Another Iranian Whistleblower Arrested Ahead of Presidential Election

The turning point came Monday when former Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Javad Zarif made a bold entrance into the election scene alongside the pro-reform candidate Masoud Pezeshkian with a fiery speech at a televised roundtable discussion.

“The whole of Pezeshkian’s candidacy, even if he is not elected, was worth the few minutes that Zarif spoke to the people on TV. These words were anti-spell to the one-sided slanders of the extremists. The reign of lie will not last,” Mohammadreza Javadi Yeganeh, professor of sociology at Tehran University, tweeted after Zarif’s speech Monday.

Zarif who has always insisted that the 2015 JCPOA agreement with world powers was signed with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s full approval, defended the Rouhani administration and his own performance in crafting the deal and its immediate economic outcome.

He also showed a few graphs to prove the deal and the lifting of sanctions had helped Iran's economic growth in 2016 and 2017 and asserted that hardliners’ ability to sell more oil since 2021, in which they take huge pride, was solely due to US President Joe Biden loosening the sanctions.

Ultra-hardliner Saeed Jalili who is one of the top three contenders to the presidency said Tuesday in response to Zarif’s remarks, “Today I heard that [someone] has said it was Trump [who imposed sanctions on Iran] and that [Joe] Biden had a different approach. Why did you not continue [your talks with him] during the nine months of your time when Biden was [president]?”

In fact, The Rouhani administration did participate in in indirect talks with the United States from April to June 2021, but they did not reach an agreement before the end of his term and the election of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, who took office in August of that year.

“Biden not only did not remove Trump’s sanctions but also imposed tens of other sanctions,” Jalili added.

“Mr. Zarif's statements yesterday were wrong, and he was unfair. I will answer his insult tomorrow [in televised campaign programs],” ultra-hardliner candidate Alireza Zakani, who many believe is playing a supporting act to Jalili, said Tuesday.

Zarif has thrown all his weight behind Pezeshkian, a former lawmaker and health minister previously little known to many ordinary Iranians, particularly the younger generation, who may potentially cast their ballots for Pezeshkian if swayed to vote rather than boycott the elections.

The former foreign minister accompanied Pezeshkian Tuesday morning at a campaign trip to Isfahan, Iran's third-largest city and delivered a short speech at his campaign meeting in Tehran in the evening of the same day when he urged Iranians to vote for Pezeshkian. “Not voting is voting for the [hardliner] minority,” he said.

So far Pezeshkian has made no indication that he intends to propose Zarif as his foreign minister to the newly elected, hardliner-dominated parliament if he is voted president.

In a meeting on Wednesday with his former deputies and ministers, former President Hassan Rouhani also accused Jalili and the three other hardliner candidates, namely Zakani, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, and Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh, of only believing in “war and confrontation”.

“They say we have no way other than fighting and confronting the world powers and defeating them and that [Iran] will never win in the United Nations and negotiations with big countries,” Rouhani, who was barred from running in the elections of the Expediency Council in March by the Guardian Council, said.

At an economic roundtable discussion Wednesday, conservative candidate Mostafa Pourmohammadi also touched upon the issue of the nuclear deal and sanctions. He said his government would complete the “unfinished” business of the JCPOA, which he describes as "not perfect" while accusing hardliners of sabotaging the talks.

“Pressures and damages [caused by sanctions] are serious and certain imprudent actions have increased the damages,” the conservative Pourmohammadi who insists he will negotiate even with the "bitterest enemy" said.

The activists and former prisoners have accused Bashir Biazar, a former director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), of complicity in the torture of prisoners.

Iran's state television has on numerous occasions aired forced “confessions” of political and ordinary prisoners including dual and foreign nationals taken under physical and psychological torture.

Biazar who has been in administrative detention -- a procedure utilized for urgent deportation cases under French law – since June 3 is awaiting a deportation order by the French interior minister.

Iranian officials assert that his arrest is linked to his anti-Israel activities, but informed sources have disclosed to Iran International that he is facing multiple security-related charges.

This lack of engagement is alarming as Iran prepares to elect a new president following the unexpected death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.

The survey, which involved face-to-face interviews with 4,545 citizens on June 18 and 19, shows just 26.8% of the population watched the televised debate, focusing on the pressing economic issues facing the nation.

Moreover, the ISPA's findings reveal a broader trend of apathy towards election news, with 35% of respondents indicating they do not follow election news at all, and others only minimally engaged.

The disengagement comes amid calls for an election boycott. Many citizens, as well as various political and civil society groups, have expressed discontent with the Islamic Republic's track record on human rights and democratic governance. The pressure for boycotting the election is compounded by the Iranian government's repressive measures against free speech and the dissemination of independent survey results.

Authorities have previously issued threats against those releasing or publishing survey data that portrays the government negatively, warning of legal repercussions and potentially criminal charges.

Participation in elections plummeted in the 2020 parliamentary race when hundreds of regime insiders deemed too moderate were banned from competing. As a result, hardliners swept the majority of seats amid a voter turnout of less than 50%.

