Iran cracks down on critical voices amid Syrian fallout

Meanwhile, Reformist commentator Abbas Abdi argues that these issues highlight the hard-liners’ resistance to Masoud Pezeshkian's efforts to bridge the gap between the people and the government.

Abdi also criticized the President, holding him personally accountable for the continued censorship of social media in Iran.

Ali Rajaei, a centrist figure within Iran's Islamic political establishment, stated in an interview with the Khabar Online website in Tehran that no significant progress has been made in Iran's foreign relations or the government's cultural and economic policies since Pezeshkian assumed office four months ago. However, he emphasized that all Iranians should work together to strengthen the government and help it preserve its social capital.

"People measure the government's success by seeing how it tackles the problems of hijab and filtering [of the Internet]. At the same time, the government's opponents do not allow it to solve the problems," Rajaei said, adding that "the President cannot do much about other problems if he cannot stand by his promises to lift the filtering and prevent violent hijab enforcement."

He also argued that Iranians see no change in the situation of their livelihood and the government, and the parliament have done very little to improve the situation.

Rajaei said that he does not see any bright prospect for the hijab problem as the President appears to be lacking the bargaining power to convince the hardliners to step back from the new hijab enforcement law.

Meanwhile, Khabar Online website quoted Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah as saying that at least 60 percent of Iranians oppose internet restrictions and collectively spend approximately 200 trillion rials (around $300 million) annually on VPNs to bypass the filtering. Ghaempanah also told the Reformist daily Arman Melli that all 15 members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace are opposed to lifting the restrictions.

According to Reformist commentator Abbas Abdi, the statements by the vice president indicate that there is no short-term solution for the problem of filtering. Abdi added that President Pezeshkian and his administration should be hold accountable. "If there are individuals who can continue to enforce the filtering against the calls made by the President and his aides to lift the censorship, this means that other promises made by Pezeshkian are unlikely to be met," Abdi said.

Abdi further argued, "If a government backed by the people's vote cannot fulfill its promises, it might as well step aside and allow the hardliners to implement their policies." He questioned, "Did Pezeshkian not realize he couldn't uphold his promises when he made them? His excuses now are unacceptable." Abdi added, "It is not enough for the President and his aides to merely oppose internet filtering. People voted for them with the expectation that they would bring about meaningful change."

Motahaeh Shafiei, the lead columnist for Arman Melli newspaper, wrote that based on the Vice President's remarks and Pezeshkian's track record, lifting internet censorship is likely to become increasingly challenging.

Meanwhile, hardline commentator Abbas Nalimi-Namin suggested that the executive and legislative branches should postpone implementing the new hijab enforcement law, as both have acknowledged ambiguities in its enforcement. He further argued that hardliners like Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday Prayers Imam of Mashhad, who demand the law's immediate implementation, do so from within an insular circle disconnected from Iranian society and public sentiment.

In recent days, some state-controlled media and authorized public commentators have emphasized Assad’s unpopularity and the Syrian people’s unwillingness to defend his rule as rebels advanced toward the capital.

Some also reflected on the lessons the Islamic Republic should take from the events in Syria and suggested in mostly veiled terms that the same fate may befall the Islamic system if it fails to meet popular demands for social and political freedoms.

Some of the more outspoken views about Assad, which could be seen as indirect criticism of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, were conspicuously deleted after a few hours on Sunday and Monday without explanation.

Mahmoud Sadeghi, an outspoken reformist politician and former lawmaker, said the intelligence ministry contacted him and other unidentified political figures to warn them about “drawing a parallel between the deposed Syrian regime with the Islamic Republic of Iran's system.”

Sadeghi made the revelation in an open letter published on his Telegram channel Tuesday addressed to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“Public opinion has unfortunately made such an analogy.” Sadeghi wrote.

“This call made me wonder what has happened to our intelligence apparatus that instead of facing a grim reality such as the sudden and unexpected fall of Bashar al-Assad to properly analyze and understand its roots and dimensions and to seek help from political analysts, it is trying to cover it up and orders political activists to analyze the events according to (authorities’) wishes and views,” he wrote.

