“Reducing the legitimacy of the system is their final goal. When [the United States] say[s] ‘getting rid of’—regime change in their own words—how does regime change happen? Through reducing legitimacy, otherwise, a regime doesn't change.”

- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, on the U.S. seeking regime change

Teachers on strike: Teachers in over a dozen cities and towns, including the capital Tehran, took part in a strike from October 14 to 15 (RFE/RL). The strike—organized by the Coordinating Council of Teachers Syndicates in Iran (CCTSI)—called on teachers to conduct sit-ins to protest “degradation of education quality,”  “inflation,” “unfair wages,” and “the continuation of the arrest of [teachers rights] activists.” Several teachers are serving prison terms for calling for more rights and for participating in union-related activities. Photos posted on social media showed teachers protesting in Esfahan, Hamadan, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz, and more.

Ahvaz attack update: A member of the Iranian military was arrested in connection with last month’s terror attack in Ahvaz (Reuters). The separatist group Ahvaz National Resistance and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) have claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 25 people. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that their forces in Iraq killed the “mastermind” of the attack (Reuters). According to Iranian state media, a man named Abu Zaha and four other militants were killed in the Diyala province in retaliation for the act of terror. A state television website reported that Abu Zaha was a member of ISIS.

Twitter fake news campaign: Twitter published more than 10 million tweets by Iran and Russia-backed social media accounts dating back to as early as 2009 (Reuters). Twitter had already identified the two countries as a source of coordinated misinformation campaigns and fake accounts, but mostly surrounding the 2016 U.S. presidential election and upcoming November midterm elections. According to a breakdown by the Atlantic Council’s DFR Lab, 9 million tweets belonged to Russia which primarily focused on undermining the 2016 U.S. election process, while one million belonged to Iran which mainly promoted the Iranian government’s agenda (Medium).

Kidnapping on border: Eleven members of Iran’s border force were kidnapped on the border with Pakistan (Reuters). A separatist group called Jaish al-Adl claimed that they seized the personnel, including members of the IRGC, at a border post in Sistan-Baluchestan province to avenge the oppression of Sunni Muslims in the area. Pakistan’s foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif that they are searching for the abducted border force (AP). Interestingly, IRGC commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said the men were unconscious after eating drugged food, making them easy targets for a kidnapping (Reuters).

Women in the stadium: A hundred Iranian women were allowed to watch a friendly soccer game against Bolivia at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium (AFP). Women have been banned from attending sports matches since the 1979 revolution. During the 2018 World Cup, Iranians were permitted to watch a match on a big screen in Azadi Stadium. Iran’s prosecutor-general blasted the women’s presence at the stadium, claiming that it is sinful for women to watch “half-naked” men (RFE/RL). Javad Montazeri also said that “the presence of women in stadiums is harmful and there’s no religious justification for it.”

Senator insults the diaspora: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Fox News that if he took a DNA test, it would probably show that he was “Iranian” and “that’d be, like, terrible” (Newsweek). Graham was speaking on Fox & Friends in response to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) releasing details of her own DNA test. A number of prominent Iranians in the diaspora reacted to the senator’s comments (RFE/RL). CNN’s Christiane Amanpour wrote on Twitter: “Whatever you think of the regime, no need to tar all the people. In fact, just look around to see Iranian-Americans powering major sectors of U.S. life and economy, from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, from science and surgery to architecture and engineering, from art and culture to yes, even the media.” Some high-profile technology entrepreneurs, executives, and venture capitalists of Iranian heritage have called on Graham to apologize (CNN).