Five American Hostages Arrive Home, Ending ‘Nightmare’

Gholam-Hossein Esmaili’s initial blacklisting in 2011 stemmed from his role as the head of Iran's prisons organization, where he faced accusations of "serious human rights violations."

He is under sanctions due to his involvement in the widespread detention of political protesters and his role in concealing abuses within the prison system.

Esmaili served as the spokesperson for the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic from 2019 to 2021 and held the position of Tehran Province's chief justice from April 2014 to August 2019. On August 8, 2021, he was appointed as chief of staff of Iran's president.

President Ebrahim Raisi, who is himself on the US and European sanctions lists, is currently in the US to attend the UN Assembly, a move met with global criticism in light of the country's recent crackdowns.

Prior to assuming the presidency in August 2021, Raisi served as Iran's Judiciary chief. However, his extensive career within the Islamic judiciary has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, accusing him of significant human rights violations.

He was a member of a death committee responsible for ordering the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, which he openly acknowledges.

Speaking particularly about the way the Hijab Enforcement bill was handled by the parliament (Majles), Behrouz Nemati said in an interview with Khabar Online website that Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf should accept his responsibility for handing over decision making about the bill to a committee of 15 lawmakers rather than putting it to vote by all the 290 lawmakers. 

The entire Majles, including Ghalibaf are responsible for this non-democratic act, Nemati argued, one day after The Speaker criticized the Paydari party-dominated government in a bid to distance himself from the ultraconservative party and its members at the Majles. Nemati further reiterated that Ghalibaf cannot evade his responsibility for the developments at the parliament. 

Nemati also cautioned against government officials manipulating data to exaggerate President Ebrahim Raisi's "achievements." 

The presidential administration, which is harshly criticized for mishandling the economy and weak governance, has been making outrageous claims about reducing inflation, boosting employment and improving living standards, while tens of millions have sunk deeper into poverty.

Furthermore, Nemati discussed Ali Larijani's disqualification during the 2021 presidential election, alleging that the Hojjatieh Association, acting like a powerful clan, influenced his disqualification despite his 12-year tenure as the Majles Speaker.

Hojjatieh is a fundamentalist Shia group known for its fanaticism. Even Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei does not want to appear too close to them.

Now, Larijani hesitates to announce his candidacy for the March 2024 parliamentary elections due to concerns that the Guardian Council may disqualify him once more. Ultimately, the Council obeys Khamenei, and only his approval can secure Larijani's candidacy.

Regarding the upcoming elections, Nemati mentioned that approximately 800 reformists have registered to run. These candidates include conservatives aligned with Expediency Council member Mohammad Javad Bahonar, moderate conservatives close to Larijani and former President Hassan Rouhani, as well as neo-cons affiliated with Ghalibaf - all competing against the ultraconservative Paydari Party members.

In an interview with Rouydad24, lawmaker Morteza Mahmoudvand remarked that "Iranian politicians lie about their affiliation. They lie about being conservative or reformist. They all equally benefit from government resources." 

Nonetheless, he asserted, "There are infiltrators among government officials who aim to facilitate a regime change." However, he refrained from naming specific individuals, but emphasized, "Politicians hold the people's livelihood hostage to their factional interests. They should realize that without these disadvantaged citizens, there would be no country or Islamic Republic."

Mahmoudvand added that a large part of the problems in the country are created by politicians who belong to the leading political factions. They keep blaming the opposite camp for existing difficulties that might have been created even by themselves. This is childish, he said. 

He expressed deep disappointment that in a country as resourceful as Iran, its citizens are unable to afford medical treatment. He criticized government officials for refusing to admit their shortcomings and the ineffectiveness of their management approach.

His remarks come in the wake of more than one year of women-led protests in the country, dubbed Woman, Life, Freedom, in which the nation has fought back against the mandatory headscarf and widespread oppression against women and minorities. He spoke just hours after a prisoner swap deal that saw $6 billion released by the United States and five regime-affiliated convicts in the US freed from prisons.

Ebrahim Raisi claimed that the presence of Iranian women and girls in various fields such as science, sports, social, and cultural activities shows the nation's attention to women's rights, in remarks made to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres ahead of the General Assembly.

"The Islamic Republic is ready to cooperate with the United Nations for the promotion of peace and security in the world and to prevent oppression against nations," he added.

His claims come as an earlier report by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has described the situation of women in Iran as “dire”.

With women having been at the forefront of anti-regime protests, burning headscarves and cutting hair in protest against the oppression of the Islamic Republic, the rights group said, "at least 3,953 women were arrested, of which 1,019 were identified by HRANA, [and] 160 of them were female university students.”

