A glaring example is Palestine. Since October 2023, Gaza has endured one of the most devastating humanitarian catastrophes in modern times: at least 55,706 Palestinians killed and 130,101 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. By January 2024, UNICEF reported that 14,500 children had been killed, 17,000 orphaned or separated, and Gaza had the highest percentage of child amputees globally. These are not collateral damages – they are systematic violations of law and humanity.

The international legal framework meant to prevent such atrocities such as the Fourth Geneva Convention, Rome Statute of the ICC, Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been consistently ignored. Article 8 of the Rome Statute explicitly defines deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure as war crimes. Yet, violations by Israel are documented in the OHCHR’s 30 December 2024 press release which includes murder, torture, sexual violence, starvation as a weapon of war, indiscriminate attacks on civilian objects, forced displacement, and collective punishment. These are not allegations. They are evidence-backed determinations by UN-mandated experts.

And yet, the world remains largely silent. Why?

Because power protects itself. Nuclear powers whether economically robust or fragile wield an unspoken immunity. Even countries like Pakistan, despite deep economic instability, are seldom threatened directly due to their nuclear deterrence. Their military posture buys them geopolitical respect that their economy cannot.

One of the most guarded secrets in international politics is Israel’s nuclear policy. For decades, Israel has followed a strategy of deliberate ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying possession of nuclear weapons, instead stating: “Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East.” However, in November 2023, amid the intensifying war on Gaza, Israeli Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu publicly floated the idea of dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza, it was a chilling statement that many interpreted as a tacit admission of nuclear capability. While Prime Minister Netanyahu suspended the minister, the world had already taken note. Silence followed.

This silence also extends to Iran, a state with one of the world’s largest proven oil and gas reserves and control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 – 30% of global oil supply transits. Iran, often vocal on Palestine, has been strategically cautious. Its economic and geopolitical dependencies, especially in global energy trade and its own fragile economic ecosystem, have kept it from direct military involvement, despite the moral and ideological stakes.

Meanwhile, the world bears witness to selective intervention. Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, and Lebanon have all suffered under Western or Israeli military aggression, often framed as anti-terrorism but ending in mass civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of state institutions. The U.S. alone has used its UNSC veto power 42 times to shield Israel, while continuing to provide $3 billion annually in military aid.

This is not a religious war. It is a militarised geopolitical strategy aimed at maintaining global power hierarchies. It poses a question by the experts that law exists only for the weak. Sovereignty applies only until it offends the interests of the powerful. And accountability is demanded from the powerless, not those with nuclear warheads and strategic alliances.

It seems that the international system is thus not failing but it is functioning exactly as it was designed: As it was established to protect the dominant? What is urgently needed is a transformation of global governance mechanisms – the UN, the International Criminal Court, and international law must be empowered to act independently of hegemonic influence.

If the targeting of Palestine and the neutralisation of Iran’s potential role can continue unchecked, the precedent set is clear: peace is not a right, but a privilege of the powerful and the global community truly seeks a world free of nuclear weapons, disarmament must begin with the nine nuclear-armed states. If these powers retain their arsenals, calls for non-proliferation will remain hypocritical. This imbalance fosters power hegemony, where peace is dictated through threats, not diplomacy. Non-nuclear states are left vulnerable and forced to surrender or suffer devastating consequences, as seen in Gaza. Without equal commitment to disarmament, the world risks continuing cycles of coercion, conflict, and undeclared genocides against those who dare to resist dominant powers.

(The author is an assistant professor of law and a mediator based in Dubai. Her work focuses on international law, gender rights, and conflict resolution) 

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In the late 1960s, the prevailing opinion among Israeli Shin Bet intelligence officers was that the key to defeating the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was to assassinate its then-leader Yasser Arafat.

The elimination of Arafat, the Shin Bet commander Yehuda Arbel wrote in his diary, was “a precondition to finding a solution to the Palestinian problem.”

For other, even more radical Israelis – such as the ultra-nationalist assassin Yigal Amir – the answer lay elsewhere. They sought the assassination of Israeli leaders such as Yitzak Rabin who wanted peace with the Palestinians.

Despite Rabin’s long personal history as a famed and often ruthless military commander in the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli Wars, Amir stalked and shot Rabin dead in 1995. He believed Rabin had betrayed Israel by signing the Oslo Accords peace deal with Arafat.

It’s been 20 years since Arafat died as possibly the victim of polonium poisoning, and 30 years after the shooting of Rabin. Peace between Israelis and the Palestinians has never been further away.

