Iran Expresses Anger Over New Sanctions By US, UK, And Canada

The announcement by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian came during a telephone conversation with Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, as reported by the Iranian Foreign Ministry website on Saturday.

Amir-Abdollahian said that the crew would be turned over to their ambassadors in Tehran, though no specific timeline for the action was provided. Crew members hail from countries including India, Pakistan, Russia, the Philippines and Estonia.

The Iranian foreign ministry has accused the MSC Aries of "violating maritime laws" and maintains that the ship has links to Israel. The vessel is leased by MSC from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, which is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.

The MSC Aries, carrying a crew of 25, was seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz, on April 13, the same day that Iran launched its first direct attack on Israel, with an aerial bombardment of 350 drones and missiles towards the Jewish state.

It followed a suspected Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1 which resulted in the death of a senior Quds Force commander and the deaths of several members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The hijacking coincides with the Iran-backed Houthis' Red Sea blockade which began in November. A crew of 25 on the Galaxy Leader after its hijacking which saw commandos take over the ship in a multi-faceted operation from air and sea. The crew are still being held captive by the Yemeni group whose blockade aims to force a ceasefire on Israel.

Started as a campaign against Israeli shipping, instigated by Iran's supreme leader, it has since expanded to global shipping, seeing 50 percent of shipping on the major trade route now re-routing via Africa.

Initially, it had been reported in April last year that Pour-Ahmad died from heart failure, but soon after, officials announced the 74-year-old had taken his own life.

Mehdi Fallahmiri, the prosecutor in Gilan Province, who at first dispatched a murder investigation team to inquire about Pour-Ahmad's death, ruled the death was suicide. However, he later said "further investigation" is needed. But there hasn't been an update since last year.

Turan Pour-Ahmad, the director's sister, wrote in an Instagram post on the first anniversary of his death in early April, "First they tortured my brother, then they hanged his dead body."

Later on, Pegah Pour-Ahmad, the daughter of the director and screenwriter, said in an interview with Etemad newspaper on Saturday: "What my aunt said is true. But we won't discuss the case details until the right time comes. My father knew what they were going to do to him. To say that he killed himself is not true."

Last year, Mehdi Kouhian, a lawyer involved in the legal cases of artists detained during the nationwide protests which began in 2022, warned that the unrest and subsequent crackdowns on the cultural community would have a terrible impact on Pour-Ahmad's fate.

Just days before his death, Pour-Ahmad publicly appealed to the community of artists, asking that they help those who were being persecuted by the government by providing secure therapy services.

Pour-Ahmad's death had already been labeled as "government murder." Journalist Noushabeh Amiri, who is now in Europe, tweeted: “Pour-Ahmad was killed by the filthy Islamic Republic, yes, killed.”

In the protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, more than 550 protesters were killed by security forces. Artists who publicly supported the protesters were arrested and given the likes of travel bans, property confiscations and pay and bank account freezes.

Earlier this week, an Iranian revolutionary court sentenced the outspoken artist to death for his songs supporting the nationwide protests of 2022, charges that his lawyer, Amir Raeisian, claims he had previously been acquitted of.

Among the 14 political prisoners who have voiced their concerns are Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, former MP and daughter to former president Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, reformist politician Mostafa Tajzadeh, civil rights activist Golrokh Iraee, political activist Abdollah Momeni, and Islamic scholar Sedigheh Vasmaghi.

The group stated that the Iranian government "reacts with extreme cruelty even to protests made in the language of art." A 20-day appeal period is available to 33-year-old Salehi, dubbed "the world's bravest rapper" by Western media. According to his lawyer, he intends to appeal the decision.

The statement read, "The punishment for our silence today is the death sentence for all of us tomorrow; they will silence every voice. This absolute horror will end with the infinite power of people's resistance in these occupied streets."

Unions and artists in Iran have also raised their concerns and asked for Salehi's penalty to be reduced. Khashayar Sefidi, suspended from art school in Iran for participating in the 2022 nationwide protest, announced on Saturday that he had begun a hunger strike at Iran Music House in Tehran to protest Salehi's harsh punishment.

“I am worried for Tomaj's life. I am worried, and there is nothing I can do. I can only show my support with what I have: my body and my will. To oppose the injustice against Toomaj and others like him,” Sefidi wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday.

Fars Province Teachers Trade Union also released a statement on Friday, calling Salehi's sentence "unfair" as "the judiciary doesn't see embezzlers and thieves stealing the public funds, but they arrest artists.”

Dozens of celebrities from singers to actors have been arrested since 2022, many of whom have been banned from work, had bank accounts frozen and been given travel bans, in addition to heavy fines and even prison terms.

Asserting that "the path of legal criticism and activism" has been blocked in Iran, these trade union activists wrote: "The suppressed anger of the people may flare up in the near future, leading to more radical movements in society."

Additionally, the Khuzestan Province Teachers' Trade Union has condemned Toomaj Salehi's court as "unfounded".

Iranians in diaspora have organized rallies over the weekend across four continents, from Australia to Europe and North America to protest the death sentence.

Reza Rasaei and Habib Deris are the latest to face imminent execution, a trend which has peaked since the 2022 uprising, sparked by the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini, detained for not wearing her hijab according to Iran's strict dress code.

Reza Rasaei was sentenced to death in 2022 amid the protests. He was accused of the murder of Nader Beirami, a senior intelligence officer of the IRGC, with his conviction being upheld by the Supreme Court in early December. 

Amnesty International earlier voiced its concern, urging Iranian authorities to halt the execution, citing a lack of clear evidence and fair trial standards. “I urge you to immediately grant Reza Rasaei access to his family, independently chosen lawyer, and adequate medical care," read part of Amnesty's letter of appeal.

