Nobel Laureate's Letter Condemns Conditions for Older Female Inmates

“I proposed a set of concrete practical measures for the revitalization of the 4 March 2023 Joint Statement with aim of restoring process of confidence building and increasing transparency,” the IAEA Chief tweeted after a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The IAEA delegation’s visit comes at a time the agency has admitted to having lost crucial "continuity of knowledge" regarding Tehran’s nuclear activities.

Before his departure, Grossi highlighted the increased accumulation of enriched uranium by Iran, a matter that raises alarms about potential weaponization.

The country is said to be enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the 90% of weapons grade, and has enough uranium enriched to that level to make “several” nuclear bombs if it chose to do so.

Those concerns, underscored by Grossi’s own admission that the IAEA cannot fully ensure that Iran does not have additional, undisclosed centrifuges, potentially hidden from the agency's oversight.

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami, meanwhile, voiced his hope that despite the media’s “negative” portrayal of Iran’s nuclear program, the IAEA can fulfill its role as an international entity independently, free from political influence and pressure.

Following Grossi’s last visit to Iran in 2023, the two parties issued a joint statement, among which Tehran had promised to continue its cooperation and provide further information and access to address outstanding safeguards issues related to three specific locations. Additionally, Tehran had agreed to allow the IAEA to implement additional verification and monitoring activities on a voluntary basis.

Since then, Iran has reneged on its promises and has deactivated surveillance devices, barred senior inspectors, and refused to disclose new nuclear facilities.

While international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program have continued to mount, Iran has often avoided being censured by the IAEA board for its non-compliance.

Grossi is also likely to attend an Iranian nuclear conference while on his two-day tour in Iran – sparking criticism.

“Such a visit risks legitimizing Tehran’s development of nuclear technology outside IAEA safeguards and Iran’s provocative nuclear advances, while minimizing the regime’s non-compliance with its nonproliferation obligations," nuclear expert Andrea Stricker said.

Minister Ahmad Vahidi is urging the need for “legislative reform” to prevent the entry of unauthorized individuals, stating, "To block the entry of unauthorized foreign nationals into Iran, it is necessary to amend the relevant laws in the parliament."

Vahidi also said several of the deported individuals had managed to re-enter Iran, hinting that more stringent measures may be necessary to keep refugees out of the country.

Numbers from 2022 suggest that Iran houses one of the world’s largest refugee populations – with about 3.4 million reportedly living in the country.

Although specific details regarding the nationalities of those deported remain unclear, the majority of refugees in Iran are of Afghan origin.

The influx of Afghan migrants increased following the Taliban's return to power in the summer of 2021.

Iran’s own reports suggest that about 5 million Afghans currently live in Iran, though it’s unclear how many Afghans currently reside in Iran illegally. Estimates from the UNHCR say that around 780,000 registered Afghan refugees live in Iran.

Previously, Iranian officials have expressed their intent to deport at least half of the 5 million, citing a lack of necessary documentation for residency in the country.
Last year, the UNHCR renewed its non-return advisory to Afghanistan, advising against forcibly returning Afghan nationals, including those who are asylum seekers whose claims for asylum in Iran have been rejected.

Neighboring Pakistan has taken similar and extensive actions to deport Afghan refugees residing in the country.

The May 6 speech that was meant to be a guide for Iranians planning to go to Hajj pilgrimage turned out to be mainly about regional issues linked to the possible rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Khamenei obviously hoped that Riyadh would abandon plans to establish ties with Jerusalem after the Gaza war, but this was not what exactly happened due to mediation by the United States. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Chief William Burns's engaged in active diplomacy that took them to the region several times during the past months.

Referring to a term coined by his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini, "Distancing from the infidels," which strained ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia and resulted in the death and injury of tens of pilgrims due to the chaos caused by Iranian government agents in Mecca during the Haj pilgrimage in 1987, Khamenei described this year's Haj agenda for Iranian pilgrims as "distancing from the criminal Zionist enemy and its supporters."

This marked a return to the hostile rhetoric that was softened by Khamenei when Iran resumed its ties with Saudi Arabia in early 2023 after seven years, in a China brokered deal between the two countries.

In his speech, while targeting Saudi officials and others, Khamenei contradicted himself by calling for "unity and communication among Muslims." This overlooks the fact that his and his predecessors' hostile remarks about the Saudis contributed to one of the most significant divides among Muslim nations in the contemporary history of the region. At one point, Khomeini expressed in anger that even if he were to make peace with his arch enemy, the United States, normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia would remain absolutely impossible.

