MEK'S POPULARITY AMONG IRANIAN YOUTH, REGIME'S NIGHTMARE

One of the great falsehoods of the Iran lobby and the appeasers of the clerical regime in Tehran is that any effort at regime change would inevitably lead to war. This by-line can be seen in every article by the Iran lobby and the appeasers attempting to underscore the growing global support for the Iranian opposition (MEK/PMOI) and the Iranian people’s quest for regime change.

History teaches us though that the longevity of any regime born out of violent conquest is ultimately short-lived.

The Iranian regime that was born out of a revolution overthrowing the Shah, which was in turn hijacked by the mullahs and turned into a religious oligarchy. The original aim of the revolution was the formation of a secular, pluralistic democracy. That dream still exists in the hearts and minds of the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people and resonates in the various forms of protest in Iran, despite the repressive measures by the regime. Therefore, the call for “regime change” is primarily the Iranian people’s demand.

Since the early days after the 1979 revolution, the mullahs have relied on the typical tools of oppression to keep their grip on power, including the creation of a paramilitary and judiciary system so vast, it touches nearly every sector of Iranian society. At the same time, the Iranian regime and its apparatus (including the regime lobbies and appeasers) have been quick in attacking any publication or personalities who dare speaking about the Iranian people’s quest for freedom and particularly “regime change” in Iran. It goes without saying that those more in line with the regime have targeted MEK/PMOI, since MEK/PMOI is the most dedicated and the organized opposition with extensive routes and support at home, that can materialize the regime change. The people’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, PMOI (usually referred to as MEK) has therefore been the subject of dubious propaganda campaigns by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) at home and by the regime lobbies and appeasers abroad. The idea is to say that there is no democratic alternative to this regime. Hence, the only option is to put up with the dictatorship in Iran, otherwise there will be war!http://bit.ly/2hgTqXF

MEK/PMOI Popularity Threat to Iranian Regime's Existance

By: Jubin Katiraie

For many associated with the Iranian lobby and appeasers of the clerical regime in Tehran, the best way to prop up the regime is to discredit any alternative options presented to the international community. In addition, the lobby and appeasers continue to stress that regime change will lead to war. As an example, they point to the struggles of the Iraq government since the removal of Saddam by the U.S. and its allies.

However, history teaches us that any regime’s existence is limited when it begins with a violent upheaval. The current Iranian regime was born out of a revolution to end the rule of the Shah, but that revolution’s goal was to create a secular, pluralistic, and democratic Iran. However, the mullahs hijacked the revolution, creating a theocracy and suppressing any alternative political voices, including the MEK/PMOI.

Instead, to consolidate their power, the Iranian regime has relied on the typical tools of oppression, including the creation of a paramilitary and judiciary system that touches every section of Iranian society. The regime, using its lobby and appeasers, have been quick in attacking any publication or personalities that dare to speak up about the quest of the Iranian people to achieve their original dream of a democratic Iran.

Anyone who dares to talk about “regime change” is targeted for repressive measures. The MEK/PMOI have been high on the regime’s list, since the MEK/PMOI are the most dedicated and organized opposition with extensive routes and support at home, with the ability to materialize regime change.

The people’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) has been the subject of propaganda campaigns by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) at home and by regime lobbies and appeasers throughout the international community. This campaign is focused on discrediting the MEK/PMOI, by saying there is no democratic alternative to the Iranian regime and that regime change will result in war and increased instability within the region.http://bit.ly/2tWX52M

ANALYSIS: Understanding Iran’s missile belligerence

By Heshmat Alavi

Iran has recently witnessed increasing pressures from both sides of the Atlantic, especially over its ballistic missile ambitions. After weeks of deliberations, the US Congress passed initiatives imposing unprecedented restrictions on Tehran.

Just one day after Iran test-launched a satellite-carrying rocket, the Europeans on Friday joined their American allies in sharpening their tone on Iran’s mullahs, demanding an immediate cessation.

The US Treasury Department also responded sharply, imposing even further sanctions on six companies owned or supervised by the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, known to play a central role in Tehran’s ballistic drive. All their US assets have been frozen and US citizens barred from dealing with the six firms.

As expected, Iran has continued its refusal to cooperate. “We will continue with full power our missile program,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi to state broadcaster IRIB.