What Amnesty International and a United Nations Special Committee have called genocidal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza have spilled over into Israeli attacks on the prominent leaders of its enemies in Lebanon and, most recently, Iran.

Since its attacks on Iran began on Friday, Israel has killed numerous military and intelligence leaders, including Iran’s intelligence chief, Mohammad Kazemi; the chief of the armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri; and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami. At least nine Iranian nuclear scientists have also been killed.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said:

We got their chief intelligence officer and his deputy in Tehran.

Iran, predictably, has responded with deadly missile attacks on Israel.

Far from having solved the issue of Middle East peace, assassinations continue to pour oil on the flames.

A long history of extra-judicial killings

Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman’s book Rise and Kill First argues assassinations have long sat at the heart of Israeli politics.

In the past 75 years, there have been more than 2,700 assassination operations undertaken by Israel. These have, in Bergman’s words, attempted to “stop history” and bypass “statesmanship and political discourse”.

This normalisation of assassinations has been codified in the Israeli expression of “mowing the grass”. This is, as historian Nadim Rouhana has shown, a metaphor for a politics of constant assassination. Enemy “leadership and military facilities must regularly be hit in order to keep them weak.”

The point is not to solve the underlying political questions at issue. Instead, this approach aims to sow fear, dissent and confusion among enemies.

Thousands of assassination operations have not, however, proved sufficient to resolve the long-running conflict between Israel, its neighbours and the Palestinians. The tactic itself is surely overdue for retirement.

Targeted assassinations elsewhere

Israel has been far from alone in this strategy of assassination and killing.

Former US President Barack Obama oversaw the extra-judicial killing of Osama Bin Laden, for instance.

After what Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch denounced as a flawed trial, former US President George W. Bush welcomed the hanging of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as “an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy”.

Current US President Donald Trump oversaw the assassination of Iran’s leader of clandestine military operations, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020.

More recently, however, Trump appears to have baulked at granting Netanyahu permission to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

And it’s worth noting the US Department of Justice last year brought charges against an Iranian man who said he’d been tasked with killing Trump.

Elsewhere, in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, it’s common for senior political and media opponents to be shot in the streets. Frequently they also “fall” out of high windows, are killed in plane crashes or succumb to mystery “illnesses”.

A poor record

Extra-judicial killings, however, have a poor record as a mechanism for solving political problems.

Cutting off the hydra’s head has generally led to its often immediate replacement by another equally or more ideologically committed person, as has already happened in Iran. Perhaps they too await the next round of “mowing the grass”.

But as the latest Israeli strikes in Iran and elsewhere show, solving the underlying issue is rarely the point.

In situations where finding a lasting negotiated settlement would mean painful concessions or strategic risks, assassinations prove simply too tempting. They circumvent the difficulties and complexities of diplomacy while avoiding the need to concede power or territory.

As many have concluded, however, assassinations have never killed resistance. They have never killed the ideas and experiences that give birth to resistance in the first place.

Nor have they offered lasting security to those who have ordered the lethal strike.

Enduring security requires that, at some point, someone grasp the nettle and look to the underlying issues.

The alternative is the continuation of the brutal pattern of strike and counter-strike for generations to come.

Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in International History, Flinders University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history. Moments ago Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recorded video message, reported Reuters.

Following the Israeli strikes on Tehran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio termed the attack as Israel’s “unilateral” action against Iran. The US washed its hands off the attacks.

“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence,” said Rubio in a statement.

“President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” he added.

It should not be seen as a coincidence that on June 13 –the same day of the attacks—the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had overwhelming in a Resolution pulled up Israel for its blockade of Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire.

Following the attack, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Israel will face “severe punishment”, reported the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the IRNA news agency also reported that Major General Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Cops has been assassinated in the Israeli strike. Iranian state media reported that at least two nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed in the strikes.

India has meanwhile, according to a report in The Hindustan Times cautioned both Israel and Iran against any escalation. India on Friday expressed deep concern after Israel launched waves of air strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites and urged both countries to avoid escalatory steps.

An Israeli military official told Reuters that Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets including the facility at Natanz in central Iran. The official added that Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.

Along with launching these attacks, reports confirmed that the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran. In its response after the attack, the government of Iran said that starting a war with the country was like “twisting the lion’s tail”.

The Israeli military said that Iran has launched over 100 drones at Israel in the last few hours.

