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AFP/Getty ImagesPalestinians in Gaza have been showing support for the US protesters for several days. Israel has claimed the protests are being manipulated by “outside agitators.”Palestinians in Deir el-Balah stage a rally to thank pro-Palestinian student protesters in the US on May 1. AfP/Getty ImagesIsrael’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan denounced the university demonstrations in a speech to the General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. Erdan lashed out at his UN colleagues, accusing the General Assembly of spreading anti-Israel rhetoric which he claimed had helped galvanize the protesters. Meanwhile, Shiraz university in Iran’s Fars province has offered scholarships to students from universities in the US and Europe who are expelled over the protests.

Persons: Deir, ” Dr, Saad Abu Sharban, Balah, Nadia Al, ”, Gilad Erdan, Erdan, Donald Trump, Artemis Moshtaghian, Richard Roth Organizations: CNN, Al Aqsa Martyrs, “, Getty, Hamas, Palestinian, AfP, General, UN, Columbia University Locations: Gaza, Al Aqsa, Deir al, AFP, Israel, Deir el, New York, Palestinian, Shiraz, Fars, Europe

☆ Oil prices jump 3% on reports of explosions in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A view of oil-well in action during sunset at Elk Hills Oil Field as gas prices on the rise in California, United States on April 14, 2024. Oil prices jumped more than 3% after unconfirmed reports of explosions near the Iranian city of Isfahan. Iran's Fars news agency reported that explosions were heard near the Isfahan airport, but emphasized that the reasons were unknown. Global benchmark Brent traded 3.63% higher at $90.27 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 3.66% to $85.76 per barrel. Spot gold prices surged to a fresh all-time high of 2,411.09 per ounce, while the yen strengthened 0.45% to 153.93 against the U.S. dollar.

Organizations: Brent, U.S . West Texas, U.S . Locations: Elk, California, United States, Iranian, Isfahan, Iran's Fars, U.S

Explosions were heard in Iran, according to CNN, which cited Iranian state media outlet FARS. There's still a lack of clarity around the reported explosions, but there are multiple reports of an Israeli strike. AdvertisementExplosions were heard near an Iranian military base, and multiple reports, citing US officials, say that Israel struck Iran. CNN, citing the semi-official FARS news outlet, reported the explosions were heard in the city of Ghahjaworstan, which is located near Isfahan, Iran. The Iranian news outlet said that "the city of Ghahjaworstan is located near Isfahan Airport and the eighth hunting base of the Army Air Force."

Persons: — Organizations: CNN, Service, Army Air Force, Business Locations: Iran, FARS, There's, Israel, Ghahjaworstan, Isfahan, Iranian, Isfahan Airport

☆ Hossein Amir-Abdollahian: Iran’s response will be “immediate and at a maximum level,” foreign minister warns Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Iran’s response if Israel takes any further military action against it would be “immediate and at a maximum level,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN Thursday, as fears rise of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. The tit-for-tat strikes have brought a decades long shadow war between Israel and Iran out in the open and sent fear coursing through the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Israel will make its “own decisions” when responding to Iran’s airstrikes. The details of a potential “maximum response” have been planned by Iran’s armed forces, he added. “Our operations in response were carried out at a minimum because we were not seeking to hit multiple targets,” he said.

Persons: Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, adventurism, ” Amir, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ”, Amir, “ Organizations: CNN, Amir, Palestinian, Hamas, Wednesday, Iranian, United Nations, White, Swiss Embassy Locations: Israel, Iran, New York, Tehran, Syria, Iranian, Isfahan, Iran’s, FARS, Damascus, United States, Gaza, Israeli, “, America

☆ Isfahan, Iran: Iran’s air defense activated after explosions heard close to Isfahan airport and military base, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hamdi Alkhshali | Artemis Moshtaghian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN Friday, a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict. Iran’s air defense systems were activated in several locations after three explosions were heard close to the airport and an army base in the Iranian city of Isfahan, state media reported early Friday morning. Three explosions were heard near a military base where fighter jets are located in the northwest part of Isfahan, Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency reported. Renée Rigdon/CNNOutgoing flights from several Iranian airports have been cancelled, according to an Iranian official, Iranian state media Press TV reported. FARS reported that the explosion was heard in the city of Ghahjaworstan, northwest of Isfahan, citing local sources.

