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Iran Opposition Protests in Washington for Regime Change

Effigies of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) are seen at anti-regime rallies in Washington on March 8, 2019. (AFP)
Effigies of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) are seen at anti-regime rallies in Washington on March 8, 2019. (AFP)
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Iran Opposition Protests in Washington for Regime Change

Effigies of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) are seen at anti-regime rallies in Washington on March 8, 2019. (AFP)
Effigies of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) are seen at anti-regime rallies in Washington on March 8, 2019. (AFP)

Hundreds of people protested in Washington Friday against Iran, demanding a change in its regime and denouncing its "atrocity toward the people".

Protesters waved Iranian flags as they chanted for "regime change now" -- with some holding portraits of Maryam Rajavi, leader of the People's Mujahedin, an Iranian opposition group banned in the country, reported AFP.

"The regime inside Iran is doing so much atrocity toward the people. Iran whole has been destroyed by this regime," said Michael Passi, an Iranian-American engineer.

"There are a lot of executions, a lot of tortures and a lot of export of terrorism by this regime," he alleged.

"We want separation of religion and the state," added Mina Entezari, an Arizona-based designer who was a political prisoner in Iran for seven years. "We want freedom for people."

The administration of US President Donald Trump consistently blasts a lack of freedoms in Iran and its "destabilizing" influence on the Middle East.

A firm adversary of Tehran, he has re-implemented harsh economic sanctions -- but Washington insists it is not pushing for regime change, only a change to Iran's policy in areas including missile development and support for militant groups.

"I'm 100 percent behind President Trump's policy," Passi said. "The only language that this Iranian regime understands is a language of force."

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Iran Says Strait of Hormuz will Remain Closed Until its Conditions Are Met

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Iran Says Strait of Hormuz will Remain Closed Until its Conditions Are Met

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Iran will not ​reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are ‌met ‌and ​US ‌commitments are ⁠implemented, ​parliament speaker ⁠Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday according to ⁠the semi-official ‌Fars ‌news ​agency.

Iran ‌must ‌both fight and negotiate, Ghalibaf said, ‌adding that Tehran would use military ⁠force ⁠to push back its enemies and diplomacy to consolidate battlefield gains when ​the ​time is right.

His comments came as US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday.

There was no explanation from the administration why Trump was no longer returning on Sunday from Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, as had been previously announced.

World

Seoul: NKorea Fires Ballistic Missile Into East Sea

People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
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Seoul: NKorea Fires Ballistic Missile Into East Sea

People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Sunday, South Korea's military said, days after Pyongyang reaffirmed its status as a nuclear-armed state.

The launch came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea -- also called the Sea of Japan -- as part of what it later described as a joint firepower drill.

It also followed Pyongyang's rejection this week of a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog demanding that it halt its nuclear activities.

"Our military detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea at around 3:00 pm (0600 GMT)," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, according to AFP.

The military said it had stepped up surveillance and vigilance for possible additional launches, while South Korea, the United States and Japan were "closely sharing information" on the missile.

The office of the Japanese prime minister also confirmed the launch, saying on X that the projectile was a "suspected ballistic missile".

Japan's defense ministry later said the projectile had "already fallen", without giving further details.

South Korea's presidential National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting following the launch to review Seoul's response and assess the launch's impact on national security, the presidential office said.

The government called on Pyongyang to "immediately cease" its ballistic missile launches, describing Sunday's firing as a "grave act" that violated UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea accused "hostile forces" of seeking to end the country's nuclear program during this week's General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A foreign ministry spokesperson said the IAEA resolution "has no effect on the DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state", using the acronym for North Korea's official name.

North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state, with its leadership declaring the country's atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, recently said the country's nuclear-armed status was "absolute", and called those hoping for its denuclearization "idiots".

US President Donald Trump said in August that North Korea possessed 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, while South Korea has put the figure at between 80 and 120.

World

2 Dead in Mass Drone Barrage on Moscow Aiming to 'Disrupt' Russia's Elections

Emergency services personnel stand around the body of a victim killed in what authorities described as a Ukrainian drone strike on a residential building, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Sofyino settlement in the Ramensky district of the Moscow region, Russia, September, 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Emergency services personnel stand around the body of a victim killed in what authorities described as a Ukrainian drone strike on a residential building, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Sofyino settlement in the Ramensky district of the Moscow region, Russia, September, 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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2 Dead in Mass Drone Barrage on Moscow Aiming to 'Disrupt' Russia's Elections

Emergency services personnel stand around the body of a victim killed in what authorities described as a Ukrainian drone strike on a residential building, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Sofyino settlement in the Ramensky district of the Moscow region, Russia, September, 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Emergency services personnel stand around the body of a victim killed in what authorities described as a Ukrainian drone strike on a residential building, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Sofyino settlement in the Ramensky district of the Moscow region, Russia, September, 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Hundreds of drones targeting Moscow and its surrounding region killed at least two people and damaged a major refinery on the final day of the country's parliamentary elections, the authorities said Sunday.

The capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that more than 1,600 drones had been intercepted and shot down, 450 of which were aimed at Moscow.

He accused Ukraine of attempting to interfere with a tightly controlled three-day election that is set to tighten President Vladimir Putin's 26-year grip on power.

"The unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed," he said on Telegram, according to AFP.

Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on the social media platform that at least two people were killed -- a 44-year-old woman and an elderly man -- in two separate locations.

A fire triggered by a drone crashing into a 21-storey building also led to 400 people being evacuated, Vorobyov said. He did not specify the drones' origin.

The attacks come at a time when Kyiv stepped up its long-range drone strike campaign against Russia in recent months, particularly against energy infrastructure to target a vital source of the Kremlin's revenue to fund its war effort, now in its fifth year.

"A facility on the territory of the Moscow Oil Refinery has been damaged, Sobyanin added, noting that no casualties had been reported so far and that emergency services were on the scene.

This major refinery has already been hit by Ukrainian strikes in recent months.

The latest strike comes after US President Donald Trump said Monday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy facilities.

It also comes after Russians began voting on Friday in the country's first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, setting off a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands.