Floods swept through Iran once again in February, devastating provinces that were still reeling from the March 2019 floods. Almost a year later, little has been done to repair the crumbling roads and bridges in the affected provinces or take action to prevent another tragedy, despite promises from regime officials after the 2019 floods.

While the people of Sistan and Baluchestan freeze in treetops, the corrupt regime spends millions funding terrorist proxies in the regionhttps://t.co/NAGSkfeB62#Iran #floods #MEK @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/xPyqhzu0G9

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) January 26, 2020

March 2019 Floods

In March 2019 devastating floods ravaged Lorestan Province, stranding residents on rooftops, trees, and mountaintops for days waiting for government aid. The regime bungled the response to the floods, angering residents who were left homeless. The regime appointed the deeply unpopular Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC) Khatam-al Anbiya Base to rebuild the areas damaged by the floods.

On March 8, 2019, the state-run Mehr News agency wrote: “Saeed Mohammad, Commander of the IRGC Khatam al-Anbiya Base, and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the IRGC’s aerospace force, have been traveling to Majin Dareh Shahr in Ilam Province. During this visit, they were supposed to examine the latest situation of the flood-stricken people in Majin and their needs for building communication ways and new bridges.”

The director of Khuzestan’s Water and Power Organization also promised to take action to prevent a future disaster, declaring: “We are building flood dams 26 kilometers northwest of Ahvaz to prevent floodwaters of Karkheh and Dez.”

Broken Promises

In February 2020 the same cities were damaged from floods as in 2019. Poldokhtar, Mamoulan, Khorramabad, and Koohdasht all sustained heavy damages. Some of this destruction should have been mitigated by the promised repairs to neglected bridges and infrastructure that led to the bulk of the devastation in 2019. However, a closer look makes it clear that the IRGC constructed shoddy and unsafe bridges that were quickly destroyed in the floods and pocketed the profits.

On February 27, 2020, Meisam Ghadami, deputy of the Directorate General of Road Administration and Transport told the state-run Mehr news agency: “Regarding Davazdah Cheshmeh Bridge and five other bridges, I have to say that they were destroyed in the March floods, and due to the lack of funds needed for the construction of new bridges and to speed up traffic in the area, the Department of Roads and Transport temporarily installed metal deck bridges at the same location.”

Broken promises: On March 8, 2019, the state-run Mehr News agency wrote: “Saeed Mohammad, Commander of the IRGC Khatam al-Anbiya Base, and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the IRGC’s aerospace force, have been traveling to Majin Dareh Shahr in Ilam Province. During this visit, they were supposed to examine the latest situation of the flood-stricken people in Majin and their needs for building communication ways and new bridges.”

The Davazdah Cheshmeh Bridge was a beautiful and historic bridge with cultural significance. It has stood since the 18th Century and was allowed to fall into disrepair under the mullahs’ regime due to their mismanagement and disrespect for Persian culture and history. The failure to restore it and provide a safe and sturdy bridge for the people of Lorestan is a further act of disrespect and corruption by the IRGC and the regime.

In the interview with Mehr, Ghadami described the damage caused by the floods, saying: “According to officials, [the floods caused] tens of billions of tomans in damages to urban and rural infrastructures, residential homes, the agricultural sector, etc.,  a huge amount of damage that has not yet been compensated. This happened again in February and this time too, the province suffered more than 2 billion tomans in damages. Now, despite the March losses, the February catastrophe is added to it.

The Regime Continues to Lie and Avoid Responsibility for #Flood Deaths https://t.co/7p9VPy3r6F#Iran #MEK

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) April 5, 2019

“Damages piled up, promises of spring reached summer and were forgotten in autumn. Now in winter, the Lorestan flood victims are again in pain and suffering and the only thing to do is to hope that the flood will not hit Lorestan in the spring since until now the floods and rainfall have not woken up government officials,” he added.

During the floods, MEK members provided aid to flood victims when the regime failed to do so. In 2019 some MEK members were arrested for doing so. No government should punish its people for helping each other while simultaneously failing to provide basic assistance to citizens it has placed in harm’s way. This is one of the many reasons why Iranians are fighting for freedom and democracy.

