Second Court Session For Amini Family Lawyer Continues Today

One such user is the propagandist Ali Akbar Raefipour, whose recent purchase of the blue verification tick has stirred massive controversy on social media.

Hashem Firouzi, a social media activist, voiced his concerns, stating, "They pay $8 a month for the Blue Tick to the United States, and then they tell us that the United States is on the verge of decline."

Several other Iranian officials, including Labor Minister Solat Mortazavi, also subscribed to X in June. Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), has rebranded the platform and introduced a premium option as the exclusive means of obtaining the coveted Blue Tick verification.

Parliamentarian Bijan Nobaveh Vatan recently criticized the presence of Iranian officials on the former Twitter platform (X), highlighting the hypocrisy, stating "The first step in fostering trust in domestic platforms and discouraging the use of foreign platforms is the adherence of officials to the relevant laws."

In a related development, a new Iranian social network called Virasty has emerged, closely copied from Twitter in both its features and logo design.

Iran has long maintained strict internet censorship, blocking major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. In the wake of recent protests, Instagram was also blocked.

Social media users in Iran have largely refrained from using domestically developed social media applications like Rubika, Eitaa, Soroush, and Nazdika, citing concerns about their quality and privacy shortcoming as digital surveillance continues to gain pace.

Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani, Tehran's interim Imam for Friday Prayers claimed, "Such claims are unfounded, and the public does not subscribe to them. People recognize [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini as a divine and spiritual figure who dedicated himself to service."

He asserted that these "rumors are fabricated and promoted by adversaries," showing his lack of awareness about the general sentiment in Iran or simply repeating regime rhetoric.

The term "enemy" is a commonly used descriptor by Iran's leadership, including Ali Khamenei, to refer to the United States, Israel, and their allies and partners.

Citizens increasingly blame long-standing issues such as environmental problems, water scarcity, transportation woes, brain drain, and immigration, as well as escalating inflation, on the 44-years of clerical rule. Simultaneously, growing international tensions have fueled concerns among the populace regarding Iran's relations with the world.

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has experienced bouts of political instability, marked by protests, demonstrations, and government crackdowns, leading to a sense of insecurity and political uncertainty among the populace.

A substantial portion of the Iranian population, including millions of dissatisfied citizens taking to the streets in protest, has lost trust in the overall regime.

Iran has grappled with economic challenges, including high inflation, unemployment, and the impact of economic sanctions. Such difficulties have resulted in financial hardships for many Iranians and limited opportunities for economic advancement.

Jamileh Alamolhoda, Raisi’s wife and daughter of the Supreme Leader’s representative in Razavi Khorasan province, hosted an international event this week on the role of women in media in Mashhad -- her hometown and his hardline cleric father’s turf. 

Moderate Iranian news website Rouydad24 talked about Jamileh Alamolhoda’s aspiration to write a book similar to that of Michelle Obama’s. Rouydad24 cited her as saying, “They asked me to write a book similar to this one. I read the book, and it was very beautiful, captivating, and influential. I even showed some parts of it to the president, and he said that writing a book in this field is the right thing to do.” 

The presenters of the event, claiming to have brought together “100 media women from 40 countries,” introduced Jamileh Alamolhoda as “Iran’s first lady” whenever she was about to take the stage. However, she started one of the panels of the event addressing the issue, saying that the wife of the Supreme Leader is actually the country’s first lady because Ali Khamenei is the highest authority in Iran. 

Her statement has drawn a wide range of reactions from the Iranian public and politicians alike, with hardliners speaking out against the existence of such a position in “an Islamic society” and describing it as a construct of Western culture that must not be copied for Iran. 

Several pundits have published opinion pieces about Jamileh Alamolhoda in recent weeks, criticizing her for her double-standard approach about Western culture as she reiterates that Iranian women can best serve the family as a child-bearing housewife, but never misses a chance to accompany her husband on foreign trips.