Khamenei has also lashed out at Saudi Arabia several times making angry comments against the plan to establish ties between Riyadh and Jerusalem.

On a religious note, Khamenei's comments annoys Iranians who see the pilgrimage as a religious responsibility and do not want to make themselves pawns in yet another political game played by Khamenei.

Khamenei called Haj an opportunity for Iranian Muslims to communicate with other Muslims. This comes while his hostile policies and hate speech has left very few friends for Iran from among Muslim nations. At the same, once again contradicting himself, he called on Iranian pilgrims to ignore national, ethnic and religious differences among Muslims.

Meanwhile, while calling for friendship among the believers of Abrahamic religions he excluded the Jewish State by calling Israel "a blood sucker" and "a rabid dog." A few minutes later he attributed "blood sucking" to "Western civilization" adding another dimension to his hateful speech.

He said the United States was equally responsible for what happened in Gaza because of its all-out support for Israel. He further called Israel an enemy of Muslims and said the United States was its accomplice.

Khamenei also reiterated that Iran would lend its unwavering support to the people of Palestine and will not wait for others to join. He called on Iranian and non-Iranian pilgrims to support Palestinians. He also called on the pilgrims to rebel against tyrant rulers.

Iran is sending 87,550 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year starting from May 14 for 25 days.

Mehrabi’s lawyer, Babak Farsani, said that the charge was issued without detailed justification from Branch 5 of the court.

The charges of "corruption on earth" and "Moharebeh" (waging war against God) represent the most severe criminal offenses under the Islamic Republic's interpretation of Sharia law, both carrying the penalty of death.

The government’s intelligence ministry, which usually takes charge of sentencing dissidents, has historically exploited the vague terms to target and silence them.

Prominent Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to death by the same court just last month – over his support for nationwide anti-regime protests in 2022.

In a recent statement on X (formerly Twitter), Farsani expressed hope that the country’s Supreme Court of Iran would consider the grave concerns raised in their appeal against the verdict.

In a video posted online, Mehrabi's sister said she was verbally informed by authorities of the execution order, and is urging the international community and the public to advocate for her brother and all political prisoners in Iran.

Despite limited information on Mehrabi's specific activities, it is known that he faced allegations of "spreading falsehoods on Instagram," "anti-regime propaganda," "incitement of military and law enforcement to abandon their duties," "promoting conflict and violence," and "insulting the Supreme Leader," as reported by the Telegram channel Human Rights Advocates.

Mehrabi first became entangled in the country’s legal system, which is not independent, when he was arrested in February 2023 and subsequently transferred to Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan.

He was briefly released on bail in April 2023 but was rearrested hours later at his parental home in Mobarakeh, after an operation by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's (IRGC) intelligence agents.

This sentence comes amid an escalating use of the death penalty in Iran, following the unprecedented nationwide protests in 2022.

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), executions have more than doubled in the past two years, with 767 individuals executed in the year ending March 2024, highlighting an intensified crackdown on dissent within the country.

The latest measure will monitor the behavior of Iranian people in the digital realm, singling out anything that may be viewed as "moral and cultural offenses" by the regime.

This move is largely seen as a continuation of the authorities' renewed crackdown on women's hijabs, dubbed "Plan Noor." The so-called morality police have resumed their aggressive practices on the streets since April 13, targeting women refusing to cover their hair.

Vahid Majid, the Cyber Police Chief, detailed that the crackdown would target individuals involved in streaming “obscene” live content, producing “vulgar” materials, and engaging in online modeling.

According to Majid, an operation has already resulted in the identification and subsequent legal action against the operators, managers, and members associated with 10 pages and websites.

Built by the Islamic Republic, Iran’s internet has one of the world’s most comprehensive Internet censorship systems. While access to many popular websites and online services, including YouTube and Facebook is blocked, Iranians often find ways to circumvent restrictions. The regime routinely uses its digital network amid national protests to orchestrate Internet shutdowns and has also increased other forms of censorship.

The latest censorship of the digital realm coincides with recent actions by the cyber police to block access to several popular social media pages in Iran, as well as moves by the judiciary to summon and charge individuals over online comments.

Majid claimed that 91% of content he describes as "morally offensive" originates from Instagram, which, like other major platforms including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Telegram, and WhatsApp, is officially blocked in Iran.

Despite the restrictions imposed by authorities, a survey by the Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) published in February revealed that a significant portion of the Iranian population continues to access these platforms.

Approximately 46.5% of Iranians are reported to use Instagram, 35.3% use WhatsApp, and 34.6% use Telegram, reflecting a robust engagement with social media despite governmental filters.