Iranian academics are faulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for stifling information on COVID-19 and declining foreign aid, allowing the country’s outbreak to grow into “a national disaster.” In the March 29 letter, reported by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), 100 academics call Khamenei “the Number 1 culprit” for COVID-19 sweeping the nation unchecked. Now one Iranian is …
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Elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran have become such a mockery that even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is decrying blatant election-rigging in upcoming Iranian elections. The regime’s Guardian Council, an unelected supervisory board, recently disqualified more than half of the 14,000 candidates vying for seats in Iran’s February 21 parliamentary elections. “These elections are …
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Iranian authorities arrested and imprisoned at least 1.7 million of their own people in the Tehran area over the past four decades, and many were executed, a 2019 report says. Among them: more than 5,700 members of the Baha’i religious minority and at least 860 journalists and citizen-journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders. The …
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As U.S. sanctions made it harder for the Iranian government to directly fund regional violence and terror, the government used workarounds to supply money to terror groups such as Hezbollah in Syria. This graphic represents one of those illicit financial networks that the U.S. detected and sanctioned. Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, carrying …
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Each year, the Department of State honors individuals around the world who have devoted their lives to the fight against human trafficking. These individuals are NGO workers, lawmakers, police officers, and concerned citizens who are committed to ending modern slavery. They are recognized for their tireless efforts—despite resistance, opposition, and threats to their lives—to protect …
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IRAN: TIER 3 The Government of Iran does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; therefore, Iran remained on Tier 3. Despite the lack of significant efforts, the government took some steps to address trafficking, including operating some centers where trafficking victims …
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocratic republic with a Shia Islamic political system based on “velayat-e faqih” (“guardianship of the jurist” or “rule by the jurisprudent”). Shia clergy, most notably the “Rahbar” (“supreme jurisprudent” or “supreme leader”) and political leaders vetted by the clergy dominated key power structures. While mechanisms …
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocratic republic with a Shia Islamic political system based on “velayat-e faqih” (“guardianship of the jurist” or “rule by the jurisprudent”). Shia clergy, most notably the “supreme jurisprudent” (or supreme leader), and political leaders vetted by the clergy dominated key power structures. While mechanisms for …
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