Iranian resistance group says documents prove regime knew of coronavirus cases weeks before it claims

 

An Iranian resistance group has published government documents it claims prove the Iranian regime was aware of potential coronavirus infections in January, long before acknowledging cases there.

Officially, the Iranian regime has said the first cases of the COVID-19 virus were discovered Feb. 19, but the National Council of Resistance of Iran unveiled documents it says are copies of mission reports from the government’s National Emergency Organization.

One of the documents, which features the emblem for the Iranian Health Ministry, is dated Jan. 28 and includes the name of a patient who the document claims works at the Chinese embassy.

“He is 33 years old, with coughing, and symptoms of cold. He says he works at the Chinese Embassy (in Tehran), and his colleagues have had symptoms of Coronavirus. He is hospitalized. Vital signs checked. Neurology testing is normal. Initial action was taken, and he was transferred to the medical center,” the document reads, according to a translation by the resistance group.

Two other documents purport that a 37-year-old woman and another 33-year-old man, both employees at the Chinese embassy, were also hospitalized.

The documents follow another batch of medical records that were released by the group this week. Those records, also claiming to be sourced from the National Emergency Organization, appear to show multiple other cases of the coronavirus in early February.

“[Name redacted], 30, suspected of Coronavirus infection, was transferred to emergency section for high fever at Imam Khomeini Airport, and from there to Yaftabad Hospital, on February 7, 2020. The patient was diagnosed to be infected to Coronavirus at the border point at Imam Airport. After coordination, the patient was admitted to Yaftabad Hospital. He was traveling to Dubai,” a report dated Feb. 7 read.

The resistance group, which has followers inside the country who are subject to arrest, contends that one of the reasons why the regime might not have disclosed cases was because of the parliamentary elections held on Feb 21.

The Iranian regime had worked to try and get a high voter turnout, despite calls for boycotts. The Guardian Council of the Constitution had the authority to decide who got put on the ballots and used its power to reject reformist candidates.

The elections and the coronavirus pandemic came at a time of tension between the Iranian government and the Iranian people.

In November, hundreds of Iranians were killed as protests rocked the nation. Another wave of protests came in January after the regime admitted to shooting down a commercial airliner, killing 176 people on board. Iran had previously lied about the incident, which killed dozens of Iranians, sparking anger at the regime. There were also protests across the world to demonstrate in solidarity with the Iranians, including in Washington, D.C.

In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said the documents prove a “criminal cover-up” by the Iranian government.

“These documents show that contrary to the regime’s lies and cover-up, officials, including [Supreme Leader] Ali Khamenei and his president Hassan Rouhani knew of the spread of the virus to Iran at least three weeks before making it public,” Mohaddessin said. “This makes it palpably clear that the safety, health, and lives of the Iranian people have no value as far as the religious fascism ruling Iran is concerned.”

“Rouhani and other regime leaders are directly responsible and must face justice,” he added.

According to Iran, there have been more than 50,000 cases of the coronavirus and at least 3,160 deaths, though the resistance group claims the death toll is much higher, with more than 14,700 deaths in 237 cities as of Tuesday.👉 Read More   

 

The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Forever Alter the World Order

By 
Henry A. Kissinger

The U.S. must protect its citizens from disease while starting the urgent work of planning for a new epoch.

By

Henry A. Kissinger

April 3, 2020, 6:30 pm ET

The USNS Comfort hospital ship travels under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York, March 30.

PHOTO: DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES

The surreal atmosphere of the COVID-19 pandemic calls to mind how I felt as a young man in the 84th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge. Now, as in late 1944, there is a sense of inchoate danger, aimed not at any particular person, but striking randomly and with devastation. But there is an important difference between that faraway time and ours. American endurance was fortified by an ultimate national purpose. Now, in a divided country, the efficient and farsighted government is necessary to overcome obstacles unprecedented in magnitude and global scope. Sustaining the public trust is crucial to social solidarity, to the relation of societies with each other, and to international peace and stability.