Persons: CNN —, Renée Rigdon, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, Israel Organizations: CNN, Press, Mehr, Army Air Force, Iranian Press, Iran’s Locations: CNN — Israel, Iran, Iranian, Isfahan, Iran’s, FARS, Israel, “ Tehran, Shiraz, West, North West, South West, Ghahjaworstan, Isfahan Airport, Tehran, Syria

☆ Jordan walks a tightrope after downing Iranian drones and missiles
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Jomana Karadsheh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Jordan became the second Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1994. The kingdom was portrayed as shielding Israel at a time when Palestinians were being bombed by Israel in Gaza. One meme shared by users apparently outside Jordan showed a manipulated image of Jordan’s King Abdullah in an Israeli military uniform. “We are in the range of fire and any missiles or projectile that could fall in Jordan would cause harm to Jordan. Our priority is to protect Jordan and to protect Jordanian citizens.”And Jordan’s leadership seems intent on sending that message to its people.

Persons: Saddam Hussein, Jordan, Israel, King Abdullah, Bisher, “, Ayman Safadi, CNN’s Becky Anderson, ”, Safadi, “ Jordan, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyaahu, Iran ”, Abdullah, Queen Rania Organizations: CNN, Israel, West Bank, Scud, United, Sunday, ”, Jordan, Zionist, Jordanian Royal Court Locations: Amman, Israel, Damascus, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordanian, United States, Jordan, Gaza, Tehran, Fars, Iranian, Mafraq

CNN —A top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was killed among several others in an airstrike on the country’s consulate building in Damascus, Syria, according to Iranian officials and state-affiliated media, which blamed Israel for the attack. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRCG) commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi was killed in the attack. Footage of the aftermath of the blast, published by Iranian state media Press TV, showed extensive damage, fire and smoke at the scene. Iranian embassy staff and military advisers were among the dead, he said. Zahedi, the slain commander, was previously the commander of IRGC’s ground forces, the commander of IRGC’s air force, and the deputy commander of the IRGC’s operations.

Persons: Israel, Mohammed Reza Zahedi, Hossein Akbari, “, ” Akbari, Akbari, ”, Nasser Kanaani, ” Kanaani, Hossein Amir, Faisal Mekdad, Amir, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, we’re Organizations: CNN, Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s, Ministry, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, Press, Zionist, Israel Defense Forces, Fars News, Iranian, Syrian Foreign, Diplomatic Relations, United States State Department Locations: Damascus, Syria, Iranian, Islamic Republic, Iran, Fars, Syrian, Vienna

☆ Iran announces record low election turnout despite calls on voters to participate
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It is unclear if the announced 41% turnout will sink further in the coming days, with some candidates in the parliamentary election going to a runoff. Iran’s last parliamentary election in 2020 saw a turnout of 42.57%, and its last presidential election in 2021 had a turnout of 48.8% – both were the lowest since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Some 15,000 candidates competed last week for the 290-seat parliamentary election, and 144 ran for the 88 seats of the Assembly of Experts. Some 25 million people cast their ballots out of Iran's 61 million eligible voters. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and former Revolutionary Guards air force commander, seemed to lose some votes, coming fourth in this year’s election after his popularity peaked in the 2020 parliamentary election.

Persons: IRNA, ”, Alex Vatanka, Mahsa, Iran’s, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Beris, Mohammad Khatami, Azar Mansouri, “, Khatami, Khamenei, ” Vatanka, watchdogs, –, Hassan Rouhani, Atta Kenare, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Ghalibaf’s, ” Sanam Vakil, Vakil, ” Vakil Organizations: CNN, Middle East Institute, “, Saturday, Experts, Getty, Iran’s Guardian, Revolutionary Guards, North Africa, Chatham House Locations: Iran, Washington , DC, Fars, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Tehran, AFP, East, London

☆ Why ISIS has unleashed its suicide bombers against Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

By the day's end of the day, scores of supporters of the rulers of Iran were dead, and hundreds were injured in a twin suicide bombing. AdvertisementHe was considered a hero, she said, by many in Iran for driving ISIS out of Iraq and helping to defeat them in Syria. Stringer/Anadolu via Getty ImagesIt was the latest in a string of attacks by the ISIS affiliate that has been targeting Iran for five years. The Iranian intelligence ministry sought to blame its old enemy Israel for the atrocity and said one of the bombers had Israeli citizenship, the Times of Israel reported. AdvertisementThey will continue to attempt attacks against Iran "no matter what," Washington Institute for Near East Policy expert, Aaron Zelin, told the VoA.