The differentiation

A logical conclusion would be for Iran is to yield back on its ballistic missile program. Yet this isn’t necessarily the case for Tehran.

We are dealing with a completely pragmatic regime, moving its pawns very carefully, with the utmost calculus to the very end. Iran needs to maintain face on two different issues:

1) While not understood by many in the West, the mullahs desperately need to maintain a straight face before its already dwindling social base.http://bit.ly/2uNyAEm

What's Really Behind French Oil Giant's Deal With Iran?

The $4.8-billion-dollar deal between Iran and France's Total, the huge multinational oil and gas company, has become very controversial. Considering the unilateral U.S. sanctions and increasing measures against Iran, why has Total risked signing such a deal?

There are a variety of possibilities.

Total will be developing phase 11 of Iran's mammoth South Pars gas field, the largest in the world, along with a state Chinese firm and an Iranian subsidiary. The project is set to render 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day, equivalent to 400,000 barrels of oil.

Iran's domestic market will receive the supply in 2021. The first stage is set to cost $2 billion, with an end price of up to $5 billion and production forecasted to start within 40 months.

As we speak, however, Washington continues to impose sanctions on Tehran and the Trump administration's comprehensive Iran policy has yet to be defined. Therefore, why did Total accept such a risk?

The mullahs' regime has provided numerous concessions in this deal, leaving Total believing the risk is worth taking. Iran also may receive no compensation in the case of Total deciding to abandon the contract. Ten years ago a similar contract was signed between Iran and Total, ending in the French company pulling out and not paying a dime in compensation.

Total most likely also received guarantees on Tehran paying any possible financial fines. And finally, considering the silence seen from Washington over this deal, there lies a possibility of the Americans providing a green light for its brokering.

Lights of Liberty on the 30th Anniversary of 1988 Massacre

Rabat – In the summer of 1988, 30,000 Iranian political prisoners, supporters of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, were massacred. As the 30th-anniversary approaches, the families of the victims and the citizens of Iran still await justice and an international tribune.                 

Thousands of Iranian political prisoners were systematically executed during a state-sponsored, five month-long killing spree in 1988. The prisoners, some as young as 14 years old, were killed in groups—loaded onto trucks and hanged from cranes. Over the past three decades, the regime has blocked all attempts at investigating the extent of the massacre.  They have gone to great lengths to conceal the truth about the murders, including damaging cemeteries with bulldozers and toppling the headstones that mark the martyrs’ graves

There is neither a single government institution nor criminal justice system to deter crime and enforce a penal code in Iran. The Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, controls everything.  He sets the tone and direction of Iran’s domestic and foreign policies and has allowed many former members of the “Death Commission” to remain in power. Figures like Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi and cleric Ebrahim Raisi are heavily involved in contemporary Iranian politics. The former is presently the minister of justice under President Hassan Rouhani’s Administration and the latter was the Supreme Leader’s in the 2017 presidential election—both have defended the government’s actions starting on July 19, 1988.http://bit.ly/2h8wmdL

SENIOR FORMER U.S. OFFICIALS REJECT WAR WITH IRAN, URGE REACHING OUT TO THE IRANIAN PEOPLE, ORGANIZED OPPOSITION

by Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

On the heels of the major gathering of the Iranian opposition in Paris on July 1, some thirty prominent American luminaries and former officials issued a joint statement expressing bipartisan support for the Iranian resistance and underscoring the need for a more firm approach towards Iran’s ruling clerics.Among the signatories were former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

The letter scolds the ruling clerics of Iran for causing regional instability, engaging in egregious human rights violations and exporting terrorism and extremism abroad. The high-profile personalities and former officials rejected the view that Iran’s political establishment can be reformed. “The hope of some Western governments was that time would lead to moderation by the Mullahs or to the emergence of a reformist faction that could challenge the dominance of the clerical regime. The reality has been far different,” they stated.http://bit.ly/2h4tpeg

New US Sanctions Blacklist Iran's IRGC

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 05: Rep. Elliot Engel (D-NY) speaks during a news conference discussing new legislation on U.S. policy toward Russia April 5, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. U.S. Also pictured is Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday placing new sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia. This follows a similar version adopted overwhelmingly by the Senate in a 98-2 vote last month.

