Spring of freedom

Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani  In his Persian New Year speech on March 1, Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described economic difficulties as the most important and imminent of all and said: “The economy is the country’s imminent and most serious problem with the highest priority.” Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, on the other hand, while recognizing the economic crisis, ridiculously blamed problems from past decades as the root of the current fiasco. Fearing the growing popular discontent and misery and in an attempt to save face and pump hope and enthusiasm into their desperate bases, Iranian officials continued their quest of empty promises and blaming foreign forces and their opponents in the ruling elite. On March 2, Iranian state-run television quoted Khamenei as saying: “While referring to senior governmental officials’ reports about the ongoing process of coming up with solutions to counter the sanctions, the Islamic Revolution Supreme Leader...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani. (Reuters) The human rights situation has been deteriorating to an unprecedented level in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This highlights the empowerment of the hard-line judiciary system and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the so-called moderate administration of President Hassan Rouhani.  Specifically, several groups have become the Iranian regime’s targets. The first category is linked to religious and ethnic minorities, including the Arabs, Kurds, Azeris, Baluchis, Sunnis, Christians and Baha’is. The situation has become so alarming that the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, recently  urged  Tehran to “ensure that all those who reside in the country have equal protection before the law, regardless of ethnicity, religion or belief.” It is important to point out that the Islamic Republic is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This means...