Iranian director flees, low election turnout—and more

The Iranist for the week of May 16, 2024

May 16, 2024

۱/1 Second round of elections held—with low turnout again

* “Reformists” or “Moderates” describe themselves as individuals who believe in the status quo and reforming the Islamic Republic, while “Principlists” or “Fundamentalists” are what Western media call “hardliners.”

On May 10, Iranians went to the polls for the second round of parliamentary elections (45 out of 290 seats) (AP). According to the Interior Ministry, only 7 percent participated in elections in the capital, Tehran (BBC Persian). Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the election saw “good participation” but didn’t give any exact figures. It’s unclear how many voted overall. The hardline faction won all sixteen seats in the run-off vote in Tehran and most of the remaining seats in the provinces (DW).

In March, 25 million Iranians voted (41 percent) in the first round—the lowest in the Islamic Republic’s history, as many boycotted. 245 seats out of 290 were determined in the first round. Of that number, 200 are hardline MP candidates and eleven are women MPs.

As with the March election, polling stations were given an additional four-hour extension for voting—presumably because turnout was so low.

In the lead up to the March 1 elections, some Iranians in Iran and members of the diaspora called for a boycott of the elections using hashtag رای_بی_رای# (“No way I'll vote”). Among those who called for a boycott were members of the disbanded diaspora opposition coalition and even imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.

The new parliament is set to start on May 27.

۲/2 After 8-year sentencing, acclaimed director flees Iran

Last week, an award-winning Iranian director was sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging for his statements, films, and documentaries, which the court found to be “examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the security of the country.” (CNN) On May 12, Mohammad Rasoulof, 52, said he had fled Iran. The statement was published by Films Boutique and Parallel45, who are distributing his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which premieres at the Cannes Film Festival this week—a first for the acclaimed director. Authorities have been demanding that the film be pulled from Cannes.

In the statement, Rasoulof said:

“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey… I didn’t have much time to make a decision. I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I opted for exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017, so my departure had to be clandestine... I find myself unable to protest my own sentence while the regime carries out death penalties against protesters and advocates for civil rights… The brutality of repression has reached such egregious levels that people brace themselves each day for news of yet another heinous act perpetrated by the government. The machinery of crime within the Islamic Republic consistently and systematically violates human rights.” (IranWire)

On May 14, the director posted a belated short video of an undisclosed mountainous location on his Instagram account, suggesting he fled on foot. Rasoulof thanked those who helped him leave Iran and added:

“If geographical Iran suffers beneath the boots of your religious tyranny, cultural Iran is alive in the common minds of millions of Iranians who were forced to leave Iran due to your brutality and no power can impose its will on it. From today, I am a resident of cultural Iran.” (Instagram)

Rasoulof's lawyer, Babak Paknia, said the director will attend the Cannes Film Festival (AFP).

Read the plot of The Seed of the Sacred Fig:

“The story centers on Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife Najmeh and his daughters Rezvan and Sana, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise. Step by step, social norms and the rules of family life become suspended.” (Screen Daily)

۳/3 Ex-foreign minister walks back talk of a nuclear weapon

۴/4 Iran executes eight prisoners in two days

On May 15, a Kurdish political prisoner was executed after being imprisoned for fifteen years (IranWire). According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Khosrow Besharat met with his family on May 5 after being moved to solitary confinement in Ghezelhesar prison. Besharat was arrested in 2008 on allegations of killing a cleric and handed the death penalty alongside seven others, five of whom have already been executed (IHRNGO). At least 103, including three women, were executed in Iranian prisons in the last four weeks, and eight individuals were executed in two days alone.

According to Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), from April 16 to April 30, the Islamic Republic executed 63 individuals—that’s one person every five hours (iranhr.net). In 2023, Iran executed 853 individuals, the highest recorded since 2015 (Amnesty International).

Meanwhile, four Nobel Laureates—Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Judy Williams, Tawakkol Karman, and Leymah Gbowee—have called on the international community to put pressure on the Islamic Republic to stop the arrest, imprisonment, and execution of activists (IranWire). “Now, under the growing shadow of war, the use of execution as a tool to silence the opposition and spread fear has grown increasingly,” the statement read.

۵/5 Parliament votes to move weekend to Friday and Saturday to sync with working world

۶/6 India-Iran sign deal for strategic port

On May 13, India and Iran signed a ten-year contract to operate the strategically important Chabahar port (DW). The Indian Ports Global Limited (IPGL) of India signed a $120 million contract with the Port & Maritime Organization (PMO) of Iran, enabling operations in southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province. Negotiations over a long-term contract were reportedly stalled due to arbitration clauses. The port will allow India to trade with landlocked Central Asian countries and Europe, bypassing its neighbor Pakistan, with which it has a tense relationship. New Delhi and Tehran signed an agreement in 2016 to develop the port near Iran’s border with Pakistan. India took over operations in 2018, which allowed the country to open a transit route for Indian goods and products. That very year, the Donald Trump administration granted India a sanctions waiver for the Chahbahar port to allow trade with Afghanistan.

On May 14, the State Department spokesperson warned:

“US sanctions on Iran remain in place and we’ll continue to enforce them… any entity, anyone considering business deals with Iran, they need to be aware of the potential risk that they are opening themselves up to and the potential risk of sanctions.” (state.gov)

On May 15, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said:

“If you look at the US’ own attitude to Chabahar in the past, the US has been appreciative of the fact that Chabahar has a larger relevance. So, we will work at it. I think it’s a question of communicating, convincing, and getting people to understand that this is actually for everyone's benefit. I do not think people should take a narrow view of it.” (The National)

۷/7 Rappers arrested after posting Persepolis music video

On May 9, two dissident rappers, Danial Moghaddam and Vafadar (Vafa Ahmadpour), were arrested after releasing their music video, “Amadeh Bash” (Be Prepared) (VOA). The rap song criticizes the clerical establishment and says the people of Iran will take their country back and to “be prepared.” The video was filmed at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Shiraz in southwestern Fars province.

Vafadar posted a call for public support for their music video on his Instagram page, noting:

“This might be my final song before imprisonment... Long live Iran.”

Watch their video:

A petition has been started calling for their release (Change.org)

#FREETOOMAJ. Meanwhile, on May 10, more than a hundred public figures—including Margaret Atwood, Sting, Coldplay, Noel Laureate Shirin Ebadi—called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi, who has been sentenced to death (Index of Censorship).

OTHER اخبار/NEWS THAT MADE HEADLINES:

Human rights

۰ Authorities assault female students over hijab defiance (IranWire)

۰ Iran links pharmacies' drug quotas to hijab compliance (RFE/RL)

۰ Infighting among Iran’s ultra-hardliners escalates (Iran International)

۰ Flash floods devastate Mashhad: 7 dead, 12 missing (IranWire)

۰ Iran’s overworked nurses face exhaustion and even death (IranWire)

Domestic issues

۰ Armed with AI, adversaries will try to tilt US election, security officials warn (AP)

۰ FBI probes whether Iran envoy Malley committed crimes in handling of classified info (Politico)

۰ Jordan thwarts Iran-linked weapons plot as Hamas denies involvement (Al-Monitor)

۰ China wades into Iran-Pakistan mediation, eyes infrastructure projects (Al-Monitor)

۰ Iranian official reports smuggling of Afghanistan’s gemstones into Iran (Amu)

Foreign policy + security