Iran: Warnings of another attack on Camp Liberty, Iraq

Camp Liberty

London, 26 Aug - A letter addressing the US President Barack Obama and General Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary, received on August 19, warns against another attack on Camp Liberty in Iraq where Iranian political dissidents are claiming shelter.

According to a guest column in Augusta Free Press by Prof. Raymond Tanter (former member of the U.S. National Security Council Staff) and Col. (Ret.) Wes Marten (former antiterrorism/force protection for coalition forces in Iraq), the letter was signed by “a bipartisan group of 36 former national security officials.”

Prominent figures of the U.S. politics, including Ed Rendell and Mayor Rudy Giuliani, were among those who had signed the letter. The letter expressed fear of another attack on Camp Liberty in Iraq, organised by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) and Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Despite the extreme danger that the dissidents of Iran’s ruling regime are facing at Camp Liberty, it will not be the first time that they come under such a threat. Following the July 9 rally, hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Paris, which attracted a following of 100,000 supporters, the media in Iran reported that “Camp Liberty must be targeted once again with a number of missiles,” according to Otagh-e-Khabar.

Iran:Maryam Rajavi calls on the U.S. and the UN to guarantee Camp Liberty’s security until all residents depart Iraq

Maryam Rajavi

Missile attack on Camp Liberty

Following tonight’s missile barrage on Camp Liberty by militias affiliated with the terrorist Quds Force, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, hailed the heroic perseverance of the residents of Camp Liberty and wished a quick recovery for those wounded in the criminal attack.

She said that the missile attack on Camp Liberty, especially following an inhumane eight-day siege, blocking fuel, food and medicine from entering the camp, demonstrated that the religious dictatorship ruling Iran is terrified of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the Iranian Resistance, which it views as an existential threat.

For this reason, Mrs. Rajavi noted, the mullahs’ regime opposes any solution for Camp Liberty residents that would ensure their safety and security and tries to obstruct it. The only acceptable options, as far as the regime is concerned, are to either compel Camp Liberty residents to surrender and abandon their struggle or to physically eliminate them.

She called on the UN Security Council, the European Union and their member states to decisively condemn the criminal missile attack on Camp Liberty. Mrs. Rajavi said now that no doubt remains as to the Iranian regime’s intentions to cause more bloodshed at Camp Liberty, there is added urgency for the United States and the United Nations to take action to guarantee and provide safety and security for the residents of Camp Liberty until such time when all of them have departed Iraq. She emphasized that this would be consistent with the repeated and written guarantees the U.S. and the UN have given regarding the safety and security of Camp Liberty residents.

More than 50 missiles rained down at Camp Liberty, several of which landed outside the camp. The assault caused major destruction and fire in the camp, with missile craters seven feet wide and five feet deep. Based on reports received until midnight, 40 resident had been injured in the attack.

Iran:Key U.S. Senator angry over UN inaction on Iran regime missile tests

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker

The United Nations Security Council’s reluctance to sanction Iran's regime over its ballistic missile program is drawing an angry response from a key member of the United States Congress, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Reuters reported Wednesday that UN Security Council diplomats don’t think the case for sanctions is very strong because under the relevant UN resolution Iran's regime is only “called upon” to not conduct ballistic missile tests that could deliver a nuclear weapon – it is not forbidden from doing so.

That “directly contradicts assurances made by the administration,” U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said in a statement Wednesday. “As many of us feared, now it appears Iran can defy those restrictions with impunity, fearing no pushback from the U.N. Security Council.”

Sen. Corker, like all Senate Republicans, opposed the Iran nuclear pact, which the U.N. Security Council approved in July by adopting U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which also called on Iran's regime not to launch nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Since the deal was struck, Obama administration officials have insisted that the only sanctions that would be rolled back under the deal are those pertaining to the Iranian regime’s nuclear activity — all others would remain in place.

Iraq: West Must Learn the Bitter Lessons of Ramadi in Mosul

Struan Stevenson

Press release by the President of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA), Struan Stevenson, 12 February 2016

The European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) calls upon the UN, US and EU to learn the lessons of Ramadi and not allow the wanton slaughter of the Sunni population of Mosul in the looming battle to liberate that city. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has conducted an international tour to bolster support for the impending battle for Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, which was captured by ISIS (Daesh) in June 2014. Abadi visited Washington DC, pleading with Obama for more US airstrikes and for US military personnel to train Iraqi forces. He also wants military equipment and cash. Abadi also visited Erbil in Northern Iraq, where he asked Kurdish President Masoud Barzani to pledge assistance from the Peshmerga in the forthcoming battle to liberate Mosul.

