Jailed Monarchist Urges Unity Among Iranian Opposition

Amirkabir Newsletter, a prominent Iranian student news platform, revealed on its Telegram channel that what began as an extensive emigration by students has now extended to include important university professors.

Last week, Abdolreza Simchi, a renowned professor in the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering at Sharif University of Technology, disclosed that he is now employed at the German Fraunhofer Research Institute, where he has been working since June 2023.

Vahid Hosseini, a former professor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Sharif, has relocated to a Canadian university, while Mohammad Ali Maddah Ali, previously the head of the Blockchain Working Group at the Digital Economy Headquarters of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, has emigrated to the United States to continue his research in the field of blockchain.

Nima Asadian, who concluded his 12-year professorship at Sharif University in January 2022, has opted to work in laboratories abroad, and Abbas Heydarnouri, the former director of the Smart Software Engineering Laboratory at Sharif University, is now residing in the United States.

Stidents at Sharif University of Technology, recognized as one of Iran's premier institutions, have played a central role in recent protests against the Islamic Republic. The government's response to the protests has included widespread detention and summoning of students, along with issuing judicial and disciplinary sentences. The suppression has now extended to professors who supported the protests, resulting in some being suspended from their positions.

The group provided technical details on their Telegram channel, warning Iranian leadership. Iranian state TV reported disruptions in services at numerous gas stations in the capital, with the cause yet to be determined.

Oil Minister Javad Owji earlier told Iranian state TV that services had been disrupted at about 70% of Iran's pumps and that outside interference was a possible cause.

The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency linked the issue to a widespread software malfunction affecting gas stations. Reza Navar, spokesperson for Iran’s gas stations association, claimed experts are addressing the problem. However, he did not specify the extent of the disruption or the number of affected stations.

Navar said that there is no shortage of fuel supply and urged drivers to avoid gas stations until the issue is resolved.

The hacking group "Gonjeshk-e-Darande" or Predatory Sparrow gained notoriety two years ago for a cyber attack on fuel distribution centers across Iran on the eve of the second anniversary of the suppression of the November 2019 protests. In a separate incident, they claimed responsibility for hacking the railway company.

Last year, the group reported hacking into the computer systems of major steel companies in Iran and released videos and images of the hacking operation.

Iran has a history of cyber incidents, with one of the most notable being the Stuxnet computer virus, believed to have been developed by the United States and Israel. The Stuxnet virus, discovered in 2010, was used to attack an Iranian uranium enrichment facility, marking the first publicly known instance of a virus being utilized to sabotage industrial machinery.

“The US and Israel are reliving their bitter experiences,” said Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami. “Did they find victory in their occupation of Afghanistan? Were they able to stay in Iraq after its occupation? They are gradually packing up to leave this land.”

Iranian officials have been increasingly bullish in the past few weeks, banking, it seems, on the Biden administration’s apparent reluctance to confront the regime and its proxies in the Middle East.

Since mid-October, Iran-backed militias have launched 100 attacks on US bases (or interests) in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen's Houthis –with Iranian drones and missiles– have forced five shipping giants to halt their traffic in the Red Sea, a major artery for global commerce.

The US response has been limited and largely defensive. A few IRGC-affiliated positions in Iraq and Syria have been targeted and some drones have been shot down before hitting commercial vessels or US warships. But the option of striking the Houthis has been crossed out so far by the Biden administration.

Instead, the US is trying to build an expanded maritime force involving Arab and other states to protect commercial shipping at the Red Sea, according to the Guardian.

The joint task force is yet to be announced. Whatever its brief, it’s hard to imagine the Arab states footing the Houthi bill, especially since the group has repeatedly (and starkly) warned against any such move. Even if a coalition is formed, the burden of military operation would fall on the United States and the alliance would remain a defensive force.

“If Saudi Arabia or UAE are part of a US coalition to bomb Yemen then we will destroy their oil and gas fields, " a Houthi spokesman said to France 24 earlier this month.

Houthis say they would continue their operations as long as Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza, in which the US government is seen as complicit.

“Muslim nations hold an endless grudge against these criminals and US officials don’t dare visit Islamic lands,” General Salami said, just hours before US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Bahrain for his multi-day tour of the Middle East.

Austin will also visit Qatar and Israel, reportedly to continue discussing a timetable for ending the war’s most intense phase and define milestones for the war with Hamas.

