Iran supplied ballistic missile to Yemen rebels: US 12/15/2017 9:03:39 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print Nikki Haley says a ballistic missile fired by Huthi militants at Saudi Arabia last month had been made in Iran AFP, DEC. 14, 2017 -- US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley presented what she called 'undeniable' evidence Thursday that a ballistic missile fired by Huthi rebels in Yemen at Saudi Arabia last month was Iranian-made. Haley accused Tehran of a 'blatant violation' of UN Security Council obligations designed to rein in its missile activity, further stepping up the rhetoric towards Iran which Washington accuses of going against the spirit of a historic nuclear accord. Standing in a warehouse at a Washington military base in front of recovered pieces of two missiles, Haley said Iranian fingerprints were all over the weapons, one of which she said was fired at Riyadh's airport on November 4. 'It was made ...

IRAN: JOINT NGO LETTER IN SUPPORT OF 2017 UNGA RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN Ahead of the consideration of Resolution A/C.3/72/L.41 on the promotion and protection of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Third Committee of the General Assembly, Amnesty International, joined by over 30 other NGOs, urges UN Member States to vote in favor of the resolution. The organizations express concern about the persistence of chronic human rights challenges that are deeply rooted in Iranian laws, policies, and practices and note that the continued attention of the international community is required if Iran is to end its pattern of human rights abuses and implement human rights improvements in line with its treaty obligations and voluntary, pledges. View report in English

Iran: Parents of political prisoner assaulted and harassed by the intelligence agents The plain cloths of Iranian intelligence minister assaulted, harassed and verbally abused the parents of Kurdish political prisoner Ramin Hussein Panahi as they arrived in Sanandaj, capital of Iranian Kurdistan Province on October 29, 2017. They were referring to the regime’s Intelligence Office to ask for their son’s whereabouts and protest to his imminent execution. The intelligence agents told the couple that even God cannot save their son and he will be executed soon. The parents were also threatened that if they are not silent, their whole family will be arrested and executed. On October 26, the Iranian Regime’s Ministry of Intelligence, addressing the family member of a political prisoner after 124 days, announced that he has been detained by the Ministry and will be executed soon. The political prisoner, Ramin Hossein Panahi, was arrested on June 23, 2017, after being shot by three bullets...

Tillerson: No future for Assad in Syria 10/26/2017 9:17:01 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in Geneva that he hopes that a mechanism to remove Syrias Bashar al-Assad from power will emerge as part of a UN peace process GENEVA, AFP, 26 October 2017   - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared Thursday that Bashar al-Assad has no future as leader of Syria and will have to leave office as part of a UN-mediated peace process. Tillerson's comments to reporters came during a visit to Geneva in which he met UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, who is trying to convene a new round of peace talks next month. The secretary said US policy has not changed, but his remarks represented tougher language from an administration that had previously said Assad's fate is not a priority. 'We do not believe there is a future for the Assad regime, the Assad family,' Tillerson said. 'I think I've said it on...

UN chief Guterres, US President Trump commit to work together to address common challenges 10/21/2017 10:49:18 PM Secretary-General António Guterres meets with United States President Donald Trump at the 72nd session of the General Assembly 21 October 2017  –  United Nations   Secretary-General António Guterres met Friday with United States President Donald Trump and discussed, among others, tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the fight against terrorism. According to a readout of the meeting, the Mr. Guterres and Mr. Trump discussed UN effectiveness and reform, as well as global issues of mutual concern, including Myanmar, the tensions in the Korean Peninsula, the situation in the wider Middle East, and the fight against global terrorism.  “The two committed to work together to address these and other common challenges in the coming months,” the readout added. The meeting was held on Friday, 20 October at the White House, Washington, D.C....

Iran's brave human rights defenders and their struggle against the death penalty 10/13/2017 9:52:37 AM Campaign against death penalty https://www.mojahedin.org/newsen/58737/Iran's-brave-human-rights-defenders-and-their-struggle-against-the-death-penalty Oct 12, 2017  - On 10 October, people around the world marked the World Day against the Death Penalty. This year is particularly significant for us at Amnesty International because it marks 40 years since the organization first began campaigning for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty in 1977. Since this landmark moment, countries that use the death penalty have become an increasingly isolated minority. In fact, as of September 2017, more than two-thirds of the countries around the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. However, as the world moves away from the death penalty, Iran continues to execute hundreds of people every year and comes second only to China in the number...

Is the Argument for Regime Change in Iran Well Founded? The first factor that challenges the power of the ruling regime is the looming threat of uprisings. From an economic and social perspective   By Shahriar Kia  September 30, 2017 -- During his first address to the UN General Assembly in September, President Donald Trump offered a perspective on the people and the regime of Iran that starkly differed from that of his predecessors. He accurately attested that “The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want to change.” He described the Iran nuclear deal as “an embarrassment,” called off the Iranian regime for its export of “violence, bloodshed, and chaos,” and underlined that “Iran’s people are what their leaders fear most.” These remarks from the president of the United States are a positive signal after three decades of failed appeasement toward the mullahs ruling Iran. And the testament to the fact are the reactions of Ira...

Hanging of 42 prisoners in Iraq raises concern over flawed due process – UN rights chief High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.   27 September 2017  – The mass hanging of 42 prisoners on Sunday in a prison in southern Iraq raises massive concerns over the country's use of the death penalty, the UN human rights chief said Wednesday.  “I am appalled to learn of the execution of 42 prisoners in a single day,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a press release from his Office (OHCHR), referring to the hanging at Al Hoot prison in the city of Nasiriyah. “Under international law, the death penalty may only be imposed after a strict set of substantive and procedural requirements have been met,” he added. Mr. Zeid said it was “extremely doubtful” that these strict due process and fair trial guarantees – including the men's rights to effective legal assistance and a full appeals process, and to seek pardo...