December 6, 2022
A group of 1,200 university students in Iran were struck down by food poisoning the night before a wave of anti-regime protests were set to be held throughout the country.
At least four other universities reported similar outbreaks. Uninfected students are reportedly boycotting the cafeterias in response.
While officials are citing water-borne bacteria as the cause of the troubling symptoms, the student union posited that the population was intentionally poisoned.
“Our past experiences of similar incidents at the Isfahan university negates the authorities’ reason for this mass food poisoning,” the group wrote on Telegram.
Some university clinics closed down or ran out of supplies to treat dehydration, fueling speculation that the outbreak was planned to stifle the three-day strike in response to the Iranian regime’s claims to have shut down the controversial morality police, Arab News reported.
Formally known as the Gasht-e Ershad, or “Guidance Patrol,” the morality police was established in 2006 to enforce the county’s strict dress code for women. Dating back to the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, the dress code requires all women to wear hijab head coverings in public.
The group came under fire after the death of 22-year-old student Mahsa Amini in police custody in September. An aspiring lawyer, Amini was allegedly arrested because her hijab revealed some of her hair.
Amini’s unexplained death gave way to women-led mass protests across the country. In addition to large street demonstrations, well-known figures like actresses Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi are sharing images of themselves in public without headscarves.
Iran shutters state ‘morality police’ as protests continue after Mahsa Amini’s death: report
During Iran’s brief World Cup showing last month, players and fans even refused to sing the country’s national anthem.
But despite the widespread movement, the Iranian regime has shown little sign of buckling to public pressure. Initial reports that the morality police were abolished were quickly followed by clarifications that the decision could not be officially confirmed.
Amid the food poisoning reports, Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad shared an image on Twitter of an amusement center employee working without a hijab.
“Tehran’s prosecution has opened a case against her,” Alinejad wrote.
Iran reviewing mandatory hijab law – report
A high-level Iranian official said that the country's mandatory hijab law is under review, according to a Sunday report from CNN. This comes amid disputed claims that the nation has disbanded its now-infamous 'morality police.'
Entekhab, a pro-reform Iranian news outlet, reported last week that "Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of the country, mentioned the discovery of the hijab as one of the current sufferings and said: 'The Parliament and the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution are working and studying the issue of the hijab, the results of which will be known in the next 15 days. These decisions should be made based on [this discussion].'"
According to The Guardian, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that Iran’s republican and Islamic foundations were inextricably linked constitutionally.
“But there are methods of implementing the constitution that can be flexible,” he said in televised comments per The Guardian.
The women of Iran have been legally required to adhere to Muslim modesty laws, loose clothing and covered hair, since 1981, two years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Basij militia forces attend a meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran November 26, 2022. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
Shutting down the morality police?
Also on Sunday, Montazeri stated in response to a question about the closure of the "morality police" (also known as the "Guidance Patrol") that "The guidance patrol has nothing to do with the judiciary, and it was closed from the same place it was established in the past."
Montazeri stressed that the judiciary continued to monitor "behavioral actions" at the community level and that hijab throughout Iran, especially in the city of Qom, is "one of the main concerns of the judiciary as well as society."
Who are the morality police?
The morality police, attached to Iranian law enforcement, is mandated to ensure the respect of Islamic morals as described by the Islamic Republic's top clerical authorities. Units are often made up of and backed by the Basij, a paramilitary force initially mobilized to fight in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
Basij have a presence in every Iranian university to monitor people's dress and behavior, as higher learning is where Iranian males and females meet for the first time in a mixed educational environment.
The Islamic responsibility of Hijab
The divine command of the Hijab is widely attributed to the Quranic verses 24:31 and 33:58. The former commands Muslim women to "draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their hidden adornments" except to close family. The latter entreats the Prophet to "ask your wives, daughters and believing women to draw their cloaks over their bodies. In this way, it is more likely that they will be recognized as virtuous and not be harassed."
According to the verse, covering the body is meant as a measure against harassment.
Iran may be able to build 'crude' nukes within six months – report
December 5, 2022
A new think tank report details how to deter Tehran from making the move to build a few crudely made nuclear weapons.
A new think tank report obtained by The Jerusalem Post warns of the possibility of Iran launching an accelerated effort to achieve a few “crude” nuclear weapons in six months.
According to Monday’s report by Institute for Science and International Security president David Albright, even though top Israeli officials recently told the Post that the Islamic Republic’s weapons group was two years away from being able to deliver a nuclear warhead via a ballistic missile, there could be a much more pressing threat.
In popular discussions, this option is often referred to as a “dirty” or “suitcase nuclear bomb,” but the truth is much more complex, although still quite threatening.
What is a "dirty" nuclear bomb?
