Brief Notes Energy Industry, Healthcare Personnel Go on Strike: Thousands of workers at the critical South Pars gas field in southern Iran are staging demonstrations and have announced a weekly work stoppage over “longstanding grievances” at the site. Concurrently, videos posted to social media...
Brief Notes
Energy Industry, Healthcare Personnel Go on Strike: Thousands of workers at the critical South Pars gas field in southern Iran are staging demonstrations and have announced a weekly work stoppage over “longstanding grievances” at the site. Concurrently, videos posted to social media showed dozens of nurses and medical staff rallying outside Mashhad’s Imam Reza Hospital medical complex over delayed wages and low pay. State Media Criticizes Syrian President’s White House Visit: Islamic Republic-run outlets ridiculed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s November 10 visit to Washington. The regime’s English-language Press TV said Sharaa’s visit to the White House served as “historic confirmation that Washington works alongside al-Qaeda.” A piece from the Islamic Republic’s official outlet, IRNA, fixated on Sharaa’s reported “backdoor” entry into the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump’s “cold” reception, and the lack of reporters present at the meeting, suggesting U.S. media intended to downplay the visit. Tehran’s outlets continue to refer to the Syrian leader by his nom de guerre, “Jolani,” or as Syria’s “self-proclaimed leader.” Iraqi Elections Underway: Iraqis voted in parliamentary elections today, with polls now closed and initial results expected to arrive tomorrow morning (Baghdad time), according to Iraqi television stations. This election comes as Shia militias in Iraq are mounting their biggest political push yet, seeking to further cement their battlefield clout into Tehran-aligned formal power within Iraqi institutions. IRGC Says Drones ‘Challenged America’s Air Dominance’: During an IRGC memorial event in Tehran yesterday, Ali Balali, a senior commander in the IRGC Aerospace Force, said the Guards’ drones have become a “strategic game-changer,” shifting the region’s military balance in the Islamic Republic’s favor. Balali added that the regime’s “self-reliance has become the cornerstone of [its] defense strategy.” He continued, “Today, our systems have challenged even America’s air dominance…Their production cost and performance have upended every equation.”President Pezeshkian ‘Worried About Internal Discord’
President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a speech to the Majles (parliament) today in a practice that is traditionally meant to reflect on the first year of the president’s term and set the tone for the next year. Pezeshkian opened his speech by urging lawmakers to lower costs, saying, “Help us draft a deficit-free budget…Help us by slimming down the government.” He added, “It makes no difference to me to which party or faction people belong. Whoever can help us solve problems, we will kiss their hand.” Implicitly referencing recent months’ factional infighting, Pezeshkian said, “All of us must accept our own flaws and shortcomings…The central pillar of the system is the Supreme Leader, and under his guidance we must resolve differences and cooperate.” Speaking of the 12-Day War, Pezeshkian said, “During the war that occurred, I had no fear about what might happen, but I was, and am, worried about internal discord and our inability to settle our differences. There is no need for the Zionist regime’s plots and enmity if we cannot resolve our differences…The existence of the Supreme Leader is extremely valuable. We must appreciate this and stand firmly behind him.” He continued, “Today, all our enemies…are pinning their hopes on creating social tension in Iran and exploiting it for their goals.” Pezeshkian ended his speech by echoing Khamenei’s call for unity, saying, “We will continue this course and, under the guidance of the Supreme Leader, solve the issues and build a prosperous Iran whose unity will be a thorn in the enemies’ eyes.”On the Radar
- During a press conference today, judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir revealed that Shabnam Nematzadeh, daughter of former Minister of Industry Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, has been missing since June following her release from prison on furlough during the 12-Day War. Nematzadeh was serving a 20-year sentence for corruption. Jahangir said her assets have been seized and that authorities are investigating her disappearance, warning the case could prompt tighter furlough policies.
- An innocuous pre-wedding video of soccer player Saeed Karimi and his unveiled wife in an empty soccer stadium in Sari, Mazandaran Province, has caught the attention of authorities. Judiciary-run Mizan News reported yesterday that prosecutors in Gilan Province have now opened a case on the video, which it says is “contrary to public decency.”
- Responding to a November 11 piece from diaspora-run Kayhan London, regime officials today denied that 74 dead bodies were found in the Karaj Dam after reservoir levels fell, calling the claims “fabricated” and by “hostile media outlets and foreign-based news channels.”
- The IRGC Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO) claims it has identified around 400 members of Iran Academia, a Netherlands-based website founded in 2012 to provide “uncensored” Persian-language education in social sciences, accusing it of receiving Western support from the Netherlands, the EU, and the United States to promote a “soft overthrow” of the Islamic Republic. The IRGC-IO stated that several individuals from the group have already been arrested “inside and outside Iran.”