the Morning star

At UN General Assembly, past crimes of the Iranian regime can no longer be ignored Add caption It appears that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will once again be attending the annual UN General Assembly in New York. But when he arrives this year, it will be under much different circumstances, both domestically and internationally. His presence presents a great opportunity to  challenge Rouhani and his colleagues on their human rights record and their supposedly moderate credentials . This year’s visit will take place amidst an arguably unprecedented climate of awareness about his administration’s role in previous crimes. ADVERTISEMENT One incident in particular is in focus among Iranians, expatriate activists, and their foreign supporters. In early August, an audio recording was thrust into the spotlight by the son of a former top cleric, Hossein-Ali Montazeri. The late ayatollah had been the heir-apparent to the founder of the Islamic Republic in the 1980s, but w...

The ridiculous Fatwa of Iran regime’s supreme leader Add caption The ridiculous Fatwa of Iran regime’s supreme leader iranfocus.com London, 14 Sep - Iran’s supreme leader has issued a fatwa banning women from cycling in public because of the risk of societal corruption. In a move branded “ridiculous”, by the Women's Committee of the National Council 

The ridiculous Fatwa of Iran regime’s supreme leader Add caption  Friday, 16 September 2016 03:57 Mecca province governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, in remarks likely to be seen as a reference to  Prince Khaled al's regime, added that the orderly conduct of the haj pilgrimage this year "is a response to all the lies and slanders made against the kingdom," Reuters reported.A senior Saudi official has urged the Iranian regime to end what he called wrong attitudes toward Arabs and warned it against any use of force in its rivalry with the kingdom. 

Iran's 'Death Commissions' exposed: 30,000 massacred after Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa View photos Islamic Revolution More The Iranian resistance has released the names of senior members of the country's current regime that it says were involved in the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) has investigated and documented the names of 59 people currently holding high office in Iranian political institutions who it believes had a hand in the brutal killings. The PMOI's investigation comes following growing demands for members of the Iranian regime to face prosecution over their role in the massacre. It followed a fatwa from the country's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini to execute political prisoners. Death Commissions were formed in Tehran and around the country, culminating in the killing of up to 30,000 political prisoners – some of whom were teenagers – and their bu...

Iran Mass Execution Allegations: Khamenei, Rafsanjani Accused Add caption Paris (CNSNews.com) – Iran’s supreme leader and a prominent former president – who is sometimes described as a “moderate’ in the Iranian context – are the latest senior Iranians to be accused of involvement in the mass executions of imprisoned dissidents  almost three decades ago. The National Council of Resistance of Iran/People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (NCRI/MEK), an exiled opposition group, held a press conference in Paris Tuesday to make public the names of prominent Iranians allegedly involved in the killings. It said supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former President Hashemi Rafsanjani were directly linked to the executions. The unpunished killings returned to the public eye last month when the son of a senior ayatollah, who dies in 2009, released an audio recording of a meeting between his father and members of one of the “death commissions” that oversaw the executions. ...

POLITICO: France’s Bernard Kouchner urges probe of Iran’s 1988 massacre Add caption NCRI - The 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran by the mullahs' regime is a ‘crime against humanity’ which ought to be prosecuted at the international courts, former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has told POLITICO. The following is the text of an article published on Wednesday by POLITICO about the 1988 massacre:

Iran shuts 800 shops for selling 'unconventional' coats Under Iranian law, women must wear a manteau, or similar item, that loosely covers the whole body from the neck down to the knee Tehran (AFP, September 5, 2016)  - Iranian police said they had closed more than 800 clothes shops to stop them selling 'unconventional' women's coats, state media reported on Monday. A further 3,000 shops have been sent warnings, the IRNA news agency reported. A new fashion for women's coats -- known as 'manteaux' in Iran -- with English phrases printed on the back had attracted the attention of the authorities, who passed new regulations in July. The coats in question tend to have nonsensical phrases such as 'Keep Calm I'm the Queen' written on them, but they also have short arms and no buttons in the front. Under Iranian law, women must wear a manteau, or similar item, that loosely covers the whole body from the neck down to the knee.