IAEA confirms Iran’s Uranium enrichment facility hit, UN chief condemns Israeli action

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that that Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz was hit by an Israeli strike.

“The IAEA is closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation in Iran. Agency can confirm Natanz site among targets. The Agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country,” said IAEA head Rafael Mariano Grossi in a statement on X.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned the “military escalation” by Israel. In a statement through his spokesperson, Guterres said that he was “concerned” by Israel’s action “while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme are underway, reported AP.

“The Secretary-General asks both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford,” said Farhan Haq, the UN spokesperson, said in a statement late Thursday (June 12).

The Indian Embassy in Iran requested all Indian nationals & persons of Indian origin in Iran to remain vigilant, avoid all unnecessary movements, follow the Embassy’s Social Media accounts & observe safety protocols as advised by local authorities.

The Indian Embassy in Israel to issue a similar advisory and urged Indian nationals to exercise caution, avoid unnecessary travel within the country and stay close to safety shelters. “We are closely monitoring the evolving situation, including reports related to attacks on nuclear sites. India urges both sides to avoid any escalatory steps. Existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilised to work towards a de-escalation of the situation and resolving underlying issues. India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support,” said the Ministry of External affairs in a statement.

“Our Missions in both countries are in contact with the Indian community. All Indian nationals in the region are advised to exercise caution, stay safe and follow local security advisories,” the MEA statement added.  “We are deeply concerned at the recent developments between Iran and Israel,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

“India urges both sides to avoid any escalatory steps. Existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilised to work towards a de-escalation of the situation and resolving underlying issues,” the statement said.

The statement noted that India “enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support”.

The Indian side is closely monitoring the evolving situation, including “reports related to attacks on nuclear sites”. Indian embassies in both countries are in contact with the Indian community, and all Indian nationals in the region were advised to “exercise caution, stay safe and follow local security advisories”.

The scale and scope of Friday’s air strikes by Israel was much greater than tit-for-tat attacks carried out in 2024.

In April 2024, Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel after the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus. This was followed by another round of hostilities last October, after Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel responded on both occasions by targeting Iranian infrastructure and military facilities.

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Tahereh Saeidi reported the hunger strike on her Instagram page. Jafar Panahi, a former Golden Bear winner and director of socially-conscious films, was arrested along with other Iranian filmmakers on July 20th of last year for protesting the arrest of two colleagues. Despite being a recipient of several awards, including a Golden Lion for “The Circle” at the Venice Film Festival and a Golden Bear for “Taxi Tehran” at the Berlin Film Festival, Panahi found himself in Evin prison after a judge resentenced him. He began his dry hunger strike, refusing both food and water, on Wednesday as stated in the statement.

“Today, I am compelled to protest against the inhumane treatment of the judicial and security forces in Iran through my most valuable possession – my life,” stated Panahi. He added that the protest is against the illegal and oppressive behavior of the authorities, who have taken hostages.

“I have started a hunger strike since the morning of the 12th of Bahman, and I will refuse to eat and drink any food and medicine until the time of my release. I will remain in this
state until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison,” the renowneddirector said in the statement. “With love for Iran and the people of my land,” Jafar Panahi signed off.

Last month, there were expectations that the judiciary would order Panahi’s release, but he is still detained in Evin prison in Tehran. Panahi, 62, was arrested on July 11th and was serving a 6-year sentence imposed in 2010 for “propaganda against the system,” according to AFP. However, on October 15th, the Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial, giving his legal team reason to hope for his release.

Panahi’s arrest in July occurred when he appeared in court for fellow filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who had been arrested a few days prior. Rasoulof was freed from prison on January 7th on a two-week medical leave and is reportedly still outside of jail.

Cinema producers and directors are among the thousands of people arrested by Iran in its crackdown on the protests sparked by the September 16, 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested for allegedly violating its strict dress code for women. Another popular actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who had published images of herself without wearing the Islamic headscarf, was among those detained although she was released in early January after being held for almost three weeks.

(Reports on the basic of those in New Indian Express inputs from AFP)

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New Delhi: An Iranian filmmaker of repute, Reza Dormishian, was barred from travelling to India over what reports have said were Iranian authorities’ disapproval of his anti-regime views. His passport was also seized, it has been reported. There is lack of clarity over what charges he might face.

Variety has reported that Dormishian was supposed to appear at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, representing Dariush Mehrjui’s film A Minor. Mehrjui is a pioneer of Iran’s new wave in cinema.

