Iranians Strike in Solidarity with Zahedan's ‘Bloody Friday’

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Iranians Strike in Solidarity with Zahedan's ‘Bloody Friday’

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

Several Iranian cities went on strike in solidarity with the mourners in Sistan-Baluchistan on the border with Pakistan, commemorating the 40th day since the security forces killed dozens of Baloch nationalists during the "Bloody Friday" in Zahedan, the center of Baluchistan.

On Sept. 30, security forces opened fire on protests that erupted after weekly prayers in Zahedan, killing at least 92 and injuring dozens.

Norway-based Hengaw rights group reported widespread strikes were held "in solidarity" with Zahedan in various Kurdish cities.

Earlier, the Cooperation Center of the Iranian Kurdistan Political Parties called for strikes in Kurdistan and condemned the killing of Balochs on Bloody Friday.

It urged citizens to protest and express their solidarity with the families of the dead and victims in Balochistan.

On Tuesday, protesters took to the streets during night marches and chanted against the Supreme Leader and regime.

-Executions and dismissals

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that 328 protesters were killed in the protests, including 50 children, in 137 cities and 136 universities. It noted that 14,823 persons were detained, including 431 students.

The organization indicated that 38 members of the police forces, Basij forces, and security services had been killed in the campaign.

Meanwhile, the Iranian police dismissed the police chief of Balochistan province days after the suppression of protests in Khash, where 16 persons were killed.

Iranian media reported that police chief Hossein Ashtari dismissed the police chief in Balochistan province, Ahmad Taheri, and appointed Mohammad Ghanbari.

Baloch accuses the Iranian authorities of practicing "sectarian and ethnic discrimination" against them.

Over the past years, the Iranian authorities accused the Baloch opposition of being linked to extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, accusations strongly denied by the Baloch opposition.

-Threatening journalists

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Wednesday that the enemies use fabricated warfare to confront a strong and independent Iran.

Also, Iranian Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib warned Britain that it would pay the price for attempts to "destabilize security" in Iran.

In an interview with Khamenei's official website, he added that Iran would never sponsor acts of terrorism and insecurity in other countries, as Britain does, but have no obligation to prevent insecurity in those countries either.

"Therefore, Britain will pay for its actions aimed at making Iran insecure," the minister warned.

Earlier this week, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was accused of threatening two journalists working for the London-based Persian-language Iran International with death.

Volant Media, the London-based broadcaster of Iran International TV, said two of its journalists had been notified by the Metropolitan police that the threats "represent an imminent, credible and significant risk to their lives and those of their families."

Meanwhile, in Paris, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that Iran is systematically trying to silence women's voices, noting that an unprecedented number of female journalists have been arrested since Amini's death.

As the Iranian regime continues its crackdown on the protests initiated by Mahsa Amini's death, almost half of all newly arrested journalists are women, including two facing the death penalty.

The organization called for immediate action to secure their unconditional release.

It indicated that since the start of the protests, at least 42 journalists have been arrested throughout Iran. So far, eight have been released, and 34 are still detained, among them 15 women journalists.



Belgium Joins South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel

A general view of destroyed houses in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 19, 2025. (AFP)
A general view of destroyed houses in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Belgium Joins South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel

A general view of destroyed houses in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 19, 2025. (AFP)
A general view of destroyed houses in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 19, 2025. (AFP)

Belgium on Tuesday joined South Africa in a case brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which accuses Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

The UN's highest court, based in The Hague, said in a statement that Brussels had filed a declaration of intervention.

Several countries including Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, Mexico, Spain and Türkiye have already joined the case.

In December 2023, South Africa brought a case to the United Nations' highest court in The Hague, alleging Israel's Gaza offensive breached the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Israel denies the accusation.

In rulings in January, March and May 2024, the ICJ told Israel to do everything possible to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, including by providing urgently needed humanitarian aid to prevent famine.

These orders are legally binding, but the court has no concrete means to enforce them.

