The Persecution of Teacher Activists in Iran: A Report on Sacking and Disciplinary Actions, Including the Forced Exile of Esmail Abdi

A recent report by prominent labour union the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA) has drawn attention to the continuing disturbing, indeed escalating, trend of teachers and education workers being targeted for persecution by the authorities in Iran […]

Fire at Rajaee Quay; Completely Charred Bodies Retrieved

CODIR: Thousands of port workers were victims of a catastrophe waiting to happen… Last week, CODIR published a detailed account of the catastrophe that hit Rajaee Quay, the Iran’s principal national seaport for international trade in the vicinity of Bandar […]

Labour activists have been arrested! Prison is Not a Place for Labour Activists!

CODIR has received verified reports and information from inside Iran that May Day and events to mark International Workers’ Day have yet again served as the precursor to the arrest of scores of labour activists and a wider clampdown by […]

CODIR demands justice for Iranian workers following the deadly blast at Bandar Abbas!

On this International Workers’ Memorial Day, Iran is reeling in the immediate aftermath of the latest in an all too long line of disasters to have befallen its long-beleaguered working people. Over the weekend just passed, international news outlets have […]

CODIR welcomes initial signals from US/Iran talks

23rd April 2025 Press release The Committee for the Defence of Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR) has welcomed the progress made so far in talks between the United States and Iran as a step towards limiting the possibility of a military […]

 

Workers’ representatives were summarily dismissed! 

The state-run Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) has reported that four worker representatives, covering some 200 Tehran Metro ticket sales employees, who were invited to a meeting by their employer’s contractor to discuss the workers’ wage arrears, have been summarily […]

Call for urgent action to free women journalists

10th April 2023 Press release – For immediate use The Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR) have issued an urgent call for the immediate and unconditional release of journalists, Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi.  The two […]

CODIR Calls for Urgent Solidarity with Iran’s Teachers Union!

Mohammad Habibi, the official spokesperson of the Iranian Teachers Trade Association (ITTA) in Tehran, has been arrested by agents of the [Islamic Republic] security forces at his workplace today (Wednesday 5 April 2023) and taken to Ward 209 of Evin […]

The “Woman, Life, Freedom” Protests… The Situation Going Forward

The occurrence of the vernal equinox (on Monday 20 March or Tuesday 21 March 2023, depending on time zone) marked the beginning of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, an ancient festival observed in one form or another by an estimated […]

Rebellion in Iran: how far will the regime go?

Hardliners strike a defiant tone in public, but behind the scenes there is debate about how to respond to demands for change Andrew England and Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran YESTERDAY When the Islamic regime called, hundreds of thousands rallied. In cities across Iran, women, […]

Happy Nowruz!

What is Nowruz? How and when is the festival celebrated by Iranian people around the world? Story by Charlie Duffield – Evening Standard Whilst in the Northern Hemisphere, as March bows out and heralds the first day of spring during […]

Professor Ervand Abrahamian on the recent developments in Iran: “A deepening crisis of legitimacy or revolution?”

Ervand Abrahamian (born 1940) is an Iranian-American eminent historian of Iran and the Middle East, based in New York. He is Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and is widely regarded as […]

Iran: Child detainees subjected to flogging, electric shocks and sexual violence in brutal protest crackdown

Iran’s intelligence and security forces have been committing horrific acts of torture, including beatings, flogging, electric shocks, rape and other sexual violence against child protesters as young as 12 to quell their involvement in nationwide protests, said Amnesty International today. […]

IAEA’s Grossi expects Iran’s cooperation as technical team readies visit

Plus, US senators take aim at Saudi Arabia’s rights record and the administration proposes cutting Tunisia’s economic aid. March 15, 2023 WASHINGTON — The United Nations’ atomic watchdog chief voiced cautious optimism on Wednesday that Iran will boost inspector access and restore monitoring […]

Analysis: Iran eases its regional isolation with Saudi deal

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations last week, but Tehran is likely to keep its foreign policy pillars. By Giorgio Cafiero Published On 14 Mar 2023 Since becoming Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi has promised to improve Tehran’s relations […]