Sadeghi added that he had humbly warned the officer who contacted him, apparently by phone, that imposing these restrictions on the public would lead them to see “certain similarities with the deposed Syrian regime which bore the name of a republic but acted like a despotic monarchy and suppressed all voices of dissent instead of listening to those who protested and to carry out reforms.”

He also warned Khamenei that the Islamic Republic may have the same fate as Syria if the Supreme Leader does not take action to correct these wrongs during his lifetime.

The outspoken former lawmaker also said the Islamic Association of University Professors, of which he is a member, is prepared to offer a more comprehensive, confidential analysis of the current circumstances in the country and propose solutions to the Supreme Leader.

The news portal of the Association has run Sadeghi’s letter with the headline “Our System May Have the Same Fate as the Syrian One if You Do Not Correct these Wrongs” but besides the reformist Jamaran news website, no other Iranian newspaper or news website has so far given it coverage.

Dozens of Iranian activists and journalists have in the past four months also reported that authorities have blocked their cellphone SIM cards as an alternative to arresting them or other methods that require official action to force them into submission.

In a tweet on 5 December, a former journalist with the reformist Shargh newspaper, Elahe Khosravi, recounted how her friend’s registered SIM card had been blocked because of his social media activities. According to Khosravi, they were unable to acquire another SIM card because activating the new SIM card required confirmation of a code sent to the blocked registered number.

Others have reported that unexplained blocking of their SIM cards has deprived them of access to many online facilities including internet banking, academic platforms, and using two-step verification of their different online accounts.

"There is not any truth to that. There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States," Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters on Wednesday.

In an interview with Fox News earlier in the day, New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew cited "very high, qualified, and responsible sources" saying "Iran launched a mothership probably about a month ago that contained these drones."

“These drones should be shot down,” said Van Drew, who sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He was referring to large drones that have been seen gliding through New Jersey's night skies for weeks, puzzling residents with their mysterious flashing light displays.

Singh added there was no evidence that the reported drone flights were "the work of an adversary”.

Government officials announced that the closures affecting both public and private institutions will continue through Thursday in several major cities including Tehran, Isfahan and Ahvaz.

The capital Tehran has seen its air quality deteriorate to the point where clean air days accounted for just 15% of the annual total over the past eight years. Nationwide, air pollution contributes to 25,000 deaths each year, according to official statistics.

The economic toll is also heavy, with air pollution costing the country an estimated $12 billion annually.

The crisis is not only disrupting education but also straining the healthcare system. In central Markazi Province, hospital official Behrooz Irannejad reported that 900 patients with respiratory and cardiac issues sought medical care in one city, Arak, between October 22 and December 10 due to pollution.

Davood Mirshekar, an air quality official in southwestern Khuzestan, announced similar closures across the province. In the central city of Isfahan, elementary and middle schools have switched to remote learning due to stagnant air conditions which have left pollution stubbornly in place.

Ahvaz in the south remains the most polluted city in Iran, with 55% of its days classified as polluted.

Sedigheh Torabi, deputy director of the Department of Environment, attributed this to a mix of natural pollutants such as dust storms and human-generated emissions from power plants, industries and waste burning.

A 2017 Clean Air Law designed to tackle air pollution has been largely ignored. Of the 174 obligations assigned to 23 government agencies, less than half have been implemented over seven years.

Critics argue that the government has prioritized social regulations like the controversial hijab law over addressing environmental concerns.

Outdated vehicles and automaker responsibility

Transportation accounts for 60% of Iran’s air pollution, according to Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raeisi.

Eleven million of 12 million motorcycles and 2.5 million of 14 million vehicles are outdated, exacerbating the crisis. The automakers Iran Khodro and Saipa have come under fire for not tightening emissions standards.

A law requiring the replacement of aging vehicles was abandoned during Hassan Rouhani's presidency, aggravating the issue.

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While outdated vehicles play a significant role, air pollution persists even during periods of reduced traffic, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. This suggests that industrial emissions and low-quality fuels also significantly contribute to the crisis.

