Renewed Protests in Iran’s Restive Southeast, Currency at New Low

People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. (WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. (WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Renewed Protests in Iran’s Restive Southeast, Currency at New Low

People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. (WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. (WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Demonstrators marched in Iran's restive southeast on Friday amid reports on social media that security forces were surrounding a mosque at the center of weekly anti-government rallies.

Anti-government protests have been taking place across Iran since last September's death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini for flouting hijab policy, which requires women to entirely cover their hair and bodies.

"We swear on our comrades' blood to stand strong until the end," hundreds of demonstrators were seen chanting in a video from the flashpoint city of Zahedan posted by the activist news agency HRANA.

Another widely-circulated video purported to show security forces beating and arresting a Baluch man trying to enter the Makki Mosque in Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.

The Baluch minority, estimated to number up to 2 million people, has faced discrimination and repression for decades, according to rights groups. Sistan-Baluchistan, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, is one of Iran's poorest provinces and has seen repeated killings by security forces in recent years.

Zahedan saw one of the deadliest days of protests after Amini's death, with at least 66 people killed in a crackdown there on Sept. 30, Amnesty International said.

As with previous bouts of unrest, authorities appeared to have disrupted internet services on Friday.

"Confirmed: Real-time network data show a significant disruption to internet connectivity in Zahedan, #Iran; the incident comes amid a growing security presence during Friday protests," NetBlocks internet monitor said.

There was no immediate word on state media of Friday's protests. Tehran says the protests are instigated by its foreign enemies.

Meanwhile, Iran's currency continued its slide to hit new lows, weighed by the unrest and Tehran's increased isolation under mounting Western sanctions.

The rial plummeted to a new record low of 539,200 against the US dollar on Friday, compared to 526,500 on Thursday, according to foreign exchange site Bonbast.com, amid reports of new sanctions against Iran.

The US Commerce Department targeted Belarus, Iran and others in its latest response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, imposing export control measures and adding more targets to its entity list.

While the nationwide unrest has diminished in recent weeks, probably because of executions and crackdowns, acts of civil disobedience have continued from anti-government graffiti to unveiled women appearing in public.



Lavrov Says Russia Cannot Agree to Immediate Ukraine Ceasefire Without Knowing What Will Happen Next

30 October 2026, US, Atlanta: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) attends the G20 foreign ministers' meeting chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Atlanta. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
30 October 2026, US, Atlanta: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) attends the G20 foreign ministers' meeting chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Atlanta. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
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Lavrov Says Russia Cannot Agree to Immediate Ukraine Ceasefire Without Knowing What Will Happen Next

30 October 2026, US, Atlanta: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) attends the G20 foreign ministers' meeting chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Atlanta. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
30 October 2026, US, Atlanta: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) attends the G20 foreign ministers' meeting chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Atlanta. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia would not agree ‌to ‌an immediate ceasefire ‌in ⁠Ukraine without knowing ⁠what would happen next.

It would be wiser to ⁠discuss the ‌outlines ‌of the ‌future security architecture ‌in Europe first, and then a ‌ceasefire in Ukraine, Lavrov said, referring ⁠to ⁠the trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi


Iran Calls on US to Meet Its Demands to End War

A drone view shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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Iran Calls on US to Meet Its Demands to End War

A drone view shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)

Iran on Tuesday urged the United States to meet its demands in a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump spoke of "positive momentum" to end their eight-month war.

"The conflict with Iran will not be resolved through military means, nor by intensifying sanctions," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iran's IRNA news agency.

"The only solution is to adopt a language of respect, engage in diplomacy, and address Iran's demands and conditions -- which were outlined in the two-day proposal and remain on the table."

Tehran has proposed reopening Hormuz, which it has blockaded since the start of the war, within two days in return for Washington meeting a raft of conditions.

These include ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending the US counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump, whose Republican party last week lost midterm elections in part due to the war, said on Monday that there was "positive momentum" towards ending the conflict after meeting Qatar's prime minister at the White House.

In a post on social media, Trump reiterated that the US was "locked and loaded" but said further strikes were "quite unlikely".

"We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this conflict, and will ensure that America's interests are at all times protected," Trump said.

Diplomatic efforts, led by Qatar and Pakistan, are underway to find a resolution to the war, which broke out in late February when US-Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

On Tuesday, Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei urged Washington to "surrender" to the Iranian demands.

"The war on Iran has already wrecked the US government. But Washington flails like a desperate gambler. FOLD YOUR HAND. STOP manufacturing FAKE NEWS about imaginary talks," said Rezaei, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a post on X.


Six Held over Deadly Türkiye Steel Blast that Killed 17

The region's governor said the blast was caused by an overhead crane collapsing into a large industrial furnace. Demiroren News AAgency / AFP
The region's governor said the blast was caused by an overhead crane collapsing into a large industrial furnace. Demiroren News AAgency / AFP
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Six Held over Deadly Türkiye Steel Blast that Killed 17

The region's governor said the blast was caused by an overhead crane collapsing into a large industrial furnace. Demiroren News AAgency / AFP
The region's governor said the blast was caused by an overhead crane collapsing into a large industrial furnace. Demiroren News AAgency / AFP

Six people were arrested overnight after a huge blast at a steel plant near the western city of Izmir killed 17 workers, with grieving families waiting Tuesday to receive their loved ones' bodies for burial.

Onlookers said Monday's massive explosion felt like "an earthquake" when it ripped through the HABAS steel factory in Aliaga, a district 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Izmir known for shipbreaking and heavy industry.

Police have so far detained six people in connection with the incident, with Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar warning "the number could rise".

The deadly blast at one of Türkiye's top steel producers also left around a dozen people injured, at least one in critical condition.

Outside the forensic institute in Aliaga, bereaved family members told AFP they had been waiting all night for confirmation that their loved ones had been identified so they could be laid to rest.

"We have been here since yesterday, we're waiting for the DNA results. Since the bodies are in a condition that makes visual identification impossible, the identification process is carried out through DNA analysis," said Turgut Dilek, saying his nephew Ozcan Efe was one of the dead.

Meanwhile, there was no word on the fate of a 40-year-old man who set himself alight outside the factory on Monday evening and was taken to hospital with severe injuries, IHA news agency said.

The man had worked for years as a truck driver at the factory, IHA said, without mention of earlier reports that his brother had died in the blast.

Workers' groups have accused HABAS of a chequered safety record, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday vowed that investigators would get to the bottom of what happened.

Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party -- which said late Monday "not a single party must go unpunished" at the factory -- sent a delegation to visit the families and the injured on Tuesday led by its co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari.

Jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's chief political rival, also demanded accountability.

"Workplace deaths are not fate. The causes of the accident must be fully established, and anyone who was negligent or at fault must be held accountable," he wrote on X.

Izmir governor Suleyman Elban said the explosion happened during "a boiler replacement operation".

Speaking to AFP, 52-year-old worker Yasin Cetiner said the crane had dropped a huge container of molten steel.

"The crane rope broke, and as a result, about 120 tons of liquid steel fell onto the furnace ... (which) caused a hydrogen explosion when it came into contact with the water beneath it," he said.

Contacted by AFP, HABAS declined to respond to any questions.

On Monday, police detained two representatives of a workers' collective outside Aliaga hospital while trying to make a statement about workplace safety issues, a spokesman told AFP.

Workers' groups have called a protest in Aliaga on Tuesday, saying: "STOP this hell of exploitation in which dozens of our comrades have died and hundreds were left disabled because of employers' greed!"