According to HRANA, since September's unrest, at least 2,003 women were reprimanded in different ways, including being summoned to police authorities, due to the improper wearing of the hijab.

Based on the website’s data from August 2023, the average mobile internet download speed has reached 31.33 megabits per second, showing a more than 6% decrease compared to the previous month. The upload speed has also decreased by approximately 4%.

Iran's broadband fixed internet speed has also experienced a decline. The average fixed internet download speed in August recorded at 11.92 megabits per second, indicating a 1.5% decrease compared to the previous month. The upload speed for fixed internet also shows a declining trend.

On the other hand, Iran's position in the list of surveyed countries regarding internet speed has dropped to the lowest rank in comparison to the past year. In August 2022, Iran was ranked 69th among 145 countries in mobile internet speed, but it has now fallen to 72nd place.

A similar situation has been experienced in fixed internet, with Iran dropping five ranks compared to the previous year. Part of the reason for the decline in Iran's internet speed ranking is the growth of internet speed in other countries around the world.

According to the Speedtest statistics, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait have been recognized as the top countries in terms of mobile internet speed in the world.

For years, Iranian authorities have restricted citizens' access to approximately half of the top websites in the world. In this regard, surveys by the Tehran E-commerce Association indicate that Iran, after China, has the most restricted internet access in the world.

Amini, 22, was arrested in Tehran because the police felt her hair wasn’t covered properly. She was hit on the head in custody and died in hospital on 16 September 2022.

“Her death was, and remains, a tragedy,” said Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a statement, “her murderers’ names will be forever written in the blackest pages of history.”

The ‘state murder’ of Mahsa enraged Iranians, who took to the streets across Iran. The regime employed brutal force to crush the protests. More than 500 were killed, many more injured. Tens of thousands were arrested.

“The international community owes it to them to never let the regime get away with the crimes committed during its brutal crackdown,” Senator Menendez’s statement read. “It owes them our full-throated support as the regime continues to repress the Iranian people to this very day because their bravery is nothing short of inspiring.”

Menendez’s words have been loudly echoed in the Capitol. Senators and Representatives, Republican and Democrat, have spoken or issued statements in support of Iranians.

This is partly because last year’s protests in Iran were simply too big, too consequential, to ignore. Many felt it was ‘the beginning of the end’ of the Islamic Republic.

The recent surge in interest in Iran could also be attributed to party politics in the US. Biden’s Iran policy is unpopular and therefore an easy, efficient attack-line for his political opponents.

But there’s another dynamic at work in Washington: young, educated activists of Iranian origin, inspired and energized by Woman, Life, Freedom movement, are taking it upon themselves to influence US policy towards Iran.

Their efforts have been on display at dozens of protests in major US cities in the past year, and more recently in garnering support for the Mahsa Act in the Congress.

“Against all odds, a new generation of Iranian-Americans is making a positive impact on Capitol Hill, one step at a time,” Sarah Raviani posted on X (formerly twitter) after the bill passed the House on 12 September.

She had spent the preceding days calling Representatives and encouraging others to do so. A week later, she was in Los Angeles, speaking at a rally to commemorate the killing of Mahsa Amini and the beginning of the 2022 protests.

Raviani is only one example, perhaps more prominent than many on social media, but only one among the many who put in the time and effort to effect change.

Scanning through their social media, the new-found army of Iranian-American activists seem to have differences in their background, in their outlook, in their political orientation in the US even. But one wish bonds them together: the end of the Islamic Republic in Iran.

As the United Nations General Assembly gets under way this week, many activists have momentarily turned their attention away from Washington to focus on Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, who arrived in New York on Monday morning.

“Absolutely speechless,” wrote one activist, “Ebrahim Raisi will not only be visiting the US to attend @UN, but will be hosting several private meetings & events throughout his stay.”

“This is the same President that was formerly dubbed the Hanging Judge”, wrote another. “This is the President of the same regime that has been systematically hanging protesters over the past year, r*ping & torturing them in prison, and taking out their eyes.”

Several rallies are planned by Iranian-Americans to protest and raise awareness about the Islamic Republic and Raisi. And grassroots activists are the heart of it once more.

Long gone are the days when National Iranian American Council, NIAC, was the only act in town. They traditionally were advocating rapprochement with the Islamic Republic and an end to sanctions. They may still have their connections in Washington, but they seem to have lost their footing within the Iranian-American community.

Any sign of connection with the representatives of the Islamic Republic comes at a hefty price these days.

Same time last year, some successful Iranian-Americans accepted invitations to an event with Raisi. There was a huge backlash within the community, which made most of them apologize and distance themselves from the Islamic Republic.

This year, there seems to be more invitations. And the new army of Iranian-American activists are watching.