Page 13 - Iran

UN chief urges Iran to protect freedom of expression amid ongoing protests

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday (local time) urged Iranian authorities to "exercise maximum restraint" amid unrest in the country, stressing that the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly "must be fully respected" and "protected".The UN chief's remarks come amid protests in Iran that killed at least 420 protesters during anti-government demonstrations over the past 15 days, including eight children, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), CNN reported.In a post on X, the UN Secretary-General emphasised the need to refrain from the "unnecessary or disproportionate use of force" while handling public demonstrations."Shocked by reports of violence & excessive use of force by the Iranian authorities against protesters resulting in deaths & injuries in recent days. The rights to freedom of expression, association & peaceful assembly must be fully respected & protected. I urge the Iranian authorities

Death toll in crackdown on protests in Iran spikes to 544, say activists

A crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has killed at least 544 people and even more are feared dead, activists have said, while Tehran warned that the US military and Israel would be legitimate targets if America uses force to protect demonstrators. Another over 10,600 people have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency on Sunday, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces. With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran's government has not offered overall casualty figures. Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran's security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the

'Make Iran great again': Exiled crown prince Pahlavi's appeal to Trump

The 65-year-old exiled crown prince and the son of the late Shah (King) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, called Iran's current leadership a "terror regime"

Iran protests intensify as Trump is briefed on military strike options

As protests driven by economic distress spread across Iran, US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering military strike options even as US officials weigh risks of escalation

'Do not abandon streets': Iran's exiled crown prince tells protestors

Pahlavi, the 65-year-old exiled crown prince and son of the late Shah (King), Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in a video message posted on X, said that the protesters are being lauded for their courage

Violence in Iran protests kills 116 as demonstrations enter third week

Nationwide protests challenging Iran's theocracy reached the two-week mark Sunday, as the death toll in violence surrounding the demonstrations reached at least 116 people killed, activists said. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency gave the new figure, saying arrests had reached more than 2,600 people as well. The agency has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest previously. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signalled a coming clampdown, despite US warnings from President Donald Trump that America could intervene to protect peaceful demonstrators. Tehran escalated its threats Saturday, with the Iran's attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, warning that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an enemy of God, a death-penalty charge.

Iran warns protesters with death penalty, calls them 'enemies of God'

Movahedi Azad said individuals who have taken part in the protests, assisted rioters, or contributed to acts of vandalism and insecurity would face swift and uncompromising legal action

Mass blackout in Iran as government severs internet services amid protests

Just after 8 pm Thursday, Iran's theocracy pulled the plug and disconnected the Islamic Republic's 85 million people from the rest of the world. Following a playbook used both in demonstrations and in war, Iran severed the internet connections and telephone lines that connect its people to the vast diaspora in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Until now, even while facing strict sanctions over the country's nuclear programme, Iranians still could access mobile phone apps and even websites blocked by the theocracy, using virtual private networks to circumvent restrictions. Thursday's decision sharply limits people from sharing images and witness accounts of the nationwide protests over Iran's ailing economy that have grown to pose the biggest challenge to the government in years. It also could provide cover for a violent crackdown after the Trump administration warned Iran's government about consequences for further deaths among demonstrators. As the country effectively goes .

Dozens feared dead as Iran faces biggest nationwide protests in years

Separate mobile-camera footage from Fardis, a city about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Tehran, showed at least seven bodies covered in blood inside a building

Exiled Iranian crown prince Pahlavi calls for strikes, plans his return

Iran witnessed fresh protests as Reza Pahlavi urged nationwide strikes, street mobilisation and signalled his readiness to return to the 'homeland at the time of national revolution's victory'

Dozens feared dead as largest anti-govt protests intensify in Iran

Social media footage trickling out of Iran amid a blanket shutdown of internet and telecommunications networks showed hundreds of thousands marching and chanting anti-regime slogans

What to know about protests in Iran driven by inflation, economic strain

Galloping inflation and a currency crisis have provoked demonstrations across the country

Iran cut off from outside world as supreme leader warns protesters

Internet, phone lines blocked, flights cancelled

China, Russia, Iran warships arrive in SA waters for a week of naval drills

The Iranian navy was taking part in the drills while protests grow back home against the Islamic Republic's leadership

Oil gains as market assesses protests in Iran, dealmaking for Venezuela

Civil unrest in major Middle Eastern producer Iran and concerns about the spread of the Russia-Ukraine war to Russian oil exports have increased supply worries

Protests erupt in Iran after exiled prince's call, internet suspended

People in Iran's capital shouted from their homes and rallied in the street Thursday night after a call by the country's exiled crown prince for a mass demonstration, witnesses said, a new escalation in the protests that have spread nationwide across the Islamic Republic. Internet access and telephone lines in Iran cut out immediately after the protests began. The protest represented the first test of whether the Iranian public could be swayed by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose fatally ill father fled Iran just before the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Demonstrations have included cries in support of the shah, something that could bring a death sentence in the past but now underlines the anger fuelling the protests that began over Iran's ailing economy. Thursday saw a continuation of the demonstrations that popped up in cities and rural towns across Iran on Wednesday. More markets and bazaars shut down in support of the protesters. So far, violence around the demonstrations ha

Iran crisis deepens as protests spread to over 100 cities; thousands held

Protests over Iran's worsening economy have spread to more than 100 cities, leaving dozens dead and over 2,000 arrested as inflation surges and the rial hits record lows

'No threat to Indians in Iran': Tehran's envoy after MEA travel advisory

After India advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Tehran's envoy said the situation is under control and that Indian nationals face no threat

At least 35 people killed, 1,200 detained in Iran's economic protests

The death toll in violence surrounding protests in Iran has risen to at least 35 people, activists said Tuesday. The figure came from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which said more than 1,200 people have been detained in the protests, which have been ongoing for more than a week. It said 29 protesters, four children and two members of Iran's security forces have been killed. The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest. The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported late Monday that some 250 police officers and 45 members of the Guard's all-volunteer Basij force have been hurt in the demonstrations.

Avoid travelling to Iran, stay alert: MEA issues advisory for citizens

The advisory asked Indian citizens and persons of Indian origin currently in Iran to exercise restraint and remain alert