Iran Education Minister Resigns Amid Late Payment To Teachers

An Iranian female expat confronted the embassy staff on Sunday admonishing them for picnicking instead of fasting.

Many Iranians on social media have condemned the move by the Iranian ambassador and his family and friends, saying, “the hypocrisy is off the scale”.

“Out of respect for the month of Ramadan,” authorities closed parks and blocked roads to northern forests and other locations where people traditionally picnic on this day.

However, videos posted on social media show huge crowds braving the decision by the regime through singing and dancing and even chasing away the government-sponsored vigilantes from their picnic grounds.

Some expressed kudos to the woman who bravely recorded the video and challenged the Iranian regime officials.

“Good work Sepideh for being brave enough to confront them. The hypocrisy of them being out & celebrating #SizdehBedar, a holiday & tradition they have done their ABSOLUTE best to get rid of, while the people of Iran were unable to safely celebrate with friends & family,” tweeted Mahshad.

This year the fasting month of Ramadan in the Islamic lunar calendar has coincided with Nowruz and its holidays. Authorities have been urging people to report if they witness anyone violating fasting in public or hijab rules.

The religious establishment and its supporters say people should not eat in public during the fasting month “out of respect for those who fast” but many among non-fasting citizens believe this is unfair.

Fazil Mustafa, a lawmaker who had been strongly critical of Azerbaijan's neighbor Iran, has been recovering in hospital after what the state security service described as a terror attack.

Mustafa's assistant, Ajdar Aliyev, told Reuters the politician was feeling well and expected to return to his home under police guard.

Azerbaijani media wrote on Monday that "the involvement of the Islamic Republic in the attempt to kill Mustafa was confirmed."

“Azer Sarydzhanov is considered to be the direct organizer of the action and the shooter was identified as Shirinov Sabukhi,” reported Turan news.

Earlier, the spokesperson of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the investigation and the preliminary results of the interrogations of the detainees show that the Islamic Republic was involved in the assassination.

According to Azerbaijani reports, the suspects visited Iran often and Sarijanov is a religious activist known as "Haji Azer" who posts speeches on YouTube.

Turan added that the attack was carried out upon the order of "Iranian special services" and with financial support from Tehran.

Last week, a number of Azerbaijani members of parliament also blamed the Islamic Republic for the shooting that targeted Mustafa.

"We will not allow the Iranians and Hezbollah to harm us. We have not allowed it in the past, we won’t allow it now, or anytime in the future," Gallant said during the visit to an army brigade in the West Bank.

The statement came as tensions increased last week with three Israeli air and missile strikes on Iranian bases in Syria, followed by warnings of retaliation by Tehran. Iran admitted that two of its officers were killed in the attack, leading to suspicions that it wanted to lay the ground for a possible counterattack.

Iran's government spokesman, Ali Bahadori-Jahromi, tweeted Sunday that Israel's "terrorist acts will not remain unanswered."

An unidentified aircraft that tried to enter Israel from Syria on Sunday was shot down by the air force, but the government has not yet officially identified it as an Iranian aircraft, most probably a drone.

Iranian officials and government media remained silent on the aircraft incident on Monday, with some newspapers and websites simply reporting the incident and unconfirmed reports that the Israeli government believes the intruding aircraft was Iranian.

Netanyahu announced Gallant's dismissal a week ago after he spoke out against the pace of the government's hotly contested judicial reforms.

The announcement triggered foreign alarm and unprecedented street protest, and Gallant never received a formal dismissal letter from Netanyahu.

Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition government has since moved to pause the judicial reforms.

Gallant was briefed during his visit on a probe into a Palestinian motorist who the Israeli military said it shot on Saturday after he rammed his car into a group of soldiers in the West Bank.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions are simmering after months of violence in areas of Jerusalem and the West Bank. Tensions are also simmering with Syria, Iran and with Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

"All our fronts are tense. The Iranians are extending their outreach to (the West Bank) and Gaza and are attempting to entrench themselves in Syria and Lebanon," said Gallant.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) called on Palestinians last week to take advantage of recent protests in Israel to destabilize the country. IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said on Tuesday that “the occupied territories are the scene of confrontation of a movement within the Zionist regime that wants to stand against the totalitarianism of another wing.”

“This is a golden opportunity for the Palestinian fighters to take advantage of the situation,” he added.

Iranian government media have been trumpeting “the end of Israel” resulting from internal disagreements.

Gen. Sharif was quoted by local media on March 29 as saying that Jerusalem's "liberation" is near, "thanks to the Palestinian struggle", and to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who "is the flag-bearer" of the fight against Israel. He also said that IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani played an important role in driving the "resistance". Soleimani was targeted and killed by the United States in Baghdad in January 2020.

Reza Sameh told IRNA on Monday that during Nowruz holidays, the world heritage site of Persepolis with 261,049 tourists had the most visitors.

According to him, it was followed by Imam Square (formerly Shah Square) in Esfahan, and Fin Bathhouse in Kashan.

Back in October, the Islamic Republic banned people from visiting the Pasargadae and Persepolis, ancient sites dating back to Achaemenid Empire on Cyrus the Great Day, in fear of antigovernment protests.

October 29 is considered by some historians as the death anniversary of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the first Persian empire the Achaemenids.

To commemorate the king, every year many Iranians visit the Tomb of Cyrus on October 29, a mausoleum located in Pasargadae archaeological site as well as Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire.

In recent years, the Islamic Republic implemented security measures and even blocked roads leading to Pasargadae and Persepolis to prevent people from visiting the ancient sites on October 29 because they are considered symbols of monarchy by the clerical regime.

The measures especially intensified since October 2016, when thousands of people gathered at the historical site and chanted antigovernment slogans such as "Iran is our homeland, Cyrus is our father."

Gholamhossein Karbaschi wrote in a tweet on Sunday “when there are people in the country who do not use yogurt peacefully, how the world can ensure other sensitive capabilities are used peacefully.”

The member of centrist proreform Executives of Construction Party did not explain further, but it seems he was referring to the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic, which Tehran claims to be for "peaceful purposes", but the international community is worried about intentions to build nuclear weapons secretly.

A video from the CCTV of a convenience store in Shandiz near the religious city of Mashhad went viral on social media Friday that showed a man dumping a large tub of yogurt after an argument on the head of a ‘hijabless’ woman and her mother, who was wearing a headscarf.

The man, apparently a member of the Revolutionary Guard Basij militia, had been carrying out his Islamic duty of “calling to virtue and forbidding wrong”. Local authorities said Saturday the man was arrested for disturbing public peace and insulting the women. Officials said that carrying out the duty of hijab enforcement should remain limited to verbal warnings only.

Both women were also arrested for defying hijab rules and the owner of the business was given a warning for allowing violation of the hijab law on his premises.