The film festival was supposed to conclude yesterday. Mehrjui’s film was scheduled to be screened twice last week. The Variety report said that Iranian authorities confiscated Dormishian’s passport as he reached the Tehran airport. “It is not clear if Dormishian was arrested or what charges he must answer,” the report noted.

Deadline has reported that Dormishian is a screenwriter, director, documentary filmmaker and producer who has worked in several award-winning films. “His movies have often criticised aspects of Iranian society and have been subject to heavy censorship and lengthy bans in his home country,” the report says.

Iran’s filmmakers have faced a strenuous battle with state censorship and ostracism. In July 2022, internationally renowned director, Jafar Panahi was arrested in the midst of a fresh crackdown on dissidents and the enforcement of moral rules in the country. Panahi had earlier been under house arrest. Currently,  widespread protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest for “inappropriate attire”, pose one of the strongest challenges to the country’s clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Several media reports opine that it is Dormishian’s recent Instagram posts in support of the protests could have led to the state taking such action.

Related:

The Number Of Death In The On-going Protests In Iran Reaches 154

3 ways these latest Iran demonstrations are different to past protests

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Once again, Iran is in the midst of political upheaval and civil unrest. The latest protests, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the morality police, follow several other protests that have occurred in Iran over recent years.

So what is new about this latest round of demonstrations? Here are three key ways these protests are different.

1. Public support for these protests appears higher and more widespread

At the crux of the latest demonstrations is Iran’s morality police, which is tasked with enforcing strict codes around dress and behaviour.

The morality police arrested Mahsa Amini earlier this month, saying she was wearing her hijab too loosely. She subsequently died. Her family say she was beaten (a claim rejected by the government and police).

Whatever transpired, the Amini case has triggered a groundswelling of public anger around the behaviour of the morality police, with protesters demanding women be given the right to choose what to wear.

The anger this diverse group feels over government interference in people’s personal decisions has found a fitting platform in the present protests.

Since the early 1980s, when the ruling clergy consolidated power by eliminating opposition groups, social regulation and strict rules around lifestyle have formed the crux of their policies.

Government meddling in the private lives of its citizens was once far more pervasive, extensive, and stringent. For example, homes were searched for VCRs and satellite dishes.

In time, such restrictions were relaxed (to some degree). For women, however, the rules remain highly discriminatory. Government dos and don’ts are still heavily enforced. The Iranian government persists in denying women their fundamental rights; the debate over the headscarf and women’s dress is just one visible manifestation of this.

Apart from being demeaning and degrading, these regulations make day-to-day living extremely difficult for a great number of women who do not agree with the clergy.

Today, it’s hard to find someone in Iran who hasn’t been harassed at least once by the ruling clergy in some way.

That is why, compared to previous demonstrations in Iran, the number of people who support the current protests appears quite high and widespread. Protests are underway in cities large and small, neighbourhoods rich and poor.

2. The latest protests are led by women

Unlike previous protests in Iran, women are at the forefront of the demonstrations.

Women’s rights are at the centre of these protests, while previous protests have focused more on economic or broader political issues.

The government’s intrusion into citizens – especially women citizen’s – private lives is the source of the demonstrations this time around. It has proved difficult so far, for the government to explain their policies in a way that is convincing for many people.

3. The courage shown during these demonstrations is unprecedented

All protest comes at enormous personal risk in Iran. But these latest protesters have done some unusually brave things. The courage shown by protesters is unprecedented.

Some women have removed their headscarves in the street or set them on fire. Some have cut their hair in public.

Many videos appear to show anti-riot police failing to disperse the crowd, and even protesters occasionally pushing back police.

The scale of the demonstrations and the degree of anger among these latest protestors is unusual.

Will these protests bring lasting change?

It is too early to say. Iran’s leaders have shown time and time again they are not interested in yielding to popular demands.

The Iranian leadership may fear appeasing protesters would just encourage further demands and may even trigger their downfall.

And while the latest demonstrations are widespread, they are also dispersed.

There is no guarantee the different demonstrations underway in various cities will be able to coalesce around a single, coherent movement.

The demonstrations are also hampered by the absence of a cohesive leadership and, it would seem, any kind of methodical organisation.

Whether or not these demonstrations result in significant change, they have undoubtedly come at a cost to Iran’s ruling clergy.

Perhaps the most significant of these costs is the effect these protests have had on the already dwindling legitimacy of the Islamic Republic, both domestically and internationally.

