400 Protesters Jailed over Tehran Protests

Iranian women protest in New York against executions in their home country. AFP
Iranian women protest in New York against executions in their home country. AFP
TT
20

400 Protesters Jailed over Tehran Protests

Iranian women protest in New York against executions in their home country. AFP
Iranian women protest in New York against executions in their home country. AFP

Courts in Tehran have sentenced 400 people to jail terms of up to 10 years over their involvement in protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death, AFP quoted Iran's judiciary as saying Tuesday.

Iran has been gripped by nearly three months of protests -- which officials describe as "riots" -- since the death of Amini after her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's dress code for women.

"In hearings on cases of rioters in Tehran province, 160 people were sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison, 80 people to two to five years and 160 people of up to two years," Tehran's judiciary chief Ali Alghasi-Mehr said, quoted by the judiciary's Mizan Online website.

Tehran has drawn widespread international condemnation after executing two men in the past week in connection with the unrest.

Majidreza Rahnavard and Mohsen Shekari, both 23, were hanged on Monday and Thursday respectively on the charges of "moharebeh.”

Prior to the two executions, Iran's judiciary said it had issued death sentences to 11 people over the protests, but campaigners say around a dozen others face charges that could see them also receive the death penalty.

Since September 16 when the protests broke out, thousands of people have been arrested. Iran's top security body said on December 3 that more than 200 people had been killed in the unrest.



Huge Dust Storm Sweeps Into Iran, Affecting Millions

Vehicles drive past an anti-Israel banner showing numerous locations in Israel as a Yemeni dagger (jambiya) with writing in Farsi reading: "All targets are within range, Yemeni missiles for now!", and in Hebrew "All targets are within reach, we will choose", at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Vehicles drive past an anti-Israel banner showing numerous locations in Israel as a Yemeni dagger (jambiya) with writing in Farsi reading: "All targets are within range, Yemeni missiles for now!", and in Hebrew "All targets are within reach, we will choose", at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
TT
20

Huge Dust Storm Sweeps Into Iran, Affecting Millions

Vehicles drive past an anti-Israel banner showing numerous locations in Israel as a Yemeni dagger (jambiya) with writing in Farsi reading: "All targets are within range, Yemeni missiles for now!", and in Hebrew "All targets are within reach, we will choose", at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Vehicles drive past an anti-Israel banner showing numerous locations in Israel as a Yemeni dagger (jambiya) with writing in Farsi reading: "All targets are within range, Yemeni missiles for now!", and in Hebrew "All targets are within reach, we will choose", at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian authorities ordered schools and offices closed in seven western provinces Tuesday as a dust storm swept in from neighboring Iraq, with around 13 million people told to stay indoors.

Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Ilam and Kurdistan provinces were all affected, and state television cited local officials as blaming the closures on high levels of accumulated dust, AFP reported.

Government and private offices also shut in several provinces including Kermanshah and Ilam, as well as Khuzestan in the southwest.

Zanjan in the northeast and Bushehr in the south were also hit.

Bushehr, nearly 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) south of Tehran, was given an Air Quality Index of 108 on Tuesday, rated "poor for sensitive groups".

That figure is more than four times higher than the concentration of air microparticles deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization.

Iran's meteorological authorities said the conditions were caused by "the movement of a large mass of dust from Iraq towards western Iran".

State television reported low visibility in some areas and urged residents to remain inside and to wear face masks if they had to go out.

Last month, a similar dust storm in Iraq grounded flights and sent thousands of people to hospital with breathing problems.

On Monday, Iran's IRNA state news agency reported that more than 240 people in Khuzestan province had been treated for respiratory issues because of the dust.