Imagine Ties With Secular, Democratic Iran, Pahlavi Tells Israelis

Relations between the government and Iranian artists have been strained since last September when anti-regime protests began and hurt the official propaganda plans for the anniversary of the Islamic revolution in February.

As musicians, film and theater artists refused to take part in the Fajr Festivals that mark the anniversary, the regime's image was badly damaged particularly in front of the foreign guests the government had invited to Tehran.

Esmaili said that the Culture Ministry can arrange jobs for the artists on the condition that they repent. Some observers have charged that what the Culture Ministry is doing with the artists is like what the government did to political prisoners in the 1980s by forcing them to incriminate themselves and their colleagues.

Esmaili denied that the Ministry has a list of artists who are not allowed to work in Iran because of their support for the protest. However, he acknowledged that the Iranian Judiciary does has such a list.

Tens of Iranian journalists, musicians, as well as film and stage actors were arrested and jailed either for supporting the protesters or for taking part in acts of protest. This included female artists who took off their compulsory hijab in public.

100%

Most of the actors, including the highly prominent actress Katayoun Riahi have been released from jail but judicial cases have been fabricated so that they would fear arrest any moment. The government uses looming jail sentences to keep the artists under control. Some artists including rap singer Toomaj Salehi are still in jail after several months.

Esmaili claimed: "We will do our best to return the repenting artists to the arms of the nation and resume working." However, similar experiences following unrest in the aftermath of the 2009 disputed presidential election showed that artists who bow to the regime would not be welcome by the society.

Esmaili also threatened artists by saying, "Those who are not compliant with the ideals of the Iranian nation will be treated differently." It is obvious that by "the Iranian nation" he meant the regime.

The Trade Union of Iranian Film Artists (The House of Cinema) had announced earlier that some 100 figures are facing restrictions imposed by the government. Many of those artists are barred from travelling abroad. The travel bans have been intensified after Iranian actor and TV celebrities including Hamid Farrokh Nejad, Ehsan Karami and Borzou Arjmand joined the foreign-based opposition after leaving the country.

The government was forced to release actresses under international pressure, as nearly all major film festivals in Europe condemned the arrests. The culture minister said late last year that they can engage in businesses other than acting in the movies, which meant that the actresses are barred from working.

The minister further said that actresses who have removed their hijab have in fact chosen not to obey the laws.

100%

Stage director Qotbeddin Sadeqi told reporters in Tehran that the situation of stage artists is catastrophic. He said, "None of them has a job. The plays that are allowed to go on stage are not popular and most of those who go to theaters are friends and colleagues invited by artists to watch the show for free."

Film Critic Ali Mosleh told Iran International TV that during the protests, the minister used to beg the actresses to return to work, but he is now threatening them as the government believes the protests have ended. He added that none of the protesting artists have retreated from their positions during the past months.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran's state television Payman Jebelli has said that some artists and TV personalities are no longer interested in working with the state television.

The exiled son of the Shah voiced his hopes that one day in the future the two nations can resume their historical friendship.

Publishing a photo of himself at the Western Wall on Tuesday, Pahlavi tweeted that 2,500 years ago, Cyrus the Great liberated the Jewish people from captivity and helped them rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem.

He said: “It is with profound awe that I visit the Western Wall of that Temple and pray for the day when the good people of Iran and Israel can renew our historic friendship.”

He quoted a verse from the Holy Hebrew Bible saying, “So said Cyrus, the king of Persia, ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of the heavens delivered to me, and He commanded me to build Him a House in Jerusalem, which is in Judea.’”

He also read Psalms, guided by a local rabbi, while praying for peace between the two nations.

Pahlavi’s visit with his wife to the Western Wall on Tuesday morning had been arranged by Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel.

While hundreds of others prayed at the Western Wall during the Holocaust Memorial Day siren, Pahlavi stood in reflection with the rest of the congregation for two minutes.

As part of his historic visit to the Jewish state, Pahlavi also met with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and attended a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem. Although he stood alongside Netanyahu and Israel's President Isaac Herzog, he did not make a speech.

Ruhollah Ajamian was killed in Karaj, near Tehran, in November by a group of men the regime called “rioters”.

The member of the Basij militia of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was stabbed, beaten, and stripped naked by a group of men and died of his injuries later.

The Islamic Republic has already executed Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hossein over Ajamian’s death.

On Tuesday in Alborz, 14 protesters were jailed in connection with the killing, with five of them receiving long-term prison terms of 10 and 15 years.

The two executions came after a hasty trial and without their right to choose a lawyer.

Jurists and human rights activists have described the trials as “unfair” and questioned the verdicts.

The judiciary of Alborz province claimed on Tuesday that the charges leading to the verdict were not "intentional murder" but "corruption of the earth" and "moharebeh", or “waging war against God”.

Among the defendants, Hamid Qarahasanlou, who was previously sentenced to death, received the longest prison term and was given 15 years in prison. He is set to serve his sentence in Yazd province in central Iran.

These are only the latest lengthy sentences to be handed down by the Iranian regime to countless protesters in the widespread demonstrations that followed the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September.

Protests broke out in scores of cities across Iran, with crowds demanding justice for Mahsa and calling for an end to the regime’s oppressive policies.