Naser Ghobadzadeh, Senior lecturer, National School of Arts, Australian Catholic University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Even as democratic rights individuals and groups world over celebrated the protest art from Iran, with powerful images of women showing their long hair chained behind oppressive imagery, the blonde hair of Najafi appeared uncovered in a clip that went viral on social media. Did this courageous protest cost her life?

On Sunday, Iranian journalist Farzad Seifikaran reported that Najafi Hadis was killed on Wednesday in the city of Karaj after being shot multiple times by security personnel in the face and neck. Iranian activists stated that Najafi was the woman tying her hair in a viral video as she got ready to participate in anti-government protests. By untying her hair in the face of the state, a simple yet powerful gesture, she was making a huge statement against that same law that had led to the death of 22-year-old Amini, a Kurdish woman who died of fatal injuries reportedly inflicted while in custody. Amini had been previously been detained by the Islamic Republic’s “morality police” for wearing the hijab “inappropriately.”

The powerful image of this young protester had showed the feisty young woman facing Iranian police without wearing a veil, something which is forbidden by law in Iran. Since 1983, four years after the 1979 Islamic revolution wearing the hijab in public has been made compulsory for women in the country, never mind their faith or nationality. Najafi and dozens of other, like many other Iranian women had joined the street-wide protests, facing the Iranian police with her hair uncovered, and was captured on camera tying them up with a rubber band. Over past weeks powerful art protests have emerged out of Iran. 

According to Amnesty International, at least 21 people–including three children—had been killed by security forces on the night of September 21. At least 41 people have now been killed in total, according to a death toll given by Iran’s state television on Sunday, though official numbers have not yet been released.

Among those killed, there’s Najafi.

 It was Amini’s death that triggered the outrage of tens of thousands of people across Iran and has seen many take to the streets of several cities. For the past ten days or so, outrage and protests have swept the country, with demonstrators facing a violent response by police and authorities. A unique aspect of the protests has been women who have been the core and pivot of the demonstrations in Iran, with many burning their veils and cutting their hair in protest.

20-year-old Hadis Najafi was killed by six gunshots during protests in Iran. In this photo, women and men chant slogans as they march in a pro-hijab rally in Iran’s capital Tehran on September 23, 2022. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Even as protests swept the country, the present President, Ebrahim Raisi was quoted by state media on Saturday saying that the country must “deal decisively with those who oppose the country’s security and tranquillity.” Thereafter, in many cities, including the capital, security forces responded to the protests by opening fire against demonstrators.

Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad reported that the 20-year-old woman was killed after being hit by six bullets in the city of Karaj, according to what Najafi’s sister told her. The reporter, who did not specify the date of Najafi’s death, described the news as “heartbreaking.”

1)
Heartbreaking News:

This woman who’s video of getting ready to stand face to face with the killer of #MahsaAmini got killed herself.
Her name was Hadis Najafi. Her sister told me that she was only 20 Yr old and she got killed by 6 bullets in the city of Karaj. #مهسا_امینی https://t.co/9zagfYe4FJ pic.twitter.com/6wAIFNag1G

— Masih Alinejad ?️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 25, 2022

“Hadis Najafi 21 Yr old girl must become another symbol like #MahsaAmini, because she didn’t keep silent in the face of tyranny. She got killed for the crime of protesting the brutal death of Mahsa. I call on world to be the voice of #HadisNajafi too. A true hero,” Alinejad wrote on Twitter.

The journalist shared a clip from the Najafi’s funeral and said she was “a kind hearted girl and loved dancing.”

This is the funeral of 20 year old #HadisNajafi, who was shot dead on the streets by security forces for protesting yhe murder of #MahsaAmini by Hijab Police.
Hadis was a kind hearted girl and loved dancing. pic.twitter.com/tduxVe1SZf

— Masih Alinejad ?️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 25, 2022

On Sunday, September 25, it was reported that Anonymous, the international hacktivist collective known for its several cyber attacks against governments and government institutions and agencies, hacked the database of Iran’s Supreme Audit Court and released the data of all members of the Iranian Parliament, including their phone numbers. 

Majid Sadeghpour, a political director and member of The Organization of Iranian-American Communities, said, “People of Iran are in the process of another revolution, [as] the regime has been declining for years and now is literally falling. We call on the international community to cut ties with this regime and instead support the Iranian people and their [organized] resistance.”

