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☆ Iran Protests Mark 40 Days of Mourning for Mahsa Amini, and Gunmen Kill 13 at Holy Site
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Iran was rocked by unrest on Wednesday, as thousands of protesters gathered at a cemetery to mourn Mahsa Amini , the young woman whose death in police custody last month sparked nationwide protests, and gunmen in the south of the country opened fire on a holy site, killing at least 13 people. The gathering at Ms. Amini’s grave in Iran’s restive Kurdistan province took place on the 40th day since her death, a date of remembrance in Islamic tradition, despite warnings from authorities saying they wouldn’t permit processions marking her death. There was no evidence of a link between the protesters and the attack at the holy site.

☆ Riot police deploy in Iranian cities as people gather for Amini's memorial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Witnesses in the capital Tehran and the cities of Tabriz and Rasht to the north also reported a heavy presence of security forces in the streets. A witness in Saqez said the cemetery where Amini is buried was filled with members of the volunteer Basij militia and police. Authorities closed all schools and universities in the Kurdistan province on Wednesday "because of a wave of influenza", Iranian state media reported. Videos circulating on social media showed people at Saqez cemetery chanting "Death to Khamenei". Others showed security forces blocking roads leading to the town.

☆ U.S. issues fresh sanctions against Iranian officials for 'brutal' crackdown on peaceful protestors following Mahsa Amini's death continue
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. Treasury announced a fresh round of sanctions Wednesday against Iranian officials for brutal violence against peaceful demonstrators as protests following the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini continue. The new sanctions come 40 days after the 22-year-old Amini's death in the custody of Iran's morality police. Iranian officials have continued their crackdown on protesters while limiting access to internet services. "The United States is imposing new sanctions on Iranian officials overseeing organizations involved in violent crackdowns and killings, including of children, as part of our commitment to hold all levels of the Iranian government accountable for its repression." Treasury designated 10 Iranian officials, two Iranian intelligence actors and two Iranian entities involved in the Iranian government's efforts to interfere with internet access:Mohammad Kazemi: Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Intelligence Organization.

☆ Spanish soccer fan walking to Qatar World Cup missing in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Spanish man, Santiago Sanchez, walks in Iraq's Kurdistan region towards Qatar, where he aims to attend the 2022 World Cup, near Zakho, Iraq August 28, 2022. REUTERS/Charlotte BruneauMADRID, Oct 26 (Reuters) - A 41-year-old Spanish soccer fan who set out to walk to Qatar to attend the World Cup in November has gone missing in Iran, where unrest has erupted in the past few weeks, Spain's foreign ministry has confirmed. Spain's Foreign Ministry confirmed Sanchez was in Iran and its embassy in Tehran was urgently seeking information on his whereabouts to provide him with consular assistance. He has already been to Iran, it's a hospitable country... but this time it was a delicate moment." He told Reuters in Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan last month that he hoped he might meet the Spanish team and inspire them to victory in the 2022 World Cup.

☆ A feared Iranian militia is leading the crackdown on protesters. Who are the Basij?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Dressed in black, the group of chanting schoolgirls in the Iranian city of Shiraz appeared determined to make themselves heard. Several videos posted to social media since her death have featured demonstrators shouting angry chants against the Basij. The Basij gave them access to higher education, subsidized consumer goods, free health care and job security, he added. Suppression methodsThere are three primary methods the Basij use to suppress anti-government protests, Golkar said. In 2009, rights groups including Amnesty International, said the group had used excessive force during peaceful anti-government protests triggered by a disputed presidential election.

☆ Iran's Guards warn cleric over 'agitating' in restive southeast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Molavi Abdolhamid, Zahedan's leading Sunni cleric, said during his Friday sermon that officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, head of the Shi'ite-dominated state, were "responsible before God" for the Sept. 30 killings. State media said at the time of the Sept. 30 violence that "unidentified armed individuals" opened fire on a police station, prompting security forces to return fire. The Revolutionary Guards said five members of its forces and the volunteer Basij militia were killed during the Sept. 30 violence. Abdolhamid, the Sunni cleric, described the Sept. 30 killing as a massacre, saying bullets had been fired at heads and chests. The activist news agency HRANA reported on Friday that 244 protesters had been killed in the countrywide unrest, including 32 minors.

☆ EXCLUSIVE In letter, Sweden lists 'concrete actions' on Turkey's concerns over NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Jonathan Spicer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Yet Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said as recently as Oct. 6 that its demands had not yet been met. In its letter to Turkey, Sweden said that "concrete action has been taken on all core elements of the trilateral agreement". Sweden's foreign ministry, Turkey's foreign ministry and the communications arm of Erdogan's office each did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter. The letter was meant to reassure Turkey of Sweden's efforts amid ongoing bilateral talks and to encourage ultimate approval of the NATO membership bid, the source added. In a sign that talks were progressing, Sweden's foreign minister said on Friday he expects the last two holdouts, Turkey and Hungary, to vote soon on its NATO applications.

