UN Calls To Abolish Death Penalty In Iran, Repeal Hijab Laws

After a meeting between respective deputy foreign ministers in Tehran, Russia's foreign ministry said Moscow and Tehran were unanimous in believing that the failure to implement the deal stemmed from the "erroneous policy of 'maximum pressure' pursued by the United States and those who think similarly".

Russia is one of the participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the accord signed between world powers and Iran to restrict Tehran’s controversial nuclear program, especially limiting its uranium enrichment.

Then-US president Donald Trump quit the deal in 2018, imposing economic sanctions, and Iran's relations with the West have been deteriorating ever since, as it has accelerated its nuclear program. Tehran has been enriching uranium to 60-percent purity since 2021 and has accumulated enough fissile material for at least two nuclear weapons.

But Russia, which signed the deal alongside the US, China, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union, has been deepening ties with Iran since its invasion of Ukraine. Iran has supplied hundreds of kamikaze Shahed drones to Russia that have been widely used to attack civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine.

The war, which Russia calls a "special military operation", has driven its own relations with the West to their lowest level in decades, bringing on Western sanctions that has isolated Russia economically and politically. Iran is in a similar if not worse situation.

Reports in June indicated that European diplomats had informed Iran they planned to join the US in retaining sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program that are set to expire in October under the nuclear deal.

They gave three reasons: Russia's use of Iranian drones against Ukraine; the possibility that Iran might transfer ballistic missiles to Russia; and depriving Iran of the benefits of the nuclear deal, which it violated after the US withdrew.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov met Iranian counterparts Ali Bagheri-Kani and Reza Najafi.

Russia's foreign ministry said the meeting had emphasized "the unacceptability of any attempts on the part of the West to impose some new schemes and approaches to solving problems related to the JCPOA, which imply damage to legitimate and mutually beneficial Russian-Iranian cooperation in various fields".

It said there was still "no reasonable alternative" to implementing the JCPOA, as approved by the UN Security Council.

In recent months, many media reports have spoken of secret diplomatic efforts to control the tensions with Iran, including releasing Tehran’s frozen funds from countries such as Iraq and South Korea in return for a pledge by Iran not to further increase its uranium enrichment to weapons grade levels, which is 90-percent purity.

So far, except a US sanctions waiver to Iraq for a partial release of funds, no developments have taken place signaling an agreement. Parallel to discussions about Iran’s nuclear program, the US is also trying to secure the release of several American dual-nationals held hostage in Iran. Apparently, the release of $7 billion held in South Korea is the price for releasing the prisoners. But a new complication has emerged with reports that while talks were taking place, Tehran arrested two more individuals, bringing the total to five hostages.

Observers and media in Iran have accused Russia of using the nuclear issue for its own leverage with the West. Multilateral talks that began in Vienna in April 2021, with the Biden administration’s new policy of reviving the JCPOA, failed immediately after Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

The fate of the hijab bill, which legal experts claim is against the Iranian Constitution and not practical to implement due to the government's limited means, took an obscure turn last week after months of heated debate on how to translate it into society. 

During a closed-door session on Sunday, Iranian lawmakers voted – 171 for versus 40 against -- that the bill can be considered under Article 85 of the constitution which greenlights the parliament to discuss the bill only in an internal committee and not on the parliament floor, practically sidelining any opposition. The decision was a straw poll and is not yet final, to be discussed and put to a final vote in the coming days. The result of the final vote is clear because the parliamentary party that holds the majority has backed the move. 

Normally, the parliament cannot delegate its legislative authority but in necessary cases, it can assign an internal committee to formulate certain laws. The determination of the committee is then sent to the Guardian Council and if it deems the decisions do not go against the Constitution, they can be piloted in the country for a time span determined by the parliament. 

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Regime lawmaker Moineddin Saeedi, representing the city of Chabahar in the underprivileged province of Sistan and Baluchestan, said “This bill will be discussed in a joint committee without the public being informed of its details, much like the Siyanat (Protection) plan." Ironically titled Legislation to Protect Cyberspace Users’ Rights, the Siyanat plan is a draft bill by ultra-hardliners approved by an ad hoc parliamentary committee in February that led to stricter restrictions on social messaging platforms and access to the global net. 

Expressing worries about the repercussions of disregarding the people’s views on the measure, Saeedi said that implementing the bill this way would only, contrary to the regime's plans, exacerbate popular concerns. 

According to lawmaker Ahmad Naderi, a member of the parliament's presidium, “A joint committee consisting of members from three committees, namely the Judicial and Legal Committee, the Cultural Committee, and possibly the Social Committee, will be formed to discuss the details of this bill and its enactment.” He added that “the decision on the bill's passage into law will be made discreetly and without being presented in the open session of the parliament.”

The uprising that was sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in September has made it increasingly difficult for the clerical regime to enforce the mandatory Islamic dress code. Since the beginning of the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement, tens of thousands of girls and women have shed their compulsory hijab. To avoid the public backlash over the violent enforcement of hijab laws, the Islamic Republic has recently begun implementing a wide range of measures from public humiliation tactics to using traffic cameras to identify women without hijab.

