Nukes + Knives + Videos + Mothers

Iran has announced that by June 27 the amount of enriched uranium held in the country will exceed 300kg, the maximum agreed under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in 2015. Pundits, analysts and experts all say Iran and the US don’t want to go to war, but both sides are preparing for one. On Monday, the Pentagon announced that another 1,000 American troops will be sent to the Persian Gulf and Iran recently released two extraordinary videos. The first one, published by the Revolutionary Guards, shows behind the scenes of an attack against ISIS forces in Syria in 2017. The operations were led by Ghasem Soleimani, the head of the Guards’ Quds Force. Another video, published by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, is the visualization of Iran’s intelligence officers revealing CIA operations in Iran and other countries. 

No matter what happens next, the Iranian people will pay the price. And it will be the fault of the Islamic Republic, a regime built on bigotry and violence. This week we mark the anniversary of the execution of Mona Mahmoudinejad, the youngest of 10 women to be hanged for being a Baha’i and teaching Baha’i children. People around the world were shocked by the murder of the 17-year-old, and this outrage helped stem the campaign of brutal killings of Baha’is. But today, unfortunately, Iran’s largest religious minority continues to face persecution, and they are still punished for educating their fellow Baha’is. 7

IranWire also spoke to the mother of political prisoner Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali, who was killed by two inmates on his ward. She tells not only of her heartbreak but also her suspicion that the real responsibility for her son’s death rests with someone higher up who ordered the murder, and about authorities’ refusal to let her mourn in the way she wanted. It’s a personal, private story, but it also speaks of the endemic corruption and injustice in Iran today, a reality shared by more and more people every day.