by Jubin Katiraie

In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Iran apologist Jason Rezaian disparages the Iranian people and their democratic, organized, resistance force, The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), by presenting the lies of the Mullahs’ gospel and equating the desperate need for regime change with a desire for a foreign military intervention.

This editorial, and others like it from members of the Iran Lobby, actually just showcase that Mullahs are terrified that regime change is closer than ever before and will seek to disparage it in any way possible.

Iran Focus

London, 14 Mar - The Interior Minister of Iran, Mr. Abdul Reza Rahmani Fazli, spoke about the recent protests that took place in the country.

At the end of last year, millions of people took to the streets to voice their discontent with regards to the economic situation in the country. The protests turned into anti-government demonstrations and there were thousands of people arrested and scores killed by the suppressive forces.

Iran Focus

London, 28 Mar - The Iran Lobby in the US has injected itself into the inner workings of the White House for no good reason by denouncing the internal transfer of a State Department staffer.

Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, who was key to the passage of the much-lambasted Iran nuclear deal of 2015, has been reassigned within the State Department by the Trump administration after questions arose about her loyalty in April 2017.

Iran Focus

London, 14 Mar - The Iranian National Fire Festival, known as Chaharshanbeh Suri in Persian began on Tuesday, March 13th. Reports of political activities throughout the country that have been organized by the network of the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), are widespread.

MEK supporters inside Iran called on the people, especially the youth, to demonstrate their objections to Government during the celebration of the Persian year. Leaflets and flyers in support of this call were distributed in cities a few weeks ago.

Iran Focus

London, 27 Mar - Over 200 people in Iran have been killed in traffic accidents over the course of the Persian New Year; with 76 deaths reported in the three days of the year and 126 in the days leading up to it.

On March 22 alone, 16 people died and a huge 467 people were injured in car accidents, according to highway patrol deputy chief Mousa Amiri.

This is horrific, especially during a holiday, but traffic accidents in Iran are incredibly common and these spike during the two-week Nowruz holiday, which ends on April 2nd.

Iran Focus

London, 13 Mar - The fire festival of Chaharshanbe Suri is a celebration that takes place every year just before Iranian New Year, or Nowruz. Its origins are pre-Islamic and it is a tradition that Iranian government has tried to stop the people from celebrating.

Iranian people jump over fires which symbolises purification. The tradition is to prepare the people for the new year.

Activists in Iran have chosen to hold anti-government demonstrations on the same day.

Iran Focus

London, 27 Mar - A high-ranking Iranian official has indicated that the Regime may soon block access to the encrypted messaging app, Telegram.

On March 16, Abdolsamad Khorramabadi, the secretary of the Taskforce to Determine Instances of Criminal Content (TDICC), which is in charge of censoring internet content, told the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA): “Twitter and YouTube will not be un-filtered. In fact, on the eve of the Iranian new year [March 20, 2018], an unprecedented consensus has developed among officials to cut the enemy’s domination and influence on the country’s cyberspace.”

Iran Focus

London, 08 Mar - New evidence suggests that the Iran deliberately throttled or slowed connection speeds to the Telegram messaging app during the Iran protests, just days after lifting their temporary ban on the app, which just goes further to prove that Iran is attempting to control and censor the internet.

Telegram, along with photo-sharing app Instagram, was banned in Iran from December 30 to January 13 and this had big implications for the Iranian people of whom 45 million are on Telegram. Not only did it affect the protesters, but also small businesses and families.

Iran Focus

London, 24 Mar - The Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei addressed the nation earlier this week on the occasion of the Persian New Year.

During his televised address to the country, he called on the people to buy locally rather than import goods from abroad.

However, a mockery was made of his speech when it became clear that Iran’s officials do not follow this advice. Even the Supreme Leader himself does not buy locally.

Iran Focus

London, 08 Mar - The UK and Saudi Arabia have agreed that they must work together to counter Iran’s destabilizing actions in the Middle East, according to the office of British Prime Minister Theresa May.

This came after May and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Downing Street on Wednesday.

They also agreed that the only way to end the crisis in Yemen, which is being exacerbated by the Iranian Regime’s support for the Houthi terrorist cell, is through a political solution that tackles both the conflict and the humanitarian suffering.

Iran Focus

London, 20 Mar - In his address to the Iranian people during the Persian New Year (Nowruz), Donald Trump attacked the Iranian Regime, their suppressive security forces, and their shadowy state institutions for stealing from the Iranian people in order to line their own pockets and fund illegal wars.

Iran Focus

London, 05 Mar - The French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, has arrived in Iran to talk with the country's president Hassan Rouhani, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, according to Iranian state TV.

Talks are expected to focus on Iran’s involvement in the Syrian Civil war and Iran's ballistic missile program, which both Le Drian and French President Emmanuel Macron have criticized Iran's missile program in recent weeks, with Le Drian stating that Iran's ballistic missile capacity worried France “enormously".

Iran Focus

London, 20 Mar - During his visit to the United States on 20th March, it is expected that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman, will discuss the shortcomings of the Iran nuclear deal with US President Donald Trump. It is also expected that the two leaders will attempt to come up with plans to deal with Iran’s meddling in the conflicts in the region.

Iran Focus

London, 03 Mar - In a shocking speech at the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee’s February 22nd meeting in Brussels, Portuguese Socialist MEP Ana Gomes criticized the Iranian opposition.

“I met with relatives of the victims of a terrorist organization called MEK,” she said in the meeting. She added, “We cannot continue to allow some members of this parliament, possibly out of naiveté, to continue to abet some of the members of this organization.”

Iran Focus

London, 15 Mar - US President Trump and his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson disagreed on many key issues, including the nuclear deal with Iran, North Korea, dealing with Russia, and, of course, Qatar. Tillerson also had disagreements Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, the Homeland Security Advisor, and Trump’s ambassador to the UN. It’s not surprising that Trump has fired him, but that he waited so long to do so.

Iran Focus

London, 02 Mar - The Free Trade Union of Workers of Iran announced the arrest of more than 10 workers from the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group in Ahvaz.

According to the workers' organization, these workers were arrested on Thursday night March 1 after the security forces attacked their homes. The arrest order was issued by the regime’s Attorney General's Office in Ahvaz.

Those arrested include Farhad Akbarian, Morteza Akbarian, Meysam Ali Ghanavati, Amin Momenpour, Hossein Nisi, Baqer Delphi, Taghi Hassanzadeh, Hadi Afravi and Mehdi Adelzadeh, according to the report.

Iran Focus

London, 15 Mar - Iran has launched a disinformation campaign about the members of the Iranian opposition group, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), who are living in Albania.

Iran is using its agents in the Ministry of Intelligence and Albanian embassy, who are reportedly working on cultural activities, to spread fake news about the MEK and the Iranian resistance as a whole.

Iran Focus

London, 02 Mar - An Iranian MP on the Parliamentary Committee for National Security and Foreign Policy is drafting a bill to separate the powers of the Intelligence Ministry and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Organization.

On February 26, Mostafa Kavakebian told the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA): “In my opinion, under the law, the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization is considered an agency that enforces judicial orders. At the same time, we have always believed that the legal authority in charge of espionage operations is the Intelligence Ministry and its decisions are also carried out by the Judiciary. So, naturally, there has to be a separation of responsibilities between these two security organizations.”