Iran Hanged 834 People In 2023, Rights Groups Report

In a video interview with Al Jazeera’s News Hour on January 7, 2023, government mouthpiece Mohammad Marandi defended the executions of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini, both accused of participating in anti-government protests and allegedly being involved in the killing of Basij member, Ruhollah Ajamian.

A figure close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Marandi accused London-based Persian networks such as Iran International, of provoking unrest in Iran during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, further claiming these media “have repeatedly called, … have legitimized and praised beating police officers, burning them alive and murdering them.”

Following Marandi’s remarks, Iran International filed a complaint with Ofcom about Al Jazeera, arguing that “it was treated unjustly or unfairly in the program as broadcast.”

According to the complaint, “at no point during the program did the presenter challenge, correct or seek to contextualize Mr. Marandi’s incorrect and harmful comments about Iran International.”

Iran International also emphasized that no case has ever been filed against the network in Ofcom on the charges claimed by the commentator and that the network has never been accused of violating the principles of news coverage.

“Marandi … had made statements before in which he defended the actions and policies of the Iranian government, and criticized public figures and governments in Western democracies,” Iran International said, adding that “Marandi’s alleged reputation should have alerted Al Jazeera in advance to the probability that he would make comments on air which would be potentially unfair or unjust to individuals or organizations.”

In his interview on Al Jazeera’s News Hour, Marandi named and lambasted at least five human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, and other Persian-language media outlets in his interview, such as VoA and BBC Persian.

Al Jazeera said its presenter was not able to challenge Marandi’s assertions on each allegation he made.

But Ofcom did not accept this and upheld Iran International’s complaint, ruling that media outlets should take reasonable care before broadcasting a program to make sure that the materials would not be unfair to individuals and organizations. Ofcom said that Marandi’s “serious allegations” about Iran International made on News Hour “were not challenged or put into context”, resulting in unfairness to Iran International.

Ofcom referred to the fact that Marandi was there to provide a pro-Iranian government view and that while Al Jazeera introduced Marandi as a “political analyst” and “professor at the University of Tehran,” it did not point to his affiliation with the Iranian government. According to the regulator, this manner of introduction “may have led some viewers to expect Mr. Marandi’s comments to have been objective.”

Mohammad Marandi appears with some regularity on other Western news channels, including the BBC. Marandi is the son of Alireza Marandi, Iran’s former Health Minister and the head of the medical team of the Supreme Leader.

Ofcom also referred to the record of the Iranian government's actions and measures against Iran International and its designating the Channel as a terrorist organisation.

Earlier in the month, a leaked document revealed that Tehran’s Revolutionary Court convicted 44 foreign-based journalists and media activists in absentia two years ago over the allegation of “propaganda against the government.”

The names included prominent figures affiliated with Iran International, such as Mahmoud Enayat, Aliasghar Ramezanpour, Mehdi Parpanchi, Fardad Farahzad and Morteza Kazemian.

The document was revealed among a trove of files accessed after the hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali, or Ali’s Justice, breached the servers of the Iranian judiciary on February 20.

Another top secret intelligence document obtained by the hacktivist group showed Tehran targeted dozens of Iran International TV staff with financial bans and threats to their families amid protests in 2019.

In December 2023, UK’s ITV revealed that the IRGC was plotting to assassinate two Iran International television anchors in London in 2022 amid Iranian anti-government protests.

The BBC's decision to send its correspondent Caroline Davies to cover Iran's elections in Tehran has resulted in internal tensions at the broadcaster, as managers are believed to have acquiesced to the Iranian regime's condition that its Persian broadcast department be barred from using her reports and videos.

Staff members of the Persian service believe "by accepting this conditionality, the BBC has allowed the Iranian government to dictate the terms of BBC's reporting."

They have warned that BBC's decision "isolates" them, "divides the BBC, and signals to the Iranian government that BBC Persian is fair game for harassment and persecution," particularly of their families in Iran.

BBC has repeatedly stated in recent years that the Islamic Republic has harassed, intimidated, and threatened BBC Persian journalists and their families in Iran over the past decade, including death threats against BBC journalists and their families in London, blocking their assets in Iran, and online harassment, and sexual assaults against female journalists.

The Persian service staff members say they had made it clear to the BBC's top management a few years ago that such decisions are "unacceptable". However, "it has happened again."

Asked about the issue, a BBC spokesperson told Iran International, "The BBC is committed to providing our UK and global audiences with impartial coverage of the Iran elections and our correspondent, Caroline Davies, has been granted rare access to the country to report for BBC News across TV, radio and online."

"The BBC has not been able to report from Iran since 2019. Reporting from the country at this critical time does not reduce our condemnation for the harassment faced by BBC News Persian staff and we continue to call out the utterly unacceptable treatment for those simply doing their jobs," the spokesperson added.

BBC Persian, which broadcasts on TV, on radio and online, is banned in Iran. BBC Persian obtained in 2017 a court order that listed the names of 152 staff, former staff and contributors whose non-liquid assets were frozen by Iran's judiciary.

BBC Persian journalists had not been able to return to Iran for fear of arrest, while family members had been subjected to travel bans, interrogated and arbitrarily detained.

Iranian social media users have in recent days criticized the BBC correspondent's reports from Tehran, saying she did not cover the key issues including the widespread boycott of elections. There is also a perception that the BBC had not acted impartially in its reporting. Iranian users specifically compared Caroline Davies's reports with those of Deutsche Welle’s (DW) correspondent whose reports from Tehran covered issues like the election boycott, compulsory hijab, and the impact of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement on these elections.