Nations cohere and flourish on the belief that their institutions can foresee calamity, arrest its impact and restore stability. When the COVID-19 pandemic is over, many countries’ institutions will be perceived as having failed. Whether this judgment is objectively fair is irrelevant. The reality is the world will never be the same after the coronavirus. To argue now about the past only makes it harder to do what has to be done.

The coronavirus has struck with unprecedented scale and ferocity. Its spread is exponential: U.S. cases are doubling every fifth day. At this writing, there is no cure. Medical supplies are insufficient to cope with the widening waves of cases. Intensive-care units are on the verge, and beyond, of being overwhelmed. Testing is inadequate to the task of identifying the extent of the infection, much less reversing its spread. A successful vaccine could be 12 to 18 months away.

The U.S. administration has done a solid job of avoiding immediate catastrophe. The ultimate test will be whether the virus’s spread can be arrested and then reversed in a manner and at a scale that maintains public confidence in Americans’ ability to govern themselves. The crisis effort, however vast and necessary, must not crowd out the urgent task of launching a parallel enterprise for the transition to the post-coronavirus order.

Leaders are dealing with the crisis on a largely national basis, but the virus’s society-dissolving effects do not recognize borders. While the assault on human health will—hopefully—be temporary, the political and economic upheaval it has unleashed could last for generations. No country, not even the U.S., can in a purely national effort overcome the virus. Addressing the necessities of the moment must ultimately be coupled with a global collaborative vision and program. If we cannot do both in tandem, we will face the worst of each.

Drawing lessons from the development of the Marshall Plan and the Manhattan Project, the U.S. is obliged to undertake a major effort in three domains. First, shore up global resilience to infectious disease. Triumphs of medical science like the polio vaccine and the eradication of smallpox, or the emerging statistical-technical marvel of medical diagnosis through artificial intelligence, have lulled us into a dangerous complacency. We need to develop new techniques and technologies for infection control and commensurate vaccines across large populations. Cities, states and regions must consistently prepare to protect their people from pandemics through stockpiling, cooperative planning and exploration at the frontiers of science.

Second, strive to heal the wounds to the world economy. Global leaders have learned important lessons from the 2008 financial crisis. The current economic crisis is more complex: The contraction unleashed by the coronavirus is, in its speed and global scale, unlike anything ever known in history. And necessary public-health measures such as social distancing and closing schools and businesses are contributing to the economic pain. Programs should also seek to ameliorate the effects of impending chaos on the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Third, safeguard the principles of the liberal world order. The founding legend of modern government is a walled city protected by powerful rulers, sometimes despotic, other times benevolent, yet always strong enough to protect the people from an external enemy. Enlightenment thinkers reframed this concept, arguing that the purpose of the legitimate state is to provide for the fundamental needs of the people: security, order, economic well-being, and justice. Individuals cannot secure these things on their own. The pandemic has prompted an anachronism, a revival of the walled city in an age when prosperity depends on global trade and movement of people.

The world’s democracies need to defend and sustain their Enlightenment values. A global retreat from balancing power with legitimacy will cause the social contract to disintegrate both domestically and internationally. Yet this millennial issue of legitimacy and power cannot be settled simultaneously with the effort to overcome the COVID-19 plague. Restraint is necessary on all sides—in both domestic politics and international diplomacy. Priorities must be established.

We went on from the Battle of the Bulge into a world of growing prosperity and enhanced human dignity. Now, we live an epochal period. The historic challenge for leaders is to manage the crisis while building the future. Failure could set the world on fire.

Mr. Kissinger served as secretary of state and national security adviser in the Nixon and Ford administrations.👉 See more

 

 

Iran protests 2019, day 20: Death toll surpasses the 1,000 mark

The November 2019 uprising spread across at least 189 cities throughout Iran- File photo

Iran, December 4, 2019—Citing the network linked to the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is reporting the number of people killed by the mullahs’ regime during the November 2019 uprising has surpassed the 1,000 marks. The latest reports indicate the nationwide protests reached at least 189 cities across the country and the brutal crackdown imposed by the mullahs’ regime has also left at least 4,000 injured and over 12,000 detainees behind bars. These numbers are escalating as further reports are obtained and there are grave concerns over the fate of the thousands of people held behind bars.👨‍👩‍👧‍👦👩‍👩‍👧👨‍👧

