Major Fire, Explosion At Tehran Cosmetics Factory Leaves 53 Injured

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei stated that mechanisms to foster trust between Iranians abroad and the government could help in this regard.

“We should treat the Iranians returning from abroad, including tourists, with utmost courtesy and dignity at key points such as airports, consulates, and embassies. In this way, the negative impact of foreign propaganda against our country can be neutralized,” he added.

Current estimates suggest that four to five million first-generation Iranians have settled in other countries, and the number may increase when considering their children born abroad, often acquiring Iranian citizenship. Some estimates propose that the total number of Iranians outside the country could be around eight million.

However, many Iranians living abroad, especially those with dual citizenship who could be accused of espionage for foreign governments, hesitate to return due to fears of being denied exit or facing imprisonment for their political activities or criticism of the regime while residing abroad.

In recent years, dozens of dual nationals, particularly citizens of Western countries such as the United States, Britain, and Germany, have been sentenced to prison on charges of espionage. The Islamic Republic often employs the individuals as bargaining chips in negotiations with foreign governments or exchanges them with Iranian prisoners in return for financial considerations.

In an exclusive interview, with Samira Gharaei, Paley said the Biden administration has been “very clear” in both public and private messaging that “now is not the time for Iran or for the groups that it supports to take advantage of the situation [in the Middle East] and advance their own destabilizing interests.”

Iran and its regional allies have ramped up their operations against Israel and the US since last October, when Israel’s military began its onslaught on Gaza in response to the Hamas rampage of Israeli border areas.

For three months now, Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria have been targeting US bases, Hezbollah in Lebanon has been launching missiles towards northern Israel, and Yemen Houthis have been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea, all invoking Israeli war on Gaza as the reason for their actions, and calling for a ceasefire.

President Biden has refused to back the growing calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, though, and Paley reiterated in his interview that the administration’s support for Israel is unwavering.

Critics of the Biden administration on all sides –those who advocate more pressure on Netanyahu and those demanding a tougher stance on Iran– say lack of decisive action would not help calm, but aggravate, the situation and lead, eventually, to the kind of full-scale regional war that the administration is hoping to avert.

“I’m not going to preview US actions,” Abram Paley said when addressing the question of deterrence, and what the US government might do if the Iranian regime and its proxies continue their attacks on American interests in the region.

“We view Iran as an adversary and a state sponsor of terrorism… but we don’t focus on just one thing… we’re going to remain committed to focusing on a full range of Iran’s destabilizing behavior: from its nuclear program to its crackdown on human rights at home, to its provision of weapons to groups in the region.”

Many Iranian-American activists say the Biden administration is “soft” on Iran, demanding more pressure and less compromise, especially when it comes to human rights abuses and the US support dissidents and activists inside Iran.

“We’re going to stand with the Iranian people,” Paley responded. “We’re going to continue to make sure that their voices are heard… and that they stay connected to the outside world.”

Since coming to office, President Joe Biden seems to have framed his Iran policy around a wish to revive the abandoned 2015 nuclear deal or at least come to another (written or unwritten) agreement that would limit Iran’s nuclear program.

This doesn’t seem to have worked, however.

IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, confirmed in its last report of December 2023 that Iran has resumed enrichment to up to 60 percent, close to the roughly 90 percent that is required to make a nuclear weapon –after a temporary slowdown, brought about by release of some frozen Iranian funds and turning a blind eye on oil exports to China.

“We believe that diplomacy is the only way and the best way to arrive at a sustainable, effective resolution to [Iran’s nuclear] program over the long tem,” US deputy special envoy to Iran addressed the issue. “But at this point we’re very very far from that, given Iran’s continued escalation.”

Mr. Paley has been acting as special envoy after Biden's top choice Robert Malley was suspended after his security clearance was revoked due to an unspecified reason.

Asked about his former boss and what may happen to him next, Paley said, “I can’t comment… but despite that situation, the work at the State Department vis a vis Iran has continued.”

Her daughter, Maryam Klaren, made the announcement on Tuesday, explaining that the 68-year-old’s movement is limited to within a one-kilometer radius of her apartment in Tehran.

Klaren expressed hope that her release marks the initial step towards securing the unconditional freedom of her mother.

Taghavi was arrested in Tehran and, as detailed by her daughter, endured psychological torture during her detention. Reports indicate that she was confined to solitary confinement in the notorious Ward 2-A of the Revolutionary Guards at Evin Prison for a staggering 220 days.

Narges Mohammadi, a civil rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, also in Evin, issued a warning about Taghavi's lack of access to medical care from prison in a letter in mid-June.

Mohammadi highlighted the denial of proper nutrition, quality air, and space for movement, coupled with the absence of medical and health care. Taghavi's history of a herniated disk, prolonged psychological and nervous pressure, and continuous interrogation in solitary confinement, exacerbated her condition.

