Biden Must Address Iran’s Egregious Behavior Of Seizing Oil Tankers – Lawmaker

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof said on Tuesday that the signatories of the statement – headlined ‘Lay Down Your Arms’ -- have been threatened and intimidated by the Islamic Republic authorities to rescind their signatures.

"They think cinema is their barracks where they can use militarism to silence the artists' protest against violence,” he said.

In their open letter published on Sunday, a large group of film makers and actors called on security forces responsible for suppressing protests to lay down their weapons. Citizens have been demonstrating since last week against the rulers of the clerical regime.

Without directly mentioning the statement, the Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance warned Monday night, “We will punish those who seek to stand in the way of IRGC and guardians of Iran’s security by releasing worthless statements and delusional remarks.”

In reaction to the letter, Cinema Press website, with links to the security apparatus, quoted an “informed source” as saying that anyone who incites armed forces to rebel, flee, or surrender will face from six months to 10 years of prison.

The ongoing protests began when a 10-story building collapsed in Abadan, in the oil-rich Khuzestan province May 23, leaving 36 people dead while dozens are still missing.

In an interview published on Tuesday, Mostafa Nili said a message received from his client, civil and human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, and photojournalist Alieh Motalebzadeh said their lives are danger by one of the prisoners who is charged with murder and threatening to kill them to become famous. 

Pointing out that the prisoner had no "previous problems or conflicts" with Mohammadi and Motalebzadeh, he said that such threats without any history of disputes or conflicts seemed "suspicious".

Nili also said that following the death threat, several inmates with a history of violent crimes tried to provoke clashes twice with the prisoners of the political ward during visits to the prison infirmary. 

He added that the issue began with the threats to Mohammadi and Motalebzadeh, but since Sunday other political prisoners have also been threatened. Nili noted that prison authorities have not taken any action.

He said that such incidents are reminiscent of similar clashes between criminal prisoners and political detainees in recent years, such as the cases for Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, Atena Daemi, Shakila Monfared, and Saba Kord Afshari who were beaten in apparent clashes with other inmates. 

In 2019, political prisoner Alireza Shir-Mohammad-Ali was killed in Tehran’s Fashafoyeh Prison after he was stabbed in the neck and stomach by two inmates of the general ward.

Earlier in the year, Reporters Without Borders expressed concern for the lives of jailed activists who have been transferred to detention centers known to mistreat prisoners, including Qarchak women’s prison.

A coalition source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday that the projectiles landed on the vicinity of the airbase, located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of the capital Baghdad, adding that the rocket attack caused no casualties. 

Sabereen News, a Telegram channel associated with Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), claimed that six 122mm BM-21 Grad rockets had targeted Ayn al-Asad. An Iran-backed militia group that calls itself ‘The International Resistance’ has claimed responsibility for the attack. 

The base is the frequent target of Iran-backed proxy groups in the region. Late in April, it was targeted by three Grad missiles, which fell outside the base, without causing significant losses, and earlier in the month, two combat drones hit targets inside the air base, again without any casualties.

The base was also targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles in January 8 2020 in retaliation for the killing of Ghasem (Qassem) Soleimani the commander of Qods (Quds) force, a branch of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), who was killed in Baghdad by a targeted US drone attack on January 3, 2020.

The attacks came as nuclear talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers have paused, mainly over Iran’s demand to remove the IRGC from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations.

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia tweeted on Tuesday that Blinken and Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program and its destabilizing behavior in the region, and opportunities for greater cooperation on regional issues.

Blinken also underscored the importance of international support for Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing the need for a global response to the food security crisis resulting from the Russian invasion of the country.

Relations between Washington and Riyadh have been relatively cool since President Joe Biden took office because of several policies he adopted, including his decision to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and less military support for Saudi Arabia. 

On Monday, Blinken condemned the "unjustified seizure" of two Greek-flagged vessels by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, saying "Iran's continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights and freedoms are a threat to maritime security and the global economy.” 

Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, shortly after Tehran warned it would take punitive action against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast.

In an interview with Ensaf News on Monday, Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani said that the list had been available since at least 2020 but security authorities pushed to bury the list of high-risk buildings in Tehran. Ensaf News last week published the list, citing the fire department.

Ghodratollah Mohammadi, the new head of Tehran Fire Department, who said on Sunday that "we will definitely publish the list of 129 high-risk buildings in Tehran with the coordination of the prosecutor's office," rejected the validity of the list on Monday. "It is invalid and has nothing to do with the Tehran fire department," he said.

He had said on Sunday that there are more than three thousand cases of such buildings in the capital.

The issue of unsafe buildings has become hot as protests began last Monday, when a 10-story building collapsed in Abadan, leaving 34 people dead and an equal number missing. It quickly became apparent that the owner was a powerful and well-connected businessman who had disregarded regulations and building codes, being backed by officials, who might have had their own financial interests.

Anti-government protests continue in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province as large number of security forces have been mobilized to crack down.