The Farda Briefing

Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Hannah Kaviani, a senior broadcaster and editor at RFE/RL's Radio Farda. Here's what I've been following and what I'm watching out for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

For the first time in decades, Iran was not represented by its foreign minister at the annual Munich Security Conference.

Instead, organizers of the February 17-19 event invited three members of Iran's exiled opposition: the former crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi; rights activist Masih Alinejad; and Nazanin Boniadi, an actress and ambassador to Amnesty International.

Iran's Foreign Ministry denounced the decision, with spokesman Nasser Kanani on February 20 saying the organizers had made a "huge mistake" for "giving the stage to notorious people."

Why It Matters: The absence of Iranian officials at the conference highlighted Tehran's increasing isolation on the international stage.

Iran has come under mounting global pressure for its deadly crackdown on monthslong anti-regime protests at home and its alleged supply of combat drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.

The presence of Pahlavi, Alinejad, and Boniadi has given legitimacy to Iran's exiled opposition. Exiled opposition figures recently met in Washington and pledged to establish a charter for a transition to a new, democratic system in Iran.

Pahlavi told Radio Farda that the "duty and mission" of the trio in Munich was to "deliver the message of the Iranian people to the world." But they did not have any meetings with high-ranking foreign officials. Alinejad said she was disappointed that the German foreign minister refused to meet her.

What's Next: It is unclear how much support Iran exiled opposition will attract inside and outside Iran. It is also unclear if the opposition can bridge its longstanding differences.

Speaking to Radio Farda, Hannah Neumann, a German lawmaker in the European Parliament, said "as long as there is so much infighting among Iranians that want to see the regime gone, it will not succeed."

Wolfgang Ischinger, the president of the Munich Security Conference Foundation, told Radio Farda that excluding Iranian officials from the event this year was not a "wrong decision." But he said it "doesn't mean that this would be a right decision if and when," for example, talks over reviving the nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran resumed.

Stories You Might Have Missed

Pedram Azarnush was taking part in an anti-regime protest in southwestern Iran in September when he was shot dead. Nearly five months on, the 17-year-old's family is still seeking justice. In their attempts to bring the perpetrators to account, the family has endured constant threats from the authorities, informed sources told Radio Farda.

For months, antiestablishment protesters have called for the overthrow of Iran's clerical regime and demanded greater social and political freedoms. Now, opposition figures and civil society groups inside Iran have shared proposals that would transform or even replace the current theocratic system with a democracy.

What We're Watching

Iran's national currency, the rial, plummeted to a new record low of 501,300 against the U.S. dollar on February 20, according to Bonbast.com which gathers live data from Iranian exchanges.

The decline in the value of the rial comes as food prices soar. That includes the price of red meat, which reached a new high this week.

Iran's Sazandegi daily was shut down on February 20 for reporting on the rising price of meat and running a front-page headline, "Meat Rebellion." The newspaper was accused of spreading rumors and reporting false information.

Why It Matters: Iran's troubled economy is sinking to new lows amid monthslong anti-regime protests, the imposition of new sanctions against Tehran, and the Islamic republic's growing isolation.

The Central Bank of Iran on February 21 was given "full authority" to curb the rial's depreciation. The government also announced plans to combat rising commodity prices. But it is unclear if the authorities have a viable strategy to boost the economy.

Mohsen Renani, a prominent economist and professor at Isfahan University in Iran, wrote an open letter on February 18 in which he said the collapse of the clerical regime had become "inevitable," adding that the faltering economy was among the factors that could "trigger the last stage of this downfall."

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Hannah Kaviani

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.

Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what I've been following during the past week and what I'm watching for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

Scores of Iranian protesters and prominent political prisoners have reportedly been released in recent weeks under a limited amnesty announced by the authorities. They are said to include Iranian-French academic Farina Adelkhah, award-winning filmmaker Mohammad Rasulof, and human rights activist Farhad Meysami.

The authorities have not provided an official list of those released. But Iran’s reformist Etemad daily ran photos of some 50 newly freed figures on its front page on February 13. The newspaper reported that nearly 400 prisoners had been released as of February 11, adding that judicial officials were reviewing more cases.

The reported releases come after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 5 ordered an amnesty and the reduction of sentences for some prisoners. The announcement came ahead of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on February 11.

Why It Matters: The authorities have arrested some 20,000 people during the ongoing anti-regime protests that erupted in September. Many of them remain in detention, despite the amnesty.

Rights groups and activists have downplayed the limited amnesty. Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said the “so-called ‘pardon’ is nothing but a shameless public relations stunt that shows the completely arbitrary nature of justice in the Islamic republic, where arrests and releases are at the whim of the state.”

The Etemad daily, however, noted that such an amnesty is rare and could be “a sign of change” in the country. Others have called it a retreat by the clerical regime in the face of the protests, the biggest challenge to the authorities in decades.

"This is an achievement by the protest movement. The establishment would not release prisoners easily. They are in a position of weakness,” Paris-based political activist Taghi Rahmani, who has been jailed a number of times by the Islamic republic, told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.

What's Next: More protesters and political prisoners could be released in the coming days. The authorities have been urged to free jailed journalists, activists, and environmentalists.

Despite freeing some of the regime's critics, the authorities are still going after other opponents. Reza Khandan, the husband of jailed human rights advocate Nasrin Sotoudeh, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda on February 14 that he has been summoned by the judiciary and ordered to serve a six- year suspended prison sentence.

Stories You Might Have Missed

• The presence of a Shah-era intelligence chief accused of human rights abuses at a pro-democracy rally in the United States has led to controversy among Iranians. Parviz Sabeti, the former deputy head of SAVAK, the feared security and intelligence service of the former shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was photographed at a rally on February 12.
• Several female protesters who were detained in Tehran during Iran’s brutal crackdown on antiestablishment protests spoke to Radio Farda. The women recalled the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of government agents and security officers, and described how they were beaten, threatened, and psychologically abused.

What We're Watching

A group of exiled opposition figures met at Georgetown University in Washington on February 10 to discuss the future of Iran’s pro-democracy movement. The group pleaded for unity and an end to infighting to help replace Iran's theocratic system with a secular democracy.

The attendees included the exiled former crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, and rights activist Masih Alinejad.

"The Islamic republic has survived because of our differences, and we should put our differences aside until we come to the polling booth," Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, a member of the exiled group, said in a video message to the gathering.

What's Next: The group said it was working on establishing a charter for a transition to a new democratic system that would be followed by free elections. It remains unclear whether the group of eight exiled opposition figures and their proposals for a new political system will receive the backing of Iranian protesters and opposition figures inside Iran.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Golnaz Esfandiari

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.