NEWS))))))

Iran: Eleven executions in four days

According to website of Gilan province judiciary May 13, in the period between 13 to 16 May of 2013, the Iranian regime executed 11 prisoners in the cities of Rasht, Noshahr and Karaj. Last week also, fifteen prisoners were executed in Qezelhessar prison in Karaj, Shahroud and Semnan just in two days, May 8 and 9. By resorting to waves of repression and executions, the regime seeks to intensify the intimidation atmosphere in a bid to prevent the outburst of public anger on the brink of sham elections, particularly after the deadly schism in the Velayat-e faqih regime and unprecedented rise in power struggle among regime’s leaders.

Iranian regime rounds up so-called ‘thugs’ ahead of June election

According to the Iranian resistance May 17, State Security Forces in Tehran have arrested 74 so called ‘thugs’ in Tehran as part of the ongoing crackdown ahead of the June presidential election.
Greater Tehran’s State Security commander Hossein Sajedinia told the state-run ISNA news agency on May 16: “In a joint operation between Tehran’s security forces and police the accused were first identified and then arrested.
“Expert police agents have arrested 74 thugs in the past 24 hours and turned them in to the judicial system.
Sajedinia said that "thugs" were arrested in a 12-stage plan last year, and so far 150 people had been arrested in two stages of the security plan.
NCRi added: Meanwhile, 26 youths have also been arrested in Ahvaz on May 14 during raids on private homes. It is not known where the accused are being held. The arrests are all part of a pre-election clampdown by paranoid rulers who fear a mass public uprising during the election in June.

 

Iran: Air pollution reaching deadly levels in Tehran

Air pollution in Tehran has reached a very dangerous levels. The state-run news media has blamed the sand storms in the western provinces.
In January this year, universities and government offices in Tehran were closed because of high air pollution. At the time, officials in Tehran called on residents to remain indoors or avoid downtown areas.
According to the World Health Organization’s 2011 report on air quality and health, three of Iran’s cities are among the world’s 10 most polluted cities.
A staggering 13,000 people die annually in the capital, Tehran as a result of air pollution, an official of the Iranian regime’s Health Ministry also admitted recently.
Tehran residents blame the regime’s production of poor-quality petrol for the pollution and complain that the same levels of pollution do not exist in other major cities like Isfahan, Arak, Tabriz, Mashhad, Karaj and Ahvaz.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday May 14, schools in the city of Boroujerd, east of Iran, were also closed down due to air pollution.
One government official said: 'The amount of dust particles floating in the air in the city of Boroujerd is 13 times higher than normal.'

 

Fear and threats in Khamenei’s first response to Rafsanjani’s candidacy

According to INTV Iranian resistance television, May 15,  in his first response to Rafsanjani’s registration for the elections – creating obstacles for his plan’s to engineer the elections – supreme leader Khamenei revealed his fear and concerns in his first remarks. Observers and analysts viewed Khamenei’s comments and his relatively clear remarks against Rafsanjani’s positions as a hasty and unaware intervention, while Khamenei claims he will not favor any particular candidate.
Khamenei also in his remarks said in innuendo that Rafsanjani was behind the fire of the 2009 sedition.
Khamenei also emphasized the Guardian Council will also introduce the names of those ‘competent’ for the mullahs’ presidency.
Khamenei added portraying the country’s atmosphere as in a crisis, exaggerating the problems, and creating disappointment and hopelessness regarding the problems are all the works of networks that lie and distort the truth. This is while Rafsanjani has always said the country is in a crisis and has based his candidacy on leading the country out of this crisis.

Iranian forces smash instruments and halt music concert

State security forces invaded the stage during a traditional music concert in Iran, attacking spectators, insulting performers and smashing musical instruments, according to reports from inside the Iranian regime.
It is thought some of the musicians at the concert in Shahrekord on May 13 had taken part in the mass anti-regime protests during the 2009 election.
A number of those protesting the move by the State Security Forces have been arrested and there is no information on their whereabouts.
Panicking mullahs are currently imposing a nationwide clampdown on personal freedoms ahead of the forthcoming June presidential election in a desperate bid to prevent further protests.

 

Iranian cleric says women cannot be president, woman’s name on ballot ‘not allowed’

The Washington Post reported on May 16 that a member of Iran’s constitutional watchdog says women cannot be presidential candidates, effectively killing the long shot bids by about 30 women seeking to run in the June 14 election.
Even before Thursday’s comments by Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, chances for a woman candidate in Iran’s presidential election were considered impossible.
Iranian regime's constitution uses a word denoting only a male president.