Ex-Iranian Lawmaker Summoned By Prosecutor

The origin of that attack had never been reported, but a senior US military official acknowledged it to The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

As a result of the attack on a maintenance hangar near Hasakah, Syria, the US contractor was killed, making it the first American fatality since Biden took office. Injuries also affected 24 US service members, many of whom suffered traumatic brain injuries.

“When that attack happened, we did not know the launch point. We were able to exploit the engine of the drone, which had a serial number, which clearly tied it back to Iran,” the senior US official said.

“We’re not looking to get into tit for tat skirmishes with these groups, which some of the groups want us to do,” said the senior US official. “Our policy is to hold Iran accountable for all these attacks.”

It is clear from the strikes that the Biden administration faces difficulties in the Middle East as it shifts its military focus to deterring China and Russia.

Additionally, it highlights the challenges the United States faces in coming up with a policy to deal with Iraq 20 years after Saddam Hussein's regime fell.

Several former officials and experts have criticized the administration's approach for downplaying problems in Iraq, such as those caused by militias supported by Tehran.

However, the head of Medical Council, Mohammad Rais-Zadeh, said Sunday that no hijab-related case has been sent to the council so far.

The ruling follows reports of a doctor refusing to accept a veiled patient in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

In February, a medical office in the northeastern Iranian city of Kashmar was shut when a doctor there objected to a woman harassing a patient over her “improper clothing”.

Earlier in February, Iran’s Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said violation of hijab regulations is considered a crime at hospitals and if they do not abide by hijab regulations, they will not receive approval to operate. He added that public hospitals have been required to comply with the hijab law and provide services to women by female staff.

“Women's ultrasound should be performed by women, and in some cases that we do not have enough radiologists, we ask female general practitioners and gynecologists to be given short-term training,” underlined the minister.

The clerical regime continues to strictly enforce the "mandatory hijab", despite the mass protests that followed the death in custody last September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the morality police for defying modesty rules.

About a month before the death of Mahsa Amini, the so-called morality police had started patrolling medical and academic centers in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad to enforce compliance with the Islamic dress code. Social media users earlier reported the presence of teams from what the Islamic Republic calls the ‘Enjoining right and forbidding vice headquarters’ in various wards of hospitals and medical centers in other cities, with some reports of pressures on hospitals to separate male and female patients admitted to the ICU.

The uprising has made it increasingly difficult for the clerical regime to enforce the mandatory Islamic dress code. Appearing in public without a full veil has become a common sight even in small and more conservative towns. Since the beginning of the ‘Women, Life, Liberty’ movement in September last year, thousands of girls and women have set fire to their headscarves in a symbolic move and voiced opposition to compulsory hijab.

Rais-Zadeh also voiced his concern over the low income of doctors and surgeons, saying current wages mean no one would study for many years to qualify.

Iran’s medical profession is facing a crisis as more and more doctors leave the country for better wages and working conditions.

Driven by economic and professional problems, as well as lack of social and political freedoms, an increasing number of Iran's healthcare professionals emigrate.

There are no transparent data on the emigration of healthcare and other professionals, but medical officials and lawmakers often offer fragmentary information on the scope of the problem. The number of doctors emigrating has more than doubled in the past decade, according to one report.

Thousands of physicians, dentists, midwives, and nurses have either emigrated in the past few years or are planning to leave for other countries. Many in Iran, including lawmakers, have repeatedly warned that the ever-increasing desire of healthcare professionals to leave will result in the deterioration of the country’s healthcare system.

In February, Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, a member of the central council of Iran's Nurses’ Organization, said between 2,500 to 3,000 nurses were emigrating from Iran each year, based on the number of requests for good standing certificates, confirming that the applicant is entitled to practice medicine in the country.

The average salary for a doctor in Iran is about $400 per month, against ten as much or more in the US and UK. Physicians and other health professionals’ maximum fees as well as private hospitals’ tariffs are set and announced by the government annually.

Mohammad-Ali Mohseni-Bandpey, a member of the parliament health committee, said last year that wrong government policies affecting doctors included ignoring their needs and demands and refusing to allow them to raise their fees despite higher costs of living and running their practices. According to Mohseni-Bandpey, despite an almost 50 percent annual inflation rate, the government is trying to prevent a similar increase in doctors’ fees, to keep healthcare costs down. He suggested that the government should allow them to increase their fees but shift the burden to insurance companies rather than patients.

Doctors in Iran must also contend with a lack of adequate medical equipment and resources.

With fewer doctors available to provide care, the quality of medical care in Iran is declining, especially in rural areas, where access is already limited.