On Monday, the UN security council will vote on a new resolution calling for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” in Gaza –only days after President Biden warned Israel that it risked losing international support due to its “indiscriminate” bombing and killing of Palestinians.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has flattened large parts of the Strip and displaced 85 percent of the population, according to international organizations.

“We will stand with the beloved Palestine to the end,” Salami said Saturday, betraying the fact that the regime in Iran sees the current conflict as a battle in a much longer war, in which the main objective is not military gains but to isolate Israel and raise Hamas’ standing among Palestinians.

And to that end, Salami and his allies can see some success, if not victory.

“Israel will not win this war if its operations destroy the prospect of peaceful co-existence with Palestinians,” David Cameron and Annalena Baerbock, the foreign ministers of the UK and Germany, wrote in the UK's Sunday Times.

Lending their voice to growing calls for a “sustainable” cease-fire, they said “the sooner it comes, the better. The need is urgent.”

The Israeli government, however, seems to be determined to continue fighting to dismantle Hamas. An Israeli military spokesman said on Monday, “it is important for me to make clear, the IDF [Israel army] is determined to complete the task of dismantling Hamas.

Ali Soufi, a minister and top-level official in reformist President Mohammad Khatami's fist government (1997-2005) told Rouydad24 website that "There is an escalation in infighting over financial gains among Iran's conservatives now that they do not have to worry about competing with reformists in the upcoming elections."

He cited the recent scandal involving a $3.7 billion embezzlement in Iran's tea industry as an example of this infighting. Soufi emphasized that conservatives have gained greater access to the country's financial resources following their consolidation of power within the Iranian political system.

Soufi contended that such a situation often fosters financial corruption, as experienced during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration. He further alleged that conservatives frequently disregard the law and exploit religious canon, Sharia, to evade it. Conservative groups compete to secure the largest share of the country's resources by exposing each other's activities.

Eighty percent of Iran’s economy is controlled by the government and entities linked with the clerical regime. This makes it possible for insiders to use political power for financial gains.

Speaking about the elections, Soufi said that there is a war going on between the Raisi Administration and the security forces. The government aims to give control of parliament entirely to the ultraconservative party Paydari. A government monopolized by hardliners will lead to nothing other than treason and corruption, he said.

While some conservative activists have alleged that reformists have secretly prepared a list of candidates for the parliamentary election in March 2024, reformist figure Mahmoud Mirlohi has denied this claim. He argued that when former lawmakers such as reformist Massoud Pezeshkian and moderate conservative Ali Motahari have their qualifications as candidates rejected by the Interior Ministry, it seems absurd to suggest that reformists have prepared a candidate list.

Although the government may not want a high-turnout election, Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has stated that it is the United States that aims to dissuade Iranians from participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections. However, Vahidi did not explain how or why the United States would pursue such a plan.

On the ground, however, if there is any indication of Iranian reformists' activity ahead of the elections, it must be among the centrists. Based on an analysis published by conservative Nameh News, the centrist Executives of Construction Party is likely to go its separate ways from other reformists and moderates who have been thinking of boycotting the elections. They did the same in the previous elections in 2021 but won only less than 2.5 percent of the votes, their critics have said.

Furthermore, developments within the far-left Unity of the Nation party suggest that some members have proposed replacing Azar Mansouri, the leader of the Reform Front, with a male politician who supports participating in the election, such as Behzad Nabavi. Other members in the front have denied any change in its leadership.

Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. The trial, scheduled in the Revolutionary Court, would focus on her human rights activities inside Tehran's Evin Prison.

Last week, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mohammadi was summoned to the women's ward office and notified that her trial would take place on December 19.

She has issued several statements from prison against the government. The Defenders of Human Rights Center confirms the news, describing the swift initiation of a new case following the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony as the regime's retaliation for her years of human rights advocacy.

The Center emphasizes, "The award has provided an unprecedented opportunity for the unheard voices and the realization of freedom and justice for political and ideological prisoners."

The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on December 10 in Oslo, Norway, took place without Mohammadi's presence. Instead, her children, Ali and Kiana Rahmani, accepted the award on her behalf.

Close associates of Mohammadi reveal that since November 29, prison authorities have deprived her of phone calls and family visits. Over the past years, she has faced various charges related to her human rights activities, resulting in multiple arrests, trials, and approximately six years of imprisonment.

Her most recent arrest occurred in November 2021, leading to a cumulative sentence of 10 years and 9 months in prison, 154 lashes, a 4-month travel ban, street cleaning, and two cash fines in various cases.