Efforts by the present regime in Iran to try to conceal the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iran haven’t been successful, as the world is fully aware of the impact from independent news reports that have revealed the truth of the impact of the virus on the Iranian people. One of the leaks contained the fact that 50 people had already lost their lives to the virus in the city of Qom.

Earlier this month the Spanish magazine El Espanol interviewed Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), about her thoughts on the current state of affairs in Iran and the future of the MEK Iran and Iranian Resistance. The interview was published in the magazine’s February 8, 2020 edition and includes Mrs. Rajavi’s recommendations on EU policy toward the Iranian regime.

In the heavy presence of security and suppressive forces of Iranian regime, on the same day when Ali Khamenei, Regime’s Supreme Leader, spoke at the Friday Sermon in Tehran, defiant youth tore up or torched posters of mastermind of terror, Qassem Soleimani, across Iran including Tehran, Kerman, Zanjan, Iranshahr, Fassa, Lahijan, Tabriz, Zahedan, and Masjed Soleiman.

Hundreds of Supporters of the main Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK) rallied in Paris on Monday, December 2, 2019, to denounce Iranian regime’s crackdown on the protesters in Iran and express their support for the uprising in Iran.

Iranians once again took to streets to restore their stolen rights from the mullahs in recent weeks. Based on records revealed by the main opposition, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) there have been at least 450 killed, 4000 injured, and 10000 detainees.

The Iranian regime’s leader has already tried to dismiss the national uprising that began on Friday as being led by foreign powers – claims that have no basis in fact – and failed to explain why his agents have killed more than 200 peaceful protesters, mostly young people, over a period of just six days, through direct shots to the head and chest.

Iranians took to the streets on Friday to protest gasoline prices after the cost of gas tripled. Protests began to escalate on Friday afternoon, and by Friday evening they had spread to more cities.

The people of Iran, 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line, are furious about the latest example of the plundering of the nation’s resources by the clerical regime. While many workers have had to resort to rummaging through public garbage cans to find food or selling their own organs to provide for their families, the regime and their cronies live in luxury using the wealth that belongs to the Iranian people.

Protests on Friday Afternoon

Iranians staged protests in a number of Iranian cities, with the help of the MEK’s Resistance Units. On Friday afternoon the protests grew in various cities in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

Tehran, #Iran
Locals are blocking the Imam Ali Highway, protesting a recent gasoline price hike.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/eW9aYKWnKn

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 16, 2019

In the cities of Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, Andimeshk, Dezful, Behbahan, and Mahshahr, protesters chanted anti-regime slogans and set tires on fire to block streets and highways.

Protests on Friday Evening

By Friday evening, the protests had gained momentum as more people joined the demonstrations taking place and additional protests began.

Protests in Ahvaz and other cities in Khuzestan took a dramatic turn when the State Security Force attacked the protesters, breaking the windshields of their vehicles. Ahvazi youth pushed back against the attack and sat down on the street, forcing them to retreat. The young people blocked the Mullah Thani Expressway, chanting, “Let go of Syria, think of us!” and “Have no fear, we are all together!”

Iranian youth have been a major force in the Iranian Resistance, and they have been instrumental in joining the Mujahedin-d Khalq (PMOI/MEK) in fighting against the mullahs’ tyranny.

The regime placed the State Security Force, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the Judiciary and other suppressive forces in various cities on high alert five days ago in anticipation of massive protests. The country has been on the verge of widespread revolt since the 2017/2018 uprising, and the regime’s answer to the unrest has been to increase its suppression.

In Mashhad, protesters rallied at the Vakil-Abad Expressway, switching off their cars and blocking the highway. The protesters chanted, “Dictator shame on you, let go of the country!” Rouhani shame on you, let go of the country!” “Death to Rouhani!” and “Our silence betrays Iran!” They also carried signs which read, “We will never again buy gasoline, one hand does make much noise.”

Birjand, northeast #Iran
"Proud people of Birjand, support, support!"
People are protesting today's gasoline price hikes & calling on locals to rise up against the mullahs' regime.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/sDtjfUDyYe

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 15, 2019

In the city of Hashtgerd in Karaj, just west of Tehran, people protested the rise in gas prices by driving their cars in the streets. People held similar protests in Shiraz, Karaj, and Sirjan.