DebbieAldrich’s controversial interview with Ambassador Bloomfield

Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield, Jr discussing Iran tensions and #MEK

And this Broadcast here

Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield Jr. is a Distinguished Fellow and Chairman Emeritus the Stimson Center. A National Security Official under Presidents Reagan, G.H.W Bush, and G.W. Bush. Harvard College (a.b. cum laude). Appointed by President Bush to be Special Envoy MANPADS Threat Reduction. You can follow Ambassador Bloomfield on twitter @LBJunior You can find many of Ambassadors books on Amazon.

Our Mission: ‘Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights for Iran’

By Mrs. Maryam Rajavi – Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Yes, we do not want anything more than freedom and human rights, which will of course also open the way for us toward development and justice. This will ensure peace and security in Iran and the Middle East; an Iran free of religious fascism, a non-nuclear Iran and an Iran without terrorism and belligerence.

The religious dictatorship is a paper tiger when it comes to facing off with the Iranian Resistance. And its fate is no different from the fate of the Shah’s dictatorship. This is the verdict of history and the yearning of the people of Iran.

Our Pledge: ‘To resist and fight until victory’

Excerpts from the video message of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran at the March in Solidarity with the Uprising and the Iranian Resistance for Regime Change. June 21, 2019, Washington, D.C.

To fend off the people’s fury for 40 years, the murderous mullahs have pointed their fingers at the U.S. as the enemy. But we were not deceived.

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Now, the people of Iran cry out in every street and alley that “our enemy is right here; the mullahs lie when they say America is the enemy.”

The absurd comments made by the mullahs and their foreign minister about the so-called “B Team” in the United States was a bid to hide their own “Bomb team”: From developing a nuclear bomb to bombing plots in Albania and France, to bombings and planting of mines on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, to the explosions, drones and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and targeting of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the evidence is clear.

When the mullahs are not held accountable and do not pay a price for their actions, they become more emboldened and intensify their belligerence. Launching Katyusha missiles in Mosul and Basra and the missile attack against a U.S. drone are very telling examples of this fact.

For the past 40 years, the regime has persistently waged wars against the people of Iran and the world. Still, regime apologists and those who benefit from its continued rule feign concern for war. They use this as a pretext to dissuade the world from adopting any form of decisiveness, and instead urge appeasement of the ruling murderers in Iran.

The main victims, however, are the people of Iran. The experience of the past 40 years has demonstrated that the mullahs’ theocratic regime is incapable of any reform or change of behavior. Indeed, as a (Persian) saying goes, “a viper will never give birth to a dove.”

Khamenei says that change in the regime’s behavior is tantamount to regime change.

Consider the American Declaration of Independence. The question before George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and their comrades and supporters was the same. And, similarly, our answer is the same: To resist and fight until victory.

1 out of 4 Iranians Suffer From Mental Illness

Iran Focus

London, 09 May – According to the spokesperson of Iran’ Ministry of Health and Medical Education (named Iraj Hariji), approximately 30% of Iran’s population particularly the youth, suffer from mental illnesses. Etemaad online reports of 21 million people to be exact.

According to reports, mental illness affects 23.4% of Iran’s adult population; 27.6% of whom are women and 19.4% men.

The vice president of Iran’s Association of Psychologists states that two-thirds of these people have anxiety and depressive disorder; which some psychologists believe to stem from the “institutional oppression”.

We must keep in mind that the statistics don’t include all affected people; because not all of them visit psychologists or psychiatrists.

The head of Iran’s Association of Specialists, given such significant numbers, more hospitals must be dedicated to the treatment of mental patients; adding that “only some people are able to control or hide their anger, but many can’t; which we witness every day in the numerous fights or in more extreme cases murders, that occur over simple incidents”.

A psychologist named Jalal Yunesi believes that the “unpleasant social atmosphere” is the reason behind the ongoing increase in mental illnesses: “society is affected by many economic, cultural, political, and social issues; which clearly impacts numerous people in one way or another”.

