Berlinale demands charges be dropped for Iranian filmmakers

"I was imprisoned for peacefully criticizing the deposit of Iran’s revenues into the satanic palaces of Hassan Nasrallah and Bashar al-Assad," he said.

Azarbeyg added that he had been denied contact with his family since his arrest nearly two weeks ago.

Last Tuesday, his lawyer Amir Raisian announced that Azarbeyg was arrested in Tehran in a post on X, adding that his family was told he is accused of insulting former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The musician had played the Persian daf frame drum in Tehran’s metro while singing Ey Iran, a widely-recognized patriotic anthem, in protest against the Islamic Republic’s support for Assad’s government after his ouster.

Months after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike, he posted a video on Instagram from Tehran’s metro, saying, "Let’s forget all the sadness of Lebanon," as he began singing the same anthem and playing the daf.

Pro bono legal group Dadban on Thursday condemned Azarbeyg’s arrest, arguing that Iran’s Islamic Penal Code criminalizes insults against foreign heads of state only if they are in office at the time and if their country takes reciprocal action—conditions it said did not apply in this case.

Last September, Azarbeyg was arrested while performing music in Tehran’s Mellat Park. Security forces confiscated his belongings.

Although he was released after a few hours, authorities opened a judicial case against him, according to US-based rights group Human Rights Activist Network Agency (HRANA).

“The Palestinians become pawns,” said Schwartz, “particularly by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

According to Schwartz, the plight of the Palestinians serves the interests of the clerical rulers of Iran as a geopolitical tool in its broader quest for regional dominance.

"It's a regional problem," said Schwartz.

Since the inception of the Islamic Republic, the leader of the revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, coined the term "little Satan" to refer to Israel and "big Satan" to reference the United States.

Iran’s clerical rulers have pledged to destroy Israel for more than four decades. The country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei often appears in public wearing a black-and-white checkered kaffiyeh to symbolize Palestinians.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Iran-backed Hamas militants, Iran’s fingerprints are seemingly everywhere as the Middle East has descended into turmoil.

Hezbollah in Lebanon, the armed Houthi movement in Yemen and Iraqi militias - all equipped and trained by Tehran - have taken shots at Israel with missiles and drones.

The Wall Street Journal, citing a Hamas source, reported on Oct 8, 2023, that Iran helped plot the attack, with the greenlight being given in Beirut during a meeting.

US intelligence, however, suggests that the attack came as a surprise to Iran.

While it’s not clear if Tehran coordinated the exact timing of the attack, what is certain is Iran has funded, trained and armed Hamas for decades. Iran has provided $100 million annually to Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, according to the US State Department in 2020.

"That money didn't go to improving the lives of the people of Gaza - the opposite, and went to building their vast tunnel network to building up their rockets and their weapons," said Schwartz.

The Hamas-Iran relationship: a paradox

The Shia-led theocracy in Iran and Sunni-led Hamas in Gaza adhere to diverging creed but have a common enemy in Israel.

Their ardor is fueled by extremism driving both sides of the conflict, Schwartz said.

"There is extremism on both sides. There are extremists on the Jewish side as well. There are Jewish extremists in the West Bank who are attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, and there's no excuse for that," said Schwartz.

"People often forget that the name of Hamas means the Islamic Resistance Movement," she added "this weaponization of Islam is only hurting the Palestinian people and making the prospects for peace ever more distant."

As the conflict drags on, Schwartz observes a shift within Israeli society, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks.

"Many of the Jews who were killed and kidnapped on Oct. 7 were left wing Israelis. Many of them were peace activists. And as we've seen over the course of the last 16 months, many in Israel have shifted rightward," Schwartz said.

That shift has a historical parallel in the 1929 Hebron Massacre, about which Schwartz has written a book.

She contends the obscure atrocity set in motion a cycle of violence that continues to shape the region today.

In 1929, Arabs set upon the Jewish community of the holy city of Hebron now in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and killed nearly 70 people.

Many those killed or injured were pious Jews opposed to a political Zionist movement, viewing it as a secular movement.

The attack, however, hardened many survivors into advocates of a Jewish state.

While the origins of that cycle of violence are not rooted in Iran, the violence between two peoples with suing conflict has only been exacerbated by Tehran, Schwartz said, creating more obstacles to lasting peace.

Peace in the holy land, which Schwartz believes is destined for both peoples to share, can't happen without both sides having self-determination. But peaceful coexistence is not feasible, argues Shwartz with the long arm of the Iranian establishment reaching the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

"I do think that the only way we will see peace and an end to this never-ending war is when both people have self-determination."

You can watch the full episode of Eye for Iran with award winning author Yarden Schwartz on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple, Castbox, Amazon or any major podcast platform.

Shoeib Rezapour, 28, was hanged on Behesht Esfarayen bridge after being convicted of murder, according to the Oslo-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR).

