Iran-Backed Hamas Unleashes Large Attack On Israel

“Ms. Mohammadi’s commitment to building the future that women and all people in Iran deserve is an inspiration to people everywhere who are fighting for human rights and basic human dignity,” President Biden said in his statement.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres tweeted that the prize awarded to Narges Mohammadi is an important reminder that “women's rights are facing a strong pushback, in Iran and elsewhere,” adding, “This Prize is a tribute to all the women fighting for their rights at the risk of their freedom, health and even their lives.”

However, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned the Nobel Peace awarded to Mohammadi as a "politically motivated move”. 

“The Nobel Peace Committee has awarded the Peace Prize to a person who has been convicted for repeatedly violating laws and committing criminal acts,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement Friday and accused “some European governments” including Norway of having “anti-Iranian and interventionist policies”. 

Alleging that the Nobel Peace Committee’s decision was based on an “unconventional and selective approach”, Kanani said this was “another link in the chain of pressure from Western circles against Iran”. He added that giving the award to Mohammadi would only make the Islamic Republic determined “to pursue its independent policy”. 

In a written statement to The New York Times, apparently written before the public announcement of the award, Mohammadi said the global support and recognition of her human rights advocacy makes her “more resolved, more responsible, more passionate and more hopeful”, adding that she also hoped the recognition will make Iranians protesting for change “stronger and more organized”. 

Narges Mohammadi, 51, was the deputy head and spokeswoman of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, a non-governmental organization founded by Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, and others in 2001. 

Iranian authorities never allowed the official registration of the organization which won the 2003 Human Rights Award from the French National Commission of Human Rights and have always persecuted its members. 

An Instagram account that Mohammadi has authorized to post on her behalf thanked everyone for congratulatory messages after the news broke and said it was not possible to talk to her because political prisoners in the ward where she is held are not allowed to make phone calls on Thursdays and Fridays. 

This year’s other Iranian Nobel Peace Prize candidates were also women and included US-based activist Masih Alinejad, rights campaigner Nasrin Sotudeh, as well as Elaheh Hamedi and Niloufar Mohammadi, two journalists who have been in prison for over a year for their reporting of Mahsa (Jina) Amini’s death in the custody of the morality police in September last year. 

Mohammadi’s 16-year-old son Ali Rahmani has told the media that the prize belonged to all Iranians, not only her mother, for their fight, and that he is proud of his mother. 

In 2015 Ali and his twin sister Kiana had to leave the country to join their father Taghi Rahmani, a journalist and former political prisoner, because their mother was going to begin serving a ten-year prison sentence and to keep safe from harassment of the authorities. 

Rahmani had to flee Iran in 2012 after repeated arrest and years of imprisonment. Mohammadi’s children have been living in France since then and have never had a chance to see their mother again. 

Authorities have also repeatedly punished Mohammadi by refusing to let her speak with her children and husband. Her son Ali says he has not spoken to his mother in twenty months. 

During his Friday prayer sermon, the outspoken cleric said those responsible for the situation of Armita Geravand, comatose since October 1, should be held accountable.

Armita was admitted to hospital in coma after falling unconscious in a train at a subway station in Tehran on Sunday.

“Now, most people in Iran and around the world have expressed concerns about Armita, and that's why a thorough investigation into her coma is necessary," he said. “The government should take action against those responsible for her condition, whether they are from the ‘morality police’ or any other entity.”

Abdolhamid emphasized that the only thing, which can bring peace to the country is justice.

Following the incident, security forces established a heavy presence at the hospital entrance, preventing visitors, and even forbidding people from recording videos with their phones. A journalist was arrested after going to the hospital to investigate. She was released on bail the same day.

On Thursday, the Guardian quoted an eyewitness as saying that soon after Armita entered the train carriage, a woman agent enforcing compulsory veiling in the subway started arguing with Armita about why she had not covered her head. “The hijab enforcer started physically attacking Armita and …violently pushed her.”

Security is still tense around the hospital, and authorities are not forthcoming about the circumstances surrounding Armita's coma. Meanwhile, the media is filled with concerns from Iranians, foreign activists, and officials, all fearing a scenario similar to Mahsa Amini's death could reoccur.

Amnesty International said Friday the global community must demand that the Iranian authorities allow an independent international delegation, including UN experts, to enter the country to investigate the circumstances leading up to the hospitalization of 16-year-old Armita Gervand, who fell unconscious on a Tehran subway train after an encounter with regime’s hijab enforcers.

