An Iranian man whose viral plea for Donald Trump’s help drew millions of views says he was forced to flee the country after being targeted by the Revolutionary Guard, warning from exile that negotiating with Tehran would allow its repression to continue.
Dismay and alarm are spreading among Iranians over reports and images showing Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashd al-Shaabi, inside Iran, with messages sent to Iran International describing fear, anger and a growing sense of insecurity.
Iranian police said on Thursday they had blocked 61 bank accounts belonging to users of Starlink satellite internet in the central city of Yazd, as part of a broader crackdown on unauthorized connectivity.
In history, authoritarian systems usually fall twice: first psychologically, when fear breaks; then politically, when the men with guns hesitate. Iran’s recent shocks look less like a single crisis than a classic collapse sequence unfolding at speed.
Several safe houses in Tehran were targeted in attacks early on Monday, according to reports received by Iran International, as security deployments intensified across the country.
Cases tied to the January protests have been reviewed, with some reaching final verdicts and now being carried out, Iran’s judiciary said on Monday, warning that those convicted would face no leniency.
An Israeli security insider says Iran could be weeks away from reaching conditions for an uprising, as the US and Israel may soon judge the Islamic Republic weak enough to call on Iranians to take to the streets.
The hanging of a 19-year-old wrestler on Thursday intensified concerns over the fate of other detained athletes, with fears growing that more executions could follow in cases linked to protests earlier this year.
Iranians across many cities took to the streets late Tuesday to celebrate Chaharshanbe Suri, defying warnings and attempted crackdowns by security forces as the country remains under sustained military pressure.
Israeli forces killed senior Iranian official Ali Larijani and IRGC-Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani in overnight airstrikes inside Iran, Israel’s defense minister and military said on Tuesday, as Tehran has yet to confirm the deaths.
As dusk falls across Iran on Tuesday, bonfires, fireworks and street gatherings are expected to mark Chaharshanbeh Suri, an ancient fire festival that has also become a public act of defiance, this year unfolding under war, heavy security and fears of bloodshed.
Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi said the Islamic Republic’s weakening grip on internal repression is bringing closer the moment when Iranians could once again take control of the streets.
The killings of protesters in January did not end when the shooting stopped. For many Iranians living thousands of kilometers from the streets where the bullets fell, the event did not remain on their screens.
Two nurses working in a Tehran hospital who treated wounded protesters during the nationwide uprising in January were tortured and repeatedly gang raped by security agents while in custody, people familiar with the matter told Iran International.
Two people have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Masood Masjoody, a former instructor at Simon Fraser University and an outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said.
A member of Iran’s women’s national football team staff who sought asylum in Australia along with several of her players is trying to persuade the others not to follow suit but instead return to Iran, informed sources told Iran International.
Iranian authorities have launched a sweeping wave of arrests and tightened domestic repression as US and Israeli strikes continue to hit military facilities and security institutions tied to the Islamic Republic.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday regime change in Iran could eventually occur though it may not happen immediately, citing the Iranian authorities’ violent repression of protesters as a major obstacle to a popular uprising.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps warned on Thursday that opponents could face a blow “even stronger than January 8,” signaling the possibility of a renewed and harsher crackdown if street protests resume.
The Iran war appears to be entering a new phase as attacks increasingly target checkpoints and street-level security units, while witness reports sent to Iran International suggest many of those positions are being moved or dismantled after their locations are exposed.
Five members of Iran’s women’s national football team who left the squad while in Australia and sought refuge in the country have been granted humanitarian visas, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said as he met the players, now unveiled.
Iran’s judiciary said on Monday that Iranians living abroad could face the seizure of their assets if they cooperate with countries Tehran considers hostile, in a warning that appeared aimed at deterring support for the United States and Israel during the war.