text:
Apache HTTP Server Version 2.0
is a front end to the Apache HyperText
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server. It is designed to help the
administrator control the functioning of the Apache
httpd daemon.
The apachectl
script can operate in two modes.
First, it can act as a simple front-end to the httpd
command that simply sets any necessary environment variables and
then invokes httpd
, passing through any command line
arguments. Second, apachectl
can act as a SysV init
script, taking simple one-word arguments like start
, and stop
, and translating them
into appropriate signals to httpd
If your Apache installation uses non-standard paths, you will
need to edit the apachectl
script to set the
appropriate paths to the httpd
binary. You can also
specify any necessary httpd
command line arugments.
See the comments in the script for details.
The apachectl
script returns a 0 exit value on
success, and >0 if an error occurs. For more details, view
the comments in the script.
When acting in pass-through mode, apachectl
can take
all the arguments available for the httpd
apachectl [ httpd-argument ]
When acting in SysV init mode, apachectl
takes simple,
one-word commands, defined below.
apachectl command
Only the SysV init-style options are defined here. Other arguments are defined on the httpd manual page.
daemon. Gives an error if it
is already running. This is equivalent to apachectl -k
daemon. This is equivalent to
apachectl -k stop
daemon. If the daemon is
not running, it is started. This command automatically checks the
configuration files as in configtest
before initiating
the restart to make sure the daemon doesn't die. This is equivalent
to apachectl -k restart
For this to work, you need to have mod_status
on your server and a text-based browser such as lynx
available on your system. The URL used to access the status report
can be set by editing the STATUSURL
variable in the
option, except that the list of requests
currently being served is omitted.graceful
daemon. If the
daemon is not running, it is started. This differs from a normal
restart in that currently open connections are not aborted. A side
effect is that old log files will not be closed immediately. This
means that if used in a log rotation script, a substantial delay may
be necessary to ensure that the old log files are closed before
processing them. This command automatically checks the configuration
files as in configtest
before initiating the
restart to make sure Apache doesn't die. This is equivalent to
apachectl -k graceful
Syntax Ok
or detailed information about the particular syntax error. This is
equivalent to apachectl -t
.The following additional option is available, but deprecated.
apachectl -k start -DSSL
. We
recommend that you use that command explictly, or you adjust your
to remove the <IfDefine>
section so that SSL will always be


text:
It can sometimes be a daunting task to find the perfect holiday gift for men, but our gift guide is the perfect place to start! From the latest electronic gadgets to good 'ol sports standbys, you'll find plenty of ideas to help get you started.
1) Digital camera / camcorder
2) Fanwear from his favorite sports team or collectible sports memorabilia
3) Gaming console (XBox, PlayStation)
4) Portable MP3 player (and an online music subscription)
5) Home theater surround sound system
7) Cordless drill or other home improvement tools
8) DVD player
9) Tickets to a sporting event (NBA, NFL, MLB)
10) Swiss army knife or pocket survival tool
11) Gifts for the office (Briefcase, Cross or Montblanc pens, nice desk accessories)
12) Nice leather wallet or money clip
13) Indoor/outdoor weather station
14) Adventure game software
15) Sports equipment (skis or ski boots, mountain bike, golf clubs, fishing equipment)
16) New outdoor grill or BBQ tools/accessories
17) Watch or cufflinks
18) Home exercise equipment (cardio or strength training)
19) Passes to a local golf course ( or spring for passes to a resort course)
20) A subscription to his favorite magazines
21) A set of good kitchen knives (Henckels, Wusthof, Kyocera)
22) A relaxing massage
23) Nice clothing for work - suit, shirts, pants, tie, shoes or other articles
24) Computer components (scanner, printer, CD burner)
25) Shaving set

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"Closing the Gap: A National Blueprint to Improve the Health of Persons with Mental Retardation" is a 2002 report of the Surgeon General's Conference on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation: "Like other Americans, persons with mental retardation (MR)* grow up, grow old, and need good health and health care services in their communities...People with MR are remaining in their communities. In ever-increasing numbers, people with MR either do not enter institutions, or they leave them to live with their families or in other community settings, and they are determined to understand and take charge of their health. But in most cases, neither the education and training of health professionals nor other elements of the Nation's health system have been updated to reflect their progress. Especially as adolescents and adults, people with MR and their families face evergrowing challenges in finding and financing primary and specialty health care that responds both to the characteristics of MR and to the distinctive health care needs of each stage of life.
"The purpose of this Blueprint is to set forth an agenda from the community for national, State, and local action, in both public and private sectors, to improve the health of individuals with MR and to include them fully in health systems that meet their needs.
"Realizing the goals of this Blueprint calls for partnerships at all levels of public and private endeavor, from government agencies, legislatures, corporations, foundations, research and health care organizations, universities, and accreditation boards for health professions schools and training, to self-advocates, their families, local businesses and schools, voluntary, civic and faith-based organizations, individual clinical practices, and community-based health care services for other vulnerable populations."
Click here to read this full report
* Note: In 2004, Special Olympics updated its official terminology from "mental retardation" to "intellectual disabilities" - previously the term mental retardation was used throughout the Special Olympics movement because of its specific meaning in clinical and academic settings. Other terminology - including cognitive delay, intellectual disabilities, intellectual handicaps, learning disability, mental disabilities and mental handicaps - is used around the world.


text:
This is the technical support forum for Toolset - a suite of plugins for developing WordPress sites without writing PHP.
Everyone can read this forum, but only Toolset clients can post in it. Toolset support works 6 days per week, 19 hours per day.
No supporters are available to work today on Toolset forum. Feel free to create tickets and we will handle it as soon as we are online. Thank you for your understanding.
This topic contains 1 respuesta, has 2 mensajes.
Last updated by Nigel hace 3 años, 4 meses.
El debate '[Cerrado] Creating a Simple Archive Filter' está cerrado y no admite más respuestas.


text:
Export 7 results:
Filters: Author is Kemal Tuncali [Clear All Filters]
3T MRI-guided Transperineal Targeted Prostate Biopsy: Clinical Feasibility, Safety, and Early Results.
ISMRM 2011. 19, 53. tuncali2011.pdf (380.57 KB)
(2011). In-bore Setup and Software for 3T MRI-guided Transperineal Prostate Biopsy.
Physics in Medicine and Biology. Tokuda2012.pdf (1.29 MB)
(2012). Multi-slice-to-volume registration for MRI-guided transperineal prostate biopsy.
International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery. 10, 563-572. Xu2014c.pdf (1.26 MB)
(2014). Multi-slice-to-volume registration for reducing targeting error during MRI-guided transrectal prostate biopsy.
The 9th International Interventional MRI Symposium. Lasso2012e.pdf (15.46 KB) Lasso2012e-poster.pdf (751.34 KB)
(2012). Open-source image registration for MRI-TRUS fusion-guided prostate interventions.
International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery. 10, 925-934. Fedorov2015-manuscript.pdf (2.65 MB)
(2015). Preclinical evaluation of an MRI-compatible pneumatic robot for angulated needle placement in transperineal prostate interventions.
International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery (IJCARS). CARS2012_BRP_Tokuda_full.pdf (1.08 MB)
(2012). Preliminary Accuracy Evaluation of 3T MRI-guided Transperineal Prostate Biopsy with Grid Template.
ISMRM 2011 - 3rd Place Poster Award. 19, 3761. tokuda2011.pdf (448.2 KB)


text:
Check-in at 9 a.m.
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Realtime TouchDesigner Visual set as seen at Mutek Mexico 2014. Audio is improvised using Max/MSP etc. enjoy!


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Car Title Loans Depot in Fort Wayne
About This Location
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text:
- By Victor Yasmann
Russia: Why Is The Kremlin Retreating From Bushehr?
(RFE/RL) This week has seen much speculation about why Russian specialists are abandoning work on the Iranian nuclear plant at Bushehr. Pro-Kremlin observers say the move is punishment for Iran's refusal to cooperate with international demands to abandon uranium-enrichment activity. Will an anticipated vote on March 24 at the UN Security Council on a sanctions regime see Russia upholding this stance?
