Iran International has learned that Iranian filmmaker Navid Mihandoust was jailed for refusing to cooperate with Iran's Intelligence Ministry in targeting US-based journalist and women's rights activist Masih Alinejad.
In an interview with Iran International, Neda Mihandoust revealed that intelligence agents pressured her brother Navid to contact Alinejad under the pretense of making a new documentary about women. When Navid refused, the state retaliated by re-arresting him in August 2023, placing him in Evin Prison to serve a three-year sentence.
First arrested in December 2019, Navid was taken to Evin Prison’s notorious ward 209, run by the Ministry of Intelligence, on charges related to a 2009 documentary about Alinejad. After two months of interrogation, he was released on bail in February 2020. The presiding Judge of Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court, Mohammad Reza Amouzad, notorious for issuing long and harsh sentences, and sanctioned by the UK and Canada for being involved in serious human rights violations, sentenced him to three years in prison.
Neda told Iran International that after Navid was released on bail, intelligence agents repeatedly pressured him to cooperate by reaching out to Alinejad.
“The interrogator told my brother that if he complied, they could halt the execution of Navid's sentence…every few weeks, he kept contacting Navid and asking him for an answer…The interrogator was asking him to call Masih,” Neda said.
This pressure coincided with a broader plot by Iranian intelligence to kidnap Alinejad and lure her back to Iran, where she could face the same fate as Iranian dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam, who was executed in Iran after being abducted.
“The incident coincided exactly with the disclosure of the Islamic Republic's plan to kidnap Masih Alinejad, which was stopped by the FBI,” Neda added.
US Justice Department announced in July 2021 that the FBI had foiled an attempt by Iranian intelligence agents to abduct Alinejad, luring her back to Iran in a plot that had been in the works since at least June 2020. Four Iranian nationals were indicted for their involvement in the plot.
Alinejad, speaking to Iran International, expressed deep concern over these developments, stating, "I am gravely concerned to learn that Iran’s security apparatus has attempted to coerce an innocent filmmaker into leveraging his connection with me in an effort to cause harm. This disturbing incident highlights the ongoing misuse of Iran’s judiciary by security forces to fabricate charges against innocent citizens, compelling them to collaborate with the regime or serve as instruments in their nefarious objectives."
She added, "These actions provide further evidence that Iran’s judiciary functions not as a genuine system of justice, but as a mere tool in the hands of the security apparatus."
Navid’s refusal to cooperate with the authorities led to multiple warnings and pressure tactics, including the freezing of his bank accounts, and his eventual re-arrest in August 2023. "They warned him that if he didn’t turn himself in, they would take action against his bail. Eventually, after the third warning, they closed his bank accounts to put pressure on him," Neda said.
While on bail, despite a ban on making films and the pressures from Iran’s intelligence agents, Navid turned his experiences into a source of inspiration, directing the underground film Café. The film, starring Setareh Maleki is currently being screened at the Incríveis Film Festival in São Paulo.
Speaking to Iran International, Maleki, who herself was forced to flee Iran following her appearance without the mandated hijab in another underground film commented on Navid’s courage despite state pressures: "Navid truly stood by his principles and refused to cooperate with them to avoid prison. While awaiting his sentence, he made this film underground and without a permit."
The film tells the story of Sohrab, a once-prominent director who, after being banned from filmmaking, spends his days in a cafe.
Maleki also noted that the character Sohrab is deeply reflective of Navid himself. "When I read the script, I asked Navid if the character Sohrab was him. He laughed and said, ‘No, it’s not me.’ But after his sentence came and I learned more of his story, I realized it was him. He created the character of Sohrab so that even behind bars, he could still breathe on the cinema screen."
Although there has been no update on Navid’s case, even behind bars, he continues to resist.
“On August 20, 2024, it will be exactly one year since Navid was imprisoned in Evin. Initially held in Ward 4, he was placed in solitary confinement for three days after sharing the story of a fellow prisoner who died due to delayed medical attention. During that time, he went on a hunger strike to protest his confinement. Afterward, he was moved to Ward 8,” Neda explained.
Asked if Neda herself has faced any threats by the Iranian authorities while advocating for Navid's release outside of Iran, Neda said:
"Navid's interrogator told him that we have a charge against your sister, and when my brother asked him the reason, he said we can explain it to her when she comes to Iran."
As Navid serves his sentence, his story highlights the ongoing struggle for artistic freedom and the Islamic Republic’s pattern of transnational repression, using intimidation and punishment to silence critics both within Iran and beyond its borders.