MULLAHS SCARED OF MEK SUPPORT

INU– The Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)-affiliated Fars news agency published an article on Wednesday highlighting the mullahs’ growing concerns that the young people in Iran are increasingly in favour of the banned democratic opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The article warns that the MEK is using “deceitful” social media campaigns to target “inexperience[d]” young people, who are “easily influenced” and “less informed”, to get them to commit “criminal activities tantamount to measures against national security”.
These national security crimes, by the way, are any sort of protest or political action from removing the forced veil in public to striking over unpaid wages. And in a nation where peaceful protest could land you in jail or worse, why would anyone not want to support the opposition?

This is nothing new. Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, head of the regime’s public prosecutor office, spoke about the growing activities of the MEK’s Resistance Units on social media on February 24, calling it the cause of “crime and sin” in Iran, something he termed as “terrifying” and a “warning”.

The comments, including a call for the authorities to shut down “disgraceful” messaging apps, are believed to be a way for the Regime to increase its internet censorship and domestic crackdown. After all, he previously warned that the Regime would face “alarming circumstances” if the “cultural threats” propagated on social media were not “managed”.

But Montazeri is far from the only mullah making these claims. Javad Javeed-Nia, Deputy Prosecutor General in Cyberspace Affairs, recently claimed that foreigners controlled 90% of the Iranian internet and that the MEK had “established cyber armies” to post “aggressive content” on social media.

The state-run Tehran Press has also acknowledged that the MEK is taking aim at the Regime and calling for regime change, with the Regime unable to combat the issue without a domestic crackdown. It said that even the loyal to the Regime were not immune to being convinced by the MEK.

Well, given the number of people in Iran desperate for regime change, this should not be a surprise. The Regime is failing to deal with the real issues of the Iranian people and so, of course, people would turn to a democratic opposition force.

With a crackdown on the internet likely, it is even more imperative that the West band together to launch a satellite over Iran to provide a free and open internet for the Iranian people to communicate with each other and the outside world.

MARYAM RAJAVI’S MESSAGE ON MARCH 8, INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

 

The clerical regime is the arch nemesis of women and the primary obstacle against freedom and equality

March 8 is International Women’s Day. We celebrate this day by expressing admiration for my dear sisters across Iran and all over the world. We salute those who have made history for women’s struggle for equality and liberation through their suffering and their ultimate sacrifices.

I salute the Mojahed and struggling women who conquered torture chambers and execution fields, and those who actively participated in uprisings and protests leading to the kneeling of the reactionary religious tyranny.

And, hail to women who have blazed the trail through their sacrifices and assumption of their responsibilities.

There is a proud history of these women leading the way and the future is shining and bright thanks to their existence.

Iranian women are proud to have struggled against forty years of despicable religious tyranny, since day one until now. They have produced a glorious resistance movement.

It is thanks to this struggle and perseverance that Women’s Day for Iranian women does not only fall on March 8th but is actually marked as every single day of the calendar.

March 8th is not only a day to express resentment and protest against inequality and gender discrimination. It is also a day to revere women who have risen up against injustice, women who have made possible things that seemed impossible on the path toward attaining freedom and equality.

Today, women are present in the ranks of those engaged in protests and uprisings by students, teachers, workers, farmers and retirees. Their struggle will continue until this regime is uprooted.

In the midst of fear and silence, it is women who chant “death to Khamenei” in the face of the regime’s agents. They lead workers’ protests and become the voice of teachers and retirees. They inspire youth to stand up against the regime’s agents.

They persevere in prisons with extraordinary courage, alongside their sisters. And, in the ranks of freedom fighters, they have established Units of Resistance.

Such struggle and resistance is in response to a misogynist regime that has established its rule based on discrimination and injustices against women. Its identity has been shaped through suppression and humiliation of women.

Khamenei and his regime have no other solution in the face of the women’s struggle and their growing protests, except to show their blood-stained daggers and teeth. Khamenei wants to appoint one of the most infamous perpetrators of the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 as the head of the regime’s judiciary. Many of the 30,000 victims were women.