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The regime seeks to criminalize hijab defiance but no branch of government wants to be solely responsible for the complications of such an action in society. As debate over how to deal with women who refuse to observe compulsory hijab continues among the authorities, even the hijab or so-called morality police faces a similar reaction by the authorities as they refuse to take responsibility, perhaps due to concern over the upcoming elections.

Political sociologist Mohammad Rahbari says discussing the hijab bill behind closed doors means that “no one will take responsibility for this bill, neither the judiciary, nor the government, and not even the parliament.”

He believes that the fate of such “a law that none of its decision-making entities is willing to take responsibility for” will either not lead to tangible actions or its implementation will be as opaque as the internet protection law. “The common point of both these bills is that many people oppose them, and that’s why members of the parliament do not have the courage to openly discuss them,” he noted. 

Lawmaker Hassan Norouzi, a member of the Judicial and Legal Committee, was questioned by a reporter on Tuesday as to whether or not it was better that the people were aware of the details and processes of the hijab bill. He replied, “It has been transparent enough. This law is a matter of governance, and what concerns the people is to abide by it.”

He was asked again if the joint committee will share its final decisions with the public, to which he replied frankly, “No. It's possible that media outlets may say something and the whole plan gets obliterated,” further undermining the credibility of the media in a country deemed one of the world's worst for press freedom.

The "Hijab and Chastity" bill, which was sent to the Islamic Consultative Assembly by the administration of Ebrahim Raisi, initially comprised of only 15 articles. Now in its final days, it has 70 articles with its fate still in limbo.

For as yet unknown reasons, the Abadan Intelligence Department to which he was summoned, has asked his family to declare him a missing person while the Dadban Legal Education and Counseling Center reported that the family's efforts to locate their son have so far been unsuccessful.

Bouri, a native of Khuzestan in southern Iran, was summoned to the Abadan Intelligence Department last Tuesday and has since been unaccounted for. Despite the presence of at least two witnesses who confirmed his entry into the building, the authorities have failed to provide any updates on his status.

Prior to his disappearance, plainclothes forces had raided Bouri's residence, confiscating his mobile phone before taking him into custody. It is believed to be related to his popularity on social media platforms for his lighthearted yet incisive critiques of Iranian officials and pressing societal issues.

Twitter users have expressed their mounting anxiety and frustration over the lack of information regarding his current whereabouts and wellbeing, echoing the sentiment with the hashtag #WhereIsShakerBouri. Many are drawing parallels to the tragic case of Amin Bazargar, a wrestler, whose remains were discovered over a year after his arrest.

Bouri's case is emblematic of a broader crackdown on social media activists, artists, and comedians in recent months by Iranian authorities.

In a statement to Iran International, a spokesperson for the ministry affirmed their active campaign to secure Sharmahd's release.

"The case of Jamshid Sharmahd is our top priority," the spokesperson stated, underscoring the significance of the matter. "We are actively campaigning for Sharmahd with the utmost effort at a high level, through all available channels and at every opportunity. We are making it clear to the Iranian side that the execution of the death sentence would have serious consequences. Preventing the enforcement of the decision is of the utmost importance to us."

However, the German Foreign Ministry has refrained from disclosing whether diplomatic relations with Tehran or its substantial export business with Iran, amounting to over $1.2 billion, would be severed as part of efforts to secure Sharmahd's release.

Sharmahd was sentenced to death in April by Iran's judiciary on charges of alleged terrorism. He was accused of leading the pro-monarchist group Kingdom Assembly of Iran, believed to be responsible for a fatal 2008 bombing and plotting additional attacks within the country. The group, operating from Los Angeles, advocates for the restoration of Iran's monarchy and operates opposition media platforms.

His case is emblematic of what human rights organizations term "hostage diplomacy," where Western prisoners are held on charges of espionage or alleged crimes. Iran maintains that the prisoners are being held for legitimate reasons, despite international concerns and objections. 

Salman Es’haghi, Spokesperson of the Parliament’s Health Commission, highlighted the detrimental consequences, including an alarming rise in patient mortality rates.

He asserted that “despite the critical shortages, the Central Bank has refused to allocate the necessary currency for drugs,” placing domestic pharmaceutical producers in a challenging situation regarding pricing and currency allocation.

The parliament had approved the government's decision to discontinue an annual subsidy of $9-14 billion for essential food and medicines in March last year, despite concerns about heightened inflation and hardships.

The subsequent shortages have severely affected Iran's pharmaceutical industry, which heavily relies on government funding for importing raw materials.

Shortages of imported ingredients have disrupted medicine production, leaving approximately 200 types of common medicines and hospital drugs scarce or unavailable, according to local media reports.

Es’haghi underscored that repeated warnings about the drug crisis have been issued to the government by the health commission. Nevertheless, the government's lack of attention has exacerbated the situation.

In the previous Iranian year, the medicine crisis intensified, driving people to the black market for smuggled medicines due to soaring prices and unavailability of many essential items.

While Iranian officials often attribute medicine shortages to United States sanctions, Washington maintains that humanitarian aid is exempt from sanctions. Iran annually imports over $1.5 billion worth of medicines, including substantial quantities from Europe, China, and India.

There are also speculations that the Iranian government may exploit the psychological effects of these shortages to influence foreign perceptions and further exhaust a populace already fatigued by months of revolutionary fervor.