On Saturday, Iran celebrated the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution with nationwide protests and heightened tensions with the West. During President Ebrahim Raisi's speech at Tehran's Azadi Square, a group of anti-government hackers known as “Edalate Ali (Justice of Ali)” interrupted the event, with a voice shouting “Death to the dictator”. Raisi responded by appealing to the “deceived youth” to repent and be pardoned by Iran’s supreme leader. The protests began in September and have continued to grow, raising questions about how the government will respond.
Posts tagged as “Iranian”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has issued a decree offering amnesty or reduced sentences to "tens of thousands" of people detained during the recent anti-government protests. This is the first acknowledgement of the scale of the crackdown, and it is unclear how many of the detainees will be eligible for amnesty. The protests began in November and have been met with a harsh response from security forces, leading to reports of deaths and thousands of arrests. The amnesty order is seen as a possible attempt to reduce public anger, but its impact on the protests remains to be seen.
This article discusses the case of a young couple from Tehran, Iran, who were arrested and sentenced to more than a decade in prison each for posting a video of themselves dancing in front of a major Tehran landmark. The incident has sparked a debate in Iran over freedom of expression and the right to protest, and has been condemned by human rights activists and organizations.
A military factory in Isfahan, Iran was bombed by drones on Sunday, sparking fears of further violence between Israel and the Islamic Republic. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is travelling to Israel and the West Bank to address the situation and attempt to de-escalate the conflict. The attack has caused a celebratory reaction from Kyiv, but has been met with rebuke from Tehran.
This article reports on two separate incidents in Iran: an attack on an industrial complex belonging to the defense ministry in Isfahan, and a fire at an oil refinery near Tabriz. The attack caused some damage to the facility, but no casualties were reported. The Iranian government is currently investigating the incidents and has not released any further information.
Three men have been charged with money laundering and murder-for-hire in a plot to kill an Iranian American author and activist, Masih Alinejad. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted Rafat Amirov, Polad Omarov, and Khalid Mehdiyev in the Southern District of New York, and all three are currently in custody. Alinejad has been a vocal advocate for women’s rights in Iran and her courage in the face of danger has been an example to all.
Siamak Namazi, an American wrongfully detained in Iran for seven years, has launched a hunger strike to call on President Joe Biden to take notice of US detainees in the country. Namazi has asked Biden to devote one minute of his day for the next seven days to thinking about the tribulations of the U.S. hostages in Iran. The Biden administration has yet to comment on Namazi's hunger strike, but the US State Department has said it is "deeply concerned" about the welfare of all US citizens detained in Iran and committed to securing their release.
Iran executed a dual Iranian-British national on Saturday, sparking immediate anger from the U.S., UK and other countries who have sanctioned Iran over the protests. This execution is believed to be part of an ongoing power struggle within Iran's theocracy, and has further escalated tensions with the West. The U.S. and UK have condemned the execution and demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners in Iran, highlighting the human rights violations committed by the Iranian government.