Iranian Journalists Detained During 2022 Protests Furloughed On Bail

An official of the Greater Tehran Police told Etemad Online on January 10 that the three men responsible for shooting Hani Kordeh (a nickname) a day earlier were arrested at their hideout and promised further information later.

Iranian newspapers claim Hani Kordeh, whose real name is not mentioned anywhere in the media, has close ties with some high-profile politicians, officials, and a former coach of Esteghlal FC. There have been allegations that he has collaborated with Iran's security and intelligence bodies for years.

In 2018, Hani Kordeh posted videos of himself on Instagram suggesting that he was involved in the fight against Bishar al-Assad’s opposition in Syria alongside IRGC forces.

In one of the videos that showed him in Syria, he appears with a group of IRGC soldiers with a rifle on his shoulder bragging and vowing to crush the enemy. In other videos he is shown visiting a Shiite shrine in Damascus. Fighting in Syria allowed him to call himself a “Defender of the Shrine”, a misleading title reserved for the forces that were sent to Syria.

The tens of thousands of Iranian, Afghan and other forces that the IRGC deployed in Syria were simply there to save the country’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, not to defend any shrine.

Omid Shams, a UK-based human rights lawyer, believes the publication of these images was a form of propaganda for the IRGC forces which were sustaining heavy casualties in Syria but confirmed the statements of Brigadier General Hossein Hamdani in 2015 about the recruitment of criminals and thugs into the IRGC's combat ranks in 2009.

Hamedani who was head of the IRGC's Rassoulollah Corps in charge of Greater Tehran from November 2009 until January 2014, admitted in an interview that in 2009 he had recruited 5,000 “apolitical” violent criminals and organized them in three battalions to suppress the Green Movement protests following the disputed presidential election that brought Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

The opposition has for many years alleged that the IRGC employs the services of thugs and hooligans to quell anti-government protests. Shams and some other Iran experts also believe that the Fatehin Brigade, the first of the IRGC’s Basij volunteer forces to be sent to Syria to fight alongside Assad forces under the command of the extraterritorial Quds Force, must have been the IRGC unit Hamedani used to organize thugs in 2009.

“These [videos] also proved that the main force, which recruits criminals and thugs is Fatehin (Conquerors) Special Forces has specifically been active in deadly suppression of popular protests, both in Iran and in Syria. The role of this unit in suppressing the recent [Woman, Life, Freedom] protests was confirmed after Ebrahim Raisi’s meeting with Fatehin forces,” Shams wrote in December 2022.

Hamedani who was killed in Syria in October 2015 was twice decorated by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and promoted to major general posthumously. He was subjected to international sanctions in April 2011, including by Britain, the European Union, the United States and Canada for human rights violations.

Hani Kordeh is said to have been born in 1980s in Hamedan in western Iran and spent sixteen years of his life in prison since the age of fourteen. He has been wounded in gang fights several times including in 2019 when he was critically stabbed nearly fatally by the leader of a rival gang in Tehran and his hospitalization made headlines.

The notorious man who many including police officials often refer to as a thug and ruffian has been well known for many years for his criminal activities including extortion, organizing as well as leading football thugs and numerous violent gangland wars. His source of income is not clear, but in social media posts he often appears on the streets of the capital driving an expensive Porsche.

He has also claimed on various occasions that he runs a drug rehabilitation facility in the south of Tehran.

Ibrahim Al-Dailami emphasized that the Houthis were determined to respond to what they viewed as US aggressions.

In an interview with ISNA news website in Tehran on Saturday, when asked about allegations of the Houthi militants serving as proxies for Iran in the Red Sea, Al-Dailami rejected these claims as baseless. He emphasized that the primary concern was the US support for what he referred to as the "crimes of the Zionist regime" in Gaza.

The United States and Britain launched an extensive airstrike against Houthi targets this week, after they repeatedly warned the militant group to stop its attacks on commercial shipping.

Iran's support for the Houthi rebels, ongoing for a decade, involves the supply of weapons and military expertise to the Muslim sect in Yemen, closer religiously to the Shia sect. While Iran has avoided direct military involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, its proxy groups, including Houthi militants, have escalated attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. This comes in response to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's call in early November for blockading Israel. In December, the US-led multinational naval coalition was launched in the Red Sea to protect commercial vessels, gaining support from various countries.

The UN Security Council recently passed a resolution urging the Houthis to cease Red Sea shipping attacks, with notable abstentions from Russia and China.

In an interview published Saturday, influential reformist pundit Abbas Abdi criticized the government of President Ebrahim Raisi -- hailing from the ultraconservative or the so-called principlist camp -- claiming that it lacks any plan or vision for governing the country.

Abdi said Raisi had announced during the 2021 election campaign that he had a 7,000-page plan for solving Iran's pressing issues, but now after 30 months, his government says it has a limited plan for certain issues. "Seven lines would have been enough to understand what you intend to do," Abdi retorted and argued that the government is evaluated by its actions and results, pointing out that the economic situation proves they do not have any concrete plans that would yield tangible results.

