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☆ Iran hangs two men accused of killing security official during protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Iran hanged two men on Saturday for allegedly killing a security official during nationwide protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16. The two men executed on Saturday had been convicted of killing a member of the Basij paramilitary force militia, and three others have been sentenced to death in the same case, while 11 received prison sentences. "Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, principle perpetrators of the crime that led to the unjust martyrdom of Ruhollah Ajamian were hanged this morning," the judiciary said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency. Four protesters have been executed in the aftermath of the unrest. <a href="mailto:dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com" target="_blank">dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com</a>; Editing by William Mallard & Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Britain says Iran's execution of two protesters is "abhorrent"
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - British foreign minister James Cleverly on Saturday condemned Iran's execution of two protesters and urged it to "immediately end the violence against its own people". "The execution of Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini by the Iranian regime is abhorrent," Cleverly said on Twitter. "The UK is strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances." Iran hanged the two men for allegedly killing a member of the security forces during nationwide protests that started after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini last September. Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WhatsApp's new feature could help Iranians bypass censors and coordinate protests during government-imposed internet blackouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Messaging platform WhatsApp will help users bypass repressive restrictions using proxy servers. This follows a string of internet shutdowns in Iran, imposed amid ongoing anti-government protests. The move follows a string of internet shutdowns by Iranian authorities in an attempt to quash dissent and clamp down on anti-government protests. WhatsApp's new feature will allow users to go online using proxy servers, which can help mask their location and bypass government-imposed controls and restrictions. This will enable people to keep using WhatsApp even if their connection is blocked or disrupted — and maintain contact with family, friends, or fellow protesters.

☆ Iran says it foiled cyberattack on central bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Iran has foiled a cyberattack on its central bank, the country's telecommunications infrastructure company said on Friday. Anonymous and other global hacking groups threatened in October to launch cyberattacks on Iranian institutions and officials in support of anti-government protests and to bypass internet censorship there. Amir Mohammadzadeh Lajevardi, head of the Infrastructure Communications Company, said the central bank was targeted by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Thursday night, the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. "These days, the largest volume of foreign attacks is against banks and financial institutions, internet providers and communications infrastructures, which have been repelled," Lajevardi said. The central bank said in September that a cyberattack briefly took its website offline.

☆ WhatsApp announces new proxy support feature to bypass internet shutdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A proxy server is an intermediary between users and web services and acts as a web filter that allow netizens to circumvent restrictions and censorship. WhatsApp said proxy support on the app is now officially available for users with the latest version. Users in countries such as Iran and Syria have used virtual private network (VPN) services to navigate around internet censorship. The messaging service said, "in case these shutdowns continue, we hope this solution helps people wherever there is a need for secure and reliable communication." WhatsApp "will do anything" within its technical capacity to keep the service accessible and that it was not blocking Iranian phone numbers, the messaging service had said in September.

☆ Iran supreme leader Khamenei hints at loosening of hijab rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Sanam Mahoozi | Sanam Mahoozi Is A Freelance Writer Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

While his comments were vague and did not promise to change the existing laws, they were a recognition of how potent the issue of the hijab remains, according to Abbas Milani, the director of Iranian studies at Stanford University. “I think he knows how pervasive women’s rejection of compulsory hijab has been,” he said. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency, or HRANA, estimates that more than 18,000 people have been arrested. In his speech, Khamenei also criticized the West for its treatment of women. Women in the West are “alienated,” he said, adding that the “Western capitalist system is a patriarchal system,” according to Mehr News Agency.

☆ Iranian chess player was warned not to return to Iran after competing without hijab -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Elwely Elwelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Chess - FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships - Rapid Women - Almaty, Kazakhstan - December 28, 2022. Sara Khadem of Iran sits in front of a chess board. REUTERS/Pavel MikheyevDUBAI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player arrived in Spain on Tuesday after receiving what a source close to her said were warnings not to return to Iran for competing without a hijab at an international tournament in Kazakhstan. Sara Khadem, born in 1997, took part in last week's FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty without the hijab - a headscarf mandatory under Iran's strict dress codes. The source also said Khadem's relatives and parents, who are in Iran, had also received threats, without giving further details.

☆ Britain to proscribe Iran's Revolutionary Guard as terror group - Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] British Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Peter NichollsJan 2 (Reuters) - Britain will officially declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which has arrested seven people with links to the United Kingdom over anti-government protests, as a terrorist group, the Telegraph reported on Monday, citing sources. The move, which will be announced within weeks, is supported by Britain's security minister, Tom Tugendhat, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the report said. Proscribing Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group would mean that it would become a criminal offence to belong to the group, attend its meetings, and carry its logo in public. The UK Home Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Telegraph report.

