Dissidents call for boycott until eve of election day

Jonathan Elkoury fled Southern Lebanon as a child, seeking refuge in Israel, a place he now calls home.

“We fled away from Hezbollah, and now they're hunting us back again,” Elkoury told Iran International, as Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah get closer to a full-blown war.

The 32-year-old lives in Israel’s largest northern city, Haifa.

“We have been under constant, daily, threat from Hezbollah since October 8th,” he said.

According to the Alma Research Center, a facility that disseminates information about Israel's security challenges in the North, Hezbollah has launched 29 attacks against Israel using “high-trajectory fire, anti-tank missiles and suicide UAVs from July 3-4.”

Lieutenant Colonel Sarit Zehavi, a former intelligence officer in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and head of Alma, said Hezbollah launched “200 rocket” and “20 drones” at Israel on Thursday.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the barrage of rockets and drones in Israel, and said the attacks were a retaliation for the killing of a top Hezbollah commander - Mohammed Nasser on Wednesday.

Some of the drones and interceptor shrapnel set off fires, according to Reuters, citing the Israeli military.

This is just the latest in a dangerous escalation of violence, which has seen an estimated 60 thousand Israeli residents living between 0-5km from the Lebanon border, displaced.

“Since this war started, Hezbollah launched, 2300 attacks against Israel,” said Zehavi.

She said the attacks have been deadly with “nine civilians” and “18 soldiers" killed in the northern front of Israel.

The Hezbollah strikes have led to massive forest fires that have devastated the agriculture-dependent region, putting the lives of farmers cultivating their land at risk.

Elkoury said his background as a Lebanese and Israeli gives him a unique perspective on this war. In his view, Lebanon needs to understand that peace with Israel will lead to its salvation.

The constant threat of Hezbollah for Elkoury is worrisome, he told Iran International. He believes the escalation is a turning point in the conflict, and said Hezbollah is “dragging Lebanon to a war that has nothing to do with Lebanon.”

“Lebanon's salvation could come with having peace with Israel because Lebanon is in a huge economic crisis and Hezbollah's actions are only driving Lebanon down.”

He said he remembers as a child that Hezbollah’s takeover turned his life into misery.

“They [Hezbollah] would come in and terrorize the villages. They will come and basically say, you're now obeying us. They made up checkpoints. They did everything in order to make our lives more miserable. And bit by bit, they started taking over all of Lebanon."

He said he remembers stories of people being kidnapped by Hezbollah.

His father belonged to the South Lebanon Army that was fighting alongside the IDF to protect against Hezbollah, but once the IDF pulled out in 2000, the army collapsed.

More than 680 Lebanese families, like Elkoury, fled to Israel.

On 24 May 2000 Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon after 22 years, under the direction of then president Ehud Barak. Barak also faced immense domestic pressure to withdraw from the grass roots organization, ‘Four Mothers,’ who were the mothers of IDF soldiers killed in Southern Lebanon.

The UN Security Council said that Israel had completed its withdrawal as required by Resolution 425 of 1978. The significance of that move is considerable to the Middle East today, said Elkoury.

The Lebanese-Israeli said the only explanation that has led to more Hezbollah attacks is the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“Hezbollah, at the end of the day, answers for one person, and this is Iran,” he said.

The US government in 2018 stated that Iran funds Hezbollah with an estimated 700 million dollars a year. Prior to that, in 2016 the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah declared publicly in a speech that his organization’s funding comes directly from Iran.

Israeli Security expert Sarit Zehavi said in addition to the financial and tactical support from Tehran, there is also a body of evidence to prove Iran’s direct involvement.

“Beyond the anti-tank missiles that are manufactured in Iran… the drones are either coming in from Iran completely or the components are coming from Iran.… The rockets, maybe both from Iran and in Lebanon itself.”

Zehavi said Iran is creating “a war of attrition” that will last “several years” as part of “multi-front campaign against the state of Israel,’ which she said started with Hamas in the South.

While Elkoury is a proud Israeli, he also wears a pendant of the cedar tree around his neck, a symbol of Lebanon, a reminder of his roots and his homeland that he longs to visit one day.

"This is something that makes me sad because we are at war, where we shouldn't be at war."

Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, cast his vote in the first minutes of voting, and repeated his calls on people to participate in the election.

As he cast his vote, Iran’s authoritarian ruler once again admitted that turnout had been too low in the first round last week.

"I have heard that people's enthusiasm and interest is higher than before (the previous round), I hope it is true" he said trying to sound positive. He added that "this is encouraging if it is true."

Earlier this week, Khamenei admitted that the low participation rate in the first round of presidential elections on Friday was "less than expected." Despite evidence that many Iranians are deeply disenchanted with the Islamic government, Khamenei dismissed the idea that those abstaining are against the Islamic Republic.

Before the first round, the 85-year-old ruler had repeatedly said that a large turnout in the election would enhance the weakened legitimacy of the regime. The official figure showing 60% abstained from voting was a hard blow for the top man in Tehran.

Amid growing calls for boycott by dissidents and activists, Iranians began voting for a new president on Friday, a week after a lackluster voter turnout in the snap election that followed Ebrahim Raisi's death in a helicopter crash.