Mocking the government’s strategies, he said if you compile remarks by the top economic decision-makers --including the president himself, his economy minister, the Central Bank Governor, and the head of the Planning and Budget Organization --, you can see there is not a single practical plan to address the country’s woes.

As an example, Abdi, who is allowed to comment on various issues in the government-controlled media, mentioned that when the inflation rate is over 40 percent, how the government can justify raising wages by less than 20 percent. He noted that the government claims economic growth, but the people are increasingly sinking into poverty. "Why doesn't this economic growth benefit the people? Where does the rest of the money go?" he asked. The root cause of such problems is the government’s inefficiency, he stated. 

Highlighting an expected low turnout in the upcoming parliamentary elections, he said people do not care about the election because they have seen that nothing can change the status quo. “Elections, in and of themselves, may not be significant; rather, their importance lies in the consequences and results. When people see that in the previous election, representatives who lacked competence were elected – even a lawmaker with two doctorates who struggles with basic legislative terms – questions arise about the quality of the parliament they have formed.” 

Abdi also criticized the ruling hardliners for removing political rivals, claiming that such a lack of diversity will further damage the country’s political dynamism. Earlier this month, Iran’s clerical watchdog, the Guardian Council, rejected a large number of potential candidates, including many current lawmakers, who sought to run for a seat in the March 1 parliamentary elections.

The disqualifications are in line with a wider purge of critics of the ruling hardliners, known in Iran as “purification.” Various organizations and institutions have faced purges as hardline elements of the regime sideline their rivals. The notion of "purification" was initially coined by former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani to describe the actions of ultraconservative allies of President Raisi, aiming to consolidate government power by marginalizing other politicians and officials, who are also regime insiders.

Abdi underlined the influence of a political faction in Iran's executive bodies and oversight committees that does not embrace the principle of republicanism. Implicitly addressing the reasons behind the ruling faction's rejection of the parliamentary candidates, he stated, "Ideologically, they may not align with republicanism, but in practice, they recognize that without a certain level of support from the ballot box, their survival is at risk.”

Meanwhile, the leader of ultra-hardliner Paydari Party, whose members occupy almost all key posts in state organizations and offices, defended the political trend, claiming that "purification" is just a code word coined by enemies to impose Western ideals of democracy on Iran. Mahsouli emphasized that the “righteous people” should take the helm of the country and defined ‘righteous’ as the most deserving.

"The opposing faction claims that by 'righteous’ we mean purification, but I argue that purification is a code name for the dominance of Western-leaning individuals... Even the moderates and reformists who criticize us are seeking the most deserving people, but their criteria are different and based more on a secular perspective,"Mahsouli said.

Hadi Tahan Nazif, spokesperson for the Guardian Council, which gives final approval to all legislation, defended the decision on Sunday, asserting that the resolution aligns with both Sharia and the constitution.

The announcement follows admissions from some parliament members who claimed to have mistakenly voted in favor of the contentious bill. Lawmakers are possibly concerned about the bill's repercussions weeks before parliamentary election on March 1.

Islamic labor unions in Iran had earlier called for the repeal of the new law, which not only raises the retirement age but also extends the required years of service for a full pension. The legislation, passed by lawmakers in November, raises the retirement age for men by two years, reaching 62 after 42 years of work and social security tax contributions. However, the retirement age for women remains unchanged at 55.

The recent legal changes also include an extension of the employment duration required to qualify for a full pension. New entrants into the workforce are now obligated to work for over 42 years, while existing employees will face incremental increases in their mandatory work years. For instance, an individual entering the workforce at the age of 30 will now have to work until the age of 72 to enjoy a full pension.

Against a backdrop of economic hardship and a staggering 50-percent annual inflation rate, opposition to the law extends beyond labor unions. The general public perceives the government's decision as yet another tactic to burden ordinary Iranians, forcing them to bear the consequences of perceived inefficiency and corruption within the system.

As advisor to the director of Iran's seminaries, Mohammad Hassan Zamani, went on to claim that "Western democracy has made humans worse than animals."

He expressed regret that today's Iranian youth are increasingly drawn towards a democracy lacking the influence of God and religion, characterized "by complete freedom."

Iran's clerical government imposes stringent religious code of social and private life, using courts and security forces to impose hijab and many other restrictions.

Zamani's comments come as since 2022, the global community has been captivated by powerful images of Iranian women rejecting the mandatory hijab following the birth of Women, Life Freedom movement. The women, along with their brothers, friends and activists, have taken to the streets to condemn Iran's authoritarian system that denies fundamental rights, including free elections and free speech, to all citizens. Despite a severe crackdown by the regime involving public beatings, rapes, and hangings, the protesters have remained steadfast.

The government's customary response to any form of protest or peaceful assembly has been to resort to shooting at the demonstrators and arresting thousands of people.

Additionally, in response to widespread defiance of the mandatory hijab, authorities have intensified efforts to enforce the dress code for women. This includes employing various strategies like legal summonses, introducing new legislative initiatives, and applying increased pressure on private businesses to enforce hijab rules.