Iranians Protest in Zahedan Despite Tight Security

Demonstrators protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, in Berlin, Germany (File photo: Reuters)
Demonstrators protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, in Berlin, Germany (File photo: Reuters)
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Iranians Protest in Zahedan Despite Tight Security

Demonstrators protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, in Berlin, Germany (File photo: Reuters)
Demonstrators protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, in Berlin, Germany (File photo: Reuters)

Thousands took to the streets in Zahedan Friday despite the checkpoints and roadblocks established by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces and police officers.

Videos from the march showed protesters carrying banners and chanting against the Iranian government.

The military forces designated checkpoints in different areas of Zahedan and outside the homes of Baloch citizens in anticipation of these protests.

Residents complained about the treatment of the military forces, as everyone was interrogated, searched, and forced to show their identity cards.

According to the Iran International website, military forces were also present at some schools, noting that they had been converted into what resembled military bases.

Iran has been witnessing massive protests for months, after the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, on September 16, 2022, at the hands of the "morality police."

Despite pressures and threats, anti-regime Friday protests continued for the fifteenth week in Zahedan.

According to the United Nations, Iran arrested at least 14,000 people during the protests.

The authorities executed four people for their role in the unrest and imposed death sentences on 18 people, sparking widespread international outrage.

The EU will impose new sanctions on 37 Iranian officials and organizations over the crackdown on protests but is still debating listing the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, diplomats said Friday.

Foreign ministers from the bloc will agree to adopt the fourth package of sanctions against Tehran due to its repression of the demonstrators at a scheduled meeting on Monday in Brussels.

The EU imposed sanctions, including freezing assets and a visa ban on more than 60 Iranian officials and entities over the suppression of protests, including the morality police, IRGC commanders, and state media.

However, the EU is still discussing adding the IRGC to the blacklist of terrorist organizations despite calls from Germany and other member states to take this step.

For its part, Iran warned the EU against this move, and European officials fear that it could hinder attempts to revive the 2015 agreement on Tehran's nuclear program, mediated by Brussels.

"I think it's not a good idea because it prevents you from going ahead in other issues," a senior EU official said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said that the EU foreign ministers are expected to agree to impose more sanctions targeting IRGC commanders at their meeting in Brussels on Monday.

Asked at a regular government news conference in Berlin whether sanctions could hamper diplomatic efforts to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, the spokesperson said: "The focus of our policy currently is increasing pressure on the Iranian regime."



Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
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Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa

The true number of Ebola cases in Congo is at least double, and possibly four times, ‌the official tally, ‌the World ‌Health ⁠Organization's emergencies chief said ⁠on Tuesday.

"We think, with some of our support and ⁠modelling, the ‌scale of ‌the outbreak is ‌at least ‌2-4 times the number of cases we are finding," ‌Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director ⁠of ⁠the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, told reporters in Geneva after a visit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Reuters.


Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted five ballistic missiles launched by Russia in a raft of overnight attacks, Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday, though other missiles and drones got through and hit the capital Kyiv.

It was the first time in almost two weeks that Ukraine claimed to have downed Russian ballistic missiles, which are harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles.

Ukrainian air defenses likely used the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that is the most effective way of countering ballistic missiles, but ammunition for it has been in short supply amid the Iran war.

In Kyiv, the attack caused fires at two warehouses, while a school was also damaged, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attack targeted military manufacturing facilities in the Ukrainian capital that produce long-range missiles and drones.

Moscow wants to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages, frustrating the public and, Western analysts say, hindering the Russian army’s advance on the front line inside Ukraine.

Ukraine’s air force said one ballistic missile and 25 drones struck 17 locations, while falling debris was reported in 10 locations.

Ukraine urgently needs to improve its air defense shield as another winter looms. Much of the country is at the mercy of Russian missiles that, since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, have hammered the power grid.

In an important step forward for Kyiv’s air defense effort, nine other countries joined Ukraine in a coalition announced Monday to build a shared ballistic missile shield for Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system.

Zelenskyy was still in Paris on Tuesday where he attended France’s annual Bastille Day celebrations.

President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the US will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot systems itself. However, Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce, so it will be at least a few years before any Ukrainian-made systems are ready to deploy.

Ukraine, meanwhile, kept up its long-range onslaught on Russian targets, especially oil facilities.

In the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, the attack caused a fire at the Afipsky Oil Refinery that was later put out, local authorities said.

Unconfirmed media reports said an oil refinery in the city of Salavat in the Bashkortostan region, some 1,400 kilometers (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was also hit by the attack. Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov confirmed an attack on an industrial area in Salavat, but didn’t specify what was hit.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula and the Azov and the Black seas.


Iran Condemns Britain's Designation of Revolutionary Guards as Security Threat

British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
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Iran Condemns Britain's Designation of Revolutionary Guards as Security Threat

British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo

Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Britain's decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a security threat, calling the ‌move "unjustified" and "irresponsible".

The ‌ministry said ‌the ⁠IRGC was an ⁠official part of Iran's armed forces and accused Britain of violating international law by ⁠targeting a ‌state ‌institution, said Reuters.

Britain on Monday ‌banned support for ‌the IRGC and a linked group under new powers aimed ‌at preventing foreign states from using proxies ⁠for ⁠activities such as surveillance and sabotage.

Iran, which is at war with the United States and Israel, has previously denied using proxies.