Iranian vessel 'harasses', sails close to U.S. Navy ship in Gulf: U.S. officials Iranian Boats Harass Another U.S. Navy Patrol Coastal Ship In Persian Gulf WASHINGTON-  A U.S. Navy coastal patrol ship changed course after a fast-attack craft from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came within 100 yards (91 meters) of it in the central Gulf on Sunday, two U.S. Defense Department officials told Reuters on Tuesday. It was at least the fourth such incident in less than a month. U.S. officials are concerned that these actions by Iran could lead to mistakes. Years of mutual animosity eased when Washington lifted sanctions on Tehran in January after a deal to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. But serious differences still remain over Iran's ballistic missile program, and over conflicts in Syria and Iraq. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Iranian vessel sailed directly in front of the USS Firebolt, forcing the 174-foot (53-metre) U.S. ...

Ahmad Montazeri charged with acting against ‘Iran national security’ NCRI - Monday, 5 September, Ahmad Montazeri (The son of the former heir to Khomeini), was summoned and interrogated for the seventh time and eventually charged with acting against national security interests due to publishing his father's audio files revealing new details about the massacre of political prisoners in 1988.

‘Increase in number of women living on Iran’s streets is due to unemployment and lack of job security’ Add caption NCRI - A member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (Parliament) has confessed that the rise in the number of women living on the streets of Iran may be due to the rise in unemployment in the country caused by the regime’s policies. Nader Qazipour confirmed to the state-run Basij News Agency on Tuesday, August 16, that the homeless women were, in fact, Iranian citizens forced into life on the streets because of a lack of job security and high unemployment.

Iran leadership tainted by 1988 executions; U.N. must investigate Add caption Iran's president Hassan Rouhani waves to reporters next to a portrait of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomenei is he leaves at the end of a press conference in Tehran on August 29, 2015. File Photo by Ali Mohammadi/UPI  |  License Photo BRUSSELS, Sept. 2 (UPI) --  The summary execution of more than 30,000 political prisoners by the Iranian regime in the summer of 1988 surely must rank as one of the most horrific crimes against humanity of the late 20th century. The vast majority of the victims were activists of the opposition People's Mojahedin of Iran. The mass executions, in jails across Iran, were carried out on the basis of a fatwa by the regime's then-supreme leader, the murderous  Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini . A "death committee" approved all the death sentences. Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, a member of that committee, is today President  Hassan Rouhani 's...

Uzbek President Karimov has died - diplomatic sources Uzbekistans strongman president Islam Karimov dies aged 78, diplomatic sources say Uzbekistan, Tashkent,  Reuters, Sep 2, 2016 -  Uzbek President Islam Karimov has died after suffering a stroke at the age of 78, three diplomatic sources told Reuters on Friday, leaving no obvious successor to take over Central Asia's most populous nation. The Uzbek government did not immediately confirm the reports. Earlier on Friday it said in a statement that the health of Karimov, who has been in hospital since last Saturday, had sharply deteriorated. 'Yes, he has died,' one of the diplomatic sources said when asked about Karimov's condition. Long criticised by the West and human rights groups for his authoritarian style of leadership, Karimov had ruled Uzbekistan since 1989, first as the boss of the local Communist Party and then as president of the newly independent republic from 1991. Uzbekistan's President Isl...

Venezuela opposition says 1 mn join anti-Maduro demo Add caption Opposition activists march in Caracas, on September 1, 2016 CARACAS (AFP) - 2 Sep. 2016-  Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said around a million people joined in a rally Thursday demanding a referendum on removing him from office. 'Between 950,000 and ' joined the rally in Caracas, the leader of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable, Jesus Torrealba, told AFP

Iran: Women's violation of dress code considered a crime Add caption NCRI- Semnan's Prosecutor said it is a crime for women to  wear clothes  that do not comply with government standards. In remarks made on August 29, 2016, Haydar Asiyabi stressed that there are special laws as well as the Islamic Penal Code to deal with the issue of clothes which are against Islamic standards.

House approves Kenya-UK military deal but with reservations Add caption Kenyan police officers and British army soldiers at Gathiuru Forest in Mt Kenya area Kenyan World Affiars, September 1 2016  - MPs on Thursday approved a military pact between Kenya and the United Kingdom with reservations, calling for the speeding up of Kenyans' visa applications and a review of the ban on miraa. This happened as UK High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey praised the new Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) worth Sh7.5 billion a year, saying it would “cement the longstanding military partnership between the two nations.” “I welcome the decision of the Kenyan Parliament to ratify the new Defence Co-operation Agreement,” he said in a statement. He said the agreement had treaty status, having been ratified by both the Kenyan and UK parliaments following scrutiny by the relevant constitutional agencies. The deal includes continuing support for Kenyan security forces deployed in Somalia as p...