Persons: Qassem, —, Qassem Soleimani, Kerman, Barbara Slavin, Soleimani, Stringer, Khomeini's, Abdollah Tajiki, Slavin, It's, it's, White, John Kirby, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Saudi King Salman, Prophet Mohammed, Salvin, Donald Trump, Aaron Zelin Organizations: Sunni, Service, Revolutionary, Reuters, The Stimson Center, Iran Initiative, Asia Center, ISIS, Anadolu, Getty, Iranian, Ministry of Intelligence, Revolutionary Guard, Saudi, US, UK, Red, Quds Force, The Stimson, Washington Institute for Near East, VoA Locations: Kerman, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Asia, Kerman City, Tehran, Tajik, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Hormuz, Soleimani, Iranian, Fars, Republic, Yemen, Iran's, United States, al Qaeda, American

☆ 32 killed as fire rips through drug rehabilitation center in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —A massive fire at a drug rehabilitation centre in northern Iran has killed at least 32 people and injured 16, Iranian media reported on Friday. Initial investigation showed that a heater in the opium rehab camp in Langarud in the Caspian Sea province of Gilan was the cause of the fire that spread to the rest of the centre, the province’s deputy governor was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.”The manager and other possible culprits have been arrested so that the cause of the incident is more accurately determined,” the Tasnim news site said. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Iran has one of the severest addiction problems in the world. It lies on the main trafficking route for poppy, the source of opium and heroin, from Afghanistan to Western Europe.

Organizations: CNN, United Nations Office, Drugs Locations: Iran, Langarud, Sea, Gilan, Fars, Afghanistan, Western Europe

☆ Iran's Khamenei says Israel must halt assault on Palestinians in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a graduation ceremony for armed forces officers at the Imam Ali academy in Tehran, Iran October 10, 2023. "No one can confront Muslims and the resistance forces if the Zionist regime's (Israel) crimes against Palestinians continue. "The world is witnessing the Zionist regime's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," he said to chants of "Death to Israel". Israel, which Tehran refuses to recognise, has long accused Iran's clerical rulers of stoking violence by supplying arms to Hamas. "We must respond, we must react to what is happening in Gaza," Khamenei said.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali, Khamenei, Ali Fadavi, Fadavi, Ebrahim Raisi, Parisa Hafezi, Christina Fincher, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Iran's, Iranian, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Revolutionary Guards, Zionist, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, Rights DUBAI, Gaza, Israel, Islamic Republic, Fars

☆ Iran Warns of 'Another Shockwave' on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander warned Israel on Wednesday of "another shockwave" if it doesn't put an end to what the commander described as atrocities in Gaza. Ali Fadavi was quoted by Iranian news agency Fars as saying, "The resistance front's shocks against the Zionist regimes will continue until this 'cancerous tumor' is eradicated from the world map." Iran is a major backer of Hamas, which carried out attacks on Israel that left 1,400 people dead. The Wall Street Journal has reported that officers of the IRGC had worked with Hamas since August to devise the air, land and sea incursions—the most significant breach of Israel’s borders since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Persons: Israel, doesn't, Ali Fadavi Organizations: Iranian Revolutionary Guard Locations: Gaza, Iranian, Fars, Iran, Israel

☆ Iran Tells Israel: 'Hands of All Regional Parties on Trigger if Aggression Do Not Stop'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran warned Israel of escalation if it failed to end aggressions against Palestinians, with its foreign minister saying other parties in the region were ready to act, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday.