March 23, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Russian media this week scrambled to deny Western reports that Moscow had threatened to withhold nuclear fuel for Bushehr unless Tehran complies with demands to suspend enrichment activities.
What they couldn't deny was the fact that Russian specialists working on the nearly completed plant had begun to leave Iran. The Russian Atomic Energy Ministry described the exodus as a "planned workforce rotation," but elsewhere in Moscow officials were confirming that talks with Iran on the final stages of Bushehr were "on pause."
Never To Be Completed?
Some experts doubt the talks will ever resume. Among them is Vyacheslav Nikonov, the pro-Kremlin head of the Politika think tank. Iran's intransigence on the nuclear issue, he said, gave reason to suspect the Islamic republic was working to construct a weapons arsenal.
"Under such circumstances," Nikonov said, "any supply of nuclear fuel to launch the Bushehr station is impossible."
The Security Council is now expected to vote on March 24 on a draft resolution that would tighten sanctions on Iranian arms exports and impose an assets freeze on people and organizations involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs.
Russia and China, who in the past could be expected to exercise their veto right during such a vote, this week rejected a proposal by a nonpermanent member, South Africa, to suspend sanctions for 90 days.
So what caused Russia to make the shift? Aleksei Pushkov, a political commentator with TV-Tsentr and a member of Russia's influential Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, laid out three likely arguments for the Kremlin's apparent abandonment of its nuclear cooperation with Iran on his March 17 "Postscriptum" program:
- First, he said, the Kremlin has decided that there is a limit to how for it will go to support Iran, especially as the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush appears to grow ever more in favor of military action. If Iran fails to comply, and Bush insists on his position, Pushkov said, Moscow can say it did everything possible to alter events and then "wash its hands" of the affair.
- Second, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to show that he has broken free of the Cold War mindset that "what is bad for Washington is good for Moscow." Instead, Pushkov said, his logic is that "the U.S. military instinct should be contained, but not at the price of a major conflict with the United States."
- Finally, Pushkov said, Russia wants to send a message to fellow Security Council members that it, too, believes a nuclear Iran is unacceptable. At the same time he says, "unacceptable" to Moscow is not the same as "unacceptable" to Washington. The Kremlin line is that Iran may still manage to become a nuclear state, and the world should prepare to accept such an eventuality, rather than devise a military solution to prevent it.
Abrupt Reversal
So why did the Kremlin suddenly soften its stance on Iran? Perhaps, Pushkov argued, Putin felt he had enough areas of conflict with the United States. Between the U.S. missile-defense proposal for Central Europe, and growing support in Washington for Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine, there is plenty for the two countries to clash on without throwing Iran into the mix.
Still, Pushkov called for greater "finesse" in dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue. It is unseemly, he said, for the Kremlin to simply roll over and accept the U.S. line.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, addressing the State Duma on March 21, appeared to share his concern. He stoutly denied any connection between the "pause" at Bushehr and the imminent Security Council vote. Moreover, he added, Russia would not support "excessive" sanctions against Iran.
What most observers agree on is that the original justification -- Iran's failure to pay its bills -- was implausible at best. Iran has plenty of funds with which to pay Russia, and Russia has more than enough money to proceed with Bushehr. Perhaps, for the Kremlin, the project has simply lost its economic attractiveness.
When Russia signed the Bushehr contract with Iran in 1995, the Russian nuclear sector was in desperate need of money; a single $1 billion contract was enough to keep the decaying industry afloat. Since that time, Russia's financial outlook has changed dramatically. The country is flush with petrodollars, and the nuclear sector now has construction contracts with China, India, Bulgaria, Vietnam, and Cuba, and is negotiating with Morocco and South Africa. Russia's adoption of a $60 billion program to reconstruct its own nuclear power industry is testament to the fact that funding is no longer a pressing concern.
Bushehr remains, however, an issue of image and prestige. Russia cares about its commercial reputation, and is not eager to make a callous display of its withdrawal from Iran. Moscow is also interested in preserving its political reputation within the Islamic world.
In the end, those who predicted that relations with the United States remain more important for Russia than those with Iran may be right. Not everyone in Russia is pleased, however. The "Vek" daily, which has ties to the Atomic Energy Ministry, does not conceal its disappointment. "Russia gave up Iran," it writes. "For 10 years, Moscow bought the time that Tehran needed to weaken U.S. influence in the Gulf. And now Moscow itself is imposing sanctions before the United Nations even gets a chance."
Iran's Nuclear Program
THE COMPLETE PICTURE: RFE/RL's complete coverage of controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program.
An annotated timeline of Iran's nuclear program.More News
Report: Executions In Iran Last Year Highest Since 2015
At least 834 people were executed in Iran last year, a 43 percent increase compared to 2022, according to a joint report from the Iran Human Rights group (IHR) and the Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty, as authorities continue to ramp up the use of the death penalty for drug-related offenses.
In the annual report on capital punishment in Iran, released on March 5, the groups said that some 85 percent of all executions were not announced by Iranian authorities, meaning that the actual number of executions is likely much higher as dozens more are not included in the report "due to a lack of sufficient details or an inability to confirm cases through two different sources."
"Instilling societal fear is the regime's only way to hold on to power, and the death penalty is its most important instrument," said IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam in the report.
The rate of executions in Iran has been rising sharply with rights groups pointing to a surge in drug-related executions and widespread protests that swept across the country last year following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody for an alleged head-scarf violation.
Iran has the second-highest number of executions in the world, trailing only China, according to rights groups. Last year was only the second time since 2015 that capital punishment in the Middle Eastern nation was carried out more than 800 times.
The IHR report said 471 executions carried out in 2023 were for drug offenses, almost double the number of the previous year.
"Some of the executions were carried out secretly, without the family or the lawyer being informed, and some have simply not been announced by the official media," the report says.
"This is while according to the Islamic republic's own laws, the defendant's lawyer must be notified of the planned execution."
The report showed that, excluding China where rights groups say it is impossible to get accurate data, Iran executed more women -- 22 -- than any other country in the world.
Furthermore, it said ethnic minorities also account for a disproportionate amount of the total number of people executed.
The report said that at least 167 members of Iran's Sunni Baluch community were executed, meaning they accounted for 20 percent of the overall total while representing only 5 percent of the country's population.
The Baluch community is "grossly overrepresented amongst those executed" on drug-related charges, it said.
- By RFE/RL
Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake Strikes Southwestern Iran
An 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck Iran's southwestern Sistan-Baluchistan Province, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said early on March 5. The quake was at a depth of 35 kilometers, the USGS said, adding that the epicenter was some 66 kilometers northwest of the city of Fannuj. No injuries or damage were immediately reported.
Iranian Judiciary Says 'Mossad Agent' Executed In Connection With Attack In Isfahan
Iran's judiciary has announced the execution of a person it claims was a Mossad agent involved in an explosion at a Defense Ministry workshop complex in the city of Isfahan last year.
According to the Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, the execution took place on March 3. Four Kurds also accused of having a connection with the attack were executed in January. The Hengaw human rights group says none of the five was given a fair trial and their confessions were obtained through torture.
The person executed on March 3 was accused of being in contact with agents of Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, since February 2019. It was alleged that, in 2022, the individual helped facilitate the smuggling of several drones into Iran by arranging the rental of a warehouse to store the aircraft and the purchase of vehicles to move them and people around. The attack occurred in January 2023.
The identity of the executed person has not been disclosed. However, Mizan, quoting the chief of the Isfahan judiciary, revealed that the individual fled the country under a false identity 13 days after the Isfahan attack. They were later apprehended by security forces in a "neighboring country," although details of the arrest and the specific country where it occurred were not provided.
The Iranian Defense Ministry described the attack as unsuccessful, reporting no casualties and only minor damage to the facility's roof.
Though no one took responsibility for the attack, The Wall Street Journal quoted unidentified U.S. officials as saying Israel had carried out the strike.
In an article published by the newspaper in December, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hinted at Israel's involvement in several operations inside Iran in 2022, including attacks on drone bases. Bennett cited the destruction of an Iranian drone base as a retaliatory measure for Iran's alleged attempts to launch drone attacks against Israel.
