Online Bookstore Faces Lawsuit Over Hijab Removal

National shortages of available aircraft and locomotives mean the country's aviation and rail sectors are struggling to meet the escalating demand for travel.

On Wednesday, the Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh, head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization's, confirmed the existence of a "black market" for plane tickets in the country, expressing the urgency of augmenting the air fleet to alleviate the critical shortage.

"The current need of the country is 550 planes, but we only have 180 planes. To resolve the flight problem, 370 new planes need to be added to the country's air fleet," he said.

Mohammadi-Bakhsh revealed that out of Iran's 330 registered planes, 139 are currently grounded. Furthermore, he said that some of these vehicles have been deemed unfit to return to service, raising concerns about accurately assessing the country's aviation crisis.

The Association of Rail Transport Companies is undergoing a similar set of challenges. Sobhan Nazari, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, said that 350,000 passenger train tickets have been cancelled due to a lack of 900 locomotives, which is severely impacting the rail sector's ability to meet demand.

“Between May and July, approximately 80 out of the 175 currently operational locomotives were functioning,” he said.

Iran's civilian airliners have faced shortages since the 1990s. To compensate, they resorted to leasing older planes or procuring spare parts through intermediaries. However, the technical state of their fleet has steadily worsened over time, resulting in the current situation which has now reached crisis level.

The news was released by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim and Fars news agencies, who reported that Ghamar's Instagram page contained posts that included accusations and insults directed towards officials of the Iranian regime. Furthermore, she was reported to have expressed support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently underwent surgery. The actress also allegedly made calls for street protests.

Fars News Agency published some of the controversial stories attributed to Ghamar's Instagram page, one of which included a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wishing him a swift recovery, stating, "I prayed a lot for your health. Stay alive."

The news of Ghamar's arrest surfaced shortly after the Judiciary News Agency, Mizan, disclosed the initiation of a legal case against her at the Tehran Prosecutor's Office. Mizan cited the content posted by the actress as a cause for "the spread of psychological insecurity in society."

This incident is part of a broader pattern of authorities summoning and detaining prominent actors and public figures in the Islamic Republic during recent months.

Ghamar attracted attention for her support of Ebrahim Raisi during the 2021 presidential elections in Iran, with a video endorsing his candidacy being widely circulated. She also made a controversial statement expressing her backing for the execution of death sentences during the campaign against the execution of three protesters related to the 2019 protests.

Reformist daily Etemad revealed this week that a new round of political struggles over power is underway between Paydari and parliament (Majles) Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The rivalry extends beyond the Majles election and partly revolves around competition for Iran's presidency in 2025. The feud is discernible in pro-Ghalibaf daily Sobh-e No and Paydari's mouthpiece Raja News websites. 

The newspaper wrote that Ghalibaf and Paydari's media fleets have been exchanging accusations and counteraccusations throughout the month of July. The daily added that the two were on the verge of a coalition ahead of the March 2024 parliamentary elections, but in the absence of Iran's reformists on the scene, they started to compete against each other. 

Iran’s reformists who were mostly barred from competing in the 2020 parliamentary elections have not decided to register for the upcoming vote, because they are not sure if conservatives controlling the electoral system will allow them to compete. 

Etemad also wrote that the rivalry goes beyond the Majles election and is partly about competition over Iran's presidency in 2025. Raja News accused Sobh-e No of belittling what it called Raisi's achievement in making Iran a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Sobh-e No responded by jokingly calling the Paydari a bunch of super-revolutionaries working against Ghalibaf.

While the media battle continues, a conservative commentator and a former editor of the Kayhan, Mohammad Mohajeri told Etemad Online that if the upcoming elections will become a rivalry among conservatives without reformists playing a part in the elections, Paydari is most likely to win the parliament in March.

"We can congratulate Morteza Agha-Tehrani as the next speaker of the Majles even today," he said. Agha-Tehran was previously the leader of the Paydari Party but stepped down due to allegations about having US citizenship or permanent residency and was replaced by former IRGC officer and Interior Minister Sadegh Mahsouli. Nonetheless, many inside and outside the party believe Agha-Tehran has the final say in the party. 

Mohajeri further charged that Paydari operates like a business firm and is currently pretending to have the upper hand in Iranian politics in order to get concessions from other conservative groups. 

He added that "Paydari candidates had an average of 250,000 votes in the 2020 parliamentary elections. They can win all the 30 seats for Tehran if others do not compete for any reason." Mohajeri further said, "For the same reason Paydari wants a low-turnout election in March."

While the parliament is sending the final months of its four-year term, some observers say it suffers from an unprecedented lack of influence and popularity. Former lawmaker Iraj Nadimi told Rouydad24 that not only the current members of the parliament cannot solve any of the country's problems, but they also keep creating new problems.