Mosul is in Nineveh Province, Northern Iraq; it is home to over two and a half million people. Strict restrictions have been placed on the local population with only trusted traders being allowed to leave and return to the city. The remaining, largely Sunni population has been held hostage. Daesh captured vast quantities of modern American weaponry when the Iraqi army fled and the city has become an almost impregnable fortress. US military commanders who are advising the Iraqis estimate that it may take another year before Mosul can be recaptured.

Fmr Jordanian ambassador to Iran condemns missile attack on Camp Liberty

Dr. Bassam al-Omoush, a former Jordanian minister 

Dr. Bassam al-Omoush, a former Jordanian minister of administrative development and former Ambassador to Tehran, has called for Iraq’s National Security Advisor Faleh Fayyad to be replaced and international protection be provided to members of the main Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) in Camp Liberty in Iraq.

Dr. al-Omoush issued a statement regarding the October 29 missile attack on Camp Liberty and reminded the international community of its responsibility to secure the wellbeing and protection of the camp’s residents.

Excerpts of his statement:

On October 29, 2015, a deadly attack on Camp Liberty by elements of Iranian regime in the government and security forces of Iraq led to hundreds of casualties among the camp’s residents, including 24 dead, and the destruction of large sections of the camp. Located in one of the most protected areas of Baghdad and near the Baghdad International Airport and place of deployment of U.S. forces, this attack on the camp would have been impossible without the collaboration of part of the Iraqi state and security apparatuses.

A year and a half after the removal of Nuri Maliki from power in Iraq, the file of Camp Liberty remains in the hands of Faleh Fayyad, a well-known element of the Iranian regime who has been directly involved in the massacres of the residents over the past seven years.

Despite many international calls, the government of Iraq continues to dodge its responsibilities in protecting the camp and has not initiated any investigations into the October 29 massacre.

Moreover, Iraqi forces are barring attempts to normalize the conditions in the camp devastated by the missile attack and are also hampering delivery of food, fuel and basic needs to the residents.

We are thus calling on our own government, the United Nations, the U.S. government and the European Union to compel the government of Iraq to live up to its commitments to the residents, and in particular:

1. Camp Liberty should be designated a refugee camp under UNHCR supervision to ensure residents’ security by the UN.

2. Immediate needs of Camp Liberty should be provided following the missile attack to normalize the condition of the camp.

3. Camp Liberty’s file should be removed from the hands of Faleh Fayyad, and those managing the camp ought to be replaced with individuals not associated with the Iranian regime.

4. The residents should be allowed to sell their property in [Camp] Ashraf or be reimbursed for it to be able to provide for their expenses.

16 executed in Iran in three days after UN General Assembly resolution

16 executed in Iran in three days

The Iranian regime has hanged 16 prisoners in Qazvin, Zahedan, Shiraz and Amol within the past three days.

Eight prisoners were hanged en masse on Tuesday, December 22, in Qazvin Prison. Five prisoners were also hanged en masse in the Central Prison of Bandar Abbas on December 20. Another two prisoners aged 26 and 30 were hanged in public in Kouzegari Square of Shiraz on the charge of Moharebeh, or waging war on God. On December 21, a 31-year-old man was hanged in Amol Prison (northern Iran).

In addition to the above, recorded data show more executions in the past two weeks: Three prisoners were executed in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj and a prisoner in Kerman Prison who had killed a State Security Forces commander (Dec. 16), a 20-year-old prisoner was executed in Noshahr (Dec. 14), a 21-year-old prisoner was hanged in public in Noorabad, Mamasani (Dec. 9), a prisoner was executed in the Central Prison of Bandar Abbas (Dec. 7), a woman was hanged in Qazvin Prison, a group of four prisoners aged between 23 and 35 (including two brothers called Ataollah and Mohammad Gomshad Zehi) were executed in the Central Prison of Zahedan on the charge of clashing with security forces, and another 36-year-old prisoner was executed in Gorgan (Dec. 6).

The Iranian regime executes dissidents and political prisoners using common charges or the charge of waging war on God. Many executions are carried out secretly and the news is never leaked out of prisons and other repressive dungeons.

In the meantime, dozens of prisoners, including Barzan Nasrollahzadeh, Sajjad Sanjari and Hamid Ahmadi who were under 18 years old at the time of their alleged crimes are presently on death row.

Barzan is a Sunni prisoner who was arrested in 2010 when he was a high school student. He was held in solitary confinement for months and ultimately sentenced to death on the charge of Moharebeh. According to Barzan's relatives, "he has not killed anybody, is not affiliated with any group and did not possess any arms."

On December 8, Amnesty International issued a call demanding abolition of death sentences for minors: “Iran cemented its shameful status as the world’s top official executioner of juvenile offenders… Iran’s continued use of the death penalty against persons convicted of crimes committed while they were under 18 years of age is cruel, inhumane and blatantly unlawful.”