There has been a series of incidents inside Iran over the past year, including sabotage and cyberattacks, assassinations, and the mysterious killings of members of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), as well as scientists and engineers.
Tehran has blamed some of the incidents on Israel, its regional foe.
Israel says its standard policy is to not comment officially on such incidents.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
- By Reuters
U.S. Condemns Sentencing Of Iranian Singer Who Won Grammy
The United States on March 4 condemned the sentencing of an Iranian singer who won a Grammy award in 2023 for a song that became an anthem for mass Iranian protests after the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody. Shervin Hajipour, who wrote and performed the song Baraye in 2022, was sentenced last week to nearly four years in prison. He was also forced to write music critical of the United States. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the sentence was another sign of the government's "intent to crack down on freedom of expression and repress voices" inside Iran.
- By AFP
U.S. Says Low Turnout In Iranian Elections Another Sign Of 'Discontent'
The United States said on March 4 that low turnout in Iran's election was a new sign of discontent in the country. "I don't think there's any doubt that there's discontent about the regime's rule," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. Miller said many Iranians likely assessed that the elections would not be free and fair and chose not to participate. Election authorities said earlier that conservatives and ultraconservatives secured a large majority in the parliamentary elections held on March 1 in which turnout was 41 percent. Many candidates, including moderates and reformists, had been disqualified from running.
Top Iranian Sunni Cleric Barred From Touring Flood Sites In Baluchistan
Iranian security forces have barred Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran's top Sunni cleric, from visiting areas affected by recent floods in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, while also detaining two of his children, according to local media reports.
Haalvsh, a group that monitors rights violations in the impoverished province, reported that the incident occurred on March 4 as Abdolhamid, accompanied by his family and associates, attempted to reach the flood-stricken region of Dashtyari.
However, their journey was abruptly halted by security personnel at a checkpoint on the Zahedan-Khash highway, where two of the cleric's teenage children were taken into custody.
Molavi Abdolhamid reportedly protested by refusing to leave the checkpoint.
The Baluch Activists Campaign also reported the vehicles of Abdolhamid and his companions being stopped and the "arrest" of two of his children, adding that residents of Zahedan were mobilizing toward the Zahedan-to-Khash road in response.
Abdolhamid has expressed criticism over the handling of flood disaster-relief efforts by officials and urged the public to provide aid to those affected in the province.
The heavy rainfall, which began last week, has inflicted significant damage across the southeastern province, leading to widespread flooding. Official reports indicate that at least 1,800 homes were damaged.
The floods, described as severe by the state news agency IRNA, have led to the overflow of four dams, affecting 1,947 villages across the region. The disaster has prompted concerns over the adequacy of emergency response and infrastructure resilience in Iran in the face of natural calamities.
Members of the Baluch minority, many of whom are Sunni Muslims in Shi'a-majority Iran, have long faced disproportionate discrimination and violence at the hands of the authorities.
Abdolhamid, the outspoken leader of Friday Prayers in Zahedan, has publicly criticized the authorities for alleged human rights abuses and repression of Iran's ethnic and religious minorities.
Sources in Sistan-Baluchistan told Radio Farda that Abdolhamid, whose popularity has soared, has been the subject of "intimidation and threats" from the authorities.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
- By RFE/RL
Iran, Sudan Reject Report Claiming Tehran Seeks Red Sea Base
Tehran has rejected a media report claiming that Iran had unsuccessfully asked Sudan to allow it to set up a naval base on its Red Sea coast, a day after Khartoum also called it into question.
Citing an unnamed Sudanese intelligence official, The Wall Street Journal on March 3 reported that Iran had offered advanced weapons to Sudan in return for permission to build a naval base on its Red Sea shore.
The Wall Street Journal added that Sudan rejected Iran's offer out of concern for alienating the United States and Israel. Iran has supplied the Sudanese military with drones used to fight rebels. The Iranian Navy has maintained a presence in the Red Sea for years but does not have a naval base in the strategic waters.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on March 4 during a weekly press briefing that the report was "baseless and politically motivated." A day earlier, Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq denied the article, calling it "false and fabricated."
Commercial shipping in the Red Sea has been crippled since November, when Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels started targeting ships with ties to Israel. Analysts say Tehran has used its so-called "spy ship" Behshad in the Gulf of Aden to provide intelligence to the Huthis.
The Huthis' targeting of ships in the key global trade route has triggered retaliatory U.S. and U.K. air strikes, though questions remain about whether the attacks will deter the Yemeni rebels.
The Rubymar, a cargo vessel struck by the Huthis in late February, sunk in the Red Sea on March 3, becoming the first ship lost in the conflict.
The Huthis say they are striking Israeli-linked ships in support of Palestinians following the October outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
Hard-Liners Ahead In Tehran After Iranian Elections With Record Low Turnout Reported
Iranian state media says hard-liners are ahead in the capital, Tehran, as vote counting progresses in Iran's March 1 elections, which were marred by what appears to be a record-low turnout prompted by voter apathy and calls for a boycott by reformists.
The elections for a new parliament, or Majlis, and a new Assembly of Experts, which elects Iran's supreme leader, were the first since the deadly nationwide protests that erupted following the September 2022 death while in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for an alleged Islamic dress-code violation.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said 1,960 from 5,000 ballots in Tehran have been counted so far, with hard-liners ahead as expected.
An alliance led by hard-liner Hamid Rasaee won 17 out of 30 seats in Tehran, state radio reported, while the incumbent parliamentary speaker, conservative Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf also obtained a new seat.
The turnout appears to be at a record low, according to unofficial accounts, despite the officials' repeated appeals to Iranians to show up en masse at the polls as Iran's theocracy scrambles to restore its legitimacy in the wake of a wave of repression in 2022 and amid deteriorating economic conditions.
The Mehr news agency, citing unofficial results, reported that voter turnout in Tehran was only 24 percent.
Iran's rulers needed a high turnout to repair their legitimacy following the unrest, but many Iranians said they would not vote in "meaningless" elections in which more than 15,000 candidates were running for the 290-seat parliament.
State media reported that the turnout was "good." Official surveys before the election, however, suggested that only some 41 percent of eligible Iranians would come out to vote.
The Hamshahri newspaper said on March 2 that more than 25 million people, or 41 percent of eligible voters, had turned out, thus confirming the official survey.
If the figure is confirmed, it will be the lowest election turnout in Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 that brought the current theocracy to power, despite officials twice extending voting hours to allow late-comers to cast ballots.
The pro-reform newspaper Ham Mihan published an opinion piece titled The Silent Majority, reporting a turnout of some 40 percent.
Shortly afterwards, however, the title of the piece was changed to Roll Call without any explanation, which commenters on social media networks blamed on pressure exerted on the newspaper by authorities.
So far, the lowest turnout, 42.5 percent, was registered in the February 2020 parliamentary elections, while in 2016, the turnout was some 62 percent.
As the voting concluded, the United States made clear that the international community was aware that the results of the poll would not reflect the will of the Iranian people.
"As some Iranians vote today in their first parliamentary election since the regime's latest violent crackdown, the world knows the Iranian people do not have a true say at the ballot box," U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Ahead of the vote, prominent figures, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, said they would boycott the elections, labeling them as superficial and predetermined.
Mohammad Khatami, Iran's first reformist president, was among the critics who did not vote on March 1.
Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former deputy interior minister, has also voiced his refusal to vote, criticizing the supreme leader's indifference to the country's crises.
Voter apathy, along with general dissatisfaction over living standards and a clampdown on basic human rights in Iran, has been growing for years.
Even before Amini's death, which sparked massive protests and the Women, Life, Freedom movement, unrest had rattled Iran for months in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of insurance support.
In a last-ditch effort to encourage a high turnout, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said after casting his ballot in Tehran that voting would "make friends happy and ill-wishers unhappy."
While domestically attention is mostly focused on the parliamentary elections, it is perhaps the Assembly of Experts polls that are more significant.
The 88-seat assembly, whose members are elected for eight-year terms, is tasked with appointing the next supreme leader. Given that Khamenei is 84, the next assembly may end up having to name his successor.
