Father Of Slain Protester Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) stated in an interview with Iran International's Arash Alaei on Tuesday that the Biden administration should convey to Tehran that the US is willing to consider "targets in Iran" as an option if its proxies persist in attacking American troops and international shipping.

Iran's Yemeni proxy, the Houthis, along with other regional militias, have escalated attacks on American and Israeli targets since the October 7 invasion of Israel by Hamas, another Tehran-backed outfit. The attacks resulted in over 1,200 deaths in a single day, predominantly civilians, and the abduction of more than 240 men, women and children from communities on the Gaza border. 

The Houthis' assaults on shipping in the Red Sea have disrupted the free flow of goods, leading the US and its allies to target Houthi boats and missiles aimed at either hijacking or striking commercial vessels. The attacks began after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called for blockading Israel in response to its retaliatory offensive in Gaza to uproot Hamas. The Houthis have vowed to continue attacks until Israel halts its operations in Gaza and warned that it would attack US warships if the militia group itself was targeted.

According to the US military's Central Command, only on Tuesday, US and UK forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by Houthis at international shipping in the Red Sea.

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) told Iran International that he hopes the situation would not escalate and the US would not go to a war with Iran, but the US supports Israel in its war against Hamas, making it a target for Iran's proxies. Answering a question about the European countries’ military support to maintain the maritime security, he said, “Unfortunately, often the United States has to go alone... And it’s the right and thing to do.”

He underlined that as long as Houthis’ threats prevail, “I hope they keep sinking more and more to the bottom of the sea.” Last month, US warships sank three Houthi small boats to protect a commercial vessel from being hijacked. All crew were killed. 

Critics have urged the Biden administration to take a more assertive stance toward the Houthis and Iran to stop the attacks, instead of just defensive measures. The US has formed a more than 20-nation coalition to counter the threats, several countries members anonymously due to the sensitive regional tensions. 

US Deputy Special Envoy to Iran, Abram Paley, told Iran International this week that when it comes to dealing with Iran, “words are not enough” and action has to be taken. However, so far, Washington has not targeted the source of the Houthi attacks in Yemen.

Richard Goldberg, a National Security Council official from the Trump era and a fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, says the increase in Houthi attacks indicate that “Iran just called Biden’s bluff.”

In an article on New York Post, Goldberg argued that with Tehran closer to nukes, Congress must end Biden’s appeasement with Iran before it is too late. “President Biden’s three years of appeasing Iran has brought the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism closer than ever to developing a nuclear weapon.”

He highlighted that “nothing has been able to disabuse Biden of his almost-religious commitment to appeasement as the only viable path to containing Iran’s myriad threats... Not even assassination plots targeting former US officials, attempts to kidnap Iranian Americans from US soil, Iran-directed attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria, injuring dozens of servicemembers — one critically — or the suicide-drone attacks on US destroyers in the Red Sea.”

The economically challenged province adjacent to Afghanistan and Pakistan is home to a substantial Sunni community belonging to the Baluch ethnic group.

The population has faced ongoing persecution under the rule of Iran's Shiite clerics. The region has consistently witnessed confrontations between security forces and Sunni militants.

Jaish al-Adl, a militant group advocating for enhanced rights and improved living conditions for the Baluchi ethnic minority, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Over the past few years, the group has carried out multiple assaults on Iranian security forces in the province.

IRNA and Tasnim news agencies reported on Wednesday that members of a "terrorist group" launched an assault on the Jangal base in the Rask County at midnight.

According to Tasnim, “the confrontation between the attackers and the forces began at 1am, and after three hours without successfully infiltrating, the attackers withdrew.”

Salim Kadkhoda, the governor of Rask, also informed IRNA that during the conflict, Amir-Hossein Hosseinabadi, a commander from the law enforcement forces, was killed.

However, Jaish al-Adl in a message on its Telegram channel asserted that it has caused "significant damages and human casualties."

The Halvash website that covers developments in Sistan-Baluchestan Province in the southeast had earlier reported explosions and heavy gunfire exchanges around the base in Rask.

Halvash also mentioned that the attackers had previously blocked the routes leading to the confrontation site.

Further details about the incident have not yet been disclosed.

The attack on the base comes in the wake of a previous assault on December 15, where Jaish al-Adl militants targeted a police station in Rask. During that attack, 12 police officers were killed, and eight others were injured.

The verdict has sparked outcry as it was delivered in his absence, with allegations of his refusal to wear prison uniform.

Reza, Younesi's son, took to Twitter on Tuesday to express his frustration, revealing that his father was denied the right to be present in court. The court session proceeded despite objections from his lawyers regarding the "lack of presentation of any evidence by the ministry of intelligence," which were reportedly disregarded.

Younesi was detained on December 28, 2022, in Shahroud, with the ministry of intelligence accusing him of "financial ties with the exiled opposition group Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK)."