The June 28 ballot marked a historic low turnout, when over 60% of Iranian voters abstained from voting to decide on a successor to Raisi. The low participation is seen by critics as a vote of no confidence in the Islamic Republic.

The runoff is a tight race between lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian, the sole moderate in the original field of four candidates, and hardline former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

Polls open at 8 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) and close at 6 p.m. (1430 GMT), but are usually extended until as late as midnight. The final result will be announced on Saturday, although initial figures may come out sooner.

The hashtag #ElectionCircus has been widely posted on social media platform X by Iranians in the past few weeks.

Facing charges of armed rebellion, she has become a symbol of the Iranian government's repression of dissent.

Farhad Meysami, a civil activist, has opposed the death sentence issued to Mohammadi on Thursday and has pledged to go on a hunger strike in front of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht if the sentence is not revoked. In a statement, he declared, "If you want to execute Mohammadi, dig two graves."

The Campaign to Defend Mohammadi stated on Instagram, "This sentence is based on the pretext of Mohammadi's membership in an independent, public, and legal labor organization a decade ago, demonstrating the baselessness of the verdict." The campaign labeled the ruling as intended to instill fear among activists as the government continues to oppress any voices of dissent.

Mohammadi, arrested in December 2023, is one of the latest in a wave of executions aimed at quashing dissent. Last year, 834 Iranians were executed, according to the United Nations, marking a record high and a 50 percent increase from the previous year. At least 22 of those executed were women, making Iran the world's number one executioner of women. The 2023 figures were the highest since 2014, according to Iran Human Rights.

The campaign has called for Mohammadi's acquittal and unconditional release, declaring, "This sentence is not only against Sharifeh but is a declaration of war and a death sentence against all social and civil activists."

In January, the UN called for an end to the "horrific wave of executions" underway, with 67 executions in May alone.

According to rights groups, during her detention, Mohammadi was deprived of basic prisoner rights, such as in-person visits and phone calls. For a long time, she was denied visits with her family, especially her child, and was not allowed to contact them by phone. The physical and psychological torture inflicted on Mohammadi by Ministry of Intelligence officials was so severe that prison authorities protested out of fear for her life.

Vida Mohammadi, Sharifeh’s cousin, reported to Radio Farda about the torture she endured during her two-month imprisonment in Sanandaj prison. She stated that inmates in other cells had repeatedly witnessed Mohammadi being tortured. According to Vida, Sharifeh was a member of the Coordination Committee for the Establishment of Labor Organizations, an independent and legal organization, until 10 years ago, but she has not been a member since. She emphasized that Mohammadi has no affiliation with any political organizations inside or outside the country and has only conducted independent activities for women or in support of workers. Vida stated that issuing such a sentence after 10 years and the charge of "rebellion" is baseless.

The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company on Wednesday condemned the charges against the labor activist in a statement, calling the charge of "rebellion" against her "completely baseless" and "pure falsehood" and demanded her immediate and unconditional release.

Earlier, on June 26, Mohammadi's mother expressed concern about her daughter's condition in a video and called for information about her. Mohammadi's husband was also arrested for following up on her situation and was recently released.

This incident occurs amid increasing security and judicial crackdowns on labor activists, teachers, and retirees. Following rampant inflation in recent years and the wide gap between income and household expenses, various groups, including workers, teachers, and retirees, have staged widespread protests and strikes. The protests intensified amid the "Woman, Life, Freedom" demonstrations following Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody, but they were met with repression by the government.

In a joint statement issued June 27, the MPs and senators highlighted concerns over human rights violations and targeting of Baha’i women in Iran.

"In light of the alarming targeting of women in Iran, we, Members of Parliament and Senators from across Europe express our profound dismay at an escalation in the attacks against Baha’i women who face dual persecution, as women and as Baha’is," the statement read.

The joint statement pointed out that since March this year, 72 out of 92 Baha’is summoned to court were women. "We urgently call upon the Iranian authorities to immediately halt the persecution of Baha'is, release all Baha'i prisoners, and ensure the protection of their full spectrum of human rights," it added.

“The Iranian government must know that their crimes against the innocent Baha’i community in Iran have become evident to all —and that in Europe, and across the world, their abuse of the human rights of women and minorities and systematic persecution of Baha’is is laid bare for the world to see,” said Rachel Bayani, the Baha’i International Community (BIC) Representative to the European institutions in Brussels in a statement.

In April, more than a dozen Iranian Baha'i women from Baharestan, in the central province of Esfahan, were summoned to court on arbitrary charges of propaganda against the state and participating in activities contrary to Islamic law.

In March, Anisa Fanaiyan, an Iranian Baha'i, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges including "establishing and managing a group with the intention of undermining national security," and "deviant educational and propagandistic activities contrary to Islamic law."

Iran is home to over 300,000 Baha'is, making them the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the country. They have faced systematic persecution since the 1979 revolution, with over 200 Baha’is executed in the early 1980s.

The current Iranian constitution recognizes only four religions: Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, thereby excluding the Baha'i faith and subjecting its followers to widespread discrimination and persecution.