Yet the appointment of this despised henchman cannot overcome the lack of morale and the weakness of the entire regime in the face of the Iranian people’s protest movement.

Over the past year, once again, thousands of women were arrested across Iran under the pretext of “mal-veiling” and were harassed and intimidated…… READ MORE

Iran Lobby’s Yellow and Biased Smear Campaign Against MEK

Tehran has taken nearly full control over Baghdad thanks to the Obama Middle East Doctrine, blueprinted to deliver a series of incentives to Iran aimed at preventing the mullahs from walking away from the already flawed nuclear deal. One victim of such a failed policy has been the country of Iraq, as Iran gained enormous influence over it under President Barack Obama’s watch.

“Iran is taking over Iraq,” U.S. President-elect Donald Trump emphasized during the campaign back in October.

Iran has continuously meddled in all aspects of Iraqi life, be it political, social, economic and military issues. After Obama rushed to pull all U.S. troops out of the country, Tehran jumped to the occasion and took full advantage.

Like it or not, this huge alteration of U.S. Middle East policy, allowing Iran to play a much heavier role in Iraq, allowed the birth of Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) in Mesopotamia and the Levant. Such a drastic chain of events provided Iran a foothold in Iraq unmatched by other regional countries, plunging all Iraqi society into turmoil.

Baghdad has been influenced heavily by Tehran through a long list of Shiite political parties and ruthless militia groups. These entities have launched numerous campaigns of atrocious measures against mainly the Sunni community in central Iraq. As Obama literally set aside the Iraq dossier in favor of his pursuit to seal the Iran nuclear deal, Tehran sought the opportunity to advance its own plan of action for Iraq by implanting its loyal Shiite elements in various sectors of the government and military/security apparatus.

Iran was also able to launch numerous deadly attacks against its legitimate and democratic opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), stationed in Iraq at the time. The MEK is known to have first blown the whistle on Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program and provided accurate intelligence on Iran’s meddling in Iraq and the entire Middle East.

In its effort, the MEK has unprecedentedly gained the support of thousands of prominent politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, and amazingly both sides of the aisle in Washington politics. Following the recent U.S. presidential election results, the regime in Tehran is currently terrified over the various candidates weighed by Trump for his administration.

Read More

Iran the likely loser when Trump and Putin meet

With the Helsinki summit approaching between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the situation on the ground in the Middle East is remarkably different than it was just a very short time ago.

Iran, once well on its way to becoming the hegemon in the region, is rapidly being marginalized. In fact, you could say the regime is on its way to collapse, undermined by forces from within.

Mr. Trump’s help was crucial, of course. The coming U.S. sanctions, according to Secretary of State Pompeo, will be devastating. With the regime having spent all its money on the wars in Syria and Iraq, if oil revenues go to zero, it’s game over for the mullahs.

The killers in Tehran know this. This is why Iran dispatched Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on foreign issues, to Moscow this week to deliver a threat to Mr. Putin: Do not make a deal with Mr. Trump or your forces in Syria may suffer.

Iran and Russia have forces in Syria bolstering the Assad regime. With the Kremlin having wound down the bulk of its forces inside Syria, Iran is resisting growing pressure to give up its firmly entrenched positions in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.

and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the situation on the ground in the Middle East is remarkably different than it was just a very short time ago.

Iran, once well on its way to becoming the hegemon in the region, is rapidly being marginalized. In fact, you could say the regime is on its way to collapse, undermined by forces from within.

Mr. Trump’s help was crucial, of course. The coming U.S. sanctions, according to Secretary of State Pompeo, will be devastating. With the regime having spent all its money on the wars in Syria and Iraq, if oil revenues go to zero, it’s game over for the mullahs.

The killers in Tehran know this. This is why Iran dispatched Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on foreign issues, to Moscow this week to deliver a threat to Mr. Putin: Do not make a deal with Mr. Trump or your forces in Syria may suffer.

Iran and Russia have forces in Syria bolstering the Assad regime. With the Kremlin having wound down the bulk of its forces inside Syria, Iran is resisting growing pressure to give up its firmly entrenched positions in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.