Related

“IMSD strongly condemns the repressive Iranian regime, questions the hypocrisy of the Muslim clergy in India”

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Iranians took to the streets for a 10th consecutive night Sunday, in defiance of a warning from the judiciary, to protest the death of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.

Images circulated by IHR showed protesters on the streets of Tehran, shouting “death to the dictator,” purportedly after nightfall on Sunday.

Witnesses said that protests in several locations were ongoing.

Many Iranian women protesters have removed and burnt their hijabs in the rallies and cut off their hair, some dancing near large bonfires to the applause of crowds that have chanted “zan, zendegi, azadi” or “woman, life, freedom.”

The demonstrations have spread to all of Iran’s 31 provinces and are the largest since nationwide demonstrations three years ago that were met with a deadly security response that killed hundreds.

Media reports said:

At least 41 people have died since the unrest began, mostly protesters but including members of the Islamic Republic’s security forces, according to an official toll, although other sources say the real figure is higher.

Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Sunday evening that the death toll was at least 57, but noted that ongoing internet blackouts were making it increasingly difficult to confirm fatalities in a context where the women-led protests have in recent nights spread to scores of cities.

Hundreds of demonstrators, reformist activists and journalists have been arrested amid the mostly nighttime demonstrations since unrest first broke out after Amini’s death on Sept. 16.

Amini, whose Kurdish first name was Jhina, was detained three days before that for allegedly breaching the rules that mandate tightly-fitted hijab head coverings and which ban, among other things, ripped jeans and brightly colored clothes.

Iran’s largest protests in almost three years have seen security forces fire live rounds and bird shot, rights groups charge, while protesters have hurled rocks, torched police cars and set ablaze state buildings.

Videos circulated on Saturday and Sunday showed protests in several areas of Tehran, as well as in Shiraz, in southern Iran, and Fardis, west of the capital. In one protest in Sattar Khan, a central neighborhood in Tehran, a crowd gathered around what was reported to be a burning police motorcycle, chanting “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, we are all together,” according to a video posted by 1500 Tasvir, an anti-government monitoring group.

The group said in a text message that the pace of protest videos emerging from Iran had slowed late Saturday into Sunday, in part because of internet disruptions imposed by the authorities over the past week, as well as restrictions on apps including Instagram and WhatsApp. Netblocks, an internet monitoring group, said Sunday evening that it had detected a “nation-scale disruption to Mobinet,” one of the largest mobile network operators in Iran.

In Kurdish areas of western Iran, where Amini was from, cities have become “heavily militarized,” by the security forces, said Rebin Rahmani, member of the board of directors of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, based in Paris.

The cities of Kermanshah, Kamyaran, Sanandaj, Saqqez, Divandarreh, and Oshnavieh were “under tight security control,” he said. Oshnavieh had been shut down for three days, he said, after a “horrible incident where several people were killed Wednesday night.” He denied earlier reports that protesters had routed security forces in the city.

In a rural area called Balo, near Iran’s border with Turkey, families of protesters who were killed last week set fire to a base used Thursday by the Basij paramilitary forces, Rahmani said.

“We haven’t received any videos today,” he said. “Because the internet is cut it’s very difficult to get any news.” Arrests were being carried out based on previously recorded videos of the protests, he added.

As the internet blackout obscured events in Iran, news of the death of a lone protester, a woman, that circulated widely over the weekend sparked fresh anger.

The woman, Hadis Najafi, had been seen in a video last week tying her blond, uncovered hair in a ponytail on the edge of a protest in Karaj, northwest of Tehran. Human rights activists said she was fatally shot by security forces Wednesday.

The world has learnt of the violence largely through shaky mobile phone footage posted on social media, even as authorities have throttled internet access.

Web monitor NetBlocks noted “rolling blackouts” and “widespread internet platform restrictions,” with WhatsApp, Instagram and Skype having already been blocked.

This followed older bans on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Telegram.

Protests abroad have been held in solidarity with Iranian women in Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Istanbul, Madrid, New York and Paris, among other cities.

Iran — which is ruled by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 83, and which has been hit with tough economic sanctions over its nuclear program — has blamed “foreign plots” for the unrest.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi threatened a harsh response Saturday, vowing a “decisive strike on the disrupters of security and peace of the country,” in a phone call with the family of a slain member of the security forces, local Iranian news outlets reported.

Echoing a warning the previous day by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on Sunday “emphasized the need for decisive action without leniency” against the core instigators of the “riots,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

On Sunday, Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s interior minister, called on the judiciary to pursue a “quick, decisive, legal confrontation with the leaders and agents of these riots that will teach others a lesson,” according to Hamshahri, a state-run newspaper.

