Iran news in brief, June 13, 2019

Iran news in brief, June 13, 2019

U.S. Sanctions Iraq-Based Company Affiliated With IRGC

The United States has sanctioned an Iraqi company which it said had helped Iran's Revolutionary Guards evade sanctions by smuggling hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of weapons.

The U.S. Treasury Department said the penalties target the South Wealth Resources Company in Baghdad and two executives who helped facilitate weapons shipments and the company's financial operations. The treasury said that the company and the two men are linked to the IRGC’s terrorist Quds Force.

"Treasury is taking action to shut down Iranian weapons smuggling networks that have been used to arm regional proxies of the IRGC Qods Force in Iraq, while personally enriching regime insiders," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

Saudi Defense Official: 'Iran Meddling in Our Region for 40 Years'

Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister, Khalid bin Salman, said that “for 40 years, the Iranian regime has been spreading chaos, death and destruction, by sponsoring and financing terrorist organizations including the Houthis.”

He added that the targeting of a Saudi Airport on Wednesday by Iranian-backed Houthi militia and injuring innocent civilians, is a continuation of their immoral and criminal behavior that is in line with the malign behavior of their patrons.

 “The Iranian regime is the only party in the region that has been pursuing reckless escalation, through the use of ballistic missiles and UAVs to directly target civilian installations and innocent civilians,” he said.

Women Activists Held in Jail Amid Tightening Repression

Five women activists are being held in prison under deplorable conditions for demanding their own and their people’s human rights.

Three of the women activists were arrested during an International Workers Day protest demonstration on May 1 in Tehran across from the Iranian parliament.

Marzieh Amiri, Neda Naji, and Atefeh Rangriz were among 15 activists who were brutalized and arrested by security forces in the May Day demonstration in Tehran.

1 Million People Demand Iran's Regime Releases Human Rights Lawyer

More than a million people in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe have come together to express their outrage at the sentencing of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to 38 years and six months in prison and 148 lashes after two grossly unfair trials, Amnesty International announced.

To mark one year since Nasrin Sotoudeh’s arrest, Amnesty International is organizing a global handover of the signatures collected, calling on the Iranian authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally. Under Iran’s sentencing guidelines, she is due to serve 17 years in prison.