IRGC Victims’ Families Urge Canada To Expel All Regime Elements

Jared Genser posted a photo of Namazi in a plane before leaving Iran for Oman. “He will arrive in Muscat, Oman, and then will travel on to Abu Dhabi for urgent medical treatment,” he said.

The United States said Sunday that reports from Iranian sources of a transfer of funds related to the release of Bagher (Baquer) Namazi and to a furlough for his son Siamak Namazi are categorically false.

According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi appreciated Iran's move to allow Namazi to leave the country during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Tuesday.

In response to an inquiry by Iran International, a US State Department spokesperson said that "Any claim that Iran's lifting of a travel ban on Baquer Namazi was part of a deal for a transfer of frozen funds is categorically false,” adding that “We understand that the lifting of the travel ban and his son’s furlough were related to his medical requirement.”

Tehran had claimed that it will receive $7 billion of its frozen funds for a prisoner exchange deal with the United States, but it did not specifically claim that the money is related to the Namazis.

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric announced about Namazis in a statement on Saturday, but the Islamic Republic periodically announces that release of its frozen funds is imminent to prop up its currency.

The quake's epicentre was close to the town of Khoy in the province of West Azerbaijan. Khoy Medical Emergency Service was quoted as saying that "276 people have been injured so far, including 68 who were hospitalised for minor fractures."

The quake was about 11.6 km (7.2 miles) from Khowy and at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), the United States Geological Survey said.

The quake hit at 3:51 local time and was followed by several aftershocks according to Iran seismological center. A local official sadi that the the aftershocks have prevented people from returning to their homes.

The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) earlier said that the quake was magnitude 5.5 and close to the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Iran border region.

Burns told CBS on Tuesday that the new wave of rallies in Iran are not isolated protests, tacitly agreeing with the interviewer that this can be a beginning of a revolution in the country. 

“I don’t think they are isolated protests, and what is striking – at least to me and our analysts – is the sweep of those protests right now,” he said, adding that “these are incredibly brave people and many incredibly brave young women and they are fed up in a lot of ways.”

Burns said, “They are willing to take the risk of getting out and demonstrate because they are fed up with the economic decay, the corruption, with social restrictions especially that Iranian women face, and the political repression as well.” 

He called the Iranian regime an “autocratic system,” noting that they are very good at repressing people and “they are quite ruthless now in putting down those kinds of protests as well.”

Others are helping Iranians get easier access to information since the authorities have increased their restrictions. The US Treasury Department has given the greenlight to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to activate satellite Internet service Starlink for Iranians and Google has just launched a VPN service for Iranians, but using such methods are not simple enough for ordinary people and still not many have managed to access the Internet via them.

In a tweet on Tuesday, he said that “This week, we will impose further costs on perpetrators of violence against peaceful protestors," adding that “We'll continue to support the rights of Iranians to protest freely.”

Biden also issued a statement on Monday saying he remains “gravely concerned about reports of the intensifying violent crackdown on peaceful protestors in Iran, including students and women, who are demanding their equal rights and basic human dignity.”

Iran’s government and media remained largely silent on Tuesday over Biden’s condemnation of the violent crackdown against protesters in Iran.

Earlier on Monday, Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei had already blamed more than two weeks of street protests on the United States, which he again labeled as “the enemy”.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Tuesday that the European Union is looking to impose asset freezes and travel bans on a number of Iranian officials involved in the crackdown on protests, adding that "France's action at heart of EU ... (is) to target those responsible for the crackdown by holding them responsible for their acts." Diplomats say the measures are expected to be rubber-stamped at an EU foreign ministers meeting on October 17.

Canada also slapped sanctions on 34 Iranian officials and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and morality police, over the crackdown on current protests.

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah E. Lipstadt said late Monday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei "can blame ‘Zionists,' the US, or anyone else, but it’s clear to the world and the Iranian people that his regime’s violent misogyny ignited these women-led protests.”

She was referring to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s first reaction to ongoing unrest on Monday, saying that the protests were planned and not staged by "ordinary Iranians…I am saying explicitly and clearly, riots and insecurity were planned by America and the usurper, fake Zionist regime,” said the aging 83-year-old Khamenei who has ruled for 33 years. 

Echoing Khamenei’s remarks, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday the ongoing protests – triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini -- are a riot organized by the US and Israel in order to prevent the Islamic Republic’s progress.

Also on Monday, US Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Calif) said that “Today the Ayatollah erroneously tried to blame the US and Israel for Iran’s protests.”

Referring to a bipartisan and bicameral resolution to commemorate Mahsa Amini's death and to convey US support for the protests, the representative added that “through resolutions like this, the world is showing that the truth behind the protests is clear, and that the support behind those calling for equality and justice in Iran is resolute.”