She keeps denying the existence of the role of the country’s first lady but in practice she follows a Western model for such a role including speaking as such during the UN General Assembly week in New York with global media. She attacks the West's ideas about women and Western-style feminism in society but has announced that she is eying writing a book similar in style to former US first lady Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming, a number-one best seller in Iran reprinted 37 times.

In a piece for Khabar Online Sunday, Abdoljavad Mousavi decried what he calls “the infatuation of so-called anti-Western officials with the West.” He said a large number of Iran’s hardliners have a superficial and hypocritical view of the West. 

“They chant slogans against the West with passionate fervor, but Western countries are the first choice for their offsprings’ education; they do not recognize the United Nations officially but long for standing at its podium and accompany all their family members in their trip to New York,” the pundit said, referring to Raisi’s large entourage to the US for the UN General Assembly. 

The latest trip of Iran's president and his hijab-cladded wife saw Alamolhoda thrust into the limelight in a global media blitz. To Newsweek, Alamolhoda spoke of the alleged “women’s rights” enjoyed by Iranian women, who for the last year have been protesting the oppressive conditions of living under the regime while hijab rebels remain locked out of public places including transport and education. Alamolhoda -- who firmly believes a woman’s place is as a mother and wife — claimed Western feminism has no place in Iran.

Mousavi claimed that attention to the concept of “first lady” among the hardliners stems from “a superficial understanding of the West, Islam, identity, and the Islamic Revolution.” “They vehemently criticize the West and its manifestations, but deep down, they secretly aspire to become Westerners. They strive to imitate them, seek their approval, and conform to their standards.”

Moderate Iranian news website Rouydad24 talked about Jamileh Alamolhoda’s aspiration to write a book similar to that of Michelle Obama’s. Rouydad24 cited her as saying, “They asked me to write a book similar to this one. I read the book, and it was very beautiful, captivating, and influential. I even showed some parts of it to the president, and he said that writing a book in this field is the right thing to do.” 

Hardliner Telegram channel Bisimchi Media – with links to the Revolutionary Guards – slammed Raisi’s wife for using the term about Khamenei’s wife, saying, “In the structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its history, we don't have a position called 'First Lady'.” “Are we supposed to mimic these American ideas?" asked the media outlet. 

Tasnim, another IRGC-affiliated media, also rebuked Alamolhoda for her statement about the first lady, saying, "The assumption that with the presidency of an individual in Iran, a special position is created for their spouse according to the country's constitution is certainly a mistake."

Khamenei’s wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, rarely appears in public but several members of her family hold senior positions. Her father was Mohammad Esmaeil Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, a famous businessman in Mashhad and her brother Hassan is a former deputy director of state broadcaster IRIB. In her absence from Iran’s political sphere, the role of a first lady is up for grabs by the president’s wife. 

Mohammad-Reza Bagheri, a state TV host, also criticized Alamolhoda, saying that the first lady of Iran should be chosen from among "mothers and wives of Iran’s martyrs and not the the wives of politicians.”

Implicitly admitting that she will hire a team of ghost writers to pen the book, Alamolhoda added that “it's unlikely that one person wrote this book, and a team of experts was probably involved. The book served as a role model for girls worldwide. It follows the pattern of Cinderella. An ordinary girl moves from ordinary life to the highest worldly position." 

Speaking about Alamolhoda's book in response to Michele Obama, Rouydad24 said she ignores a significant point. Michelle Obama was a representative of the black women in the US -- once among the most persecuted strata of US society – who became America’s first lady. However, Alamolhoda had a silver-spoon upbringing, thanks to her father's links to the regime.

“She is the wife of the former head of the Iranian judiciary and the current president of Iran. She is the daughter of the Friday Prayer Imam of Mashhad, who holds the utmost power in the province,” the article said, arguing that “she has never represented the marginalized and oppressed segments of society.” Alamolhoda holds her social position thanks to her family status and links to regime insiders, making it very difficult for Iranian women to see a “symbol of oligarchy in Iran as a role model.” 

