Iran Committed Crimes Against Humanity In Quashing 2022 Protests: UN

“Iran’s proxies have attacked Americans in Iraq and Syria over 170 times. We have responded 8 times,” Cotton (R-AR) said. “Iran and its terror groups know President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin won’t stand up to them.”

The Senator's comments underscore growing concerns among lawmakers about the Biden administration's approach to Iran, particularly in light of recent provocations by Iranian-backed militias. Many lawmakers argue that a stronger response is needed to prevent further escalation and protect American interests in the region.

Iran is currently at the helm of a regional proxy war which has seen its militias come out in support of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, in a war which has escalated to draw in international players including the US and UK. Particularly worrisome are attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants, armed and supported by Tehran, who have unleashed deadly drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

In a joint operation with Britain in February, the United States initiated dozens of strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria as well as its Yemeni proxy, the Houthis. The Houthis are currently blockading the Red Sea in a bid to force Israel into a ceasefire amidst the war in Gaza against the Iran-backed Hamas militia. Around 1,200 mostly civilians were murdered and at least 250 more taken hostage in the October 7 attack.

"We condemn the destruction of 30 graves by authorities at the Khavaran Cemetery near Tehran this week," the office said in a statement. "Baha'is in Iran continue to face violations of funeral and burial rights."

The act, which involved the removal of grave markers and the flattening of resting places using bulldozers, was also slammed by rights activists, the latest in a series of actions taken against the community which has been systematically targeted since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

The statement also noted other methods of pressure and intimidation. “We have also seen the regime dramatically increase Baha’i property seizures and use sham trials to subject Baha’is to extended prison sentences,” the statement said. “We will continue to use all available tools to confront the regime’s human rights abuses.”

Simin Fahandej, Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva, said, “In the last few months, the deceased loved ones of the Baha’is have been forcibly buried by government agents in the Khavaran mass grave site, further desecrating a burial place sacred to many.

Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Tehran's Baha'i community owned two large cemeteries, both of which were confiscated by the Islamic Republic in the 1980s.

Unofficial estimates suggest that more than 300,000 Baha'i people live in Iran. However, the Constitution officially acknowledges only Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, thereby rendering Baha'is the most significant non-Muslim religious minority in the country. Iran's clerical rulers regard the Baha'is as heretics.

Reza Amiri Salehi's comments in the centrist Entekhab website appeared shortly after an election on March 1 with the lowest turnout in the 45-year history of the Islamic Republic.

The website quoted Amiri, a former Minister of Culture under President Hassan Rouhani's administration, as stating: "You cannot speak of effective governance in a country where 60 percent of the population goes to bed hungry." Amiri emphasized that Iran is grappling with an ever-growing segment of its population facing hunger.

Amiri also highlighted that all cultural institutions in Iran are mired in stagnation, and there is a prevailing belief among Iranians that change is inevitable. Speaking at the annual gathering of the Iranian Association of Political Scientists, Amiri noted that widespread despair has eroded the government's social capital, while widening social disparities have pushed society to the brink of a perilous collapse.

The former minister further underscored the lack of discourse and viable solutions within Iran's institutions to address the current predicament. He observed that while society is moving towards change, the government persists in outdated policies due to the absence of a viable governance model.

"Iran is entangled in a faulty governance cycle and the government does not realize the need for change," Amiri said, adding that latest elections in Iran were a good manifestation of the failure of the political system. The government is inefficient and incapable of meeting the nation's demands, he noted.

Iranian analyst Ali Hossein Ghazizadeh told Iran International TV on Thursday "following such a low-turnout election, any responsible government would have been introspective about the reasons behind public dissatisfaction. However, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his associates prefer to rely on a like-minded minority to suppress and silence the majority. What could prompt change is the people's discontent."

Meanwhile, Iranian journalist Ali Shirazi told Iran International TV, referred to Khamenei’s long-standing anti-US ideology and said that in a recent speech, Khamenei advised newly elected members of the Assembly of Experts to continue the policy. “However, he failed to address the consequences of his longstanding opposition [to the US], which has led to sanctions and economic challenges for the people. Khamenei has never been held accountable for the repercussions of severing Iran's ties with the West."

Shirazi added, "In recent years, we have witnessed various segments of Iranian society, including teachers, workers, and government employees, demand social justice based on legislation passed by the Iranian parliament but never implemented. This renders Khamenei's emphasis on social justice meaningless."

Furthermore, Shirazi questioned Khamenei's pledge to combat corruption while serving as the senior Iranian official responsible for the corrupt government for over three decades.

In another development, former influential lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh talked about the implications of the recent low-turnout election and the government's inefficiency regarding the country's national security. He called the elections a total failure for the government, which will have consequences.

He said the low turnout showed that the people believe elected institutions in Iran are not efficient. They also believe their votes cannot change their own fate. On the other hand, impolite comments by the novice politicians against experienced lawmakers and their own patrons have introduced them to the nation as individuals with no principles.

Falahatpisheh stressed that the government's disregard for the views of the 60 percent of eligible voters who abstained from voting poses a threat to Iran's national security and serves no one's interests.

Celebrating the role of women throughout history in advancing the world and human goals, she highlighted the contributions of Iranian women. She praised the resilience of Iranian women, noting that they have "with hard work and perseverance endured the hardships of life and time."

She noted that Iran has a long history of strong and independent women, from queens in ancient and medieval periods to courageous mythological women in the country's cultural heritage, and renowned poets like Forough Farrokhzad (1934-1967) and Simin Behbahani (1927-2014).

Pahlavi's statement comes at a time when Iran is facing serious human rights issues with women disproportionately affected.

Pahlavi then turned to the present day, noting that Iranian women both inside and outside the country continue to fight for freedom and progress. She expressed her hope for freedom and liberation for all Iranian women, saying that "light will ultimately triumph over darkness."

In 2022, Iranians revolted against the Islamic Republic regime after the country’s hijab police killed 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Her death in police custody ignited the boldest uprising against the clerical regime since its establishment in 1979. The nationwide protests came to be known as the Women, Life, Freedom movement.

The regime cracked down on the popular protests, killing around 550 people and arresting over 20,000. To intimidate people against further protests, the regime has taken a wide range of measures including executing several protesters while there are many more who face death sentences on trumped-up charges.

The Peruvian Police’s Counter-Terrorism Directorate (Dircote) identified the Iranian as Majid Azizi, Peruvian media reported Thursday. Police said Azizi was cooperating with two Peruvians, Walter Fernández Fukunoto and Felipe Trucios Leon, for the attack. Only the former has been arrested.

Azizi was arrested on Thursday afternoon after he withdrew money from the Interbank bank, located in the Plaza de Armas in the center of the capital Lima. The Peruvian police did not specify which exact meeting was the target of the alleged terrorist operation.

According to the work schedule and the usual practices and standards of the forum, Peru is responsible for organizing more than 160 meetings from the end of 2023 and throughout 2024.

According to the US State Department, Senior Official for APEC Ambassador Matt Murray travelled to Lima from March 4 to 8 to attend a series of meetings, workshops, and stakeholder engagements.

This is the second time in the last decade that Iran in implicated in an attack in Peru.

In 2014, Peruvian authorities arrested a suspected operative of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lima on suspicion of planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets. Mohammed Amadar, a Lebanese citizen, was gathering intelligence on places frequented by Israeli hikers and on Jewish institutions. A search of his apartment discovered TNT, detonators and flammable substances. Peruvian authorities were tipped off to Amadar’s alleged activities by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.