Following the December 17th adoption of the 62nd UN General Assembly resolution censuring human rights abuses in Iran, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect Maryam Rajavi called on the UN Security Council to hold the murderers of the people of Iran accountable and prosecute them for their crimes against humanity. She underlined that this is a necessary step towards respecting the international community's vote that condemned the systematic and flagrant violations of human rights in Iran.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

December 22, 2015

’Assad Is the Problem, Not the Solution’: Amb. Bill Richardson

Ambassador Bill Richardson

At the sidelines to the massive anti-Rouhani demonstration held across from the UN on Monday, in an exclusive interview, Amb. Bill Richardson, a life-long Democrat, former American Ambassador to the UN, and former Governor of Arizona, came out strongly against Obama’s Iran deal, The Wall Street Journal reported.

He also stated that Bashar Assad “is the problem, not the solution – he’s a killer, he’s a violator of human rights... and unless he goes, there’s not going to be peace in Syria.”

But to the thronging masses of over 3,000 Iranian-Americans and Syrian-Americans, Amb. Richardson opened by accusing Iranian president Rouhaniand his regime of executing more than 2,000 political prisoners in the less-than two years of his administration.

That means Rouhani has executed an average of more three political prisoners a day in Iran since he was installed by the Khamenei in a sham election.

Protesters were heard chanting “Terrorist Rouhani.”

Iranians outside UN say No to Rouhani

Thousands of Iranian-Americans rallied on Monday outside the United Nations in New York to condemn the presence of the Iranian regime's President Hassan Rouhani at the UN General Assembly and to call on the international community to take action to stop human rights abuses in Iran.

UN chief: No improvement in human rights in Iran under Rouhani

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has criticized Iran’s regime for gross violations of human rights in a report to the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.

Concurrent with the presence of the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani in New York, the UN chief referred to numerous human rights violations in Iran in the past year in his annual report to the General Assembly on Friday, September 25.

There has been a steady upward trend in the number of executions from 2008 to 2015, with a peak of at least 750 in 2014,” the report said.

Iran: On the eve of UN summit, NCRI publishes study on women's plight in Iran

TheNCRI Women's Committee has published a study on the Iranian regime's 20-year conduct since the Beijing Platform for Action.

The study sheds light on institutionalized violence and discrimination against women in Iran and its horrendous consequences for Iranian women and girls.

It further probes the regime's vision on women contradicting universal humanitarian standards and the objectives of the gender-equality movement.

Iran regime kills 20-year-old Kurdish man

town-marivan

Thesuppressive state security forces in Iran on Saturday shot and killed a young Kurdish man on the outskirts of the town of Marivan, western Iran.

Locals have identified the Kurdish man as 20-year-old Esmaeil Hossein Amini. His body was later transferred to Buali Hospital in Marivan.

Since Hassan Rouhani took office two years ago, there has been a drastic deterioration in the human rights situation in Iran.

Earlier this year a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Ahmad Shaheed noted that during Rouhani's tenure 'the overall situation has worsened' with respect to human rights."

Call to save 19-year-old Ahwazi prisoner from execution in Iran

The Iranian Resistance calls for urgent action to save the life of Ali Sudani, a19-year-old member of Iran's Arab community, who is scheduled to face execution on Thursday, September 17 in public. It calls on all human rights organizations, in particular the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, to take urgent action to prevent this inhuman crime.

British lawmakers recommend new policy towards Iran

Steve McCabe MP

British Parliamentarians who attended a meeting of the all-party British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom on Tuesday in the House of Commons have endorsed a set of recommendations to the United Kingdom government on its policy towards Iran.

IAEA to be present as samples taken from Parchin military site – Reuters

parchin-nuclear-site

Parchin military site

United Nations inspectors will be present with Iranian technicians as they take samples from a key military site, two Western diplomats said, Reuters reported on Friday.

The diplomats were familiar with details of a confidential arrangement between the regime in Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog for inspections at the Parchin site, where some countries suspect nuclear weapons-related tests may have taken place, Reuters wrote.may have taken place, Reuters wrote.

Iran: Concern over challenges of UN women's summit Posed to Mullah regime.

The state-run Mehr news agency published a report this morning Expressing concern over the Iranian diet Will the challenges faced at the UN Women's summit for world leaders in September.

While the summit is going to urge further Top commitment by member states to women's equality and empowerment in the world's development agenda for the next 15 years based on the Beijing Platform of Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination contre Women in the world, Mehr Expressed concern about how Tehran shoulds Plan for this summit.

The concern is omnipresent Within The diet's government circles PARTICULARLY That It Has not yet signed the CEDAW and have Mehr wrote, some issues including "women's choice in controlling reproduction" and "Reforms in the laws to Provide women's equality in all affairs" are Contrary to the official views of the religious hierarchy fascist ruling the country.

 (State-run Mehr news agency, Aug. 29)