Rezapour had been convicted of fatally stabbing a man three and a half years ago, IHR said citing an informed source. His sentence was qisas, or retribution-in-kind under Iran’s Islamic legal system.

Iran remains one of the few countries to conduct public executions, a practice widely condemned by human rights groups.

Public hangings were halted in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions but resumed in 2022. That year, two people were hanged in public, increasing to seven in 2023 and four in 2024, IHR says.

IHR on Thursday also reported that eight prisoners were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj the previous morning. Six of them were convicted of murder, one was sentenced to death on drug charges and another was hanged for moharebeh or enmity against God in connection with an armed robbery charge.

Earlier this week IHR also warned of the imminent execution of two political prisoners Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani at the same prison after Iran's Supreme Court rejected their request for a retrial.

Last year, at least 975 people were executed in Iran, marking a 17% increase from the 834 executions recorded the previous year.

"We never said we won’t talk, but we shouldn’t bow to bullies," Pezeshkian said Thursday.

"Why should someone on the other side of the world make a statement, and we react with fear?" he added, in an apparent reference to US President Donald Trump.

"We are not afraid; we will stay, we will build, and we will build with strength. This is what we believe in."

Iran's ultimate decision-maker Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei this month rejected talks with Trump, calling them "not wise, intelligent or honorable."

In recent weeks, several Iranian officials, including the foreign minister and the government spokesperson, have echoed the position that Iran sees no point in talks while US sanctions remain in full force.

"Iran's position in the nuclear talks is completely clear, and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions," Abbas Araghchi said earlier this week. "There is no possibility of direct negotiations between us and the United States as long as maximum pressure is applied in this manner."

However, perspectives within Iran’s establishment vary. Ahmad Bakhshayesh, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, indicated that negotiations were no longer on the table.

Bakhshayeh said Iran’s increased military budget submitted by Pezeshkian to parliament in October reflects a shift away from diplomatic engagement.

The renewed debate follows US President Donald Trump’s decision earlier this month to restore the "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran from his first term.

His move revived a hardline strategy aimed at crippling Iran’s economy, particularly its oil exports, which had been severely restricted following Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Trump’s latest directive aims to further reduce Iran’s oil exports, a key source of revenue, to zero.

Tehran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and must make a deal, Trump has argued. "I would prefer a deal with Tehran to an Israeli attack on their nuclear sites," he said after signing the memorandum that reinstated the sanctions.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently visited Tehran following high-level discussions between Moscow and Washington in Saudi Arabia.

While the exact details of the discussions remain unclear, some Iranian media outlets have cautioned that Russia may not be a reliable partner and could adjust its stance based on shifting geopolitical priorities, speculating that Lavrov may have made concessions regarding Iran’s position.

While the Trump administration has engaged in talks with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, it has maintained a hardline approach toward Iran, demanding a reversal of Tehran's nuclear, military and regional policies.

At the same time, Washington has hinted at a shared strategic interest with Moscow in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Speaking to independent journalist Catherine Herridge, Senator Marco Rubio said last week, “There are things we could cooperate on geopolitically,” adding, “I’m not sure the Russians are fans of the Iranian regime having nuclear weapons.”

Iranian law prohibits women from singing solo before mixed audiences that include men and mandates adherence to strict hijab regulations.

Although the restrictions are longstanding, a surge of recent such performances have challenged legal and cultural boundaries.

According to music journalist Bahman Babazadeh, the concert had received official authorization. However, during the performance, security forces—accompanied by four female officers—entered the venue and took Seyfizadeh into custody.

Authorities have not given an official reason for the arrest, but an eyewitness, speaking to Iran International on condition of anonymity, confirmed that men were present at the event.

The eyewitness also noted that organizers had prohibited the audience from recording the concert.

Shortly after the incident, Emarat Rooberoo, the venue where the concert was held, announced via Instagram that it would remain closed until further notice.

It is unclear whether authorities or a preemptive decision by the organizers imposed the closure.

Seyfizadeh has previously drawn attention for performing without the mandatory hijab in solidarity with anti-government protesters during Iran’s recent wave of civil unrest.

Her arrest follows a broader crackdown on female performers defying Iran’s strict regulations on women’s public appearances and artistic expression.

In December, security forces arrested and later released singer Parastoo Ahmadi after she livestreamed a concert without the mandatory hijab. Ahmadi’s performance, in which she appeared with bare shoulders, directly challenged Iran’s enforced dress code.

Later that month, the Iranian Judiciary issued a statement condemning the event, stating that the concert had been held "without legal authorization and adherence to Sharia principles" and that it would take unspecified action against the singer and the production team.

Despite internet restrictions, Ahmadi’s Caravanserai Concert quickly became one of the most discussed topics on Iranian social media. Though YouTube is officially restricted in Iran, the performance garnered over 1.5 million views within three days, with clips widely shared online.