Let's talk Iran - March 10, 2021
NUCLEAR
Biden ready to discuss sanctions only after Iran starts talking
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Mohammad Javad Zarif, who pushed for the 2015 nuclear deal and supported engagement with the U.S., are not running in June's elections and will finish their terms in August. The next Iranian president is likely to be more skeptical of nuclear diplomacy with the U.S.
"We don’t intend to base the pace of our discussions on the Iranian elections — the pace will be determined by how far we can get consistent with defending U.S. national security interests," Malley said.
"In other words, we won’t rush or slow things because of the Iranian elections." LINK
Biden administration aims to avoid public feud with Israel over Iran
The Israelis are very happy that the U.S.-Israel strategic forum, which was established during Obama’s first term, has been resumed by the Biden administration.
Israeli officials tell me they want to use the first meeting to lay out the latest intelligence and data on Iran's nuclear program and assess whether the U.S. and Israeli intelligence pictures align.
National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne confirmed that the meeting would take place on Thursday. LINK
PROTESTS
Iran State-Run Media Warn Officials of Another Social Turmoil
Iran’s state-run media have been acknowledging that Iran’s social and economic crises result from the regime’s mismanagement, and these crises have turned the society into a powder keg on the verge of explosion. LINK
Iran’s regime is at dead end in dealing with social protests
For Iran's regime, the crossroads is in fact a dead end. Both paths will lead to more uprisings and protests. The regime is incapable of handling its social and economic crises and this will lead to its overthrowing. LINK
HUMAN RIGHTS
Political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared banished to Prison of Semnan
Maryam Akbari Monfared has been in prison since December 2009 without a single day of furlough. She has been deprived of access to medical treatment. LINK
By Overlooking Violations in Iran, Western Nations Lose Credibility on Women’s Rights
In November 2019, when Iranian authorities opened fire on crowds of protesters who were demanding popular sovereignty and an end to theocratic rule, approximately 400 of the 1,500 people who were killed in those incidents were women. This fact is a testament to the prominence of place that women have taken for themselves in Iran’s democratic Resistance movement, driven by the fact of the current regime’s inherent sexism and escalating efforts to reverse the gains that women have made in education and the workplace in spite of systematic efforts to exclude them and confine them to roles as wives and mothers. LINK
UK, EU lawmakers urge support for female activists leading a push for change in Iran
A panel of 30 members of Parliament and women’s rights activists from the UK and Europe urged their governments to put human rights at the forefront of Iran policy. LINK
Iran Head of Prisons: Prisoners can be used as “cheap labor”
According to official sources, there are over 200,000 prisoners in Iran’s prisons while the actual numbers are much higher. These figures do not include detainees and those who have yet to receive sentences. LINK
Iran’s Human Rights Abuses in February 2021
A dive into the horrendous human rights violations across Iran during the month of February alone. LINK