The House resolution, however, faced a more peculiar road even riddled with obstacles. Fortunately, the overwhelming 419 to three vote in favor of this bill, the bipartisan Countering Adversarial Nations Through Sanctions Act (H.R.3364) has made it veto proof. Despite the fact of alterations made in the initial text, all glitches have been set aside to gain White House consent.

“The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), not just the IRGC Quds Force, is responsible for implementing Iran’s international program of destabilizing activities, support for acts of international terrorism and ballistic missiles,” the House Resolution text reads in part.

This development is a devastating blow to Tehran and a major success for the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).http://bit.ly/2tZx8ee

Heshmat Alavi , CONTRIBUTOR

Political/rights activist focusing on Iran  Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Imposing New Sanctions on Iran's Clerical Regime and Designating the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as Terrorist Entity, Constitutes an Essential Step in the Right Direction That Needs to Be Completed by Other Measures

The Iranian Resistance welcomes the adoption of a bill by the US House of Representatives, imposing new sanctions on the clerical regime for violating human rights and pursuing ballistic missiles, and designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity. This is an essential step in rectifying the damaging policy of appeasement that needs to be completed by other measures including the eviction of the IRGC and its affiliated militia particularly from Syria and Iraq as well as the recognition of the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the clerical regime.

Designating and imposing sanctions on the IRGC was long overdue because the IRGC serves as the guarantee to preserve the entirety of the religious fascism ruling Iran and is the main entity responsible for domestic suppression, the export of terrorism and extremism, and obtaining weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. In the past 28 years, the Iranian regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei has placed a vast portion of the wealth and resources of the Iranian people under IRGC’s control, enabling it to plunder a large portion of Iran’s economy.

‘‘Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017’’ designates the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity under Executive Order 13224, which subjects Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) to severe sanctions.

The Act underscored that “90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall impose the sanctions” with respect to the “IRGC and foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC.” All property and interests in possession of designated individuals or entities that are in or come within the United States, or that come within the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked. Any transaction or dealing by U.S. persons is prohibited, including making or receiving of any contribution of funds, goods, or services to or for the benefit of individuals or entities designated under the Order.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 25, 2017

Iran's Supreme Leader and Anti-MEK Movie

By Jubin Katiraie

On July 15th state media in Iran fully covered the remarks of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about a movie called, “The Adventure of Midday”.

Following the ignominy of this movie which was produced against the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran ( PMOI/MEK), the news agency of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) released the news about the meeting of Iranian regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with film producers which depicts Khamenei’s role in the production of this movie. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was also involved in the production of the movie in February/March 2017.

The news was first released by the IRGC following confessions and protests among various government bands due to the ignominy of this scandalous film. It was then published by other state-run news agencies.

According to state-run news agencies, in the meeting with his underlings who produced the movie, Khamenei who was after production of it against the MEK said: “This film ‘Midday Adventure’ was very good. All the components of the movie were great; it was a great director; excellent play and great stories. The film was well-made.”

This is completely unprecedented on the Khamenei’s end as the supreme leader to explicitly take a position like this about a movie, but if we take a look at the regime’s current conditions and especially how Iranian youths feel, we will come to realize that Khamenei’s remarks not only are not strange but actually are quite necessary.

This movie resembles various events of the 1980s and the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). These developments had become the main riddle for all the youth who have not seen that day and age. Tens of thousands of young MEK members and other brave Iranian youths lost their lives struggling for a free Iran then and ever since.

Public executions, tortures to death, horrific prisons and interrogations, all awaited those political prisoners. Many who already were serving their prison sentences were also executed.
Sentences were announced through state TV and radio as follows:http://bit.ly/2u95UoW

FORMER INTELLIGENCE MINISTER TALKS ABOUT 1988 MASSACRE OF MEK PRISONERS IN IRAN

By INU Staff

INU - Ali Fallahian, a former Intelligence Minister of Iran, participated in an interview with Tarikh Online – a state-affiliated news website, earlier this month. He admitted that the Supreme Leader at the time, Ayatollah Khomeini, ordered the execution of anyone linked to the Iranian opposition (MEK) in a fatwa in 1988.

During the summer of 1988, more than 30,000 political prisoners, most of whom were members or supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI or MEK), the main Iranian opposition group, were executed.

He said that the fatwa ordered the execution of the MEK members who insisted on maintaining their beliefs. To deal with the logistics of it, a commission was formed, he said. This is what has become known as the “Death Commission”. Fallahian said that the purpose of the commission was in actual fact to see who would be pardoned instead of being executed.