☆ Iran top court accepts protester's appeal against death sentence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The Supreme Court has accepted the appeal of Sahand Noor Mohammadzadeh, one of the accused in the recent riots. It said 66 members of the security forces had also been killed. Iranian officials have said that up to 300 people, including members of the security forces, have lost their lives. Last week, the Supreme Court accepted the death sentence appeal of rapper Saman Seydi Yasin but confirmed the same sentence against protester Mohammad Qobadloo. Earlier this month it suspended the death sentence of protester Mahan Sadrat, who had been charged with various alleged offences including stabbing a security officer and setting fire to a motorcycle.

☆ Weapons for Russia, anti-government protests and the nuclear deal: What lies ahead for Iran in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The Biden administration went from encouraging negotiations on reviving the Iranian nuclear deal to levying more sanctions on Tehran and condemning it for providing lethal weapons and training to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. Iran's Foreign Ministry denies knowing about Iranian weapons transfers to Russia, despite evidence of Iranian-made drones wreaking havoc on Ukrainian cities. Sergei Savostyanov | AFP | Getty Images"2023 is going to be a pivotal year for Iran," Ali Vaez, Iran project director at non-profit Crisis Group, told CNBC. The nuclear deal: too far gone? Ukraine has blamed Iran for providing Russia with drones, which have been used to attack Kyiv.

☆ Marchers in southeast Iran denounce top leader in renewed protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

protesters chanted in reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a social media video said to be from Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province. The impoverished province is home to Iran's Baluch minority of up to 2 million people, who human rights groups say have faced discrimination and repression for decades. Separately, a rights group said at least 100 detained protesters in Iran faced possible death sentences. This is a minimum as most families are under pressure to stay quiet, the real number is believed to be much higher," the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said on its website. Reporting by Dubai newsroom Editing by Hugh Lawson and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iranian chess player appears at Kazakhstan tournament without hijab for second day -Reuters witness
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ALMATY, Dec 28 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player on Wednesday took part in an international tournament in Kazakhstan without a hijab for the second day running, according to a Reuters journalist present. A Reuters witness at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, saw Sara Khadem competing without a headscarf, a violation of Iran's laws governing female dress code. Khadem, born in 1997 and also known as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, is ranked 804 in the world, according to the International Chess Federation website. The website for the Dec. 25-30 event listed her as a participant in both the Rapid and Blitz competitions. Iranian news outlets Khabarvarzeshi and Etemad in reports on Monday said that Khadem had competed at the championship in Almaty without a hijab.

☆ Iranian woman competes at chess tournament without hijab- media reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player has taken part in an international tournament without a hijab, according to media reports, the latest of several Iranian sportswomen to appear at competitions without one since anti-government protests began. Iranian news outlets Khabarvarzeshi and Etemad, in reports on Monday, said Sara Khadem had competed at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without the hijab - a headscarf mandatory under Iran's strict dress codes. Photos posted by both outlets appeared to show her with no headscarf during the tournament. There was no comment on Khadem's Instagram page about the tournament or the reports, and she did not immediately respond to a direct message from Reuters. In October, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without a headscarf, later saying she had done so unintentionally.

☆ Elon Musk says around 100 Starlinks now active in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 26 (Reuters) - SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Monday that the company is now close to having 100 active Starlinks, the firm's satellite internet service, in Iran, three months after he tweeted he would activate the service there amid protests around the Islamic country. Musk said, "approaching 100 starlinks active in Iran", in a tweet on Monday. The billionaire had said in September that he would activate Starlink in Iran as part of a U.S.-backed effort "to advance internet freedom and the free flow of information" to Iranians. The satellite-based broadband service could help Iranians circumvent the government's restrictions on accessing the internet and certain social media platforms amid protests around the country. Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran reroutes plane carrying soccer star's wife, blames UK over unrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A service that could help Iranians circumvent internet restrictions is Starlink, a satellite-based broadband service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Musk said on Monday that the company was getting close to having 100 active Starlink satellite receivers inside Iran. After he voiced support for the protests on social media, authorities this month shut down a jewellery shop and a restaurant he owned. The British foreign ministry had said it was seeking further information from Iranian authorities on the reported arrests. Besides arrests, authorities have imposed travel bans on dozens of artists, lawyers, journalists and celebrities for endorsing the protests.

☆ Iran’s Guards arrest UK-Iranian dual nationals over protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards arrested seven people with links to Britain on Sunday, including some who held dual nationality, over anti-government protests that have rocked the country, according to a statement published by state media. "Seven main leaders of the recent protests related to the UK were detained by intelligence services of the IRGC (Revolutionary Guards) including dual nationals who were trying to leave the country," the statement read. The British foreign ministry said it was seeking further information from Iranian authorities on reports that British-Iranian dual nationals had been arrested in Iran. The protests, in which demonstrators from all walks of life have called for the fall of Iran's ruling theocracy, has posed one of the biggest challenges to the Shi'ite Muslim-ruled Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. Reporting by Elwely Elwelly in Dubai; Additional reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in London Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran Supreme Court accepts appeals of two protesters sentenced to death
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 24 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Court has accepted the appeals of two protesters sentenced to death due to flaws in investigating their cases, the country's judiciary said on Saturday. "The Supreme Court accepted the appeals of Mohammad Qobadloo and Saman Saidi Yasin, accused of the recent riots," the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported. "Due to research deficiencies, the Supreme Court has referred them to the same courts for re-examination." Yasin, a Kurd who raps about inequality, oppression and unemployment, was accused of attempting to kill security forces and singing revolutionary songs. A top state security body said early this month that 200 people, including members of security forces, had lost their lives in the unrest.