The foreign ministry said Sunday it had summoned Britain’s ambassador over what it described as an “invitation to riots” by Farsi-speaking media based in London, and Norway’s envoy over “unconstructive comments” made by his country’s parliament speaker.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Amir-Abdollahian criticized “the U.S. interventionist approach in the affairs of Iran including its provocative actions in supporting the rioters.”

Pro-government Rallies

Iran has also organized large rallies in defense of the hijab and conservative values.

Pro-government rallies were held Sunday, with the main event taking place in Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, where demonstrators voiced support for mandatory hijab laws.

“Martyrs died so that this hijab will be on our head,” said demonstrator Nafiseh, 28, adding that she was opposed to making the wearing of the hijab voluntary.

Another demonstrator, 21-year-old student Atyieh, called for “strong action against the people who are leading” the protests.

The main reformist group inside Iran, the Union of Islamic Iran People’s Party, however, has called for the repeal of the mandatory dress code.

Human rights groups based abroad have sought to shine light on the turmoil rocking Iran, citing their own sources in the country.

IHR reported on Sunday that an umbrella of Iranian teachers’ unions were calling on teachers and students to boycott classes on Monday and Wednesday in support of the protests.

Iranian authorities have yet to state the cause of death of Amini, who activists say died as a result of a blow to the head.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has said Amini was not beaten and that “we must wait for the final opinion of the medical examiner.”

A tightening crackdown has included the use of live ammunition against demonstrators and heavy deployments of security forces in Kurdish areas of western Iran, where the protests have been concentrated.

18 Journalists Arrested

As of Sunday, at least 18 journalists had been arrested during the unrest, including several who were taken into custody during early morning raids on their homes, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Protesters March Through Downtown Ottawa, Burn Headscarf

A CBC report said:

With the death of a young Iranian woman in police custody sparking demonstrations around the world, hundreds of people also took to the streets of Ottawa Sunday to protest against the Iranian government.

“This could have happened to [any] one of us,” said Taraneh, a protester who lived in Iran for about 30 years. CBC is withholding her last name due to her safety concerns.

Taraneh said she and her sister were once arrested by the morality police while in Iran and held for five or six hours.  She said she’s frustrated that Iranian women are forced to comply with the strict hijab requirements.

“The women in Iran are not free at all,” she said. “We are tired of this system.”

The protesters marched past Parliament Hill on Wellington Street, down Metcalfe Street and onto Queen Street, where they gathered to chant and burn a scarf in protest.

Police estimated about 1,000 people took part.

“It is not just a matter of hijab anymore. It is not a matter of the morality police forces anymore,” said organizer Rosa Kheirandish, who was born in Iran and moved to Canada in 2001.

“They just want the mandatory Islamic Republic to go.”

Kheirandish said she helped organize the protest so that other Iranians could claw back their freedom from the oppressive government — starting with freedom of religion.

“[They want] that same kind of freedom that we have here in Canada,” said Kheirandish. “I mean, thank God we have it here.”

She said she also hopes the protest raises awareness of what Iranians are facing.

Kheirandish fears that the internet disconnection will precede government violence.

Another protester, Lora Solaimani, said she was concerned internet outages may also impede Iranians’ ability to call to the international community for help.

“They have cut the internet so that we cannot actually see what is going on,” said Solaimani. “I think that needs international attention.”

Protestor Rahil Golipoor, a risk analyst for the federal government, said the oppression of human rights happening in Iran could have a harmful impact worldwide.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a risk for the world,” Golipoor said, adding that the actions by the country’s morality police could influence other governments. “They are a virus starting in Iran, but they do not stay in Iran.”

Golipoor said she is demonstrating not just against Iran, but to send a global message against all religious and gender-based discrimination.

“We stand for the future of the world,” said Golipoor. “We do not stay silent for any dictator [or] religion.”

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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Dubai: Clashes between Iranian security forces and protesters angry over the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody have killed at least nine people since the violence erupted over the weekend, according to a tally on Thursday by The Associated Press.

Widespread outages of Instagram and WhatsApp, which protesters use to share information about the government’s rolling crackdown on dissent, continued on Thursday.

Authorities also appeared to disrupt internet access to the outside world, a tactic that rights activists say the government often employs in times of unrest.

The demonstrations in Iran began as an emotional outpouring over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman held by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating its strictly enforced dress code.