He explained that the people could have escaped execution by saying that they no longer hold their beliefs and do not support the MEK or any other opposition. If they declared their commitment to the Supreme Leader they would have remained alive.http://bit.ly/2vQxHbQ

Iran: At least 2300 pre-school kids live in prisons

The number of pre-school children who live in Iranian prisons along with their mothers has reached 2300.

Mohammad Javad Fat’hi, member of the judicial committee of the Iranian parliament, announced on July 22, 2017, that 2300 kids are in prisons along with their parents, a situation which is “very strange” and “needs to be deliberated on.”

Fat’hi urged the Prisons Organization to provide a “transparent statistics on the number of imprisoned mothers,” adding, “Concealing the figures do not solve any problems, although the high numbers could be really regrettable.” (The state-run T.News website, July 22, 2017)

The number of children living with their mothers in “horrible” conditions in Iranian prisons had been previously set at 200 by Shahindokht Molaverdi, Rouhani’s deputy in women and family affair. She said women’s prisons “do not have desirable conditions.” (The state-run Fararou website, May 5, 2015)

It becomes clear that 2300 is not the final number and should be considered as minimum.

The presence of so many small children in prisons in Iran is tragic while international laws oblige all governments to refrain from issuing prison sentences for women who have to take care of children and their prison sentences must be replaced by alternative punishments including “suspension of detention.”

Syria strikes hit near Damascus despite ceasefire: monitor

Syrian rebel fighters from the Faylaq al-Rahman brigade carry their homemade 12.7mm sniper rifle in Ain Terma in the rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus, on July 20, 2017

vbBEIRUT, AFP, 23 July 2017  - Syria's regime carried out air raids on one of the last rebel strongholds near Damascus Sunday, a monitor said, a day after it declared a ceasefire in parts of the besieged enclave.

The Syrian army on Saturday announced a halt in fighting for parts of Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held region on the outskirts of the capital that has been ravaged in the six-year conflict.

'Regime warplanes targeted the area of Ain Terma with at least six strikes since early morning, and two raids were carried out on and around the city of Douma,' the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

The Britain-based monitor, which relies on sources in Syria for its information, did not report any casualties.
Regime shelling also hit the outskirts of the town of Jisreen on Sunday, the Observatory said, after regime artillery and rocket fire on areas including Ain Terma and the town of Harasta on Saturday after the ceasefire started.http://bit.ly/2tCw3xQ

Iran: Complaint of Political Prisoners to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights

NCRI - Political prisoners in Gohardasht, Karaj, in a letter to the head of the Human Rights Council and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Iran, complained about the shocking confessions of Ali Fallahian, former Intelligence Minister of the Iranian regime on political killings in 1988.

They have called for the establishment of a special committee to investigate the 1988 massacre, in order to bring the perpetrators and perpetrators to account.

Parts of this letter read:

"President of the Human Rights Council

Certainly, you were informed of the confessions of the former Minister of Intelligence (Fallahian); he confessed in slanderous confessions and the sinister laughs of the massacre of prisoners in 1988.

These confessions were so coarse and criminal that it was evident even in the facial expression and reactions of the television interviewer, that to what extent were they criminals and to what extent the TV presenter was surprised ... !!!

He clearly stated that everyone was steadfast and against the regime, ought to be executed !!! .... or ... "They had rebelled in prison," or elsewhere he said no matter who had a gun or not ...

even for advertising or having a newspaper !!! When the presenter asked if the "arrested" were not at least considered captive? ... he reiterated: no.

Your Excellency;

What is clearer and more obvious than such confessions that what happened in 1988 in Iran's prisons was a massacre and genocide ... And we ask you, as the head of the UN Human Rights Council, what else is needed in order for a committee to be formed to investigate this massacre and genocide confessed by all those involved?

Your Excellency;

In this interview, several important points that are constantly emphasized are clear:http://bit.ly/2vxvcLX

Solidarity With the Historic Resistance of the People of Iran for Freedom

Add caption

A number of personalities and delegates paid tribute to a monument of the history of more than half a century of struggle of the people of Iran against tyranny at the residence of Maryam Rajavi, and signed a book in solidarity with the campaign for “Free Iran with 1000 Ashrafs; our goal: regime change.”