Ketab-e Dey and Ketab-e Khaneh announced on their Instagram page that they would be closed "until further notice." When questioned by users about the reason for the closure, the management confirmed, "We were sealed [shut down by the regime]”.

While the store managers refrained from providing detailed explanations, reports suggest the shutdown of the bookstores is part of an ongoing effort to enforce hijab rules in Tehran and other Iranian cities.

Meanwhile, the Qom Prosecutor's Office reported the closure of a cinema in the religious city, alleging "indecent advertising related to the screening of a foreign film." They claimed that the film's horror genre and introduction of supernatural elements were somehow linked to "Satanism."

While the protest movement in Iran over the past year, sparked by the tragic death of Mahsa Amini while in custody, didn't lead to the overthrow of the regime, it did manage to significantly challenge one of its core principles, mandatory hijab.

As women increasingly defy the mandatory headscarf and venture out, the regime intensifies its efforts to suppress social activities, punishing the population as it faces challenges in enforcing hijab rules amid growing public resistance.

In recent months, numerous shops, restaurants, cafes and malls where Iranian women continue to disregard the regime's mandatory hijab have been shut down across Iran, with many women arrested in the process.

This month, new laws were passed to introduce even harsher punishments for failure to comply with hijab laws.

Meanwhile, a group of protesters in Zahedan took to the streets, blocking roads by lighting fires, as seen in videos published by Halvash, a platform reporting events in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province.

Bloody Friday, which unfolded in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan, on September 30 last year, witnessed the loss of nearly 100 lives among protesters, with dozens more sustaining injuries.

The incident being the bloodiest event during anti-regime protests during the past year has gone unpunished, as the violence by security forces was not investigated and no officers were held accountable.

On Friday, residents in Zahedan and other cities in the region held protests and scores were wounded by government gunfire. A Baluch Telegram channel announced that Saturday shopkeepers in both Zahedan and Chabahar embarked on a widespread strike in response to the calls for action.

Additionally, other cities in the predominantly Sunni province, such as Nowbandegan, joined the strike. There have also been reports of the Islamic Republic's security forces attempting to quell potential protest gatherings by besieging Zahedan's market.

Internet access in some cities within the province also experienced disruptions on Saturday as the government usually tries to prevent news of unrest spreading to other cities.

On September 29, residents of Zahedan, Suran, Khash, Rask, and Tafatan and some other cities took to the streets, marching and expressing their opposition to the Islamic Republic with slogans. The agents of the regime fired shots at the protesters in Zahedan.

Halvash reported that at least 29 people, including eight children, were injured by rubber bullets. The source further disclosed that the number of detainees reached at least 51 individuals.

The tragic events of Bloody Friday were initially sparked by a gathering of protesting worshippers after a police commander had sexually assaulted a 15-year-old Baluch girl a few weeks earlier. Moreover, anti-regime protests in the rest of the country were in full swing by then, which encouraged the Balush minority to vent its anger. In response, military personnel and agents of the Islamic Republic resorted to live ammunition against the demonstrators and other innocent citizens in and around Zahedan's main mosque.

According to the latest updates from Halvash, the brutal attack resulted in the deaths of at least 105 civilians, including 17 children and teenagers, leaving numerous others with spinal cord injuries, blindness, mutilations, and limb impairments.

Meanwhile, the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization has urged the international community to refer the incidents of Bloody Friday to international judicial bodies for investigation as crimes against humanity. Its director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, emphasized, “Killing more than a hundred unarmed men, women and children is a clear example of crimes against humanity and Ali Khamenei and the forces under his command must be held accountable.”

“Despite enduring one of the bloodiest crimes of the last 30 years, the Islamic Republic couldn’t break the resistance of Baluch people to achieve their fundamental rights. And Zahedan’s weekly protests in the last year is proof of that,” he added.