Back in 2019, the Huffington Post reported that the BBC had "agreed to conditions set by the Islamic Republic of Iran to not share reporting materials it gathers in Iran with its Persian-language channel, BBC Persian, in exchange for Iran allowing a BBC correspondent into the country."

"The agreement represents a capitulation to a government that has been hostile to press freedom. The Iranian government routinely shuts down media organizations critical of the regime and imprisons, tortures and executes journalists," the Post reported at the time.

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, fuelling concern about the danger of all-out war between the heavily armed adversaries.

"We are committed to the diplomatic process, however Hezbollah's aggression is bringing us closer to a critical point in the decision-making regarding our military activities in Lebanon," Gallant said in a statement after meeting US envoy Amos Hochstein, who is seeking a mediated end to that conflict.

Hezbollah has indicated it will cease fire if Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip stops, describing its campaign as aimed at supporting Palestinians under fire in Gaza.

But visiting Beirut on Monday, Hochstein warned that a truce in Gaza would not necessarily bring an automatic end to hostilities across Lebanon's southern border.

He said a temporary ceasefire was not enough and a limited war was not containable.

Mediators have been seeking to clinch a 40-day ceasefire in the Gaza war in time for the Ramadan Muslim fasting month, which begins at the start of next week.

Much of the violence between Israel and Hezbollah has played out near the border, with notable exceptions including a February 26 Israeli airstrike in the Bekaa Valley, and a January 2 Israeli drone strike in Beirut that killed a top Hamas leader.

Israeli strikes since October have killed more than 200 Hezbollah fighters and some 50 civilians in Lebanon, while attacks from Lebanon into Israel have killed a dozen Israeli soldiers and six civilians. Tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese have fled villages on both sides of the frontier.

(Report by Reuters)

It marks a downward trend for the currency which has continued to fall since Friday's polls. The dollar has doubled against the rial since March 2022 after Iranian hardliners established control over the government and nuclear negotiations with the United States and its European allies failed to progress.

The rial, which has steadily fallen since the 1979 revolution, began a steep dive in 2018 when the United States withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear deal and imposed oil export as well as banking sanctions on Iran. The currency traded at 70 rials per dollar in 1978.

Contrary to the reality on the ground, in a meeting held a month ago, Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, praised the country's economic situation. He said, "We regret that the progress has not been explained to the people, and most of the nation is unaware of the efforts, successes, and innovations, which are among God's blessings."

The depreciation of the rial has exacerbated inflationary pressures in the past five years, with millions of people falling below the poverty line. Official government figures indicate more than 40 percent annual inflation, while many in Iran believe the real figure is higher.

According to what audiences have reported to Iran International, items such as red meat, chicken, fish, rice, and dairy products had the highest share among the goods removed from households' consumption baskets.

Iran’s currency, rial, has lost 20 percent of its value since early January, which directly contributes to rising prices of wheat, rice and animal feed that are largely imported and subject to currency fluctuations.

Annual inflation in Iran has hovered at or above 40 percent since 2019, one year after the United States withdrew from the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal and imposed sanctions on the main source of Tehran’s revenues; oil exports. The already weak economy, over-burdened by government control and limited international trade, has shrank further in the past five years. Real incomes have decreased many-fold pushing tens of millions of people into poverty.

Now, at the onset of the New Year on March 21, legumes, milk, nuts, and pistachios, cheese, clothing, and eggs are among other items that, according to audience feedback reports, have been removed from their shopping baskets or purchased in limited quantities in some cases. Iran International, like many other media outlets, are not allowed to have a presence in Iran and audience feedback constitutes one of the main sources of information.

Some have also expressed concern about the worsening economic conditions in the near future, stating that they have been unable to afford their children's favorite foods for a long time. The unchecked drop in the value of the rial, price inflation and lack of adequate pay increases are the main reasons for people’s pessimism.

Newspapers in Iran report that canned tuna prices have jumped by 113% in the past 12 months and prices for red meat by 100%. As protein-rich foods become unaffordable for ordinary people, Eghtesad 24 website reported recently that one-third of Iranians live below the “poverty line.”

One of Iran International's audience members, referring to the fact that due to high prices, chicken and red meat have been removed from his table in the past year, said: "We can no longer afford to buy rice, and with this situation of inflation, no one is accountable, and we do not know what future awaits us."

A retired person sent a message saying that he and his family struggle because his income is far below of what it was when he was employed, and inflation was lower. “In these circumstances, we do not have the purchasing power for buying new clothes for New Year’s Eve and must suffice with buying basic necessities. Our life is such that we can only survive,” he said.

Reza Gheybi, an economic reporter, told Iran International that food and consumer items related to the New Year have become more expensive in recent days and some supermarket chains have even began selling to consumers on credit. The government is thinking of providing emergency loans of up to $400 (200 million rials). However, the government can only afford assistance by printing more money, which in turn lowers the value of its currency and makes inflation worse.

Before the 1979 revolution, the dollar was worth just 70 rials and Iran was one of the richest countries in Asia. In the 1970s, Iran hosted guest workers from South Korea and other countries amid a high annual growth rate.

One person told Iran International this week that bananas have been removed from their family's shopping basket and they are forced to buy low-grade oranges. "Consider that we are from the middle class. Those who are economically weaker than us may even end up picking from trash cans."

One of the audience members, referring to the removal of many items from their family's table, said, "I attribute all of these to the fact that the country is not being managed well; otherwise, with all this wealth and resources, we should not live like this."