The event followed the Iranian Resistance’s grand gathering at Villepinte where numerous personalities and parliamentary delegations had participated from around the world.

Maryam Rajavi welcomed the guests and international personalities. She appreciated their efforts to guarantee the safe relocation of Ashraf residents and added, “The change of circumstances of the Iranian Resistance, their growing activities inside Iran and the aggravation of the regime’s situation made it clear that regime change in Iran is within reach.

“Today, there is a powerful and organized alternative in a suitable position to impact domestic circumstances in Iran and organize protests by all social sectors particularly the younger generation and women. This means that our real task has just begun, the task of liberating the people of Iran from oppression.

“Therefore, let me repeat the main motto of today’s gathering: With the Iranian Resistance, regime change is within reach. I am sure that we can and we must change the clerical regime and bring peace and security to the world.

“Once again, I thank you all very much for standing with us in reaching the noble goal of Iran’s freedom.”

A number of personalities made speeches in this event congratulating the successful convention of the Resistance’s grand gathering which was also joined by Ashraf residents.

Source: http://www.maryam-rajavi.com/en/activities/event-reports/item/solidarity-with-the-historic-resistance-of-the-people-of-iran-for-freedom

Understanding IRGC’s long-term goals in Iraq

“I announce from here the end and failure and the collapse of the terrorist state of falsehood and terrorism which the terrorist Da’esh (ISIS) announced from Mosul,” the Iraqi Prime Minister declared on state television recently.

Following a three-year long blitz, Iraqi forces with the support of the international coalition, have now defeated ISIS in Mosul, despite all challenges and sectarian disputes.

But the defeat of ISIS has created a vacuum and there are some hard questions about Shi’ite militias such as the People Mobilization Units (PMU) that must be answered. This is particularly important because the PMU was established because of the sectarian divisions in Iraq.

But what role will the PMU play in the future of Iraq? Who will control and command the PMU? It is a known fact that some Shi’ite militant groups in Iraq – such as the Kata’ib Hezbollah, Badr Organization and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq – are supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Thus, it is not surprising that these militias pursue IRGC’s goals and depend on Tehran for their financial and military supplies. It is worth pointing out that a few days ago, the commander of IRGC’s Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, said that the IRGC “had been working around the clock to arm the PMU” after its establishment.

This makes them under command of the IRGC’s Quds Force. Apart from financial affiliation and weapons, these groups have indicated that they believe in and are loyal to the Iranian regime’s ideology of Khomeinism who was the flagbearer of “the path to Quds(Jerusalem) goes through Karbala”. http://bit.ly/2u8D0U8

The Truth About Iran's Evin Prison

Heshmat Alavi ,  

 CONTRIBUTOR

Evin Prison - Tehran, Iran

Two months have passed since the May presidential “elections” in Iran that saw the incumbent Hassan Rouhani reach a second term. The pro-Iran appeasement camp in the West went the distance to raise hopes over the hoax of Rouhani rendering major reforms.

These voices somehow described Rouhani as a “reformist” and completely neglected the over 3,000 executions during his first term as president. Reports from across the country are turning out to be very disturbing, signaling more troubling times to come in reference to human rights violations.

As fellow Forbes contributor Ellen R. Wald reported, “On July 16, news came out that an American graduate student at Princeton University named Xiyue Wang had been sentenced to 10 years in an Iranian prison for ‘espionage.’”

This is Iran again resorting to old tactics of taking Westerners as hostage, mainly dual citizens, to be used as bargaining chips in advancing objectives and politics in negotiations with interlocutors.

Another practice the regime in Tehran will continue is sending scores to the gallows. The Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a report recently indicating 57 individuals have been executed across Iran in the beginning of July alone.http://bit.ly/2tu0AxN

ANALYSIS: How to protect Iraq from Iranian influence

By Heshmat AlaviSpecial to Al Arabiya EnglishMonday, 17 July 2017

Text size A A A

With the recapturing of Mosul, the rein of ISIS in northern Iraq is coming to an end. This, however, can lead to the reemergence of a far more dangerous threat for the future of this fledgling democracy.

Iran and its destructive meddling Mesopotamia has devastated this entire nation, leaving at least tens of thousands killed, scores more wounded, injured and displaced.