Organizations: Reuters Locations: DUBAI, Iran, Israel, Fars

☆ Iran tells Israel: 'hands of all regional parties on trigger if aggression do not stop'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Iran warned Israel of escalation if it failed to end aggressions against Palestinians, with its foreign minister saying other parties in the region were ready to act, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday. "If the Zionist aggressions do not stop, the hands of all parties in the region are on the trigger," Hossein Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying. Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Andrew CawthorneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hossein Amirabdollahian, Parisa Hafezi, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Iran, Israel, Fars

SummaryCompanies Women's rights campaigner serving 12 years' jailPrize likely to anger Iranian governmentNorwegian Nobel committee lauds Iranian protestersIranian news agency notes 'prize from westerners'OSLO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Iran's imprisoned women's rights advocate Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a rebuke to Tehran's theocratic leaders and boost for anti-government protesters. "We want to give the prize to encourage Narges Mohammadi and the hundreds of thousands of people who have been crying for exactly 'Woman, Life, Freedom' in Iran," she added, referring to the protest movement's main slogan. She is the deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, a non-governmental organisation led by Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. [1/5]Iranian human rights activist and the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC) Narges Mohammadi poses in this undated handout picture. Among a stream of tributes from major global bodies, the U.N. human rights office said the Nobel award highlighted the bravery of Iranian women.

Persons: Narges Mohammadi, Berit Reiss, Andersen, Narges, Fars, Mohammadi, Shirin Ebadi, Maria Ressa, Russia's Dmitry Muratov, embolden Narges, Taghi Rahmani, Alfred Nobel, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mohammadi's, Mahsa, We've, Elizabeth Throssell, They've, Hamidreza Mohammed, Dan Smith, Gwladys Fouche, Nerijus Adomaitis, Terje Solsvik, Tom Little, John Davison, Anthony Paone, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Cecile Mantovani, Andrew Cawthorne, William Maclean Organizations: Norwegian Nobel, Reuters, Defenders, of Human Rights, Philippines, REUTERS, New York Times, NRK, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Thomson Locations: Norwegian, OSLO, Iran, Tehran, Evin, Paris, Oslo, Iranian, Stockholm, Parisa, Dubai, Baghdad, Brussels, Geneva

☆ Iranian Peace Laureate Mohammadi: 'Lioness' Locked up for Challenging Tehran
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

(Reuters) - Jailed Iranian rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, has sacrificed her freedom for most of her adult life and faces many more years behind bars as she vows to keep challenging clerical rule in Tehran. Mohammadi became the second Iranian woman to be awarded the prize, following the path of her mentor, the lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who won it for her own rights activism in 2003. This is why the regime wants to crush her," Ebadi wrote of Mohammadi in a foreword to Mohammadi's 2020 book "White Torture", a collection of interviews with women prisoners. The committee that awards the Nobel prize said it honoured those behind last year’s demonstrations, and called for the release of Mohammadi. Following her win, Mohammadi said she would never stop striving for democracy and equality, even if that meant staying in prison.

Persons: Narges Mohammadi, Shirin Ebadi, Narges, Ebadi, Mohammadi's, Mohammadi, ”, Shah, Evin, Taghi Rahmani, Ali, Kiana, Rahmani, Mahsa Amini, Amini, Islamic Republic ”, Nobel, Armita Geravand, Fars, Maria Ressa, Russia's Dmitry Muratov Organizations: Reuters, New York Times, Islamic, Philippines Locations: Tehran, Mohammadi, Zanjan, Iran, Qazvin, France, Islamic Republic

CNN —Activists on Wednesday accused Iran’s morality police of assaulting a teenage girl for not wearing a headscarf in a Tehran metro station, leading to her hospitalization with serious injuries. But Iranian authorities and the teenager’s parents said she was hospitalized due to low blood pressure. The CEO of the Tehran metro however told state media that there was no physical or verbal interaction between Geravand and members of his staff. There was nothing recorded on the videos,” Tehran metro managing director Masoud Dorosti, told state media. In a video posted on state-affiliated Fars News Agency’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, a group of girls are seen entering the metro train.