Analysts and activists said the elections were "engineered" because only candidates vetted and approved by the Guardian Council were allowed to run. The council is made up of six clerics and six jurists who are all appointed directly and indirectly by Khamenei.
In dozens of audio and written messages sent to RFE/RL's Radio Farda from inside Iran, many said they were opting against voting because the elections were "meaningless" and likely to consolidate the hard-liners' grip on power.
With reporting by Reuters
Iranian Grammy Winner Sentenced To Prison, Writing Anti-U.S. Music
An Iranian court has sentenced Grammy winner Shervin Hajipour, who was first detained after his song Baraye turned into an anthem of anti-establishment protests in 2022, to nearly four years in prison while also forcing him to write music critical of the United States.
Hajipour shared the news along with a picture of the court verdict on his Instagram account on March 1. He thanked his lawyers for "trying their best" and used a Persian expression that suggested he had no regrets.
Hajipour has been handed eight months in prison for "propaganda against the establishment" and three years for "encouraging and provoking the public to riot to disrupt national security." Hajipour will serve only the longer of the two prison sentences.
The singer and songwriter has also been ordered to "create music about America's crimes against humanity" and "document America's human rights violations in the last century" and publish his findings on social media.
He has also been banned from leaving Iran for two years and ordered, among other things, to publish on social media handwritten notes from religious books about women.
Baraye, whose lyrics were heavily inspired by social media posts from Iranians explaining why they were protesting, won the inaugural Special Merit Award for Best Song For Social Change at the 2023 Grammys.
The protests in 2022 erupted after Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for allegedly wearing "inappropriate" attire, died in police custody. The monthslong unrest gave birth to the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement and presented one of the strongest challenges to the Islamic republic since its inception.
Hundreds were killed and thousands were arrested as the authorities cracked down on the protests.
Hajipour was arrested in September 2022 and held for about three weeks before being released on bail.
- By RFE/RL
Iranian Media Says IRGC Commander Killed In Suspected Israeli Strike On Syria
An Iranian commander was among three people killed in a suspected Israeli air strike on Syria, Iranian state media reported on March 1.
Reza Zare'i, a "military adviser" with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy (IRGC), was killed following strikes on the Syrian coastal city of Baniyas, the IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency reported. It said he was a member of the IRGC Navy.
Earlier, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory For Human Rights said the strikes came at dawn and targeted a villa, killing an Iranian commander and two companions who were not Syrian.
The IRGC has not commented on the reported death of one of its commanders. Iran refers to its troops in Syria as "military advisers."
At least 11 members of the IRGC, including an Afghan fighter with the Fatemiyun Brigade, have been killed in suspected Israeli strikes in Syria and Lebanon since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip in October.
Israel launched a deadly offensive against the Palestinian enclave in response to a multipronged attack by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the United States and European Union. Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas attack inside Israel, while more than 250 were taken hostage and brought back to Gaza.
Iran has supported the assault by Hamas but denied it was involved in planning it. U.S. intelligence has indicated that Iranian leaders were surprised by the attack.
Iran's regional allies have been targeting Israeli and U.S. interests in the Middle East following Israel's attack on Gaza. However, armed groups backed by have scaled back their attacks on American bases following a series of U.S. strikes last month, according to the New York Times.
Iran stepped in to defend President Bashar al-Assad in 2013 when his rule was challenged during the Syrian civil war. Hundreds of IRGC commanders and officers and believed to be present in Syria, where Tehran has also built up a large network of militias, consisting mostly of Afghans and Pakistanis.
Turnout Becomes Focus Of 'Engineered' Iranian Elections Amid Widespread Dissatisfaction
Iranians voted on March 1 in two elections that will usher in a new parliament and Assembly of Experts as opinion polls projected a low turnout amid calls for a boycott of what many see as "engineered" balloting.
Voting began at 8 a.m. local time in the first election since the deadly nationwide protests that erupted following the September 2022 death while in police custody of Mahsa Amini. She had been detained for allegedly not following Iran's hijab laws.
Iran's rulers need a high turnout to repair their legitimacy following the unrest, but many Iranians said they would not vote in "meaningless" elections in which more than 15,000 candidates were running for the 290-seat parliament. Partial results are not expected before March 2.
Prominent figures, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, have said they would boycott the elections, labeling them as superficial and predetermined. Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former deputy interior minister, has voiced his refusal to vote, criticizing the supreme leader's indifference to the country's crises.
The state-linked polling agency ISPA, which ordinarily releases frequent polling data ahead of elections, put out its first and only survey results on February 28. It found that only 38.5 percent of respondents said they would "definitely" turn up to vote and projected turnout of 41 percent on election day.
Another poll by the state broadcaster IRIB, which was released on February 29, projected a 43.1 percent turnout.
Turnout was "good," state media reported, but witnesses who spoke with Reuters said voting at most polling centers in Tehran and several other cities was light. Officials twice extended voting hours to allow late-comers to cast ballots.
Voter apathy, fueled by general dissatisfaction over living standards and a clampdown on basic human rights in Iran, has been growing for years.
Even before Amini's death, which sparked massive protests and the Women, Life, Freedom movement, unrest had rattled Iran for months in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of welfare support.
In the last parliamentary elections in February 2020, ISPA predicted a 52 percent turnout, but actual participation was 42.57 percent --- a historic low for legislative elections since the Islamic republic came to power in 1979.
In a last-ditch effort to encourage a high turnout, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said after casting his ballot in Tehran that voting would "make the friends happy and ill-wishers disappointed."
While domestically the attention is mostly on the parliamentary elections, it is perhaps the Assembly of Experts polls that are more significant. The 88-seat assembly, whose members are elected for eight-year terms, is tasked with appointing the next supreme leader. Given that Khamenei is 84, the next assembly may end up having to name his successor.
Analysts and activists said the elections were "engineered" because only candidates vetted and approved by the Guardians Council are allowed to run. The council is made up of six clerics and six jurists who are all appointed directly and indirectly by Khamenei.
In dozens of audio and written messages sent to RFE/RL's Radio Farda from inside Iran, many said they were opting against voting because the elections were "meaningless" and likely to consolidate the hard-liners' grip on power.
State television has been providing wall-to-wall coverage of the elections from across the country. News outlets linked to the establishment tried to generate excitement on banned social media platforms -- including Telegram, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) – by posting videos with catchy captions.
As has become the norm, some outlets, including the IRIB-run Young Journalists' Club, have posted videos and images of women in polling stations dressed in attire that on a normal day would likely earn them a warning or even detention.
Activists and opposition groups post statements on social media arguing that a high turnout would legitimize the Islamic republic.
In the run-up to the elections, authorities arrested several people for allegedly calling for a boycott.
With reporting by Reuters
Iran Cracks Down On Calls For Election Boycott
Several people have been detained in Iran for allegedly calling for a boycott of parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections scheduled for March 1.
A young woman was arrested on February 28 for "opposing electoral participation" in Tehran's Valiasr Square during an event called "Free Tribune," witnesses told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
They said the woman estimated to be in her 20s protested in front of a state television camera, symbolically removing her head scarf while declaring, "Vote or no vote, we will not vote."
A street vendor, who claimed to have witnessed the event, said the woman was quickly surrounded and subsequently detained by several security personnel after she waved her scarf over her head in protest.
Other eyewitness accounts detailed the intervention of two female officers, who covered the young woman with a chador cloak, while five male officers forcibly escorted her to a van.
The woman, described as having dyed, long hair and a slim build, was reportedly shouting for the officers to release her. Security forces present at the scene issued warnings to bystanders not to film the arrest and to disperse.
Elections for the parliament, the Majlis, are scheduled for March 1 along with voting to fill the Assembly of Experts, with a majority of would-be candidates already disqualified.
Many Iranians have said they will not vote in what they said will be "meaningless" elections that are likely to consolidate the power of the country's hard-liners.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Iran's elections could not be considered free and fair.
"I suspect that a great number of Iranians have no expectation that those elections will be free and fair," Miller told reporters at the State Department on February 29.
"As you probably already know, thousands of candidates were already disqualified in an opaque process and the world has long known that Iran's political system features undemocratic and nontransparent administrative, judicial, and electoral systems."