☆ Prominent Sunni cleric denounces Iran crackdown, currency near record low
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] People take part in a protest against the Islamic regime of Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, in Istanbul, Turkey December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dilara SenkayaDUBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Iran's currency hovered near a historic low against the U.S. dollar on the unofficial foreign exchange market on Friday amid renewed street protests in the restive southeast, where a prominent dissident Sunni Muslim cleric denounced a bloody crackdown on street demonstrations. Some of the worst unrest in recent months has been in areas home to minority ethnic groups with long-standing grievances against the state, including Sistan-Baluchistan and Kurdish regions. On the unofficial foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar sold for as much as 400,500 rials on Friday, slightly down from an all-time high of 401,000 on Thursday, according to foreign exchange site Bonbast.com. State officials have said up to 300 have been killed, including members of the security forces.

☆ Iran’s Online Crackdown Prompts Smuggling of Starlink Kits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( David S. Cloud | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protests broke out in Iran more than two months ago after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody. Iranian border guards discovered the gray box in a van crossing from Iraq in late October. Inside was a sleek machine resembling a monitor. But after questioning the driver, the guards waved the vehicle through, people involved said. The guards had just allowed a Starlink satellite dish sold by a division of Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, into the country.

☆ Iran's clerical leaders to grapple with deepening dissent in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Amini's family said she was beaten after being arrested by the morality police on Sept. 13 for violating the Islamic Republic's imposed dress code. Facing their worst legitimacy crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's religious leaders have tried to portray the unrest as breakaway uprisings by ethnic minorities threatening national unity rather than its clerical rule. Protesters from all walks of life have taken to the streets, calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic. However, the persistent unrest does not mean the four-decade-old Islamic Republic will disappear any time soon given the power wielded by its security apparatus. The Islamic Republic will be engulfed by what analysts call a "revolutionary process" that will likely fuel more protests into 2023, with neither side backing down.

☆ Iran’s clerical leaders face deepening dissent in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsIran’s clerical leaders face deepening dissent in 2023PostedThe death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, whose family said she was beaten after being arrested by the morality police, has ushered Iran into a new era of deepening crisis between the clerical leadership and society at large – turmoil that seems likely to deepen in the next year. This report produced by Olivia Zollino.

☆ U.S. slaps sanctions on Iran officials over protest crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A woman chats during a protest against gender-based violence in Iran, in front of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) office in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Amy OsborneWASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Iranian officials on Wednesday, including the prosecutor general and key military officials, stepping up pressure on Tehran over its crackdown on protests. The move is the latest Washington response to the Iranian crackdown on unrest after the death of young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody in September. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on Mohammad Montazeri, Iran’s prosecutor general, accusing him of directing courts in September to issue harsh sentences to many arrested during protests. Washington also imposed sanctions on two senior officials of Iran’s Basij Resistance Forces, a militia affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards that has been widely deployed during the crackdown, and two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials.

The celebrated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi on Tuesday blasted the arrest of film actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who was detained by authorities after expressing solidarity with nationwide anti-government protests that have rocked the country. In a post on Instagram, Farhadi demanded the immediate release of Alidoosti, who starred in his film “The Salesman,” a Tehran-set drama that won the Oscar for best foreign language feature in 2016. “I have worked with Taraneh on four films and now she is in prison for her rightful support of her fellow countrymen and her opposition to the unjust sentences being issued,” Farhadi wrote on Instagram. The demonstrations have since transformed into one of the most forceful challenges to Iran’s clerical regime since it was installed in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Farhadi is widely considered one of the best working filmmakers in contemporary Iran.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

Hacking and repressionAfter Nika went missing, her aunt and other protesters told CNN that her popular Instagram and Telegram accounts had been disabled. On October 12, two of Nika’s friends noticed her Telegram account briefly back online, they told CNN. As with Negin’s case, the reactivation of Nika’s accounts raises questions about whether Iranian authorities were responsible for accessing her social media profiles, allegedly to phish other protesters or compromise her after her death. “Usually what happens is, they do the target phone number, then they send a login request to Telegram,” Rashidi told CNN. However, references in Iranian state media indicate authorities did access Nika’s Instagram account and direct messages, stating they had permission from the judiciary to access them.

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