Persons: Iran’s, Geravand, “, ” “, Armita, ” Hengaw, Awyer Shekhi, Shekhi, Hengaw, Masoud Dorosti, ”, Shahin Ahmadi, …, Ahmad Garavand, Amini, Maryam Lotfi Organizations: CNN, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Fars News, Twitter, Fars News Agency, Fajr Air Force Hospital, UN, Rights, News Agency, Human Rights Locations: Tehran, Norway, Fars, Iran, Iranian

☆ Sporadic protests continue in Iran as Mahsa Amini anniversary passes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Newspapers, with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police" are seen in Tehran, Iran September 18, 2022. Iran International, a London-based television station critical of the Iranian government, in February said it was moving its live broadcasting studios to the United States following threats it faced in Britain. "(Iran) International is a terrorist network, and we will take action wherever and whenever we recognise any terrorist act," the semi-official news agency Fars quoted the minister, Esmail Khatib, as saying. AMINI 'INSPIRED A MOVEMENT'In the demonstrations that followed Amini's death more than 500 people, including 71 minors, were killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested, rights groups said. Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected as "double standards and lies" Western expressions of support for women's rights in Iran.

Persons: Mahsa, Majid Asgaripour, Mahsa's, Amjad Amini, Esmail Khatib, AMINI, Joe Biden, Amini, Amini's, Conor Humphries Organizations: West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Islamic, Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Sunday, Saturday, White, Iran's Foreign, Amnesty International, Dubai, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, Rights DUBAI, Kurdish, Kurdistan, Hamadan, Republic, Saqez, Sanandaj, London, United States, Britain, Fars

☆ Iran's security forces crack down on protests a year after Mahsa Amini's death
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network, which said the incident was linked to the protests, said special forces entered the ward, beat up the women and fired pellet bullets. In a separate incident, human rights group Hengaw said security forces opened fire in the Kurdish city of Mahabad, wounding at least one person. Earlier, social media and reports by rights groups spoke of security forces taking up positions around Amini's home in Saqez, in western Iran. Speakers led the crowd in chants of "Say her name ... Mahsa Amini," and also recited "We are the revolution" and "Human rights for Iran!" Iran's Etemad daily reported in August that the lawyer for Amini's family also faced charges of "propaganda against the system".

Persons: Mahsa, IRNA, Hengaw, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mahsa's, Amjad Amini, Dilara, Amini, Joe Biden, Biden, Nasser Kanaani, Saqez, Saleh Nikbakht, Toby Chopra, Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Revolutionary Guards, Islamic, Kurdistan Human Rights Network, REUTERS, United Nations, White, Iran's Foreign Ministry, Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: Iran's, Tehran, Kurdistan, Kurdish, Mahabad, Kermanshah, Saqez, Iran, Fars, Karaj, Mashhad, Istanbul, Turkey, In Washington, Britain, U.S, State, Iran's Kurdistan

☆ US, UK issue Iran sanctions ahead of anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Demonstrators at a Freedom Rally for Iran, protesting in support of Iranian women and against the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, outside City Hall in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 1, 2022. Amini, 22, died on Sept. 16 last year after being arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic's mandatory dress code. Her death sparked months of anti-government protests that marked the biggest show of opposition to Iranian authorities in years. The U.S. States and Britain, along with the European Union, have announced multiple rounds of sanctions against Iran, citing the widespread and often violent crackdown on protests after the death of Amini. The sanctions target LEF spokesperson Saeed Montazerolmehdi, multiple LEF and IRGC commanders, and Iran’s Prisons Organization chief Gholamali Mohammadi.

Persons: Bing Guan, Mahsa Amini, Antony Blinken, Saeed Montazerolmehdi, Gholamali Mohammadi, Alireza Abedinejad, Brian Nelson, Rami Ayyub, Susan Heavey, Daphne Psaledakis, Chizu Nomiyama, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Hall, REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Iran, Police, U.S . Treasury Department, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Enforcement Forces, Iran's Prisons, Iran’s Prisons Organization, Douran Software, Press, Tasnim News Agency, Terrorism, Financial Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Iran, Los Angeles , California, U.S, Britain, States, Iran’s, Canada, Australia, Fars, United States, Tehran

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced new U.S. sanctions Friday on “some of Iran's more egregious human rights abusers” as he marked the anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while being held by the country's morality police. Amini had been detained for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely in violation of laws that require women in public to wear the Islamic headscarf. Her death set off protests in dozens of cities across the country of 80 million people, with young women marching in the streets and publicly exposing and cutting off their hair. Taken in coordination with the U.K., Canada, Australia, and other nations, this is the United States' 13th round of sanctions designations in response to Iran’s crackdown on protests. The U.S. has already sanctioned over 70 Iranian people and entities “responsible for supporting the regime’s oppression of its people," Biden said.