In the lead-up to the election, "Free Tribunes" have been organized by student groups in Tehran, where sentiment against the elections has spilled out.
Similar events have taken place -- in public and online -- in several areas of the country.
In the West Azerbaijan Province, police chief Rahim Jahanbakhsh announced the arrest of 50 people responsible for managing social-media pages that authorities say incited public unrest and discouraged election participation.
The arrests, Jahanbakhsh noted, were conducted in coordination with judicial authorities, though the identities of those detained remain undisclosed.
Jahanbakhsh also warned that publishing any content deemed provocative on social media would be considered a criminal offense.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has tried to push the importance of high voter turnout in the elections after more than a year of unrest that had boosted growing skepticism over the efficacy of participating in the electoral process.
Independent polling on electoral participation is restricted in Iran, with government-conducted surveys rarely made public.
However, a leaked poll from a state-affiliated center suggested a mere 30 perecnt of voters may turn out for the upcoming elections, a figure that was swiftly retracted from publication. In the previous parliamentary elections in 2020, voter turnout was reported at a historic low of approximately 42.6 percent.
Prominent figures, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, have said openly they will boycott the elections, calling them superficial and predetermined. Similarly, Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former deputy interior minister, has voiced his refusal to vote, criticizing the supreme leader's indifference to the country's crises.
The elections also mark the first balloting since the widespread "Women, Life, Freedom" protests, ignited by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police. The protests led to a heavy-handed response from the government, including widespread arrests and crackdowns on demonstrators. At least 500 protesters were killed.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
German-Iranian Woman Returned To Tehran Prison After Medical Furlough Cut Short
A German-Iranian woman has been ordered back to jail in Tehran after several weeks of medical leave despite mounting concerns over her health, her daughter said on February 29.
Nahid Taghavi, 69, was sent back to Evin prison "arbitrarily and for no clear reason" on February 28, said Mariam Claren on X, formerly Twitter.
Taghavi's supporters have previously said she suffers from a herniated disc, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Claren said she developed "a painful eye disease in the last weeks, which must be strictly monitored by doctors."
Taghavi, held in Iran since 2020 on national security charges, was granted a medical furlough on January 9 under strict conditions, including that she wear an electronic tracking device and remain within 1 kilometer of her home in Tehran.
Her daughter said the conditions made it almost impossible for her to receive necessary medical care.
Taghavi, an architect, was convicted in 2021 of "leading an illegal group." She was sentenced to 10 years in jail, according to her lawyer. She has been forced to endure prolonged solitary confinement.
The German Foreign Ministry condemned the decision to send Taghavi back to jail, which it said was "taken in blatant disregard of her health."
The ministry said Taghavi was seriously ill and should be receiving medical treatment.
"Her furlough was terminated abruptly, without her even being able to receive the necessary medical treatment," the ministry said, adding that Germany will "continue to work tirelessly for her release."
Human rights groups and Western governments have accused Iran of imprisoning foreign nationals and dual citizens in order to pressure other countries into releasing jailed Iranians in prisoner swaps.
Tehran has repeatedly said it does not recognize dual nationality and denies holding foreign nationals for political reasons.
With reporting by AFP and dpa
- By Kian Sharifi
Killing Of Street Sweeper Puts Spotlight On Iranian Leader's 'Fire At Will' Approach
Iranians are blaming the killing of a young Afghan street sweeper in Tehran on the authorities' adoption of a "fire at will" approach that allows staunch supporters to take the protection of the Islamic Revolution into their own hands.
The street sweeper, identified as Elias Mohammadi, was thrown off a bridge to his death in the early hours of February 9.
A man arrested in connection with the attack, whose name has not been revealed, told Iranian media that he acted in the belief that Mohammadi was seeking to "insult" flags raised in the Iranian capital to mark the revolution's 45th anniversary on February 11.
The apparent act of revolutionary fervor, coming years after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave supporters free rein to protect the Islamic republic's core values, led to suggestions that the approach has left even ordinary municipal workers at risk.
"Street sweeping is probably the least safe job in Tehran," the reformist Etemad newspaper wrote on February 27.
On social media, observers highlighted how supporters of Iran's clerical establishment feel emboldened to carry out acts of vigilantism in defense of the state.
Moein Khazaeli, an Iranian human rights lawyer based in Sweden, wrote that Mohammadi's death was "the direct result of...the promotion of the culture and ideology of 'fire at will.'"
Khamenei first endorsed the approach in June 2017, when he described supporters as "officers of the soft war" who were free to act independently to put the Islamic republic's teachings into practice at their own discretion.
"Everyone must work independently; as they say on the battlefield, 'fire at will,'" he said in an address to university students in Tehran.
His remark was widely taken as giving pro-establishment Iranians the green light to confront any perceived threat to the Islamic republic or violations of its rules.
With criticism of the clerical establishment at the heart of various mass demonstrations in recent years -- including over contentious elections, Iran's draconian hijab law, and the suppression of human rights and political opposition -- the ingredients for vigilante justice abound.
As authorities have increasingly enforced the requirement that women wear a hijab, or head scarf, numerous cases of ordinary citizens taking it upon themselves to warn, and in some cases attack, women who do not cover their hair have been documented.
"The heinous killing of the Afghan street cleaner, like all those murdered by the executioners of Khamenei, was very upsetting," wrote Gohar Eshqi, an Iranian activist and mother of Sattar Beheshti, a political prisoner who died in custody in 2012.
One user on X lamented Mohammadi's death and said he had fallen victim to "one of the regime's fire-at-will nightcrawlers." Another demanded that the authorities "bridle the fire-at-will crowd" and bring justice to Mohammadi.
Rising Anti-Afghan Sentiment
Mohammadi's killing also comes amid rising anti-Afghan sentiment in Iran. This has been promoted in recent weeks on social media by mostly anonymous accounts under a Persian hashtag that calls the "expulsion of Afghans" a "national demand."
The authorities say around 5 million undocumented Afghan citizens live in Iran "illegally" and have vowed to deport them. More than 400,000 Afghan migrants have been expelled since November 2023.
Afghan migrants have also been banned from living in, traveling to, and working in 16 of Iran's 31 provinces.
Iran enhanced restrictions particularly after a man identified as an Afghan citizen attacked a Shi'ite shrine in Shiraz, Fars Province, in August 2023, killing 13 people. The attack was claimed by the extremist Islamic State group.
Following the incident, Iran imposed a ban on "foreign nationals" living in the vicinity of the shrine. In the directive, however, the Persian term used for foreign nationals -- "atba'" -- is generally understood to be a euphemism for Afghans.
In recent months, Afghan migrants in Iran have complained to RFE/RL's Radio Azadi about rising harassment.
Iranian authorities say that despite hosting millions of Afghan refugees, the country is receiving little financial support from international groups.
'Engineered Elections': Iran To Vote On Assembly That May Name Next Supreme Leader
Iran is holding two sets of elections on March 1, for a new parliament and also for the Assembly of Experts -- the body that selects the country's supreme leader. Given that the current holder of that office, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is 84 years old, it is likely that the new assembly will name his successor during its eight-year term.
- By AFP
U.S. Says Iranian Operatives In Yemen Aiding Huthi Attacks
Operatives from Iran and its Lebanese ally Hizballah are working inside Yemen to support Huthi insurgents' attacks on international shipping, the U.S. special envoy for Yemen told a Senate subcommittee on February 27. Iran is "equipping and facilitating" the Huthi attacks, said Tim Lenderking. "Credible public reports suggest a significant number of Iranian and Lebanese Hizballah operatives are supporting Huthi attacks from inside Yemen," Lenderking said. "I can't imagine the Yemeni people want these Iranians in their country. This must stop," he added. The attacks on shipping have triggered retaliatory U.S. and British strikes on Yemen.
After 18 Months Of Detention, Jailed Iranian Rapper Asks To Be Executed
Jailed Iranian dissident rapper Saman Yasin, who was detained during the nationwide protests in 2022 and has since detailed harrowing accounts of physical and psychological torture he has endured, has made a plea from prison to Iran's judiciary to "issue my death sentence" rather than continue holding him indefinitely without a trial.