Sanctions and government efforts to keep fuel prices low have led to the use of an oil product called naphtha, a cheap but highly polluting alternative.

In May 2024 the government invested $3 billion to produce naphtha.

Reformist newspapers have highlighted the issue, but official data on the extent of its use remains unavailable.

Iran’s use of mazut, a low-quality heavy fuel oil, for energy production has also become a significant environmental and public health concern. Faced with a shortage of natural gas during colder months, Iran has increasingly relied on mazut in its power plants and industries, exacerbating already severe air pollution levels in major cities.

Iran’s air pollution crisis underscores the need for comprehensive reforms. From enforcing environmental laws to modernizing transportation and regulating industrial emissions, the country has yet to address its environmental challenges to protect public health and reduce economic losses.

Totaling $10 billion, the funds are Iraqi payments for electricity provided by neighboring Iran.

The move was made two days after the November presidential election, the state department confirmed last week, riling Biden's critics.

“The House voted to eliminate these waiver authorities - twice. But the Biden administration is still waiving the sanctions, putting more money in the Iranian regime’s pockets to fund its terrorist proxies and nuclear weapons program," Republican Michael McCaul said on X.

"The US should not be subsidizing Iran’s malign activities.”

On November 8, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced: "it is in the national security interest of the United States" to waive mandatory economic sanctions that bar Iraq from transferring upward of $10 billion to Iran in electricity import payments.”

Republicans have objected to the move, warning that the money will not be used for the benefit of Iran’s cash-strapped population - one third of which now live below the poverty line - but will instead be funneled toward Tehran’s militant allies in the region.

The administration previously signed off on renewing the waiver one month after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, the Washington Free Beacon reported on Tuesday. Iran has armed, funded and trained the Palestinian militant group.

Last year, the US unfroze $6 billion in Iranian funds to bank accounts in Qatar in exchange for the release of five US-Iranian prisoners held by Tehran. That move was lambasted by Republican critics as indulging Iranian hostage diplomacy.

Amid bipartisan pressure following the Oct. 7 attack by Iran-backed Hamas against Israel, the Biden administration told lawmakers it would effectively refreeze those funds for the foreseeable future.

The most recent waiver lifted sanctions for 120 days and will overlap with the incoming administration of Donald Trump, whose punishing sanctions gutted Iranian finances.

Given the pledge by incoming Trump administration officials to renew that “maximum pressure” stance on Iran, the waiver could be scrapped.

During the previous Trump administration the waiver was in force but access to the funds was stricter, according to the Beacon, which regularly lampoons Democrats and supports Republicans.

“The Biden State Department tweaked the waiver last year to allow Tehran to convert the funds from Iraqi dinars to euros, then hold those euros in bank accounts based in Oman,” the Beacon reported.

“Access to a widely traded currency like the euro enables Iran to more easily spend the cash in international markets. Under the first Trump administration, Iran had to keep the cash in an escrow account in Baghdad, making it more difficult to access.”

State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in a briefing on Nov. 7 that the administration still considered Iran an adversary but wanted to facilitate the provision of Iranian electricity to Iraq.

"We remain committed to reducing Iran's malign influence in the region,” he said. The United States last year designated Iran the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism.

"Our viewpoint is that a stable, sovereign, and secure Iraq is critical to these efforts.”

The funds are mandated for use on humanitarian needs such as medicines, according to the Biden State Department instructions.

However, its Republican detractors maintain that the money is fungible, allowing Tehran to divert its dwindling cash reserves to regional allies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

"Joe Biden and his team are taking credit for bringing down Assad just a few weeks after renewing a sanctions waiver to give Iran access to billions of dollars," Richard Goldberg, a former White House National Security Council member who worked on the Iran portfolio, told the Beacon.

"Give me a break. This policy of appeasement needs to end on January 20, and locking down these accounts so Iran can't get access should be priority one.”

Western countries stepped up sanctions on Iran this year over its human rights record and support of Russia in its war on Ukraine.

Iran has managed to circumvent many of the sanctions and boost revenue from oil exports during Biden's term, leading critics including some Democrats to urge a more muscular approach.