimes," Eftekhari emphasized on X.

Additionally, the trio took part in the 16th annual Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) on Monday. At the forum, they highlighted the challenges faced by Iranian protesters, especially those who lost their eyes, and showcased the ongoing efforts of Iranian activists advocating for democracy and human rights.

Speaking to Army Radio, Liberman asserted, "We are in the midst of an Iranian extermination program," expressing concerns over Iran's purported intention to unleash a barrage of missiles aimed at Israel.

Highlighting Iran's April 13 missile attack, Liberman emphasized the potential for a larger-scale assault in the future, suggesting that Israel could face simultaneous attacks from multiple fronts. 

“Israel will be attacked with the aim of destroying it from several fronts with tens of thousands of missiles at the same time. They are planning a holocaust for us in the next two years,” he said.

In April, Iran launched approximately 350 missiles and drones towards Israel, most of which were intercepted. 

A vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies, opposition MP Liberman has advocated for more assertive military actions, including measures to contain Iran's biggest military proxy, Hezbollah, in southern Lebanon.

The terror group is currently bombarding Israel daily with drone and missile attacks in the worst violence since the second Lebanon war with Israel's war cabinet now debating how to respond. Since October 7, over 3,000 projectiles have been fired towards Israel.

Amid the war in Gaza, sparked by Iran-backed Hamas's invasion of Israel on October 7, Iran's proxies have since attacked the Jewish state from Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.