Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence of Toomaj Salehi

“When voter turnout is low, the ruling factions lose confidence, but high turnout empowers and validates them,” the academic wrote on her Instagram account on Friday.

“I view the people's vote as a valuable social and national asset that should not be squandered or benefit those responsible for current issues,” she added.

Previously, she cautioned "reformist" politicians against becoming ensnared in an unchangeable political system and "falling into the trap of tyranny."

Vasmaghi argued that currently, the Islamic Republic "is unable to confront the powerful and pervasive wave of change that has infiltrated its own ranks."

"In this context, to resist this tide, the ruling establishment has no alternative but to collaborate with a spectrum of reformists—a spectrum that is not threatening but rather enhances its authority."

Vasmaghi was detained in March for denouncing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a dictator and criticizing compulsory hijab laws. Her health deteriorated during imprisonment, leading to her eventual release.

During her incarceration, Vasmaghi wrote to the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission and international human rights organizations, detailing the mistreatment she had to face and highlighting Iran's systemic oppression, especially towards women.

Critics assert that while Pezeshkian slammed the protests, dubbed Woman, Life, Freedom, he has appropriated the movement's song, “Baraye,” for his own political gain.

The demonstrations, lasting for months, began in the wake of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody, resulting in over 550 deaths.

In 2022, Pezeshkian condemned the demonstrations as orchestrated acts of hostility, blaming America and Europe for igniting Iran's worst uprising since the founding of the Islamic Republic.

Singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour, honored with the Grammy's Best Song for Social Change in 2023 for "Baraye," was sentenced to more than three years in prison for incitement and provocation to disturb national security through his music.

He is one of dozens of artists imprisoned or levied with the likes of work bans, bank account freezes and travel bans for supporting the protests.

“Dear Mr. Pezeshkian, using Shervin's song this way may cost you votes because you were indifferent to the Woman Life Freedom movement,” a user wrote on X.

“Mr. Pezeshkian, please don’t use “Baraye” for the clerical establishment. It belongs to the people, not them,” another user wrote on X.

Critics on social media also highlighted Pezeshkian's silence on Hajipour's sentence.

US officials, including First Lady Jill Biden, praised the song as a powerful advocate for freedom and women's rights, underscoring its potential to inspire societal change.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller condemned Hajipour's sentence as indicative of Iran's broader crackdown on dissenting voices.

When released, the song "Baraye" gained immense popularity. Within two days, it swiftly amassed over 40 million views on Shervin’s Instagram.

The Persian word “Baraye”٬ meaning “for …” or “for the sake of” punctuates each line of the song, crafted from a mosaic of Iranian tweets lamenting societal challenges: "For dancing in the streets; for fear of kissing; for the students and their future," and "for women, life, freedom."

While Pezeshkian is the only reform candidate among the six final candidates in the upcoming snap elections on June 28, he has grown increasingly more conservative in a bid to win the coveted presidential seat.

In a message from Evin Prison in Tehran on Saturday, Mohammadi said:

“I will not participate in the illegal elections of the oppressive and illegitimate government.”

Mohammadi questioned the integrity of the elections, highlighting the contradiction in the government's actions.

“How can you, while holding a sword, gallows, weapons, and prisons against the people with one hand, place a ballot box in front of the same people with the other hand, and deceitfully and falsely call them to the polls?”

Mohammadi further criticized the true intent behind the elections:

“The only purpose of holding elections for a regime that believes in repression, terror, and violence as the sole means to maintain power is not to uphold democracy and the rights of the people but to consolidate power and tyranny. Such elections will not bring legitimacy to the Islamic Republic.”

Six hand-picked candidates approved by Iran’s Guardian Council have been allowed to run in the presidential elections amid strict media control, while Iranian media and government officials admit a low level of voter interest.

“The presence of Javad Zarif at the graves of our loved ones is outrageous,” the families’ association said in a statement.

“Javad Zarif is one of the individuals involved in covering up the crime of January 8, 2020, and the visits of any of the perpetrators and instigators of the crime to the graves of our loved ones once again demonstrate that the impudence of the officials of the Islamic Republic knows no bounds,” the statement added.

