Iran Says It Has Proof that Western States Were Involved in Protests

A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iran Says It Has Proof that Western States Were Involved in Protests

A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran has proof that Western nations were involved in protests that have swept the country, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

The protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest for "inappropriate attire", pose one of the strongest challenges to the country's clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Reuters reported.

"We have specific information proving that the US, Western countries and some of the American allies have had a role in the protests," ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani added.



Iran President to Visit Moscow Next Week for Talks with Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenbashi earlier in October. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenbashi earlier in October. (Reuters)
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Iran President to Visit Moscow Next Week for Talks with Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenbashi earlier in October. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenbashi earlier in October. (Reuters)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that President Masoud Pezeshkian will travel to Moscow next week to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as part of ongoing consultations between the two countries regarding bilateral cooperation and regional developments.

Araghchi noted, in a message addressing the recent visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Tehran, that the talks focused on developing political and economic cooperation, implementing joint agreements, and strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Iran and Russia.

The state-run Mehr News Agency quoted Araghchi as saying: "During this visit, we stressed the importance of continuing consultations to protect mutual interests and enhance regional peace and stability. This dialogue and these consultations will continue next week in Moscow in the presence of the presidents of both countries."

Lavrov visited Tehran on Monday, marking his first visit to Iran since the eruption of the war on February 28, where he met with Pezeshkian and Araghchi.

In a joint press conference with Araghchi, he said that Pezeshkian might visit Moscow "in the coming days," without specifying a date.

Lavrov called for a return to the pre-war status quo in the Strait of Hormuz, including the "restoration of freedom of navigation and guarantees against a recurrence of aggression," adding that Russia was ready to search for a way to resolve the crisis.

Russia "has no intention of abandoning the implementation of economic and investment agreements with Iran" despite the "difficult situation," he said, revealing that Russian experts are "gradually returning to the Bushehr nuclear plant".

Trade exchange between Moscow and Tehran grew by 21 percent last year, he added.

Pezeshkian and Putin recently met in Turkmenistan. Putin had informed Pezeshkian in early October of Moscow's readiness to contribute to mediation efforts.


Iran Judiciary Says Chief Holds Rare Meeting with Supreme Leader

 A police officer monitors traffic as he stands under portraits of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran on October 21, 2026. (AFP)
A police officer monitors traffic as he stands under portraits of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran on October 21, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Judiciary Says Chief Holds Rare Meeting with Supreme Leader

 A police officer monitors traffic as he stands under portraits of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran on October 21, 2026. (AFP)
A police officer monitors traffic as he stands under portraits of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran on October 21, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's judiciary said on Saturday that its chief held a rare meeting with the country's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since being appointed.

Mojtaba was chosen in March to succeed his father and longtime ruler Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes in central Tehran alongside senior military commanders at the start of the Middle East war, and was said to have been injured in the same attack.

Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and the supreme leader discussed issues including "securing public rights, and effectively combating corruption and its bottlenecks", the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.

They held talks on "pursuing the recovery of rights and compensation for material and moral damages arising from the crimes of American-Zionist criminals", it said.

The younger Khamenei has only communicated through written messages since his appointment, some of them published in handwriting attributed to him.

No video message from him has been released, and the time and location of his meeting with Ejei were not disclosed, as has been the case with previously reported meetings.

Earlier this week, Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also reportedly met with the supreme leader to discuss "the latest developments" in the war.

President Masoud Pezeshkian was reported to have met Mojtaba Khamenei in May, in what was among the first publicly reported meetings with the new leader.

Ali Abdollahi, then head of the Khatam al-Anbiya command center overseeing Iran's military operations, also met him later.

Abdollahi was subsequently appointed chief of the staff of Iranian armed forces while retaining his previous position.


Trump Votes Early in Florida for US Midterm Elections

 President Donald Trump, left, and first lady Melania Trump listen to a question from a reporter after casting their early-voting ballots for the 2026 midterm elections at the Palm Beach County Library in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP)
President Donald Trump, left, and first lady Melania Trump listen to a question from a reporter after casting their early-voting ballots for the 2026 midterm elections at the Palm Beach County Library in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP)
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Trump Votes Early in Florida for US Midterm Elections

 President Donald Trump, left, and first lady Melania Trump listen to a question from a reporter after casting their early-voting ballots for the 2026 midterm elections at the Palm Beach County Library in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP)
President Donald Trump, left, and first lady Melania Trump listen to a question from a reporter after casting their early-voting ballots for the 2026 midterm elections at the Palm Beach County Library in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP)

US President Donald Trump on Saturday voted early in his home state of Florida for the November 3 midterm elections, in which his Republican Party is battling to maintain control of Congress.

Trump and his wife, Melania, cast their ballots ahead of an appearance by the president at a campaign rally in the southern US state of Georgia.

Trump said he voted party line, or exclusively for members of his Republican Party.

Asked by reporters after voting about corruption as a major issue for voters, Trump insisted that it was happening in districts and cities controlled by Democrats.

"You ought to look at the real corruption -- it's Democrat corruption," he said.

The Republican billionaire, who has consistently refused to accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, baselessly alleging widespread voter fraud, reiterated allegations along those lines Saturday.

"I ran and I won in 2016, and I won in 2020, too, but it didn't work out that way," he said at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office in West Palm Beach. "It was a rigged election, but I won by millions of votes."

With 10 days to go until the midterms, which traditionally favor the party outside the White House, Trump faces dismal polls suggesting the Republicans will lose control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate.

Without a Republican majority in Congress, the 80-year-old president would have little room to push through his legislative agenda during his final two years in office.