Behind the Headlines/December 4

In tonight’s program of Behind the Headlines we will look at the continuation of the workers strike at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Factory and Ahwaz Steel Plan, as the regime continues to ignore their demands and resorts to crackdown on them instead.

Meanwhile Iran’s Rouhani has issued a threat to close down the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea, if the U.S. tries to shut off Iran’s crude exports.

Also, in a damning new report on mass prison killings in Iran in 1988, Amnesty International has named a number of high-ranking officials who were involved in the forced disappearance and secret execution of thousands of political dissidents.
These include Alireza Avaei, Iran’s current minister of justice, who was the prosecutor general of Dezful in Khuzestan province and was tasked with participating in a so-called ‘death commission’ in that city.
And the latest reports from Iran suggest that the age of prostitution has dropped and now includes many teenagers.
Our guests tonight to discuss these issues are Hassan Mansour and Afshin Nariman.
Hassan Mansour:
The two industries that you mentioned are among the most important sectors in Iran and their problems are simply a result of the mismanagement and corruption that are carried out in the country under the guise of privatization.
If you look closely, you will notice that these industries have been offered to the sons and relatives of the ruling elite through graft and corrupt practices and while they havebeen making astronomical figures of money, the workers have not been paid for months and are hungry.

Afshin Nariman:
The difference between these workers strike and protest with those that led to he revolution is that they are now questioning the legitimacy of the regime and want fundamental change for Iran.
We can see that the protestors have been rallying outside Khamenei’s office in the city and shouting slogans that say “we are not agents of US or Israel’, which means the regime’s propaganda to attribute the opposition to its rule as instigated by foreigner has failed badly.