Yasin, who has been incarcerated for 18 months at Karaj's Ghezel Hesar prison amid allegations lacking clear evidence, posted a letter on his official Instagram account saying he does not "understand the reason for all this anger, harassment, and torment from the judicial authorities toward me."
"Please tell me what crime I have committed?" he wrote.
"I am asking you to execute me, I don't know how to endure prison and uncertainty for a crime that neither you nor I know. Please issue my death sentence, I have no objection and I consent in writing with my fingerprints and signature.... Take my life, get it over," he added.
Initial reports suggest Yasin was first taken to a local police station during nationwide protests in September 2022 before being transferred to Evin prison and subsequently to the Greater Tehran prison.
The judiciary's news agency has reported that Yasin was accused of "waging war against God," a charge that led to a death sentence from the Tehran Revolutionary Court. However, the Supreme Court accepted Yasin's appeal for a retrial and referred his case back to the Revolutionary Court. A retrial has yet to take place.
Yasin has previously described a "mock execution" set up by prison officials that he endured before being moved to the prison in Karaj.
Yasin has consistently maintained his innocence, releasing multiple audio files to publicize his claims. He has also reportedly launched at least one hunger strike in protest.
"My life fell apart, you took away my mental and physical health, you artificially executed me, you took me to a mental hospital, what is left to bring upon me that you have not brought? Take my life too! I've been living with your fake and false promises for 18 months, I'm tired, finish it!" he wrote in the February 26 social media post.
Since the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in custody after she was detained for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly, Iranians have flooded the streets across the country to protest a lack of rights, with women and schoolgirls making unprecedented shows of support in the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.
The judiciary, at the urging of lawmakers, has instituted harsh penalties, including the death sentence, for offenders.
Meanwhile, judges have also begun sending offenders to psychiatric centers as part of their punishment, a move prominent psychiatry boards in Iran have said is an abuse of judicial authority.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Ahead Of Iran's Elections, A Common Refrain: What's The Point?
As Iran heads to the polls on March 1, there is a common thread running through many messages from ordinary Iranians.
The elections will usher in a new parliament and Assembly of Experts, a body that picks the country's supreme leader.
But in dozens of audio and written messages sent to RFE/RL's Radio Farda from inside Iran, many people said they will not vote in what they said will be "meaningless" elections that are likely to consolidate the power of the country's hard-liners.
The sample -- although small -- underscores the challenge to the legitimacy of Iran's ruling clerical establishment, amid rising anti-regime sentiment seen most vividly in the unprecedented street protests that rocked the country in 2022.
"You are not people's representatives," an Iranian man said in an audio message. "You want people only for their votes and nothing else. Then you want nothing to do with the people and they are cast aside."
Another man urged people not to vote for a "corrupt regime that has no place in ancient and civilized Iran."
"Isn't it time to say no to executions, dictatorship, and the occupation of my homeland, Iran?" added the man in an audio message sent to Radio Farda.
The authorities in Iran do not tolerate any form of dissent and have jailed scores of reporters, activists, and lawyers in recent years.
Around 700 prisoners were executed in Iran in 2023, alone, including nine protesters, according to human rights groups.
During the state's brutal crackdown on the months of nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022, at least 500 protesters were killed and thousands were arrested.
The protests began as a rebuke against the brutal enforcement of the hijab, a key pillar of the Islamic republic. But they soon snowballed into one of the most sustained demonstrations against Iran's theocracy, with some protesters calling for an end to clerical rule.
"Today we see that whoever criticizes the clerical dictatorship...is killed, injured, tortured, or imprisoned," said another man in an audio message sent to Radio Farda.
Those who sent audio and written messages to Radio Farda from inside Iran did not reveal their names or locations for fear of retribution.
Calls For Boycott
Scores of prominent Iranians outside the country and political and civil activists in Iran have called for a boycott of the March 1 voting.
Almost 300 political, social, and cultural figures in Iran on February 25 publicly denounced the upcoming vote, calling for people to follow suit and not participate in the "engineered" and "staged" balloting.
A day earlier, imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi urged a boycott alongside "national sanctions and global condemnation" of the elections, calling the moves "a political necessity and a moral duty."
Iranian officials and state-run media have accused those calling for a boycott of doing the "enemy's" bidding.
Officials have repeatedly called on eligible voters to cast their ballots in the elections, calling it a religious duty.
The calls have come amid fears of a repeat of the record-low turnouts in the 2020 parliamentary elections and the 2021 presidential vote. Given the widening gulf between the ruling clerics and Iran's young population as well as ongoing state repression and economic mismanagement, the authorities are bracing for another poor turnout, according to experts.
"The elections are meaningless," said a man in another audio message sent to Radio Farda, in reference to what is seen as the grossly unfair playing field in elections in Iran, where candidates are vetted by a hard-line body whose members are directly or indirectly chosen by the supreme leader.
"Taking part in the elections, even if we're indifferent toward all the crimes that have been committed [by the state] in recent years, would only be a mockery of ourselves," the man added.
In another audio message, a man said he "hoped people's patience has run out" and they will not take part in the elections.
This is the only way, he said, to "end this miserable, sad, and poverty-stricken life."
Written by Kian Sharifi based on reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Scores Of Prominent Iranians Call For Boycott Of 'Staged' Elections
Almost 300 political, social, and cultural figures in Iran have publicly denounced the country's parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, calling for people to follow suit and not participate in the "engineered" and "staged" balloting.
"The half-hearted position and status of the institution of elections" in Iran has "reached a more deplorable situation, even compared to the previous elections," the group of 275 people, including Morteza Alviri, Abdolali Bazargan, Alireza Rajaei, Ali Babachahi, Alireza Alavitabar, and Abolfazl Ghadiani, said in a statement on February 25.
Elections for the parliament, the Majlis, are scheduled for March 1 along with voting to fill the Assembly of Experts, with a majority of would-be candidates already disqualified.
The statement highlighted the extent of the disqualifications of candidates for the 12th round of elections to the Majlis and said the "deadlock of reforms" points to a deepening crisis within the country's political landscape.
The signatories rejected justifications by some who say that Iranians should still participate even in what is seen as a flawed electoral process, saying that the previous policy of encouraging participation at any cost to push out the Islamic republic's leaders has not only been fruitless, but in fact contributed to the perpetuation of authoritarianism and political stagnation.
Emphasizing the dire state of Iran's current electoral institution, the activists outline a series of prerequisites for holding genuine, fair, and healthy elections.
These include the demand for freedom of speech, for the activities of opposition parties and associations, for the press and media, and the oversight of independent and impartial bodies on election procedures and outcomes.
The activists said those conditions aren't present in the upcoming elections, and therefore they "deem it necessary not to participate in the upcoming elections, which are clearly engineered against the public's sovereignty, and not to give in to this staging."
The statement also warns that without a genuine revival of the institution of elections, real participation in Iran's political process is "unattainable," drawing a bleak comparison to the fate of Lake Urmia, once the largest lake in the Middle East, that has now shrunk to one-10th of its original size.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Iranian Labor Council Says State-Worker Wage Discussions Sidelined 'More Than Ever'
Iran's Supreme Labor Council, meeting ahead of the end of the Persian calendar year, said efforts to boost the minimum wage for state workers in next year's budget have yet to be discussed in negotiations with the government. The state-affiliated ILNA news agency on February 25 quoted the labor body as saying that "wage negotiations are on the sidelines more than ever," even though boosting wages by 100 percent would "still not be enough" to address skyrocketing inflation. According to the Supreme Labor Council, Labor Minister Solet Mortazivi is set on a wage increase of 20 percent despite inflation hitting 44 percent. To read the original story by Radio Farda, click here.
Land Corridor And Deterrence Against Israel: Where Syria Fits Into Iran's Middle East Strategy
Iran is eager to build on its longstanding alliance with Syria, but Tehran's achievements in expanding its influence in the Arab country are threatening one of its primary objectives: staying out of the line of fire in its shadow wars in the Middle East.
As Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said earlier this month during a trip to Damascus on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Tehran considers Syria to be on the front line of its "axis of resistance," its loose network of proxies and Tehran-backed militant groups against Israel and the United States.