Simultaneously, reports have emerged about Habib Deris being moved to solitary confinement, often a sign of a looming execution. A source close to the family of Deris told HRANA, a news agency of human rights activists in Iran, "He was transferred to solitary confinement without any clear reason provided."

Deris is among six men sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz, accused of affiliation with the Harakat al-Nidal group and involvement in operations that resulted in the deaths of security personnel.

Also known as the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA), the group is classified by Tehran as a ‘terrorist’ organization responsible for acts of terror including an attack on a military parade in Ahvaz on September 22, 2018, which killed 25 military and civilians.

The crackdown began on April 13 with the return of the infamous morality patrols to the streets. The extensive violence including sexual harassment against women has since been widely criticized by some hardliners and the media in Iran, including those close to Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, as well as some religious Iranians who are supportive of enforcement of hijab rules and Khamenei’s positions in general.

On April 19, a tweet from Mehdi Fazaeli, deputy chief of the office overseeing the publication of Khamenei’s speeches and writings, further escalated controversies surrounding hijab enforcement methods—not the hijab principle—signaled Khamenei’s potential displeasure with the excessive and harsh enforcement f hijab.

In his tweet, Fazaeli first quoted Khamenei’s April 2023 famous edict about hijab last year and added in a note that “certain officials have recently been admonished [by the Supreme Leader] for their out of the ordinary actions [in enforcement of hijab].”

Fazaeli came under an avalanche of attacks from the ultra-conservative Paydari Party members and their allies, in media and social media, notably the ultra-hardliner chief editor of Kayhan daily, Hossein Shariatmadari, who is an appointee of the Supreme Leader. They accused Fazaeli of lying and misrepresenting Khamenei’s position with his tweet, and even being an enemy “infiltrator” in his office.

The Paydari Party itself is positioned at the extreme end of the fundamentalist camp in the Islamic Republic and other ultra-hardliners often refer to them as “super-revolutionaries”.

Interestingly, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) linked Javan newspaper rose to Fazeli’s defense in an editorial Monday and criticized Shariatmadari for fanning the flames of a perceived “dichotomy” between Khamenei and his office. The editorial suggested that the Supreme Leader’s own authority is being challenged with ulterior motives “not to be discussed now”.

The party has also found allies in what is being referred to in Iranian political circles as the Mashhad Circle, including President Raisi’s influential and notorious father-in-law, Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, who expresses views very similar to those of Paydari. Alamolhoda, the most prominent figure of the Mashhad Circle, represents Khamenei in Khorasan-e Razavi Province and is the custodian of the shrine of the eighth Shia imam, Imam Reza.

In very veiled terms, the critics of the Paydari and its associates have hinted that the apparent rebellion of the Paydari against Khamenei, or at least his son Masoud and his associates, may be a plot to place Raisi on the leadership throne when Khamenei dies.

“There is a lot of jostling going on behind the scenes and only muffled noises are heard outside these rooms. The Raisi circle have neutralized Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and will eventually push aside the former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and his circle too,” a political analyst who requested anonymity told Iran International.

The hijab crackdown is spearheaded by the far-right Paydari Party and its allies in the government of President Raisi including the Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, Police Chief Ahmadreza Radan, and Meysam Nili-Ahmadabadi, an advisor to the Minister of Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaili.

Nili-Ahmadabadi, a member of the Paydari Party and brother to Raisi’s son-in-law Meghdad, is a shadowy figure with much influence in many government and state bodies including the state broadcaster (IRIB) and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution where he heads the Hijab and Chastity taskforce.

Nili-Ahmadabadi is also the managing director of Raja News, the unofficial mouthpiece of Paydari Party and the late Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi’s followers. He has close ties to security forces and maddahs (religious eulogists) with far-right political leanings.

The “super revolutionaries” were not satisfied even when the X account of Khamenei’s official website, khamenei.ir, retweeted Fazaeli’s tweet to support him. The hardliners continued their criticism even though Khamenei’s social media accounts are overseen by his youngest son, the shadowy Masoud Khamenei. This can be interpreted as a challenge by some hardliners to Khamenei’s own son before an impending scramble for succession.

Fazaeli’s critics, including Shariatmadari, insist that they need to hear the criticism from the “Supreme Leader’s own lips”.

“We emulate Mr Khamenei, not Khamenei.ir,” a tweet in response to Fazaeli said, which is being widely quoted as evidence of defiance by ultra-hardliners and their refusal to acknowledge the authority of Khamenei.ir and its social media accounts.

The Paydari and their allies are also being referred to by other hardliners and conservatives on social media as Khavarij (Kharijites), the first sect of Islam who rebelled against Khamenei’s namesake, the fourth Caliph and the first of Shia Imams, Ali ibn Abi Talib.

“The Khavarij are sharpening their swords and smearing them with poison,” Ghorbanali Salavatian, a former IRGC commander, tweeted. This referred to Ali’s assassination with a poison-coated sword by a member of the sect in 661 AD. 

In an editorial for the reformist Etemad newspaper on Monday, prominent commentator Abbas Abdi referred to the complicated ideological and political background of ultra-hardliner groups who he said have an apocalyptic ideology and a cult-like organization.

Abdi contended that the principal characteristic of the most radical group of ultra-hardliners is “power mongering” and that they have been ousting all other ultra-hardliners from centers of power.

Many are also pointing out the similarity of the behavior and stances of the Paydari circle with those of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who in 2011 scornfully quit work for eleven days when Khamenei reinstated an interior minister, Heydar Moslehi, who he had fired.

Henceforth Ahmadinejad and his supporters came to be referred to as the “deviant current” in the vernacular of Khamenei loyalists.

“The real question is whether IRGC’s top echelon would only watch the gladiators in the arena now and wait to step in when the day comes or take action,” Abdi added.