Iran Rejects UN Investigation into Repression of Protests

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani (AFP)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani (AFP)
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Iran Rejects UN Investigation into Repression of Protests

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani (AFP)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani (AFP)

Iran rejected cooperation with the newly-appointed independent UN committee to investigate the country's repression and crackdown on anti-government protests.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that Iran would not cooperate with the political committee set up by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

He stressed that the hasty use of human rights mechanisms and adopting "political and instrumental" approaches toward such issues were "rejected" and failed to contribute to the human rights concept.

Kanaani indicated that Tehran "strongly protested against the interventionist and baseless statements of the German authorities."

The 47 member states of the UNHRC decided during an urgent meeting held at the initiative of Germany and Iceland to appoint a team of investigators to shed light on human rights violations during the protests crackdown in Iran.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk demanded Iran end its "excessive" use of force to quell the protests that erupted after the death of a young Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, while in the custody of the morality police.

In response to the UN move, Iran summoned the German ambassador to protest "interventionist" remarks by German officials and Berlin's key role in holding a UNHRC special session on Iran.

The official IRNA news agency reported that the German ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry after Berlin's initiative to hold the special meeting.

Kanaani said that Iran has evidence of the involvement of Western countries in the protests sweeping the nation.

He added: "We have specific information proving that the US, Western countries, and some US allies have had a role in the protests."

Iran did not announce an official death toll of the protesters.

However, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said that about 50 policemen were killed in the protests since September, in the first official death toll, without disclosing whether this number includes fatalities among the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or not.

Mahabad MP Jalal Mahmoudzadeh said earlier that 105 people were killed during the crackdown launched by the authorities to quell the protests.



Typhoon Podul Slams Into Southern Taiwan, Hundreds of Flights Cancelled 

This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on August 13, 2025 shows waves generated by Typhoon Podul breaking along the coast in Taitung. (AFP)
This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on August 13, 2025 shows waves generated by Typhoon Podul breaking along the coast in Taitung. (AFP)
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Typhoon Podul Slams Into Southern Taiwan, Hundreds of Flights Cancelled 

This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on August 13, 2025 shows waves generated by Typhoon Podul breaking along the coast in Taitung. (AFP)
This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on August 13, 2025 shows waves generated by Typhoon Podul breaking along the coast in Taitung. (AFP)

Typhoon Podul hit Taiwan's sparsely populated southeast coast on Wednesday packing winds of up to 191 kph (118 mph), as a large swathe of southern and eastern parts of the island shut down and hundreds of flights were cancelled.

Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous east coast facing the Pacific.

Podul slammed into the southeastern city of Taitung around 1 p.m. (0500GMT), Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said.

"Destructive winds from typhoon expected. Take shelter ASAP," read a text message alert issued to cellphone users in parts of Taitung early on Wednesday. The alert warned people of gusts above 150 kph (93 mph) in the coming hours.

Nine cities and counties announced the suspension of work and school for Wednesday, including the southern metropolises of Kaohsiung and Tainan. In the capital Taipei, home to Taiwan's financial markets, there were blustery winds but no impact.

Authorities are also working to evacuate those whose homes were damaged by a July typhoon that brought record winds and damaged the electricity grid in a rare direct hit to Taiwan's west coast.

The government said more than 5,500 people had been evacuated ahead of the typhoon's arrival.

All domestic flights were cancelled on Wednesday - 252 in total - while 129 international ones were axed too, the transport ministry said.

Taiwan's two main international carriers China Airlines and EVA Air said their cancellations were focused on routes out of Kaohsiung, with some flights from the island's main international airport at Taoyuan stopped as well.

After making landfall, the storm is expected to hit Taiwan's much more densely populated western coast before heading for China's southern province of Fujian later this week.

As much as 600 mm (24 inches) of rain was forecast in southern mountainous areas over the next few days, the Central Weather Administration said.

More than a year's rainfall fell in a single week this month in some southern areas, unleashing widespread landslides and flooding, with four deaths.