Maryam Rajavi’s Response

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), saluted the brave protesters in Mashhad, Shiraz, Karaj, Sirjan, Ahvaz, and other Iranian cities for rising up against the corrupt and criminal regime. She encouraged the youth of Iran to join the protesters in their fight.

Based on the sources of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), during the period of 19 to 24 October 2019 in a campaign coinciding with the anniversary of the election of Mrs. Rajavi by the NCRI, the MEK resistance units accelerated their activities.

Enjoying a vast popular support, the defiant youth, supporters of the MEK, torched the symbols of the regime’s leadership, Khomeini, the founder of the religious dictatorship, and Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, across Iran including, Mashhad (northeast), Shiraz (south), Zahedan (southeast), Kermanshah, Khorramabad and Boroujerd (west), Kashan (south-central), and Behbahan, and Gachsaran (southwest).

Based on a statement released by the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran on October 25, 2019:

“ During the same period, large placards and banners carrying Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s picture were posted in different parts of Tehran, like Abbas Abad, Arya Shahr, Nivaran, and Modarres Expressways, Tehran Pars, Kurdistan and Kaveh Expressways, and elsewhere. The same was done in public places in many other Iranian cities.“

MEK’s activities dramatically promote hope for change in Iran amongst the young generation as well as women, the hope for establishing a free, democratic Iran. The MEK resistance units are the source of inspiration in the society inside Iran and among the Iranian community abroad. Posting posters of Massoud Rajavi, leader of the Iranian Resistance, and Maryam Rajavi, by the supporters of the MEK, indicates the popular support for the MEK’s objectives and the ten-point plan of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi for a democratic, secular, and pluralistic Iran.

Below are some images of the MEK’s resistance units torching the Iranian regime’s symbols.

Posting large placards and banners carrying Mrs. Rajavi’s picture by the MEK resistance units

Since the beginning of October, Iran witnessed a remarkable expansion of the MEK resistance unit’s activities, including setting fire to the billboards of the Iranian regime’s leaders. Despite the suppressive measures by the security forces in Iran, the defiant youth accelerate their protests against the regime. During this period of time, the MEK resistance units torched the billboards of Khomeini and Khamenei and also the signs of the Basij (the regime’s paramilitary suppressive forces affiliated to the IRGC) centers in Tehran, Shiraz, Khoy, Bandarabbass, Maku, Lahijan, Orumiyeh, Kermanshah, Zahedan, and Khoramabad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The resistance units of the MEK hung the posters of Massoud Rajavi, Leader of the Iranian Resistance, and Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), in many cities across the country.

Simultaneously, resistance against the religious dictatorial regime ruling Iran expanded in Tehran, Shiraz, Arak, Haft Tapeh, and Lordegan; all supported by the Iranian people particularly college and high-school students.

Following the beginning of the school year, protests by the students resumed in many colleges and universities in Iran.

At the University of Tehran, and Art & Architect College in Mazandaran students held a protest gathering on 22 October 2019. Students of the Science & Industry University in Tehran protested against food poisoning of students on the university campus.

MEK as the main opposition in Iran through its activities both on the ground and in social media has had the most tangible impact on the Iranian people. Many protests and protest actions and gatherings are inspired and led by the MEK. Iranian people consider the MEK as the only hope for a better future. They find the ten-point plan of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi as a platform for a free Iran.

The MEK is the most organized movement in Iran’s recent history. In June 1981, just two and a half years after the 1979 revolution, the MEK managed a demonstration in Tehran in which 500,000 people participated. Now, the resistance units of the MEK, are active in almost all of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Dr. Maria Ryan, CEO of Cottage Hospital, said at an international conference in Ashraf3:

“You’re really organized. And that’s important for people to see because as we move the regime out in Iran, it’s going to take a lot of work to put up a government and stand it up. And this is how I feel your strength is coming through — you’re thinking about the future, you’re organizing and you’re disciplined. I’m very impressed by this.”