☆ World's female foreign ministers meet to back Iranians
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

We have a moral obligation to support them," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. The ministers will address the unrest ignited by Mahsa Amini's death last month in Iran while in police custody. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterTheir gathering "shows global solidarity for Iranian women and tells the Iranian regime that the world is watching," she said. Female foreign ministers from Germany, Chile, New Zealand and Norway were expected to attend, while another French official was expected to represent Paris, according to a Canadian government source. The female officials were set to hear from women of Iranian heritage and to discuss ways to coordinate efforts supporting Iranians.

☆ At least four killed in fire at Iran's notorious Evin Prison, amid anti-government protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Henry Austin | Henry Austin Is A London-Based Editor For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

At least four people were killed and 61 injured after a large fire broke out at a notorious prison housing political prisoners and anti-government activists in Iran‘s capital, state-run news agency IRNA reported Sunday, citing the country's judiciary. Damage caused by a fire at the Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran late Saturday. Iranian state media has reported that at least 60 people have died since the beginning of the protests in Iran. He is safe and has been moved to a secure area of Evin Prison. Several other dual national Iranians and foreign citizens are held in Evin prison.

☆ Iranian protesters defy crackdown with nationwide demonstrations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Protests were also reported in Isfahan, in central Iran, and in the southeast of the country. The Tehran commander of the Basij militia forces that have deployed against protesters said in Tehran that three Basij had been killed and 850 more injured. "So many years of crimes, death to this religious leadership", they chanted, according to a video posted on social media. Iran's foreign minister spoke on Friday with the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell, who urged Tehran to stop the repression of protesters. In a phone call, Hossein Amirabdollahian told Borrell Iran allowed peaceful protests and its government enjoyed popular support, state media said.

Newly elected Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has named Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a new government in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2022. Rashid, 78, was the Iraqi minister of water resources from 2003-2010. Sudani, 52, previously served as Iraq’s human rights minister as well as minister of labour and social affairs. Under a power-sharing system designed to avoid sectarian conflict, Iraq's president is a Kurd, its prime minister a Shi'ite and its parliament speaker a Sunni. Rashid’s election raises concerns about escalating tensions between the KDP and PUK, who fought a civil war in the 1990s.

☆ Iran intensifies crackdown on Kurdish areas as protests rage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Two sources in Sanandaj, capital of Kurdistan province, told Reuters that Basij members, along with riot police, were attacking demonstrators. A witness told Reuters hundreds of riot police and Basij forces have been transferred from other provinces to Kurdistan to confront protesters. "A few days ago some Basij members from Sanandaj and Baneh refused to follow orders and shoot the people," said the witness. In the city of Kermanshah, direct fire from security forces killed two people, Hengaw said. It said a fourth member of the security forces was killed in Mahabad, and firing by security forces killed another person in Sanandaj.

☆ Iranians keep up protests over Mahsa Amini death despite growing death toll
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. Protests ignited by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police on Sept. 16 have turned into one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution. Another video showed dozens of riot police deployed in a Tehran street where a fire was burning. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organisation said the death toll had increased to at least 201 civilians during the unrest, including 23 minors. Khamenei, a focus of protesters' anger, said the protests were designed by Iran's enemies, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

☆ Iran protests over woman's death persist despite crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

At least 185 people, including 19 minors, have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands have been arrested by the security forces, according to rights groups. The government says more than 20 members of the security forces have been killed. The Hengaw human rights group said on Monday security forces had fired towards residences in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi reiterated accusations that Iranian Kurdish dissident groups were supporting the protests and said security forces would "neutralize the desperate anti-revolutionary effort". Governor Ali Hashemi said some Iranians had tried to hijack the workers' protests by chanting anti-government slogans, according to Iran’s Young Journalists Club News (YJC) Telegram account.

☆ Iraqi parliament to vote Thursday on new president amid divisions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks during news conference in Najaf, Iraq this screen grab taken from a live video August 30, 2022. Under a power-sharing system designed to avoid sectarian conflict, Iraq's president is a Kurd, its prime minister a Shi'ite and its parliament speaker a Sunni. Disagreement among the main Kurdish parties that run the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq has prevented the selection of a president. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party has held the presidency since 2003. A lawmaker from the Kurdistan Democratic Party said no agreement with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party has been reached yet.

☆ Iran toughens crackdown as some oil workers reported to join protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Human rights group Hengaw reported a heavy presence of armed security forces in the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj, Saqez and Divandareh on Monday. Activists said on social media that several people, including two teenagers, were killed by security forces in the province. Blaming the protests on Iran's foreign foes, authorities said "rioters" have killed at least 20 members of the security forces. In spite of a harsh crackdown by security forces, protesters across Iran have burned pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for the downfall of the clerical establishment and chanted "Death to the Dictator". "Instead of dying every minute under this regime's repression, I prefer to die with their (security forces) bullets in protests for freedom."

☆ Factbox: Iran's minority Kurds in focus after woman's death in custody
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The demonstrations began in reaction to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and then spread to every one of Iran's 31 provinces. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe death of the ethnic Kurd raised tensions between the establishment and Iran's Kurdish minority, which human rights groups say have been long oppressed by Iran's leadership. Here are some facts about Iran's Kurds, part of a community that is spread across several Middle East countries and one of the world's largest people without a state. Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution touched off bloodshed in its Kurdistan region with heavy clashes between the Shi'ite revolutionaries and the Kurdish Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) which fought for independence. Rights groups say Kurds, who form about 10 percent of the population, along with other religious and ethnic minorities face discrimination under Iran's Shi'ite clerical establishment.