Her death has sparked sharp condemnation from the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. The police say she died of a heart attack and was not mistreated, but her family has cast doubt on that account.

The protests have grown in the last four days into an open challenge to the government, with women removing their state-mandated headscarves in the streets and Iranians setting trash bins ablaze and calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic itself.

“Death to the dictator!” has been a common cry in the protests.

Demonstrations have also rocked university campuses in Tehran and far flung western cities such as Kermanshah.

Although widespread, the unrest appears distinct from earlier rounds of nationwide protests triggered by pocketbook issues as Iran’s economy staggers under heavy US sanctions.

The unrest that erupted in 2019 over the government’s abrupt gasoline price hike mobilised working class masses in small towns.

Hundreds were killed as security forces cracked down, according to human rights groups, the deadliest violence since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s state-run media this week reported demonstrations in at least 13 cities, including the capital, Tehran, as protesters vent anger over social repression.

Videos online show security forces firing tear gas and water canons to disperse the protests. London-based Amnesty International reported that officers fired birdshot and beat protesters with batons.

At least nine people have died in the confrontations, according to an AP count based on statements from Iran’s state-run and semi-official media.

Officials have blamed unnamed foreign countries, which they claim are trying to foment unrest.

In Amini’s home province in the northwest, Kurdistan, the provincial police chief said four protesters were killed by live fire.

In Kermanshah, the prosecutor said two protesters were killed by opposition groups, insisting that the bullets were not fired by Iran’s security forces.

Meanwhile, three men affiliated with the Basij, a volunteer force under the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, were also killed in clashes in the cities of Shiraz, Tabriz and Mashhad, semiofficial media reported, bringing the death toll on both sides to nine.

As the protests spread, authorities shut down the internet in parts of the country, according to NetBlocks, a London-based group that monitors internet access, describing the restrictions as the most severe since the mass protests of November 2019.

Iran has grappled with waves of protests in recent years, mainly over a long-running economic crisis exacerbated by Western sanctions linked to its nuclear programme.

Iranians also blame government corruption and mismanagement as prices of basic goods soar, the currency shrivels in value and unemployment remains high.

The Biden administration and European allies have been working to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, in which Iran curbed its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, but the talks have been deadlocked for months.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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In what seems to be another of the Centre’s glaring incapabilities, forty days after they were air-lifted from Covid-19 hit Iran, two students who were placed under quarantine in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district, were asked to make their own arrangements to return to their respective homes amid the nationwide lockdown absence of any transportation, reported The Indian Express.

Pursuing a Master’s course at Tehran’s Allahmed Tabatabai University, Minhaj Alam was part of the group which was evacuated along with pilgrims from Kashmir and Ladakh. He said that Central authorities asked him to arrange for transport to reach home, nearly 2000 kms away from Jaisalmer in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal.

He also spoke about how private cab services exploited him even in this situation and demanded Rs. 60,000 for the trip. He said, “Pilgrims and students from Kashmir who returned with me are being sent home, but I am being asked to go home on my own. Why is this discrimination? I went to study in Iran on a fully-funded scholarship programme. I can’t afford to spend Rs 60,000 given the economic condition of my family. I hope the government will make some arrangements.”

Minhaj had undergone four Covid-19 tests since his return on March 15 and all of his tests had been negative. Last week on Friday, authorities informed Minhaj’s family that they would have to make arrangements for his return. Meeraj, Minhaj’s brother said, “We were clearly told that it was easier for them to send him back to Iran or Srinagar.”

Mohammed, another student who had returned with Minhaj, said that his family in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, too received a similar call from the quarantine centre.

Rohit Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Rajasthan said that 457 evacuees from Iran who were quarantined at the Army facility in Jaisalmer had been sent to their homes in Srinagar and Ladakh in three batches over three days last week.

Defence spokesperson Col Sombit Ghosh had said that while the Army maintained and ran quarantine centers, it was the Ministry of Home Affairs decided upon the movement of those under quarantine.

When asked about facilitating return of those who have completed their mandatory isolation at these centres, Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson Vasudha Gupta said she had no information regarding this.

However, while these two students were asked to fend for themselves, around 52 Kashmiri students had been airlifted from Jaisalmer where they were under quarantine after returning from Iran. They were screened and counseled after they landed at Srinagar International Airport and sent to their respective homes.

Till March 29, a total of 941 Indian nationals, mostly pilgrims and students had been evacuated from Iran in six batches.

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