A Hacked Letter Shows Iran Officials Knew Hijab Victim's Injury

On Wednesday, the IRGC once again launched artillery and suicide drone attacks against the positions of Kurdish groups opposed to the Islamic Republic in the Iraqi Kurdistan including Komala and Democratic Party as well as the Parti Azadi Kurdistan, aka PAK (Kurdistan Freedom Party).

Iran International has learned that a school close to the headquarters of the Democratic Party was also targeted by the IRGC’s retaliatory attacks, which injured several students.

The United States was quick to condemn Iran's use of ballistic missiles and drone attacks against the Iraqi Kurdistan region and called it "an unjustified violation of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"Moreover, we further condemn comments from the government of Iran threatening additional attacks against Iraq," the US State Department said in a statement.

The IRGC has so far attacked Iraq’s Koysancak and Soran districts in Erbil, along with Kirkuk’s Altınkopru and Sulaymaniyah’s Zirgvez, claiming that its Ground Force has used pinpoint accuracy missiles and suicide drones to attack the positions in the Iraqi Kurdistan which “played the most important role in the recent riots in Iran.”

At least nine people were killed and dozens more injured in the IRGC’s missile and drone attacks against PAK positions. 

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) urged the Islamic Republic to immediately stop its attacks. 

Spain summoned the Iranian ambassador Wednesday to convey Madrid’s “absolute condemnation” of the Islamic Republic's violence against peaceful protestors. 

According to a diplomatic source on Wednesday, “The foreign ministry has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Madrid to express its objection over the repression of the protests and the violation of women’s rights.”

Spain, in particular, expressed its "abhorrence of the violence against Iranian women and their rights,” read a foreign ministry statement.

The Spanish ministry also urged Iran to carry out "an independent investigation (into the bloodshed) and to establish responsibility in a transparent, objective and thorough manner" while "ending all arbitrary arrests" of journalists and other citizens exercising their civic freedoms.

On Monday, Germany called in the Islamic Republic’s envoy in Berlin over Tehran’s heavy-handed crackdown on the popular protests, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish girl who died due to several blows on her head in the hands of hijab police. 

On Sunday, the EU foreign policy chief slammed Iran’s handling of protests as unjustifiable and unacceptable, hinting that the European Union may issue sanctions over the crackdown.

In a statement on behalf of the EU, Josep Borrell,called on the Islamic Republic “to immediately stop the violent crackdown on protests and ensure internet access, as well as the free flow of information.”

“The European Union will continue to consider all the options at its disposal ahead of the next Foreign Affairs Council, to address the killing of Mahsa Amini and the way Iranian security forces have responded to the ensuing demonstrations,” read the statement.

Amnesty has called on the international community to take action now, urging everyone to sign the petition and call on states to set up an independent UN mechanism now to investigate and ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law in Iran.

International reactions are coming everyday over the nationwide protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old woman, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, who was mortally wounded in the custody of hijab enforcement police. An eyewitness told Iran International that Mahsa had told her in a detention room that an officer had hit her on the head.

On Wednesday, the UN Secretary General’s spokesman said, "We are increasingly concerned about reports of rising fatalities, including women and children, related to the protests across Iran,” calling for “prompt, impartial and effective investigation" into Amini’s death. 

The Australian foreign ministry said in a statement, “The Australian government condemns the deadly and disproportionate use of force against protesters in Iran, following the tragic death of Mahsa Amini.”

“We have raised concerns into circumstances surrounding her death in custody with the Iranian Embassy in Canberra,” it added, saying, “We’re alarmed by reports that dozens of people have been killed and many more injured, including teenagers, during heavy-handed measures Iranian authorities have implemented to crackdown on the protests. We call on Iran to exercise restraint.”

The general Prosecutor’s office headed by a notorious hard-liner cleric; Mohammad Jafar Montazeri issued the directive while thousands have been arrested since September 16 when the first protests began in Iran. At least 3,000 are in detention according to some estimates, but the true number may never be disclosed.

In the previous round of antigovernment protests in November 2019, around 10,000 people were arrested and many faced summary trials without due process of law, without their own lawyers and behind closed doors.

Montazeri’s directive to courts in of itself is an oxymoron, since he is the prosecutor, not chief justice or minister of justice. Iran’s legal system is based on a convoluted and improvised interpretation of Islamic Sharia, where there is no clear distinction between the prosecution and courts. The latter are controlled by the Judiciary, an extensive bureaucracy which also arrests people and directs prosecutors.

The Judiciary in turn is under the direct control of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who has ruled the country for the past 33 years. Judges and prosecutors are all appointed by the chief of Judiciary, an official handpicked by Khamenei.

Montazaeri in his directive offers some leniency toward those whose participation in the protests cannot be evidenced by prosecutors and courts, and who have no prior record, including activism on social media. Even this token measure of leniency can be meaningless since prosecutors routinely claim to have evidence and judges rarely dispute them.

But when it comes to those that the regime considers protesters, Montazeri’s directive is harsh.

“Those who have killed or wounded security agents, or destroyed public and private property, those who have attacked military and police centers, those with a record of taking part in previous unrest, thugs and criminals who have encouraged rioters, and foreigners who have been involved in protests should be held in prison until the court convenes and maximum punishment should be requested for them if there is evidence about what they did.”

In one paragraph the directive clusters together a wide range of real crimes with expressions of political dissent and demands maximum punishment.

Clashes have taken place between protesters and security forces, who have so far killed dozens of people. Some police and anti-riot troops have been wounded or even killed and this can be easily considered a crime. But the judicial system will use these charges against any protester it wants, with no recourse to a fair trial or appeal.

The directive also allows prosecutors to hold any person indefinitely and past instances show that torture and pressure will be freely used to extract self-incriminating confessions.

The Islamic Republic rarely issues permit for rallies, except to its own supporters who do not need a permission anyway. Therefore, all antigovernment protests can be deemed illegal, and protesters can be confronted by security forces and plainclothes Basij militia armed with clubs, knives and guns.

Often, protesters have no other choice but to defend themselves against the police and Basij members who come to disperse and stop rallies.

Montazeri’s directive is also aimed at intimidating a new generation of protesters who have not been cowed after more than ten days of daily confrontations with security forces.

President Michel Aoun's six-year term ends on October 31, and politicians have voiced concern about no successor being found - warning of even greater institutional deadlock given that Lebanon has also been without a fully functioning government since May.

The session will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The votes of two-thirds of lawmakers in the 128-member legislature are required for a candidate to be successful in the first round of voting, after which a simple majority suffices.

Aoun came to power after a 29-month presidential vacuum in which parliament was unable to agree on electing a president.

The stalemate ended with a series of deals that secured victory for Aoun and his powerful Iran-backed ally Hezbollah, which still holds a lot of power within the sectarian division in Lebanon.

Aoun is limited to one term, and major political parties have not announced any agreement on his successor, although many blame the militant group and Iran for the country's problems.

Lebanon has been in economic turmoil since 2019, when its banking system and the government went bankrupt, and citizens lost their foreign currency deposits. The national currency has lost most of its value and many middle-class people struggle for a living.