☆ Iranian news broadcast hacked after female students heckle president
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Unrest on the streets of the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday. Throughout the 15-second hack, a caption read “Join us and stand up!” along with text criticizing Khamenei for their deaths. Several state-run Iranian media outlets noted Sunday that similar hacks had taken place in the past. Police initially said Amini, an Iranian Kurd, died after falling ill and slipping into a coma. Elsewhere, a visit by Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, to a women's university in Tehran seemingly backfired after the students there began to heckle him.

☆ Iran Protests Are Proving a Durable Challenge to the Islamic Republic
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Three weeks after antigovernment protests erupted across Iran—sparked by the death of a woman detained for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code—the movement has proved more durable than previous challenges to Tehran’s leaders and could pose a continuing threat. Students across the country rallied outside universities on Sunday, chanting slogans including “death to the dictator,” and schoolgirls marched in the streets of Tehran waving their veils in the air, a gesture that has become a central expression of dissent. The governor of Kurdistan province on Sunday ordered universities closed, likely to avoid more protests. Stores across the country stayed closed as part of a widening strike of shopkeepers.

☆ Women and girls are leading Iran protests, but others are joining from across society
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

But the protests that have engulfed the nation for weeks are also attracting support from across society as they evolve into a sustained anti-government movement. While women and girls continue to be the driving force behind the protests, male students, soccer stars and striking workers have added to this show of opposition. “These are not pockets of protests,” said Anoush Ehteshami, a professor in international relations at Durham University in England. via AFP - Getty ImagesThere were student-led protests in the cities of Tehran, Tabriz and Shiraz, according to video on social media. Also Saturday, shops and businesses were closed in 20 cities in strike action in Kurdistan province, in northwestern Iran, according to the human rights organization Hengaw.

☆ As protests rage at home, Iran launches drone and missile attack in Iraq’s Kurdistan region
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

As Iran struggles to quell a wave of street protests at home, the regime launched a drone and missile attack on an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in neighboring Iraq on Wednesday, Kurdish and U.S. officials said. The Iranian attack left at least nine people dead and 32 wounded, Kurdish authorities in the area said. Smoke billows following an Iranian cross-border attack in the area of Zargwez, about 9 miles from Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, on Sept. 28, 2022. The U.S. condemned the Iranian attack as an assault on Iraq’s sovereignty and accused the regime of trying to divert attention from domestic turmoil. No U.S. troops were wounded or killed in the Iranian attack.

☆ Nine reported killed as Iran Revolutionary Guards target dissident sites in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Smoke rises from the Iraqi Kurdistan headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran, after Iran's Revolutionary Guards' strike on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ako RasheedDUBAI, SULAIMANIYA, Iraq Sept 28 (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they fired missiles and drones at militant targets in the Kurdish region of neighbouring northern Iraq, where an official said nine people were killed. A senior member of Komala, an exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition party, told Reuters that several of their offices were struck as well. The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's elite military and security force, said after the attacks that they would continue targeting what it called terrorists in the region. Protests erupted in Iran this month over the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.

☆ Iran warns the West over protests as international backlash grows
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Rhoda Kwan | Rhoda Kwan Is A Taipei-Based Journalist. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The warning came amid widespread protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, and increasing international support for the demonstrations demanding wider freedoms and women's rights. AFP - Getty ImagesJosep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, has said Iran should “immediately stop the violent crackdown on protests and ensure internet access." Women across Iran have been protesting the country’s mandatory dress codes, with videos posted online showing women burning their hijabs and cutting their hair on public streets. People take part in a demonstration in support of Iranian protesters in Paris on Sunday. "The regime feels threatened, and we know from previous occasions ... it is willing to use any means to end such protests," Esfandiari said.

☆ In Syrian north, women protest over death of Iran's Amini
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Mahsa Amini, 22, died earlier this month after being arrested in Tehran by police enforcing the Islamic Republic's strict restrictions on women's dress. Her death has touched off Iran's biggest unrest since 2019. Protesters held aloft pictures of Amini as they marched through a street in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli. 1/5 Women burn headscarves during a protest over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in Iran, in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli, northeastern Syria September 26, 2022. The Kurdish ethnic minority live mostly in a region straddling the borders of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

☆ Elon Musk's Starlink is now active in Iran amid widespread internet outages, academic says after speaking to Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Starlink internet is now active in Iran, an academic said on Twitter after speaking to Elon Musk. Iranians and internet watchdogs have reported network outages amid protests over a woman's death. Musk granted Sadjadpour permission to share the news that Starlink had been activated in the country, Sadjadpour tweeted. "It will cost many millions of dollars to setup and sustain thousands of Starlink terminals to Iran," he said in the tweet. People in Iran have reported internet outages after protests started over the death of a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini who died in police custody.

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