Israel has criticized the proceedings and rejected the accusations.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

The Israeli military's retaliatory campaign has since killed 70,369 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN. The campaign has also displaced the majority of the 2.2 million people in the Palestinian territory.

Belgium was among a string of countries to recognize the State of Palestine in September, a status acknowledged by nearly 80 precent of UN members.


Ex-Aide Says Netanyahu Tasked Him with Making a Plan to Evade Responsibility for Oct. 7 Attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not pictured) after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel, in Jerusalem, December 22, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not pictured) after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel, in Jerusalem, December 22, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ex-Aide Says Netanyahu Tasked Him with Making a Plan to Evade Responsibility for Oct. 7 Attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not pictured) after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel, in Jerusalem, December 22, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not pictured) after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel, in Jerusalem, December 22, 2025. (Reuters)

A former close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, the Israeli leader instructed him to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach.

Former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein, who faces trial for allegedly leaking classified information to the press, made the explosive accusation during an extensive interview with Israel’s Kan news channel Monday night.

Critics have repeatedly accused Netanyahu of refusing to accept blame for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. But little is known about Netanyahu’s behavior in the days immediately following the attack, while the premier has consistently resisted an independent state inquiry.

Speaking to Kan, Feldstein said “the first task” he received from Netanyahu after Oct. 7, 2023, was to stifle calls for accountability.

“He asked me, ‘What are they talking about in the news? Are they still talking about responsibility?’” Feldstein said. “He wanted me to think of something that could be said that would offset the media storm surrounding the question of whether the prime minister had taken responsibility or not.”

He added that Netanyahu looked “panicked” when he made the request. Feldstein said he was later told by people in Netanyahu's close circle to omit the word “responsibility” from all statements.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led fighters killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel then launched a devastating war in Gaza that has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.

Netanyahu’s office called the interview a “long series of mendacious and recycled allegations made by a man with clear personal interests who is trying to deflect responsibility from himself,” Hebrew media reported.

Feldstein’s statements come after his indictment in a case where he is accused of leaking classified military information to a German tabloid to improve public perception of the prime minister following the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August of last year.


Ukraine Says Withdrawn Troops from Eastern Town of Siversk

Ukrainian communal workers clean debris at the site of a Russian drone strike on a five-story residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 December 2025. (EPA)
Ukrainian communal workers clean debris at the site of a Russian drone strike on a five-story residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 December 2025. (EPA)
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Ukraine Says Withdrawn Troops from Eastern Town of Siversk

Ukrainian communal workers clean debris at the site of a Russian drone strike on a five-story residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 December 2025. (EPA)
Ukrainian communal workers clean debris at the site of a Russian drone strike on a five-story residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 December 2025. (EPA)

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the eastern town of Siversk, the General Staff said Tuesday, as Russia doubled down on its recent advances across the lengthy front line.

Russia announced the capture of the city in the heavily embattled Donetsk region almost two weeks ago, when Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov reported the gain to President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The Ukrainian army said that "to preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of our units, Ukrainian defenders have withdrawn from the settlement".

The Russians were helped by "a significant advantage in manpower and equipment" and weather conditions, it added.

The Ukrainian army was still fighting in Siversk's surroundings, and the city remains within the reach of Ukraine's fire, according to Kyiv's General Staff.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine and taking ground from outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces, with some of the fiercest battles taking place in Donetsk.

Putin, emboldened by recent gains, threatened at his year-end press conference last week to take more territory.

The Donetsk region is the key stumbling block in the US-led settlement talks and Ukraine says it is under pressure to cede the remaining part of the region to Russia.

Siversk is located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) east of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the last two major cities still under Ukrainian control in Donetsk -- an industrial and mining region in Moscow's sights.

The town was home to around 11,000 people before the war.

Eastern Ukraine has been ravaged since Russia launched its assault in February 2022, with tens of thousands of people killed and millions forced to flee their homes.