Persons: Joe Biden, ”, Amini, Biden, Antony Blinken, ” Blinken, Jon Gambrell Organizations: WASHINGTON, Treasury’s, Foreign, Iran’s Prisons Organization, paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Press, State Department, Associated Press Locations: Islamic Republic, Iran, Fars, U.S, Canada, Australia, United States, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

☆ Women’s Rights Activists Rounded Up in Iran as Protest Anniversary Nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Leily Nikounazar | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a sweeping operation ahead of an important anniversary, the Iranian authorities have detained at least 12 rights activists, all but one of them women, over the past two days, human rights groups and Iranian media have reported. Hundreds were killed in the ensuing government crackdown, including at least 44 minors, while around 20,000 Iranians were arrested, the United Nations calculated. The arrested activists were rounded up in cities across Iran’s northern Gilan Province, according to HRANA, an Iranian human rights organization. On Thursday, Iranian officials accused the 12 detainees of planning to incite “chaos and vandalism” on the upcoming anniversary of Ms. Amini’s death, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reported. According to Fars, which has close ties to the country’s security agencies, the officials also accused the activists of being funded by foreign intelligence and collaborating with Iran International, an opposition television channel based in Washington.

Persons: Amini, “, ”, Sanam Vakil, Amini’s Organizations: United Nations, Chatham House, Fars News Agency, Iran International Locations: Iran, Iran’s, Gilan Province, Iranian, East, North Africa, London, Fars, Washington

☆ Attack on Iran's shrine kills at least one, injures several people - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rescuers transport an injured person after an attack in Shah Cheragh Shrine in Shiraz, Iran August 13, 2023. Iranian state media earlier reported that at least four people had been killed in the attack. "It happened around 19:00 local time (15:30 GMT) ... an armed terrorist entered the Shrine area and started shooting ... he was arrested," said Mohammad Hadi Imaniyeh, the governor of Fars province. State TV said the shrine area had been cordoned off by security forces. Videos on Iranian state media showed panicked worshippers running to find their relatives and bloodied clothes left in the aftermath of the attack.

Persons: Mohammadreza, Mohammad Hadi Imaniyeh, Shah, IRNA, Ruhollah Khomeini, Parisa Hafezi, Nick Macfie, Ros Russell Organizations: Rescuers, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, State TV, Islamic, Dubai Newsroom, Thomson Locations: Shah Cheragh, Shiraz, Iran, REUTERS DUBAI, Iran's, Fars province

☆ Attack on Iran's shrine kills at least one, injures several people, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Iran's drones could reach a new South American market as Bolivia expresses interest
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's what's ahead for defense stocks "Latin American countries are of special significance in Iran's foreign and defense policy based on the importance of [the] very sensitive South American region," Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was quoted as saying. Iran's drones have made "considerable impact on any battlefield they have appeared in," according to Farzin Nadimi, an arms expert at The Washington Institute said. The U.S.' concerns center on Iran's deepening foreign alliances and dissemination of its lethal drones, analysts say. It added that a former Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, "boasted in October 2022 that 22 countries — including Algeria, Armenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Venezuela — had submitted formal requests for Iranian drones." Iran has previously provided drones to African countries including Sudan and Ethiopia, which the latter used against Tigrayan rebels.

Persons: Oleksii Samsonov, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, Edmundo Novillo, Novillo, Farzin, Nadimi, Novillo's, John Kirby, Biden, Ebrahim Raisi, Kirby, Annika Ganzeveld, Asad, Khomeini, Majid Asgaripour, Venezuela —, Raisi, ISW Organizations: Kyiv, Getty, Iran's, Bolivian, Bolivia's, CNBC, U.S . Defense Intelligence Agency, The Washington Institute, U.S . Institute for Peace, The U.S, U.S . National Security Council, Sepah, Anadolu Agency, American Enterprise Institute, Associated Press, U.S, Missiles, WANA, REUTERS, for, Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Russia, Kyiv, Ukraine, Iran, Washington, South America, Tehran, Fars, Bolivia, The, U.S, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, America, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, U.S Ayn, REUTERS Washington, Algeria, Armenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Iranian, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Ethiopia

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