The extra nuance is that no nuclear device, no matter how small, really fits into a suitcase or could be carried around by a single person.
Experts concerned about an improvised or crude nuclear bomb tend to discuss it being delivered by a vehicle, such as a truck. The explosive power of such a nuclear weapon would be much less than a full-fledged weapon delivered on a ballistic missile, but it could still be devastating.
By avoiding having to solve all of the challenges associated with measuring, miniaturizing and detonating a nuclear warhead via a ballistic missile, a smaller number of tasks could be solved in about six months.
Most of these would relate to bringing together the myriad components needed to build an actual bomb, some of which the ayatollahs have concealed in various locations across Iran dating back to 2003. Crossing at least a crude nuclear-device threshold could also involve performing an underground test to make sure the device would not be a dud.
One goal of Albright’s latest report is to inhibit or deter Iran from making a final decision to build nuclear weapons, taking into account how far along the program already is.
According to International Atomic Energy Agency reports, Iran already possesses a mix of 60% and 20% enriched uranium sufficient to build around four nuclear bombs within a period of several months – if it moves forward in a “crash course” rapid manner.
A nuclear time-crunch
The report first dissected how Tehran would most likely go about accelerating the process to finish building a nuclear device.
Although some analysts present Iran’s choice as binary – go after a full-fledged nuclear missile, which takes two years, or drop that effort and pursue just an accelerated “crude” device approach – Albright said the ayatollahs could easily move forward on parallel tracks at the same time.
According to the report, “A frequently propagated red herring is that Iran’s leadership has not decided to build nuclear weapons, [and that] it does not have a nuclear weapons program – as if only a directive to build them or the act of building them qualifies. However, for a country like Iran, a simplistic binary model does not suffice.
“Similarly, this type of categorization did not apply to Taiwan in the 1980s, when it had a program of being ready to build nuclear weapons in short order, if requested by the regime’s leadership. Taiwan had not made a decision to actually build nuclear weapons, nor had it shown any intention to build them, but it wanted to be ready to do so quickly in case a Chinese invasion was imminent,” the report said.
In that case, the US showed the resolve to take dramatic and secret steps to not only shut the program down, but insisted that Taiwan dismantle much of its associated infrastructure, including a research reactor, a secret plutonium separation plant and an extensive secret nuclear-weapons simulation and high-explosives testing program.
Further, as a lesson regarding Iran, the report said, “Taiwan had given the unfinished secret plutonium separation project a civilian cover story, and the research reactor was under International Atomic Energy Agency inspections. Nonetheless, the US government was determined to block Taiwan’s pathway to a nuclear weapon once and for all.”
Likewise, the report said Iran currently “does not appear to have a program focused on the actual building of nuclear weapons. But it does appear to have a program to be prepared to make nuclear weapons and to do so in short order based on covert and overt activities and facilities.”
Nuclear weapons on demand
In essence, the report warned: “Rather than a traditional nuclear weapons program, Iran threatens the region and the world with a program ready to produce nuclear weapons ‘on demand.’”
“This type of program serves the Iranian regime’s interests,” Albright wrote. “While Iran increasingly is viewed as a nuclear power, it has so far been able to avoid harsh international and regional penalties... Given its existing capabilities, this approach also permits Iran to minimize the need for secret nuclear weapon development activities, which if discovered, could catalyze more dangerous threats against the regime.”
Next, the report gave concrete recommendations to dissuade the Islamic Republic from deciding to pursue a nuclear device of any kind beyond any progress already made.
Albright discussed increased intelligence collection being able to detect any new decisions, as well as various political pressures, including diplomatic threats to snap back global sanctions to pull Iran in line.
Crucially, however, the report also said: “Iran needs to be made fully aware that building nuclear weapons will require drastic and serious actions by the international community, including military action.
“The threat of military force weakened after the negotiation of the JCPOA in 2015. Iran grew to perceive the United States as reluctant to use force and Israel as fearful and unable to launch an effective attack,” the report said, using the abbreviation for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal.
“This tendency is being reversed, but not quickly enough,” the report said. “The Western powers should get serious about offensive military options to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities if Iran moves to build nuclear weapons, diverts nuclear material, or withdraws from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
More specifically, Albright emphasized, “A useful first step is President [Joe] Biden’s declaration that military force could be used as a last resort to stop Iran building nuclear weapons; the United States and Israel’s recent drill simulating a strike on Iran is also important.”
Moreover, he said, “US military cooperation with Israel should continue to be bolstered, ensuring Israel can decisively strike Iran’s nuclear sites on short notice if there are signs Iran is moving to build nuclear weapons, including the ability of delivering a second strike if Iran reconstitutes those activities.”
No comments:
Post a Comment