Taghavi remained deprived of access to a specialist physician until February 2022. After months of delays, significant pain, and torture, she was finally transferred to a hospital in April 2023.

It is unknown how many dual-nationals are held prisoner in Iran as the Islamic Republic uses hostage diplomacy to exert pressure on Western countries to fulfill its own demands.

Speaking to followers, Khamenei emphasized on Tuesday: "Everyone should make efforts to mobilize the people," underscoring the significance of the masses. He pointed out that "A limited number of people, let's say two million [in Gaza], have effectively challenged Israel and the United States, despite the latter’s immense power," unintentionally acknowledging his perceived arch-enemy. 

The turnout in Iran's latest elections were between 20 to 40 percent in 2020 and 2021, but conservatives now predict a turnout between 5 to 8 percent in March. Iranians seem to be deeply annoyed by the indifference of the regime and its officials to their demands for more freedom and improved economic conditions.

The inflation rate is officially just under 50 percent, but for some essential commodities, such as foodstuff it is much higher. On the other hand, the regime's brutal crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests, which left hundreds killed and blinded, as well as the hardliners' insistence in making life harder for everyone by passing medieval laws about hijab, meting out lashing sentences to women, and making the Internet inaccessible, has increased the extent of dissent in the country.

Meanwhile, the Raisi administration's inefficiency to solve the country's economic and foreign policy problems has become more evident with its inability to keep the country safe. Around 90 people were killed and twice as many were seriously wounded in an ISIS attack last week in the city of Kerman, where the government bused in school children and their mothers to pay tribute to the former commander of the IRGC Qods Force, Qasem Soleimani, on the fourth anniversary of his death.

Raisi's blunders elicit sad laughter from people every single day. One day, he states the obvious, saying he has discovered that the mothers of all students are women, while on another occasion, he struggles to read from a prepared speech. On Tuesday, he said that "inefficient individuals in every office should be transferred to another department."

Not all blunders are made by Raisi. His Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi who is under pressure to explain his failure to prevent the terror attack in Kerman, said in an interview that the food delivery company ‘Snap Food’ should change its name because "food" is an English word. He was obviously mindless of the fact that "snap" was also an English word. On the other hand, thousands of other companies also need to change their brand names if the government seriously wishes to do away with foreign words. 

Culture Minister Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili also claimed on Monday that a million visitors came to Iran during only one month to enjoy concerts! This comes while concerts are not allowed in some Iranian provinces due to the influence of hardliners such as Friday Imam Ahmad Alamolhoda, who happens to be Raisi's father-in-law. Several Iranian singers including Toomaj Salehi are in jail for supporting the protests, and the best Iranian singers and musicians are in Los Angeles, although their music is popular among people in Iran. 

Khamenei, whose Guardian Council has barred nearly all moderate and reformist candidates from running in the March election, and effectively restricted political participation to ultraconservatives, knows that he can no longer ask the people or order them – for instance by issuing a fatwa [religious decree] – to take part in the elections. So, he resorts to ordering officials and institutions to push the people to the polls in any which way they can.

Meanwhile, he tried to intimidate the nation by saying that not voting is playing into the hands of the United States and other enemies of the Islamic revolution.

Khamenei said, "The masses can do anything." But he probably forgot that he ordered his commanders to suppress the masses. Only in one protest in 2019 his security forces killed at least 1,500 people from among the masses. In the meantime, Khamenei has done little to pacify a disgruntled nation that has lost all hope in any positive change.

The sentencing was confirmed by Yarrahi's attorney, Zahra Minooei, who explained that, as per Islamic penal law, the most severe aspect of the punishment, one year of imprisonment, is enforceable.

Minooei further disclosed that Yarrahi is currently temporarily released on bail amounting to 150 billion rials (approximately $300,000). This follows the attorney's announcement in October regarding Yarrahi's temporary release from Evin Prison, where he had been detained since August 28. Yarrahi gained attention for releasing protest works during the 2022 Iranian people's uprising against the Islamic Republic.

The singer's detention, triggered by the release of his protest music video titled "Rousarieto" (Your Headscarf), sparked widespread reactions from activists and public figures. In a show of solidarity, social media users shared dance videos featuring the controversial song.

According to Mizan News Agency, the media outlet of the Iranian judiciary, a legal case had been initiated against Mehdi Yarrahi for releasing the song. The media outlet labeled the song as "illegal and contrary to the ethics and norms of Islamic society."

Yarrahi was accused of various charges, including "producing, sending, distributing, and publishing obscene and immoral content through computer and telecommunication systems, encouraging people towards corruption and obscenity," as well as "propaganda against the system."

The star’s conviction occurs at a time when other singers, such as Toomaj Salehi and Saman Yasin, have been imprisoned for months due to their support for the uprising.