Nadimi said the Majles is incapable of supervising the government, and instead it is currently following the government. He added that despite Khamenei's support for the Majles, it is no longer trusted by the people.

"People in the streets, are generally unhappy about the parliament's performance because it cannot solve their problems, because its legislative agenda was not aimed at addressing challenges." Nadimi was likely referring to the economic crisis that has impoverished tens of millions of people and the regime’s unwillingness to reach a nuclear agreement with the West that could lift crippling economic sanctions. 

The Dibis power plant project in Kirkuk, initially contracted in 2011 with Iran Power and Water Equipment and Services Export Company (Sunir), has faced numerous setbacks and challenges, leading to a stagnation in progress.

During a recent visit to the site on Tuesday, al-Salihi witnessed the consequences of the delays, notably the installed equipment now at risk of erosion.

Addressing the situation, al-Salihi pinpointed various factors contributing to the protracted delay. He cited issues such as bureaucratic inefficiencies, corruption, inadequate planning, and political impasses as key hindrances.

There is an alarming electricity deficit in the region and soaring air temperatures, surpassing 50 degrees Celsius in certain parts of Iraq during the summer, have exacerbated the electricity shortage, leading to an increase in blackout hours and severe disruptions to daily life.

The situation is further compounded by Iran's own struggles with significant delays in their own electric power plant development. According to recent statistics from Iran's ministry of energy, the country has achieved only five percent of its electricity production growth targets this year. This has resulted in a substantial electricity deficit within Iran during the past years, particularly during the summer months.

Ali Mohammadi-Sirat, the Supreme Leader’s man in IRGC’s Quds (Qods) Force - a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations – said the man who disrespected the Quran should fear for his life. He called upon Swedish authorities to hand over the individual to a Muslim country, emphasizing that “whoever insults Prophet Muhammad and the Holy Quran will be sentenced to execution”.

The incident involved Salwan Momika, an Iraqi immigrant, who burned pages from the Quran in front of the central mosque in Stockholm on the first day of Eid al-Adha, after obtaining a permit from a Swedish court. Some 200 onlookers witnessed him tearing up a copy of the Quran and wiping his shoes with the pages. He then put bacon on the book and set it on fire whilst another protestor addressed crowds with a megaphone. Momika repeated the desecration in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on July 20. The following day, in neighboring Denmark, members of the far-right nationalist group "Danske Patrioter (Danish Patriots)" burned a copy of the Quran in front of Iraq's Embassy in Copenhagen.

Iran's Supreme Leader called for the severest punishment for the perpetrators, describing it as "a bitter, conspiratorial, and perilous act.” In an interview with IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency on Wednesday, Mohammadi-Sirat repeated Khamenei’s demands and stressed that these men will not be safe wherever they are, a similar fate to that of Salman Rushdie, an Indian-born British writer who was stabbed in August 2022 because of a death edict by Islamic Republic’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini. In the late 1980s, Khomeini issued a Fatwa for the killing of Rushdie for his book, Satanic Verses, seen by some Muslims as insulting to Prophet Muhammed. Iran also announced a reward for Rushdie’s killing.

Earlier this month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami also threatened attacks against those responsible for the incident, saying that those who burn or desecrate the Quran will not enjoy security.

“We will not allow those who insult the Quran to have security. If someone wants to play with our Quran and religion, we will play with all his world,” Salami said. “Sooner or later the vengeful hand of ‘mujaheds’ will reach politicians and stage managers behind this sort of crimes, and we will render the highest punishment to the perpetrator.”

Khamenei’s representative in Quds force – designated as a terrorist group by the US, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Bahrain – claimed that the clandestine orchestrators of Quran burnings are the United States and Israel. “The leaders of the Israeli regime have arranged such an action through one of their spies to divert public attention” from the country’s internal turmoil and “its weakness against the resistance front,” he said, using Islamic Republic jargon for its allies and proxies in the region, including Palestinian militant groups.

Mohammadi-Sirat's remarks came two days after Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry called on European countries to take stronger action against the burning of the Quran. “We want governments of countries in which such shameful insults occur to prevent the repetition of such disgraceful actions and to strongly deal with the perpetrators,” he stated,

Iran has announced that it will not accept a Swedish ambassador and has no plans to send a new ambassador to Sweden.

On Tuesday, the UN General Assembly passed a Morocco-drafted resolution, deploring ''all acts of violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief, as well as any such acts directed against their religious symbols, holy books, homes, businesses, properties, schools, cultural centers or places of worship, as well as all attacks on and in religious places, sites and shrines in violation of international law.''

On July 12, the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council also passed a motion to condemn the burning of Quran despite nay votes by Western countries, which said it conflicts with their positions on human rights and freedom of expression.