The same scenario repeated itself in the 2021 presidential election and the March 2024 parliamentary election, where many serious candidates were disqualified by the 12-member unelected Guardian Council. In both elections, voter turnout was well below 50%. In the current election also, six hand-picked candidates were allowed to compete.

Meanwhile, the government continued to use lethal force against protesters and harsh measures against dissidents. This suppression reflects deeper systemic issues within the Iranian political landscape, as highlighted by prominent Iranian sociopolitical analyst Abbas Abdi. In a recent critique titled "A Point with the Government," Abdi articulated the consequences of the government's policy of uniformity, which he argues has led to a reduction in political participation.

According to Abdi, when participation rates in areas like Tehran drop to around 10% or less, it is a clear sign of a legitimacy crisis within the political system. He noted that while some electoral districts may see higher turnout due to ethnic, tribal, linguistic, or religious factors, the overall low participation is a warning sign and a "trumpet of doom" for Iranian politics under the rule of the current ruling system.

“I'm not saying that participation in Tehran should be 80%, but participation under 50% is a warning sign. When it drops below 10%, it is a siren call and even the trumpet of doom for politics.”

Abdi further argued that the distrust in the government leads to diminished efficiency and a lack of public willingness to engage in the political process. He criticized the current administration for its apparent incompetence in addressing and understanding societal issues, describing it as "idealess, without vision, and disappointing."

The implications of such widespread disaffection are profound. As Abdi points out, the distancing of the people from the government has become so significant that bridging such a gap poses not only a logistical challenge but also an emotional and psychological burden on the populace.

As Iran heads towards its contentious election on June 28, the environment is marked by skepticism and a crisis of legitimacy. The last parliamentary elections in March, which saw a low turnout with just about 8% participation in Tehran during the second round, underscore the growing chasm between the government and its citizens.

Speaking at a side session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, Rehman unveiled his detailed report, which shows systemic state-sponsored atrocities during a brutal crackdown on dissent.

Rehman's investigations found that thousands of political prisoners, including members of minority groups like Baha'is, Kurds, and those affiliated with organizations such as the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) and other leftist groups, were executed in the 1980s, particularly during the summer of 1988.

The prisoners were executed following a fatwa issued by Iran's then-leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, with the approval of a four-member death committee.

The committee included Hossein Ali Nayeri, a Sharia judge; Morteza Eshraghi, a prosecutor; Ebrahim Raisi, a deputy prosecutor who later became Iran’s president; and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a representative of the ministry of intelligence.

Pourmohammadi is now campaigning for presidency to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a freak helicopter crash.

The report states that the death committee was responsible for a sweeping purge that targeted those accused of opposition to the government, many of whom were executed without a fair trial, marking a clampdown that included torture, sexual assault, and other inhuman treatments. The most intense period of the executions occurred over a few months in 1988, a chapter that has long been shrouded in secrecy and denial by Iranian officials.

“This is not a historical issue, as many people think," Rehman asserted during his presentation. "It is a current issue. There are serious concerns about gross violations of human rights that continue to this day.”

Rehman's findings highlight the continuation of oppressive tactics by Iranian authorities, linking past atrocities with ongoing human rights violations, including the recent international outcry over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, which sparked protests and global scrutiny of Iran’s human rights record. Sanctions have since been levied by the international community against Iran in the wake of the crackdowns.

The significance of Rehman’s report extends beyond its historical account as it seeks to challenge the prevailing impunity enjoyed by Iranian officials. For the first time, the atrocities have been formally classified as "genocide," a term that carries profound legal implications. The classification aligns with the definitions established by the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1951.

Rehman’s call for accountability was echoed by Wolfgang Schomburg, a former judge at the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, who spoke at the event. Schomburg emphasized the potential for the UN's findings to lead to international warrants against current Iranian figures linked to the 1980s events, which could curtail their ability to travel internationally without facing arrest.

The report, which the United Nations will formally release in the coming days, has spurred a wave of calls for action against Iran from various countries including Canada, Italy and Sweden, and rights group Amnesty International. However, the push for legal and moral accountability continues, as many of the perpetrators remain in high-ranking positions within the Iranian regime.

The accused, 40, was convicted of assaulting several teenage boys under the pretext of teaching football and consequently given a death sentence in a court in Tehran last year.

The boys, who were 12 and 13 years old, said the coach lured them to his house for football training. Victims claim he forced them to have sexual relations with each other, then filmed and blackmailed them, according to Iranian media outlets.

One of the students' fathers reported the coach to the police, stating: “Not long after my son's registration, I noticed his behavior had changed. His behavior had become aggressive, nervous, and withdrawn.

“After following the story with my wife, my son revealed a terrible secret that shocked us: the coach took him to his house and abused him there."

In the aftermath of the first complaint, seven other individuals reported similar experiences with the abuser.

In court, the coach denied any wrongdoing. The Tehran judges, however, found him guilty of rape and sentenced him to death. A lawyer for the defendant objected to the court's decision, arguing that he had not committed any rape but admitted sexual assault. Iran's Supreme Court subsequently reversed the death sentence, and the accused will now be retried.