After meeting on February 11 with top Syrian officials and President Bashar al-Assad, Amir-Abdollahian stressed the important role Damascus plays in opposing its enemies and in establishing "stability and security" in the increasingly volatile region.
But while Iran's top diplomat cited the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip as a position of strength for the axis and a stimulus of increased cooperation with Damascus, observers and media reports suggest that direct blowback against Iranian interests and personnel in Syria is prompting Tehran to recalculate its approach.
Generational Relationship
Iran has invested heavily into its relations with Syria for decades as part of the Shi'ite Islamic republic's effort to export its revolution across the Arab and Muslim world.
"The Iranians made big inroads with Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current leader of Syria, when they issued a religious ruling that Alawites -- the religion of the ruling family -- were deemed to be an orthodox, or acceptable, sect of Shi'ism," according to Thanassis Cambanis, director of the U.S.-based Century Foundation think tank.
The ruling was the first of many steps in "a really deep, generational, state-to-state relationship between Iran and Syria," Cambanis said.
Ties strengthened further during the early rule of Bashar al-Assad following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
"Assad was a relatively young ruler, he feared a U.S. invasion, and he found that a growing partnership in coordination with Iran kept him more secure in his own domestic power base, and also kept him more secure vis-a-vis the threat of some kind of U.S, or U.S.-orchestrated, regime-change project," Cambanis said.
That bet appears to have paid off for both Iran and the Syrian government.
Assad remains securely in power despite the continuing Syrian civil war, in which Iran intervened militarily in 2013 in large part to prevent Assad's ouster by the U.S.-backed opposition.
Tehran, meanwhile, has managed to significantly boost its influence in Syria without maintaining a significant military presence by deploying hundreds of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) officers to recruit and train tens of thousands of local and foreign Shi'ite fighters.
"The actual number of IRGC forces is very limited," said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, adding that the heavy lifting of the fighting in Syria is carried out by Afghans in the Fatemiyun Brigade and Pakistanis in the Zainabiyn Brigade, as well as by Iraqi militias.
Iran has also established a land corridor linking it to the Levant that Azizi described as the "logistical backbone of the axis of resistance."
Apart from Iran, Syria is the only other state actor in the axis.
The corridor "is used by Iran to send arms and equipment to [Lebanese] Hizballah," Azizi said, referring to the IRGC-created militant group that has rained missiles down on Israel since the start of the war in Gaza.
It is also used "to facilitate the back-and-forth deployment of troops on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border," which Azizi said has essentially become an arena of operations for pro-Iran militias.
Success In Syria
Beginning in 2018, victories in the Syrian civil war allowed Iran to reduce its IRGC presence, Azizi said, with foreign mercenaries and local fighters it trained increasingly integrated into the Syrian armed forces. In a major contrast to the beginning of the war that erupted in 2011, Azizi added, most of the recruitment and training of forces in Syria was handed off by the IRGC to Hizballah.
Successes in Syria also allowed Tehran to buttress its defenses against the possibility of an attack on Iranian soil by Israel.
"Once Iran achieved its strategic objectives of securing the survival of the Assad regime and the overland corridor, the IRGC defined the new objective of establishing a new dormant front against Israel along the Israel-Syria border," said Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. "The purpose of the dormant front is to complicate Israeli calculations should the Jewish state decide to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities."
All the while, Iran has put pressure on Israel and the United States while maintaining its key objective of avoiding direct war, with the proxy fighters it trained and equipped absorbing most retaliatory blows in Syria.
"Since neither Syria nor Iran [is] interested in a direct war against Israel, the three states, through their actions, negotiated the rules of the game: The IRGC's expendable allies such as the Afghans dig deep trenches and tunnels along the Israel border, Israel bombs the positions; Iran does not retaliate against Israel; and the Assad regime remains a spectator," Alfoneh said in written comments.
"All three players still largely abide by these rules, which remain in place despite the Gaza war, and the U.S. neither is nor desires to get entangled in this game," Azizi wrote.
Rules Broken
That is not to say those unspoken rules are not being broken following the outbreak of the war in Gaza sparked by the deadly October 7 assault on Israel carried out by Palestinian extremist group Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
Israel's large-scale retaliation in Gaza has fueled attacks by the axis of resistance in solidarity with its partner Hamas and in the name of the Palestinian cause.
Hizballah has led the fight against Israel, while the Iranian-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen have launched attacks against Israel and U.S. naval forces in the Red Sea. And Iranian-backed forces have attacked U.S. forces in the Middle East, including a drone attack launched by an Iraqi militia that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan in January.
In Syria, U.S. forces stationed there to counter the Islamic State extremist group have been attacked regularly since the onset of the war in Gaza, including a February 5 drone attack that killed U.S.-allied Kurdish troops at the largest U.S. base in Syria, located in the eastern province of Deir al-Zur.
Amid the rising tensions, Tehran has not been able to avoid direct retaliation for its open support for its proxies and partners, and Iranian sites and personnel in Syria have been hit hard.
Since December, more than a dozen IRGC commanders and officers officially sent to Syria as advisers have been killed in strikes in and around Damascus blamed on Israel, including General Sayyed Razi Musavi, a senior adviser to the IRGC and one of Iran's most influential military figures in Syria.
And the United States, in retaliation for the attack on its base in Jordan, in early February directly attacked IRGC sites and Iranian-backed militias on either side of the Syrian-Iraqi border.
Both the United States and Iran have said they do not seek war. And in Syria, Cambanis said, there are "certain rules of the road that are essentially designed to create useful fictions so that the U.S. and Iran do not end up in direct conflict with each other."
But since the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel, Cambanis said, "there are so many forces attacking each other on Syrian territory that it's really easy for just a mistake or a miscalculation that no one wanted."
Recalculation Time?
In the wake of the killings of Musavi and other top IRGC personnel, an exclusive report by Reuters earlier this month cited multiple sources as saying Iran had scaled down its deployment of senior officers and would rely more on allied Sh'ite militias to maintain Iranian influence in Syria.
Azizi said that while previously, if Iranians were killed as the result of Israeli strikes in Syria, it was essentially written off as collateral damage.
"But now they are the targets," Azizi said. "And that's what concerns Iran, especially since the killing of Musavi."
But while the deaths indicate a change in strategy by Israel that at the least "requires the Iranian side to change tactics," Azizi suggested the redeployment was more about trying to determine possible leaks that may have allowed Israel to take out its officers and rethinking how Iran would use its personnel in the future.
Cambanis expressed skepticism that Iran would ever withdraw its advisers in Syria and hand their responsibilities over to the militias they trained.
"They have officers who speak Arabic, who have spent decades cycling in and out of different positions in Syria and other Arab countries. They have local knowledge, long-term relationships with local commanders," Cambanis said. "They're going to continue that model."
Imprisoned Nobel Laureate Mohammadi Urges Boycott, Sanctions, Condemnation Of Iran Elections
Imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has urged a boycott alongside "national sanctions and global condemnation" of next month's legislative elections there, calling the moves "a political necessity and a moral duty."
"Sanctioning elections under a despotic religious regime is not just a political move but also a moral obligation for freedom-loving and justice-seeking Iranians," Mohammadi said on social media on February 24.
Mohammadi has previously described the clerically led Iranian leadership "criminal" and has long been a vocal critic of conditions for political and other prisoners in Iran.
She pledged that "I, alongside the informed and proud people from all over Iran, from Sistan and Baluchestan to Kurdistan, from Khuzestan to Azerbaijan, will stand to declare the illegitimacy of the Islamic Republic and the divide within the oppressive regime and its people through the sanctioning of sham elections."
In January, an Iranian court extended the 51-year-old Mohammadi's prison sentence by 15 months for "spreading propaganda" against the Islamic republic while in jail. It was her fifth conviction since March 2021 and the third for activities from prison, where she was sent for alleged actions against national security and propaganda against the state.
In her February 24 post, she criticized Iranian authorities' "ruthless and brutal suppression, the killing of young people on the streets, the executions, and the imprisonment and torture of men and women."
A number of prominent Iranians outside the country and some political and civil activists in Iran have already called for a boycott of the March 1 voting.
Officials routinely vet to exclude large numbers of candidates who are critical of the regime from elections to fill seats at all nearly all levels of government.