Moreover, medical schools are struggling to attract and retain students, leaving the future of the medical profession in Iran in doubt.

A major investment in the healthcare system, as well as increased funding for medical schools and hospitals is required to salvage the situation and stop the flood of emigrating doctors. However, Iran’s dire financial plight means such investment is impossible for the foreseeable future.

Mojtaba Yousefi said Monday the Persian Gulf countries and also the north of the region look to Turkey as the transportation hub.

Meanwhile Iran suffers from poor infrastructure that make a mockery of its ambitions in recent years to be the leader.

Yousefi said: “Out of more than 60 airports in Iran, less than 40 airports are operational and only one is an economic airport.”

The country’s roads and railways are in need of significant upgrades, while the ports are not equipped to handle the large volumes of cargo that would be necessary for Iran to become a regional hub. Furthermore, the airports are not up to international standards, most of the airplanes suffer from technical issues, and the air traffic control system is inadequate.

Political instability and economic sanctions mean the situation is highly unlikely to improve any time soon. The financial uncertainty has made it difficult for businesses to pour in the investment into infrastructure necessary for Iran to ever become a credible international transport hub.

Protestors gathered overnight outside the prison in Esfahan (Isfahan) where Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashmi, and Saeed Yaqoubi await their death sentence, having been found guilty in a trial condemned as a travesty of justice by human rights campaigners.

They were convicted over the death of two IRGC’s Basij militia members and a police officer in protests of November last year, in what Persian media have dubbed the ‘Isfahan House’ case.

Responding to social media calls on Sunday night, people gathered outside Esfahan (Isfahan) Central Prison hoping to stop the executions. Videos posted by activists show dozens chanting slogans in front of the prison, while gunfire was also heard as thick smoke caused by teargas enveloped the area.

Following the increase in the executions of prisoners in recent weeks, families of those sentenced to death held a protest rally outside the Judiciary’s office in Tehran’s Keshavarz Street on Monday, demanding an end to the killing.

A similar rally was held last week outside Iran’s largest prison in Karaj hoping for mercy by the regime but by sunrise the prisoners were hanged. 

Opposition activists say the death penalty is being used against the Isfahan House three as an intimidation tactic to stop further protests. 

Campaigners say the prisoners were tortured into confessions, and there is no reliable evidence against them. According to an audio file released on Sunday of Kazemi talking to his cousin, he was coerced into confession by threats to his family of rape and death.

Exiled prince Reza Pahlavi tweeted on Sunday night, saying, “We must not allow this murderous regime to take another innocent life and turn another mother into a mourner.”

Prominent activist Masih Alinejad said: “We should not allow the regime of crime and madness to take more young people from us and make more families grieving.”

Canada-based dissident figure Hamed Esmaeilion, whose daughter and wife were killed in the shooting down of Flight PS752 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in 2020, tweeted, “When will the insanity stop? When will the free world stand behind its own values? How many more executions will it take for the world to stand up?”

Last week, Australian Senator Jordon Steele-John, a political sponsor of Majid Kazemi called on the Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong “to have an urgent meeting with her Iranian counterpart to do all they can to prevent the execution of Majid, which could happen at any moment”.

Iranian expatriate communities plan demonstrations against the executions in cities worldwide on Saturday, May 20.

Iran has always had a high number of executions but the number started to rise after President Ebrahim Raisi – the former head of the country’s notorious judiciary -- took office in August 2021.

The United Nations said last week that Iran has executed 209 people so far this year, calling the record "abominable".

The head of the fruit and vegetable sellers’ union of Iran, Esmail Moradian said on Monday that though the price of some items have fallen back, shoppers still cannot afford them.

Inflation in the fruit market is lower than some other sectors, but with consumers suffering plummeting purchasing power, many have held back from buying fresh fruits and prefer to wait for further price drops.

The price of watermelon has increased by a staggering 66.67%, and strawberries by 33.33%, Mehr news agency reports.

The cost of fruit in Iran has rapidly risen in recent years, making it increasingly unaffordable for ordinary people.

This situation has been made worse by a weak economy, sky-rocketing inflation, and a depreciating currency. The result is a nutrition and health crisis, as ordinary families miss out on fresh fruits and vegetables.

The situation is even worse for those on low incomes, who may not be able to afford fruit at all.

The Iranian economy has been deeply unstable for the past few years, with a sharp decline in the value of the rial and a general economic downturn. This has had a major impact on the price of food items, with inflation reaching a staggering 75 percent for some items.

The crisis has pushed many households below the poverty line.