The brutal crackdown in response to the demonstrations and heavy sentences handed out by the courts have signaled the regime’s refusal to change and determination to silence dissent.

Pahlavi attended a ceremony held at the National Holocaust Memorial and Museum, Yad Vashem, as part of the Holocaust Remembrance Day. He stood alongside Netanyahu and Israel's President Isaac Herzog but did not deliver a speech. Later he held a meeting with Netanyahu in the presence of Israel’s intelligence minister Gila Gamliel.

This is the first time a prominent Iranian political figure has paid a public visit to Israel. Before leaving for Israel on Sunday, Prince Pahlavi tweeted that he wanted, “to deliver a message of friendship from the Iranian people…and pay respects to the victims of the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah.”

There are no reports so far about what Netanyahu and Pahlavi discussed during their brief meeting, but a photo showed the two deeply engaged in conversation.

The visit comes as Israeli officials and media commentators have raised increasing concern over Iran’s intensified efforts to create instability in and around Israel.

Speaking on Sunday at a memorial service, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned, “Iran is waging a multi-front war of attrition against the State of Israel,” adding that it was “continuing its attempts to establish itself on the northern front and at the same time sending its proxies to Judea, Samaria and Gaza.”

However, Gallant said that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have “acted and will continue to act in all arenas, in overt and covert operations along the border, across the border, and even far from the border.”

100%

IDF is braced for possible attacks by Iran-backed militias, which launched several rounds of strikes earlier this month on Israel’s southern and northern borders. In an unprecedented development in recent times, the attacks originated from Syria and Lebanon as well as the Gaza Strip.

100%

Analysts believe that the Islamic Republic intensified attacks by its allies and proxies in the belief that Israel is at a weak point, due to internal political unrest caused by Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the country’s judicial system.

On Sunday, the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies published a statement, warning of the prospect of a war with Iran, and urging Netanyahu to suspend his judicial overhaul plan considering the intensified threats by Tehran.

“Israel is seen from the outside as a torn society, gradually losing its ability to function,” the think tank said, echoing last week’s remarks by former National Security Advisor and former Maj.-Gen. Yaakov Amidror.

“Israel’s enemies are gaining confidence and expect the internal conditions in the Jewish state to lead to self-destruction,” it added, warning, “The chances of a deterioration into a wider conflict are more significant today than before... Israel needs to prepare for the tangible possibility of war.”

Netanyahu, also speaking at Sunday’s memorial service, said that Israel must always be able to defend itself, adding that if other powers such as the US want to mobilize to help, that is good, “but we cannot build our national security on the foundations of others.”

His statement is indicative of Israeli concerns over Washington’s hesitation to help Israel militarily in case of a confrontation with Iran, especially considering the Islamic Republic’s recent détente with Saudi Arabia.

Also on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen held a meeting with American senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who arrived in Israel from a visit to Saudi Arabia, stressing the need for strong Washington-Jerusalem coordination to prevent a nuclear Iran.

Netanyahu met with Graham on Monday and talked about Israel normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia, saying it would be a "giant leap" towards ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Netanyahu said, "We want normalization and peace with Saudi Arabia...This agreement could have monumental consequences, historic consequences both for Israel, for Saudi Arabia, for the region and for the world."

Cohen said, "Cooperation between Israel and the United States is necessary to stop the Iranian nuclear program, which is a global threat.

“The way to change Iranian behavior is through massive economic and political pressure, in every sector of Iranian interest,” coupled with a credible “military threat against it.”

Tehran turned to Lebanon’s Hezbollah to initiate the latest episode of its proxy war against Israel, during which Hezbollah fired a surveillance drone toward the Galilee on April 1 that was shot down by Israel. From April 5-7, Palestinians affiliated with Hamas and based in Lebanon fired fired 34 rockets at Israel. On April 8 and April 9, six rockets were launched from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, prior to the most recent coordinated attacks, Esmail Ghaani, the leader of IRGC’s Quds Force, hosted representatives of Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad – all of which designated as terrorist groups by the US and several other countries – at the Iranian embassy in Beirut in March and April.

On Saturday, spokesman of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Ramezan Sharif said that the US is too weak to be able to militarily support Israel in the region.

The Shin Bet was quoted as saying that a Hezbollah terrorist cell was identified trying to smuggle weapons into Israel. The weapons were meant to assist different criminal and terrorists' activities in the country.

Tel-Aviv-based i24 website reported Monday that according to the information the Iranian and Hezbollah officials transferred funds to two brothers named Yosef Mansour and Marsil Mansour who were arrested in the West Bank in recent months.

Shin Bet says the operation is a serious attempt by the Islamic Republic and its affiliates to infiltrate and establish cells in Israel to carry out terrorist attacks against citizens.

Earlier in March, Israel’s National Security Council released a statement, cautioning Passover travelers over the possibility of being harmed in Iranian plots abroad.

This year, the holidays – starting on April 5 – coincided with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which usually sees a surge in terrorist attacks by extremist Islamists.

Israel’s National Security Council claims that Tehran will continue its attempts to harm Israelis around the world, especially in the countries near Iran in broader West Asia. It emphasized that Iran and its proxies present a particular threat in the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Bahrain, as well as Iraq’s Kurdistan region, where Israelis are prohibited to enter according to Israel’s own laws.