She was reportedly pushed by a hijab enforcer recently deployed at subways stations, and has been in a coma since. Iran’s state media has aired footage showing Armita entering a Tehran subway station without covering her hair, waiting with friends, and then being carried out of a metro car unconscious by her friends. The state media have not shown any footage from inside the metro car and claim there were no CCTVs to record the incident inside the train.

Analysis by Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab reveals the video frame rate was increased in four sections and detected a gap of three minutes and 16 seconds in the footage. Two eyewitnesses have also confirmed to the Guardian that hijab enforcers were involved in Armita’s injury Sunday morning.

“Iranian authorities arrested a journalist investigating the incident and circulated propaganda videos on state media featuring Armita visibly distressed parents and friends reluctantly reiterating the state narrative that she collapsed due to low blood pressure,” Amnesty said.

“Iranian authorities are waging a concerted campaign of denial and distortion to cover up the truth about the circumstances..., chillingly reminiscent of their bogus narratives and unplausible explanations of Mahsa/Zhina Amini’s hospitalization just over a year ago,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.“The international community must also demand that Armita Garawand’s relatives, friends and journalists seeking the truth are protected from reprisals and harassment."

At least 116 people were killed and about 100 injured Thursday when several weaponized drones hit the Homs Military Academy's courtyard where families were gathered with the new officers, minutes after Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas had left. More than 30 women and children were killed in the attack.

There have been no claims of responsibility for the attack, but Syria's defense and foreign ministries blamed what they described as “terrorist groups backed by known international forces” without specifying further, and vowed to respond "with full force".

Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, the military commander serving at the country’s most senior military position, wrote to his Syrian counterpart Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim and Syria’s Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas to express readiness for closer cooperation with Damascus “in the fight against terrorism.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also held a phone call with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad on Thursday, while President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the attack.

Sunni Islamist groups Tahrir al-Sham and ISIS as well as Islamist militias with close links to Turkey have bases in the region that is announced as the origin of the drone, pundit Ali Sadrzadeh told Iran International.

The United States on Thursday shot down an armed Turkish drone that was operating near its troops in Syria, the Pentagon said, the first time Washington has brought down an aircraft of NATO ally Turkey. Tensions have flared and there have been close calls. In 2019, US troops in northern Syria came under artillery fire from Turkish positions.

A Turkish defense ministry official said the drone that was shot down did not belong to the Turkish armed forces but did not say whose property it was. According to Turkish security source, Turkey's National Intelligence Agency carried out strikes in Syria against Kurdish militant targets after a bomb attack in Ankara last weekend.

In a recently released report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted a surge in executions, the detainment of protestors, pressures on students and educators, and gender-based discrimination. The report, submitted to the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, details the progress made in the implementation of resolution 77/228, addressing human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The report noted that Iran's engagement with UN human rights bodies remained limited, and the implementation of recommendations from international human rights mechanisms remained low.

The report raised concerns about Iran's death penalty, revealing that at least 419 people were reportedly executed, including 409 men and 10 women, between January 1, 2023, and July 31, 2023, marking a 30 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

It also highlighted the cases of seven men executed for their involvement in nationwide protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. The report also mentioned, "At least seven men are allegedly considered at risk of execution, including those from minority communities connected to the nationwide protests."

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The Secretary-General expressed alarm over large-scale arrests and detentions carried out by security forces targeting protesters and their supporters. It estimated that between September 17, 2022, and February 8, 2023, approximately 20,000 individuals were arrested for participating in protests, with many of them possibly children, given the reported average age of 15 among those arrested.

The report also noted overcrowding in prisons, with prisons in areas with minority populations being particularly affected.

Regarding the crackdown on dissent, the report highlighted that Iranian authorities continued to justify restrictions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, both online and offline, using a strict national security approach. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's call to "eliminate dissenting voices" from online spaces raised further concerns.

The report mentioned 17 journalists (9 men and 8 women) detained in connection with the protests between September 16, 2022, and March 31, 2023.

In the section on Iran's economic situation, the UN report discussed rising poverty, inequalities, and the increased cost of living. Iran faced high inflation and a significant decrease in the value of its currency, rial, along with increased poverty and unemployment levels.

The UN report expressed concerns about Iran's new hijab law, which would further discriminate against women and girls by expanding the scope of offenses related to compulsory veiling. The bill would impose punishments such as monetary fines, restrictions on accessing banking services, confiscation of personal property, travel restrictions, bans on online activity, and imprisonment of up to 25 years for repeat offenders. It would also allow flogging for women appearing "uncovered in public."

The report concluded with recommendations for the Iranian government, which have been reiterated multiple times, yet the Islamic Republic has not heeded them.