Iran continues to vow revenge against Israel for the assassination of the Hamas political chief in Tehran on July 31 and has even said a ceasefire in Gaza is 'unrelated' to its retaliation plans, despite previously stating that a ceasefire would halt their attack.
Ali Fadavi, the Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said on Monday there is an "uproar" in Israel amid fears of an imminent Iranian attack. He said they are "waiting day and night for Iran's response", and that is "harder than waiting for one's death."
On Tuesday, Ali-Mohammad Naini, the spokesperson for the IRGC, said there could be a long wait for retaliation against Israel, according to state media.
Jason Brodsky, the policy director for United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), attributes Naini's statement to his role as one of the IRGC's top "experts" in psychological warfare.
The chance of war has been stowed deep into the cervices of both Israeli and Iranian psyches, with the only difference being that Iranians have become 'desensitized' to Iran's psychological games, according to psychotherapist Azadeh Afsahi.
Afsahi, who was born in Iran and now lives in the West treating patients, said Iran has been using phycological war as a tactic for 45 years on Iranian people.
The strategy is to make people feel anxious and unsure of what will happen next, keeping someone in state of hopelessness, fear and a feeling of sickness, she said. The Islamic Republic is intentionally not consistent with their actions, so that they leave people in a constant fearful state of the unknown, she said. Now Tehran is likely trying to keep Israelis in a state of anticipation and apprehension.
"We've been dealing with this psychological warfare of not knowing, and we have surrendered our mind to the Islamic Republic with this game that they play. And this is exactly what they do. They are occupying you with something so they can strike somewhere else," said Afsahi.
"Psychological games are the worst game you can play with people."
Israeli resident Meital Brown told Iran International that the mood is stressful and that she feels like she's "stuck in a bad feeling that's not ending."
The mother of three young kids said she started feeling this way when Iran vowed to strike Israel after the Haniyeh strike. For about a week she and her family didn't leave the house and even postponed seeing family in Tel Aviv out of fear of the so-called imminent attack.
She and her family finally made the trip to Tel Aviv from their home near the border with Gaza, when a car bomb exploded Sunday night. Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing that shook the city as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived to promote a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal.
"I am feeling so stressful. When the kids are at summer camps for summer holidays, I wonder..maybe they will attack there and I'm not with the kids?," said Brown.
Israeli resident Dror Trabelsi isn't letting the threats from the Iranian regime bring down his spirits, and he continues to solder on, motivated to do something positive after October 7.
"It's really the same morning over and over again since October 7th."
Since the atrocities of October 7 where around 1, 200 people, mostly civilians were killed by Hamas, Dror and his brothers Kobi and Eliran created an oasis for IDF soldiers exiting Gaza. The post, known as the 'Shuva brothers' is equipped with showers, coffee, hot meals and other supplies like clean clothes - all free for the soldiers.
Trabelsi said he avoids watching the news and finds the constant talk analyzing when and how Iran may attack Israel only fuels negativity and plays into their psychological games.
"This whole Iran thing is only in the news. It's not a real thing."
He said Israelis are strong and is disappointed to see so many leaving to the West out of fear of a possible war.
"It's literally a psychological game, which by the way, they [Iran] win. If one person is leaving Israel, they win."
The union's support signals an intensification of the widespread labor discontent within the country.
In a statement issued Monday, the truck drivers declared their solidarity with the nurses' struggle, warning that if the demands of the medical staff are not addressed, they too will engage in strikes and protests.
"We warn that if the just demands of the nurses are not met, we, the truck drivers and drivers nationwide, will strike and protest in their support," the union's statement reads.
The wave of protests by nursing groups and medical staff has continued unabated this month, with demonstrations and strikes reported in cities including Mashhad, Ahvaz, and Isfahan. In Mashhad, nurses rallied, while their counterparts in other cities extended the nationwide strike. Videos obtained by Iran International reveal that nurses at the Kashani Educational-Treatment Center in Isfahan joined the growing movement, chanting slogans such as "Nurse, shout out, demand your rights."
Average monthly salaries for nurses is around $220, close to the government-set minimum wage, while they often work long hours without receiving overtime pay.
Meanwhile, in Ahvaz, nurses gathered in front of the Khuzestan Governorate, voicing their frustrations with slogans like "We have seen no results/ Only heard promises" and "We fought COVID, saw no support."
On August 17 and 18, the unrest spread further, with nursing groups and medical staff in Arak, Jahrom, Qazvin, Mashhad, and Yasuj staging protests to highlight their ongoing issues. The protesters have expressed a range of grievances, including inadequate overtime rates, unrealistic tariffs. Their demands also call for the implementation of laws regarding hard and harmful jobs and an end to compulsory overtime.