"Transition from the despotic religious regime is a national demand and the only way for the survival of Iran, Iranians, and our humanity," Mohammadi said.
Mustafa Tajzadeh, a jailed former reform-minded politician, said in a letter he published on February 29 from Tehran's Evin Prison that the leadership's strategic mistakes are "making elections meaningless and making elected institutions ineffective...especially the parliament."
Elections for the parliament, the Majlis, are scheduled for March 1 along with voting to fill the Assembly of Experts, with a majority of would-be candidates already disqualified.
Some government polls also indicate that there is waning interest in the votes.
The Iranian Students' Opinion Center (ISPA) said research in February suggested only 36 percent of Iranians were aware of the upcoming elections.
A brutal crackdown on dissent followed widespread protests and unrest that broke out after the death in custody in September 2022 of 22-year-old student Mahsa Amini after she was detained for a dress-code violation and, according to eyewitnesses, beaten by the morality police.
Iranian officials this week officially outlawed the use of tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs) designed to bypass Internet censorship following a directive from the country's Supreme Council of Cyberspace that was endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran Tries To Tighten Grip On Internet By Officially Outlawing VPN Use
Iran has officially outlawed the use of tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs) designed to bypass Internet censorship following a directive from the country's Supreme Council of Cyberspace that was endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The secretary of the council, Mohammad Amin Aqamiri, announced the enforcement of the decree, which was initially approved by Khamenei, signaling a significant move to control Internet access within the country.
Under the new regulation, the use of VPN tools is banned unless explicitly authorized by authorities, further tightening the government's grip on Internet access.
Iran has long faced criticism for its extensive Internet restrictions, with many citizens relying on VPNs to access blocked content including social media and instant messaging platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, and WhatsApp, as well as many streaming websites such as HBO, YouTube, and Netflix.
Local media reports have also surfaced suggesting that elements within the government or its affiliates have profited from the VPN trade, raising questions about the motives behind the crackdown.
The specifics of how the government plans to enforce the ban or grant exceptions remain unclear, adding to the uncertainty surrounding digital usage in Iran.
Communications technology expert Mohammad Keshvari said that the prohibition of VPNs is "not new, but the latest decree fails to clarify the consequences for those who defy it."
He added that, from a technical viewpoint, completely preventing VPN use is not feasible.
The criminalization of VPN use was notably absent from the decree, which analysts said reflects the legislative duties of the parliament, which had previously removed such provisions from proposed legislation.
Iran has come under international scrutiny over its digital repression, with a report from Freedom House marking the country as having the worst decline in Internet freedom globally in 2023.
Iran was home to 2023's sharpest drop in online access and freedom, the report said, as authorities shut down Internet service, blocked the WhatsApp and Instagram social media apps, and increased surveillance during a crackdown on anti-government protests last year sparked by the death of a young woman -- 22-year-old Mahsa Amini -- while in police custody.
The situation underscores the ongoing tensions between government control and digital rights in Iran, posing significant challenges for access to information and freedom of expression within the country.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
- By AP
Four Charged In Deaths Of Two U.S. Navy SEALs Boarding Ship Carrying Iranian-Made Weapons To Yemen
Four foreign nationals have been charged with transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons after U.S. naval forces interdicted a vessel in the Arabian Sea last month. Two Navy SEALs died during the mission. The criminal complaint released on February 22 alleges that the four defendants were transporting suspected Iranian-made missile components for the type of weapons used by Huthi rebel forces in recent attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The two Navy SEALS died when one of them slipped into the gap between the vessel and the SEALs' combatant craft and the other one jumped in to try to save him.
Hacktivist Group Publishes Leaked Documents Showing Iran's Judiciary Targeting Journalists
Documents leaked by the hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) appear to show clandestine actions against journalists of Persian-language media operating outside of Iran, including those affiliated with RFE/RL's Radio Farda, by the Iranian judiciary.
The leaked documents list 44 journalists and media activists who have been targeted for allegedly undermining the regime.
The findings were part of a broader expose by the hacker group -- which released more than 3 million documents -- shedding light on the judicial proceedings conducted in secrecy within Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
"In this hack, we infiltrated the court case management system and managed to access millions of documents and files," the group said in a post on Telegram where many of the documents were posted.
Edalat-e Ali says it is composed of Iranians living and working inside Iran and its intent is to expose alleged human rights abuses in the country while seeking the release of political prisoners.
It added that the documents "reveal the true face of the Islamic republic."
The hack was done "with the aim of exposing the crimes of the regime against the oppressed people of Iran and with the help of our dear compatriots," the group said.
With regard to the documents revealing the actions aimed at the media, the disclosure highlights the judiciary's secretive issuance of rulings against journalists accused of engaging in "propaganda against the Islamic republic."
The group said that under the stewardship of Judge Iman Afshari, Branch 26 has been pivotal in adjudicating cases against a broad spectrum of individuals, from political dissidents to cultural figures, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested for allegedly wearing her mandatory hijab improperly.
The documents show the judiciary targeted personnel from Radio Farda and journalists associated with other prominent Persian-language outlets, including BBC Persian, Voice of America, Iran International, Manoto TV, and the GEM satellite network.
Analysts say the leak underscores the Iranian judiciary's long-standing practice of leveraging legal actions as a mechanism to silence opposition, a strategy that has seen mixed results in quelling dissent or curtailing the activities of journalists and civil society activists.
It also reveals the state's approach to various issues, from the enforcement of the mandatory hijab to the suppression of widespread protests in 2022, they said, adding the documents further corroborate the judiciary's susceptibility to influence from security and intelligence entities, casting a shadow over its independence and impartiality.
International human rights organizations have consistently ranked Iran as one of the world's top oppressors of journalists and free speech.
In December 2022, Iran's Foreign Ministry placed sanctions on several individuals and entities in the European Union, including RFE/RL's Persian-language Radio Farda.
The sanctions include visa bans, prohibiting the listed individuals from entering Iran, and the seizure of their assets within territories under the jurisdiction of the Islamic republic.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
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Apple informed its European distributors that it will stop shipping its Mac Pro workstations throughout the EU beginning March 1. Apple confirmed to Macworld UK that the existing Mac Pro design doesn't conform to a new EU safety standard which goes into effect on March 1, so the company will no longer sell them in Europe. A new "pro product" to replace the existing Mac Pro won't be available until sometime "later this year."
At issue is EU safety regulation IEC 60950-1, which applies to all EU, EU candidate, and European Free Trade Association countries. A recent amendment to the regulation adds additional safety requirements for computers and other electronics, which the existing Mac Pro doesn't meet.
"The new requirements necessitate fan guards and some increased protection on the ports on the electrical system," Apple told Macworld UK. "Because Mac Pro is not compliant with the regulations, we do want to meet that regulation and therefore [will] not offer Mac Pro beyond March 1."
Apple will accept orders for the Mac Pro until February 18 in order to ensure the workstations are shipped out by February 28 to beat the March 1 deadline. Existing reseller stock can still be sold beyond the deadline, however. The announcement also only affects European customers; Apple will continue to sell the existing Mac Pro, which has only seen a very minor update since 2010, in other territories around the world.
Oddly enough, the IEC 60950-1 Amendment 1 was originally published in 2009, long before the existing Mac Pro was released. Surely Apple could have changed the design to conform to the new regulations in the last three years, but the existing tower design was essentially designed over ten years ago when it was first launched as the PowerMac G5 in 2003.
Pro users have long been concerned that Apple may be abandoning the pro market since the Mac Pro hasn't been upgraded in over two years. Its older processors languish behind the performance of the latest Xeon-based workstations from the likes of Dell and HP, and it doesn't include newer peripheral connections like USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt.
Several months ago Apple CEO Tim Cook promised that a new product specifically for pro users would be coming in 2013. Apple declined to give any further information about a potential Mac Pro replacement except to reiterate that it was "working on a pro product for later this year." Perhaps the company had originally expected to have a new Mac Pro replacement before the regulation went into effect but decided instead to wait for updated Xeon processors based on Intel's much more efficient Ivy Bridge architecture expected in the second half of this year.


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