Calls for Civil Disobedience in Iran

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Calls for Civil Disobedience in Iran

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

Demonstrations were renewed in several Iranian cities with increasing pressure on authorities to release the detainees amid calls for civil disobedience.

Protesters called for extensive participation to commemorate the mid-Nov 2019 protests, and schoolgirls made a "national appeal" to gather and participate in the three-days marches starting Tuesday.

Students of several universities continued their two-month protest movement, with several strikes at the Sharif University of Technology, the Tehran University of Art, and Al-Zahra University.

Students carried on with their protest and demanded the release of their detained colleagues and political prisoners.

A video circulated on social media showed a march at Qazvin University in support of activist Hossein Ronaghi, whose health has deteriorated in Evin Prison.

Hasan, Ronaghi's brother, said Hussien was transferred to Dey General Hospital. He called on Iranians to gather in front of the hospital to prevent security forces from moving him back to prison.

Ronaghi has been on a hunger strike since his arrest on Sept. 24 during the protests fueled by Mahsa Amini's death.

On Monday, the Iranian judiciary said that Ronaghi was taken to hospital and his health was "stable," denying claims that he had been physically injured before the hospitalization.

"Ronaghi's general state of health is stable, and he will soon be released from the hospital," according to AFP, citing the Iranian judiciary website, Mizan.

The website noted that authorities decided to send him to a hospital outside the prison to avoid any possible deterioration in his clinical condition and for him to receive additional treatment.

Later, Mizan published a photo of Ronaghi's meeting with his mother at the hospital. Reports said that the authorities allowed his parents to enter the hospital to visit him and check his condition.

The family reported that Ronaghi's kidneys had developed hydronephrosis due to the hunger strike and that he could not walk because his leg was broken during detention.

According to his brother, Ronaghi also began refusing water on Saturday in protest of the authorities' refusal to release him for treatment.

The activist has previously published articles in newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, criticizing the human rights situation in Iran.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization expressed concern over reports of Ronaghi's deteriorating health.

Director of the organization Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said that Ronaghi's life was in great danger, adding that Iranian officials, especially Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, bear the responsibility for the safety of detainees.

Video also emerged on social media showing the moment Mehdi Hazrati, 17, was shot by security forces in Karaj during a march on Nov. 03 when mourners were paying tribute to Hadis Najafi at the cemetery to mark 40 days after she was killed in the city.

The head of the judiciary in Alborz described the incident as "suspicious," noting that the security personnel at the scene were not carrying firearms.

Meanwhile, an Iranian official in Khorasan announced the death of a Basij security force member during the unrest.

The French Press Agency said that the Basij member was shot by "rioters and anti-revolutionary elements" while he checked their identification cards in Mashhad.

Iranian authorities have adopted various tactics to quell the protests, which have become one of the country's most significant challenges since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Security forces used live ammunition, tear gas, and paintballs.

Iran accused the Western countries of orchestrating the protest. The UK, Canada, the EU, and the US imposed sanctions on Tehran over its human rights violations.

The activist HRANA news agency said 341 protesters had been killed in the unrest, including 52 minors. Thirty-nine members of the security forces had also been killed, while nearly 15,820 have been detained in 140 cities, it said.

Meanwhile, the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations (CCITTA) called for an expansion of strikes and civil disobedience, calling on citizens to refrain from paying water, electricity, and gas bills.

The committee criticized 43 years of "self-punishment" imposed by the authority and blamed it for the "artificial inflation."

The statement noted that 70 percent of the Iranian people live below the poverty line.



At Least 7 Killed in Ukraine after Moscow Launches Drone Attack

A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Ausloos
A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Ausloos
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At Least 7 Killed in Ukraine after Moscow Launches Drone Attack

A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Ausloos
A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Ausloos

At least seven people were killed after Russia launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine overnight on Sunday, according to local Ukrainian officials and emergency services.
The attacks, including on the capital, Kyiv, came ahead of ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia in which Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold indirect US-mediated talks on Monday to discuss a pause in long-range attacks targeting energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.
The Ukrainian delegation is expected to meet with US officials in Saudi Arabia a day ahead of the indirect talks, Ukraine's President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine is planning to send technical teams to discuss the details of the partial ceasefire.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he expected “some real progress” at the talks in Saudi Arabia, “particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries, and from that you’ll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire.”
Asked about concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be looking beyond Ukraine and could press further into Europe, even if Russia is awarded territory within Ukraine now, Witkoff said he has been asked his opinion on what Putin’s motives are on a large scale.
“I simply have said that I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War II. In World War II there was no NATO. You have countries that are armed there. I take him at his word in this sense. And I think the Europeans are beginning to come to that belief, too. But it sort of doesn’t matter. That’s an academic issue. ... The agenda is stop the killing, stop the carnage, let’s end this thing.”
Asked whether he was convinced that Putin wanted peace, Witkoff said: “I feel that he wants peace.”
Residential buildings hit by debris Russia launched 147 drones across Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 97, and 25 others didn't reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures. The attacks struck the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa and Donetsk regions, as well as the capital, Kyiv, The Associated Press reported.
Three people, including a 5-year-old child, were killed and 10 others were injured in a drone attack on Kyiv, the city’s military administration said. Extended sounds of explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital in the early hours as the air raid blared for over five hours. Russian drones and debris from shot-down drones, which were flying at lower altitudes to evade air defenses, fell on residential buildings.
Residents in Kyiv surveyed the damage done to their homes and neighborhoods on Sunday morning. Many were disparaging of the upcoming ceasefire talks, pointing to the burned out properties destroyed in the drone attack, saying these were more indicative of Russia’s true intentions.
In an old multistory building on Kyiv’s left bank that was damaged in the overnight attack, Dmytro Zapadnya, 37, said he had no faith in Russia upholding any ceasefire agreement.
“There is no point in signing anything (with Russians), because it will not be worth the cost of paper where you put this signature. Well, the only thing that is not very pleasant is that now the United States seems to have little understanding of our situation,” he said.
Elsewhere, four people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Donetsk region, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said, including three who died in a strike on the frontline town of Dobropillya.
In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy said attacks such as the one in Kyiv were a daily occurrence for Ukraine.
“This week alone, more than 1,580 guided aerial bombs, almost 1,100 strike drones and 15 missiles of various types were used against our people,” he said. “New solutions are needed, with new pressure on Moscow to stop both these strikes and this war.”
Also on Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 29 over the region of Rostov and 20 more over southwestern Astrakhan. In Rostov, one person was killed and a car caught fire due to the Ukrainian drone attack, according to the area’s temporary governor, Yuri Slyusar.
A woman also died in the Russian border village of Novostroyevka-Pervaya in the Belgorod region when a Ukrainian drone hit a car in which she was traveling.
The driver, the woman’s daughter, was also seriously injured in the attack, said local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.