Tehran has continuously targeted the Sunni community in Iraq and taken advantage of the war against ISIS to change the very fabric of this minority. Sunni provinces have been the target of this wrath especially after Nouri al-Maliki, described by many as Iran’s puppet in Iraq, reached the premiership in 2006.

Dark history

Ever since 2003, with a surge beginning under al-Maliki’s watch, Iran has flooded its western border neighbor with financial, logistical and manpower resources, spearheaded by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

The track record of Iran-backed proxy groups and death squads in Iraq is nothing short of deadly and atrocious. One group alone, Asai’b Ahl al-Haq, claims to have launched over 6,000 attacks targeting US soldiers from 2006 onward.

Amnesty International has also filed a disturbing report over Iran-backed militias being supplied US arms by the Iraqi government, only to carry out war crimes targeting the Sunni community.

War against ISIS

The defeat of ISIS must not be considered the end of the nightmare. Far from it. General Stephen Townsend, commander of the coalition forces against ISIS, recently emphasized the importance of all Iraqi parties reaching a political consensus in the post-ISIS stage.

To emphasize his point, Townsend touched on the sensitive topic of Iraqi Sunnis feeling unrepresented in Baghdad.http://bit.ly/2t99exn

Iranian math genius, Maryam Mirzakhani, dies at 40

Maryam Mirzakhani, a genius in mathematics and the first woman to win the Fields Medal in math, died today, July 15, 2017, in a hospital in the United States.

She had been battling with cancer for four years, the news of which spread only three days ago.

The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran extends its condolences on the tragic demise of this great woman and genius mathematician to her family, to the women and people of Iran, the scientific community and the women of the world.

Maryam Mirzakhani was born in 1977 in Tehran, Iran. She went to Farzanegan (Exceptional Talents) high school in Tehran.

In 1994, she won a gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad, the first female Iranian student to do so. In the 1995 International Mathematical Olympiad, she became the first Iranian student to achieve a perfect score and to win two gold medals.

She obtained her BS in mathematics (1999) from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. Then she went to the United States for graduate work, earning a PhD from Harvard University (2004), where she worked under the supervision of the Fields Medalist Curtis McMullen.

At Harvard University, she tackled a problem that had stymied many a mathematician: calculating the volumes of moduli spaces of curves-geometric objects whose points each represent a different hyperbolic surface.

The Popular Science journal picked Maryam Mirzakhani among the annual Brilliant Ten in 2005.

She was also a 2004 research fellow of the Clay Mathematics Institute and a professor at Princeton University.

Mirzakhani has made several contributions to the theory of moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces.  Her subsequent work focused on Teichmüller dynamics of moduli space. In particular, she was able to prove the long-standing conjecture that William Thurston's earthquake flow on Teichmüller space is ergodic.http://bit.ly/2uBuK2a

Iran Regime's Official: Suppressing People in 1980s and the Events of 1988 (Massacre of the Political Prisoners) Will Uproot Us

NCRI - The Iranian regime Channel-1 TV broadcast on 14 July 2017 the speech of Hassan Rahimpour Azghandi, of Khamenei’s band, for a group of the Revolutionary Guards.

In these talks, expressing fear at the widespread massacre of 1988 and the massacres of the 1980s being raised again in the community and the way out of the power struggle in the recent election, attacking the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani, he says: “Now these have become negative? What happened in 1988? You yourself were an official of the regime in 1988... You did not know who the (Mojahedin/MEK) were in 1988? Now accusing the Imam (Khomeini) and questioning him!”

Azghandi mentions the issue as a poison that affects the regime gradually and says: “Somehow, they want to engineer the mental calculations of public opinion, and in particular the officials of the country, in a way that this poison gradually comes and drop by drop affects us, and little by little they come to the conclusion that in the 21st century, question the slogans of the 1980s and the Imam’s (orders).”

He addresses Rouhani and says, “If you have dignity now, that’s due to the same 1980s's and you after 30 years are using it. Destruction of the 1980s events and the case of the war (8-years Iran-Iraq war) and the cases of 1988 (massacre), these are the destruction of the Imam. They don’t name of the Imam but their goal is to hit the Imam himself, the goal is to hit the revolution.... No sir, you have misunderstood and developed misbehaviour. The enemy has not changed. You have changed. Your enemy is not afraid of you, your fear the enemy....”http://bit.ly/2uAZDne