Mohammad Reza Sharifi-Moghaddam, Secretary-General of the Nursing House says “For the first time in the 100-year history of modern nursing in the country, we are witnessing protests in the form of work stoppages. When nurses stop working, we become very concerned. Unfortunately, the authorities are not paying any attention, have not received the message, and do not understand the situation.”
The current wave of strikes follows the death of Parvaneh Mandani, a 32-year-old nurse who died on August 2 due to excessive workload, a condition known as "Karoshi Syndrome" in medicine. Her death has further galvanized nurses across the country, leading to an expansion of the strikes.
A student coalition has urged the entire community, particularly medical students, to support the nurses' cause. This broadening of support underscores the deepening crisis within Iran's healthcare system, which has seen repeated protests over the past months.
Fereydoun Moradi, a member of the Supreme Nursing Council, revealed that between 150 to 200 nurses emigrate each month due to the untenable work conditions and inadequate compensation. The dissatisfaction among medical staff has been compounded by frequent attacks and a lack of supportive measures.
In a note, he accused Rouhani's administration of rushing to close the case surrounding Rafsanjani's death.
Hashemi's criticism came after the resignation of former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif from Masoud Pezeshkian’s Strategic Council for Transition.
On August 11, Zarif posted on Instagram, expressing his dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in the ministerial selection committees and his inability to make a difference in this regard. He wrote, "I am ashamed... These shortcomings have set the course for me to continue at the university."
Addressing his note to Zarif, Hashemi did not shy away from drawing parallels between the treatment of his father by Rouhani’s inner circle and the actions of Masoud Pezeshkian’s allies.
According to him, Rafsanjani, who played a crucial role in supporting Rouhani during the 2013 presidential election, was met with disrespect by Rouhani’s close associates after the election.
Hashemi singled out Hossein Fereydoun, Rouhani's brother, as well as Mahmoud Vaezi the chief of staff of Rouhani and Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the Head of Plan and Budget Organization, for their behavior towards his father, noting that even Rouhani himself had shown "unkindness" and "ingratitude" towards Rafsanjani.
On January 8, 2017, it was announced that Rafsanjani had suddenly died after swimming at the Koushk pool, a facility belonging to the Expediency Discernment Council he chaired. Officially, his death was attributed to a "heart attack," but suspicions quickly arose, fueled by Rafsanjani’s complex political legacy.
Yasser Hashemi suggested that the intelligence ministry under Rouhani, along with other security agencies, was more concerned with swiftly closing the case than with providing a thorough and transparent investigation.
“The intelligence ministry of the eleventh government, instead of convincing Iranians and the world, alongside other intelligence and security agencies in the country, hurried to close that perpetually open case,” he added.
Rafsanjani's family has consistently voiced concerns that he may have been murdered, citing several suspicious factors. These include delays in transporting him to the hospital, the lack of access to CCTV footage from both the swimming pool and his office, the absence of a post-mortem examination despite their requests, a hurried burial, and the disappearance of highly confidential documents, such as his diaries and last will and testament, from his office safe shortly after his death.
In 2019, Rafsanjani’s daughter, Fatemeh Hashemi, revealed in an interview with Etemad newspaper that two months before her father's death, two individuals had approached her at the university, warning that her father “would be killed in a way that would make it appear as a natural death.”
Despite the warnings, the official investigation, led by Ali Shamkhani, then Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, concluded that Rafsanjani's death was "completely natural, without any ambiguity."
Rafsanjani's other son, Mohsen Hashemi, stated in an interview published by the reformist Etemad Online website on January 15, 2022, that the Islamic Republic had adopted a policy of attributing his father's death to natural causes. He further criticized the investigation conducted by the Supreme Council of National Security, describing it as "superficial."
Rafsanjani's death is not an isolated case. The Islamic Republic has a history of suspicious deaths among its officials. One such case is that of Mohammad Rouhani, the son of President Hassan Rouhani, who was murdered in his home located on a military base in southern Tehran in 1996. At the time, Mohammad Rouhani was a flight student, and his death has been shrouded in secrecy. Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian diplomat and deputy to Rouhani when he headed the Supreme National Security Council, told the Time magazine that Mohammad Rouhani was killed for political reasons. Yet, the details of his murder have never been fully disclosed.
Mousavian revealed that Hassan Rouhani pursued the matter for years but eventually decided to remain silent and not pursue the issue further.