His family has vehemently contested the charges, asserting that Younesi is an employee engaged in legitimate commercial transactions. The case is purportedly centered around a payment of 130 million rials.

Reza further alleged that the intelligence authorities were well aware of his father's lack of connection to the case's narrative but implicated him as an act of revenge.

Another son, Ali Younesi, a gold medalist from the International Astronomy Olympiad, was arrested in 2020 alongside Amir-Hossein Moradi. Both were subsequently sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges including "corruption on earth," "propaganda against the system," and "conspiracy and collusion with the aim of acting against national security."

Abolishing the hijab on January 17, 1936, was only one aspect of the modernization attempts by Reza Shah Pahlavi the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. He not only freed Iranian women from hijab, but he also paved the way for them to be active members of society as teachers, government officials, nurses, and highly educated professionals.

Later in the dynasty's rule, Iranian women gained the right to vote and run for parliament, preceding many countries in granting women equal rights. However, the modernization of women and changes in their lifestyles were significantly reversed with the ascent of fundamentalist Shiite clerics to power in Iran in 1979.

In a statement released on the occasion, Farah Pahlavi praised Reza Shah for helping Iranian women to shine and “to free them from the dungeons of prejudice." She said the occasion is a landmark in the evolution of Iranian women's modern identity, adding that "many Iranian women today praise the two kings of the Pahlavi dynasty without even having lived in their period." The women, she said, demand Iran's return to the track of progress of that period.

Farah Pahlavi, characterized the current regime of Iran as "evil" and reiterated that "Finally, light will overcome darkness and Iran will be back on the track to freedom, welfare, and progress."

The modernization process initiated by Reza Shah in the 1920s propelled Iran from the depths of the Middle Ages into the modern world. Women became active and productive members of Iranian society in this evolving nation, as people transitioned from carts to trains and enrolled in newly established universities to acquire modern skills, bringing the country in line with the rapidly developing global landscape.

A modern justice system brought an end to clerical rule, limiting their involvement to solemnizing marriages and divorces, which still required registration at the Judiciary offices.

One of the initial actions taken by the Islamic regime after 1979 was the imposition of compulsory hijab on women. This was done to facilitate the suppression of women in society and symbolize the reversal of the modernization efforts initiated during the Pahlavi era.

Later, the clerics established their domination on the judicial system by replacing judges with clergymen who often were not trained to handle judicial cases. The law ceased to exist, and every decision was left to arbitrary ruling by clerics who often came from small villages.

Meanwhile, the destruction of the academic system persists as the regime dismisses university professors and replaces them with regime insiders loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Many officials bestow upon each other the title of "doctor," often without having completed high school. It was even exposed during televised presidential election debates in 2021 that Ebrahim Raisi, who later became president, had only received an elementary education, yet he holds the title of "Ayatollah, Doctor Raisi." 

The suppression of women is one of the most elaborate examples of how the Iranian regime works. In early January, Roya Heshmati, an Iranian woman presented a dramatic account of how she was given 74 lashes for not wearing hijab. As her story went viral on social media, the regime tried to deny her account. Interestingly, tens of other women came out to tell their stories about being lashed in previous weeks and months.

Critics say that hijab is the Islamic regime's last trench to defend its existence and Islamic identity as it has lost its Islamic credential after major financial corruptions were disclosed. Nonetheless, the Islamic Republic ruthlessly cracks down on women who defy the compulsory hijab using the ‘morality police’ and the IRGC's Basij militia, while also passing laws to enforce hijab with the motto "Cover or suffer." Particularly, since the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom movement, many women have been suffering in jail and receiving lashes as religious punishment, although sharia scholars say there is very little if any about compulsory hijab and its punishment in the Quran.

The incident occurred at a facility in Fardis, Alborz province, west of Tehran, where some of the victims are currently in critical condition, as stated by state media.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the blast was triggered within the production line of the factory, according to an official quoted by state TV. The injured individuals have been swiftly transferred to nearby hospitals for medical attention.

Ahmad Mahdavi, the head of the Emergency Medical Services Management Center of Alborz Province, provided an update, stating, "Overall, the general condition of most of the injured is good, and they are under medical care." He added that extensive damage occurred during the incident, and investigations into the precise cause are underway.

Hossein Ashouri, head of the Fire Department of Fardis Municipality, reported to the official Iranian news agency IRNA that "As a result of a widespread fire due to an explosion in a factory producing cosmetics and hygiene products in Simindasht of Fardis, some injuries and damages have occurred." Ashouri noted that the incident was reported to the Fardis Fire Department around 15:30, prompting immediate deployment of emergency response teams to the scene.

The previous week witnessed two bomb explosions in southeast Iran, resulting in the deaths of nearly 100 people and numerous injuries during a ceremony commemorating IRGC Commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone in 2020.