The Ukrainian Airline flight took off from Tehran in the early hours of that faithful day and minutes later two anti-air missiles fired by the IRGC downed the plane. For three days the authorities tried to cover up the incident, claiming a mechanical problem with the aircraft, until videos emerged showing the moment of impact. Zarif was foreign minister, and was heard saying that if the military had told him the truth earlier, he could have helped explain away the the incident.

It also said that Zarif and other authorities responsible for the downing of flight PS752, from IRGC Aerospace Chief Amir-Ali Hajizadeh to IRGC Chief Hossein Salami, and from the operator to Ali Khamenei, must be tried in a fair court.

”That day will come,” the statement said. “We neither forget nor forgive the perpetrators and instigators of this crime.”

Javad Soleimani, a member of PS752 Association’s board, earlier referred to Zarif and presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian who visited the graves together as "puppets" participating in Iran's "election circus."

Pezeshkian is backed by groups within regime politicians who are known as 'reformists' and he is running as a 'moderate.' Zarif, coming out of political retirement after three years, has joined the candidate, urging a reluctant electorate to vote for him. The visit to the resting place of the crash victims is seen as a campaign stunt by Pezeshkian, but Zarif's presence has angered many.

The Association’s statement drew attention to a controversial audio file leaked in 2021 in which Zarif was heard suggesting that the PS752 downing was likely unintentional.

"We will not forget the audio file of Zarif saying it was unlikely that the downing of the Ukrainian plane was intentional but if it was, they could tell us so we can ‘remedy’ it," Soleimani stated on X on Friday.

In the leaked audio file, Zarif was also captured stating that the truth surrounding the downing of PS752 would never come to light. Iranian officials attributed the downing of PS752 to "human error".

The flight PS752, which was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in January 2020, claimed the lives of 176 passengers and crew, including Soleimani's wife, Elnaz Nabiyi.

“Iran was broke. They had no money. I sanctioned the countries that wanted to buy oil from Iran. And I would’ve made a fair deal with Iran. I was gonna get along with Iran,” Trump said on the All In podcast Thursday.

“The deal was simple: Iran can’t have a nuclear missile. It cannot have that nuclear capability. Other than that we talk about everything. They would’ve been very happy,” he added.

These remarks might surprise or alarm many Iranians who have been following the US presidential campaign, assuming that a Trump win over Biden could mean a dramatic shift in policy towards Iran and exerting more pressure on the Islamic Republic.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump will go head to head next week in their first presidential debate in the run up to the election in November. Trump’s words Thursday was a glimpse into what may be coming in that debate, as far as foreign policy and relations with Iran are concerned.

“I had them at a point where you could’ve negotiated,” Trump said about Iran. “A child could have made a deal with them. And Biden did nothing.”

Biden won the 2020 election with an explicit promise to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that president Trump abandoned in 2018. In pursuit of the ‘revival’, the Biden administration reversed Trump’s 'maximum pressure' sanctions campaign and, in effect, allowed Iran to sell its oil, mainly to China utilizing its ‘shadow’ fleet.

“A young man that does nothing, or a young woman that does nothing in kindergarten could’ve made a deal with Iran at that time. Because they wanted to make a deal. And Biden never took advantage of it,” Trump said in the podcast lambasting Biden.

“Now… China buys billions and billions of dollars of oil every month… And now they’re much tougher to deal with.”

Critics of president Biden's Iran policy also make the point that by being "soft" on the Islamic Republic he allowed Tehran to recover from Trump's pressure and have resources not only to expand its nuclear program to a dangerous level but also strengthen its proxy forces in the region. Some argue that if Iran had remained under severe financial strain Hamas would not have been able to attack Israel on October 7.

This is a line that many expect Donald Trump to use more often towards the November election, especially as US policy on Iran is inextricably linked to Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza and the wider crises in the Middle East.

“Towards the end of my term… there was no terror going on,” Trump said when asked about October 7th and the attack on Israel. “That attack would’ve never happened in a million years. Iran didn’t have the money for Hamas. They didn’t have the money for Hezbollah… Iran was broke, I say respectfully.”

Donald Trump also said he thought Iran would have "eventually" joined the Abraham accords, which saw the UAE and Bahrain sign 'normalization' agreements with Israel. It was the first such agreement since Israel's peace treaty with Jordan in 1994.