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Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Risks Death Penalty

People hold placards bearing portraits of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (R), who is arrested in Iran, during a rally in support of Iranian women in Istanbul on November 26, 2022. (AFP)
People hold placards bearing portraits of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (R), who is arrested in Iran, during a rally in support of Iranian women in Istanbul on November 26, 2022. (AFP)
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Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Risks Death Penalty

People hold placards bearing portraits of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (R), who is arrested in Iran, during a rally in support of Iranian women in Istanbul on November 26, 2022. (AFP)
People hold placards bearing portraits of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi (R), who is arrested in Iran, during a rally in support of Iranian women in Istanbul on November 26, 2022. (AFP)

The family of an Iranian rapper detained for supporting protests over Mahsa Amini's death said his life was at risk after he went on trial behind closed doors on Saturday.

Iran has intensified a crackdown on the protests sparked by the September 16 death of Amini after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly breaching the country's strict dress code for women.

Toomaj Salehi, well known on Iran's rap scene, was arrested late last month after denouncing the regime and showing support for the protests, human rights groups said.

“Dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi had the first day of his so-called ‘trial’ on Saturday in Tehran without a lawyer of his choice,” the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said on Twitter.

His family tweeted that his “life is at serious risk right now” as he faced charges of “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth” -- sharia-related charges that are capital crimes in Tehran.

Salehi had disappeared at the end of October before appearing in a video published on November 2 by Iran’s state-run media.

The video claimed to show the first images of Salehi after his arrest.

It depicted a blindfold man who introduced himself as Toomaj Salehi and said he made a mistake, AFP reported.

Activists condemned the recording as a forced confession extracted under duress.

Salehi is one of a number of prominent figures to be arrested in a mass crackdown that has seen dozens of journalists, lawyers, civil society and cultural figures arrested.

His detention came shortly after he gave an interview highly critical of the regime to the Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation (CNN).

“You are dealing with a mafia that is ready to kill the entire nation... in order to keep its power, money and weapons,” Salehi said in the interview.

Iranian state media claim Salehi was arrested while trying to cross one of the country’s western borders, but his family have denied this saying he was in the southwestern province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari at the time.

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World

Iran Warns of Domestic Gas Shortages from War This Winter

People walk through the rain near Tehran's traditional main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
People walk through the rain near Tehran's traditional main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
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Iran Warns of Domestic Gas Shortages from War This Winter

People walk through the rain near Tehran's traditional main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
People walk through the rain near Tehran's traditional main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)

Iran's government has ‌warned of worsening internal gas shortages this winter as a result of damage to processing facilities in the war with the United States that could lead to cuts in supply.

"If the level of consumption is high it is possible that gas cuts will occur all over the country including in Tehran," government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in a news conference in Tehran on Tuesday.

Iran, a major oil producer, controls part of the world's biggest natural gas ‌field but has ‌sometimes faced difficulty meeting domestic demand ‌because ⁠of outdated equipment, worsened by ⁠international sanctions. It is now subject to a US blockade of its ports.

The country faced some gas shortages and power cuts even before the conflict that began with a US and Israeli air campaign on February 28, a situation which has now worsened.

Mohajerani forecast a ⁠shortfall of 430 million cubic meters in gas ‌supply this year, compared ‌to about 300 million cubic meters in previous years.

National Iranian Gas ‌Company managing director Saeed Tavakoli said this month there ‌had been damage to four processing plants during the first phase of the conflict early this year, which initially reduced capacity by 230 million cubic meters, of which around 100 million ‌had so far been restored.

Last week the company warned that 11 of Iran's 31 ⁠provinces could ⁠face supply difficulties this winter, naming Mazandaran on the Caspian coast, and Golestan and North Khorasan along Iran's border with Turkmenistan, as most vulnerable.

Political leaders have urged Iranians to use less gas. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on Sunday called on Iranians to cut their gas use by 10% ahead of the winter.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref was cited by state news agency IRNA on Monday as saying gas prices could rise as a result of the reduced supply if consumption was excessive.

World

Iran Slams US’s ‘Repugnant’ $20Mn Reward for Nuclear Info

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on after a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian nuclear negotiations in Geneva, on Feb. 17, 2026. (AFP/Getty Images)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on after a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian nuclear negotiations in Geneva, on Feb. 17, 2026. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Iran Slams US’s ‘Repugnant’ $20Mn Reward for Nuclear Info

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on after a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian nuclear negotiations in Geneva, on Feb. 17, 2026. (AFP/Getty Images)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on after a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian nuclear negotiations in Geneva, on Feb. 17, 2026. (AFP/Getty Images)

Iran hit out at the United States' $20 million reward for information on its nuclear program on Wednesday, calling it "repugnant and regrettable".

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the United Nations' atomic energy agency and the Security Council to condemn the reward, which was announced last week.

Last Friday, the US military said up to $20 million and "possible relocation" were available for information about the program's "facilities, equipment, and associated personnel".

"Iran calls upon the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council, and the Director General of the IAEA to condemn this repugnant announcement explicitly and unequivocally," Araghchi wrote in a letter addressed to all three.

He repeated Iran's insistence that its nuclear program is peaceful.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Iran's nuclear program was effectively obliterated by the brief US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025.

Since that war, Iran has blocked International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from visiting bombed facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

War broke out between Iran and the United States on February 28 when US-Israeli strikes killed the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

During the war's most intense phase, US-Israeli strikes hit Iranian nuclear sites again, but the scale of the damage remains unclear.

Diplomatic efforts, led by Qatar and Pakistan, have been underway to negotiate an end to the war.

Tehran has insisted Washington accepts a raft of demands including unfreezing assets and lifting sanctions in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the vital energy conduit it has blockaded since the start of the conflict.

Araghchi previously said that talks over Iran's nuclear program would come at a later stage.

Iran's nuclear program has been at the center of tensions for years. In 2018, during Trump's first term, the US withdrew from an agreement struck under Barack Obama that aimed to stop it developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.

World

German Military Bans Chinese-Made Drones

Chinese-manufactured EHANG-E216 passenger drone taxi flies over the Colombo Port city during its first test flight in Colombo on November 11, 2026. (AFP)
Chinese-manufactured EHANG-E216 passenger drone taxi flies over the Colombo Port city during its first test flight in Colombo on November 11, 2026. (AFP)
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German Military Bans Chinese-Made Drones

Chinese-manufactured EHANG-E216 passenger drone taxi flies over the Colombo Port city during its first test flight in Colombo on November 11, 2026. (AFP)
Chinese-manufactured EHANG-E216 passenger drone taxi flies over the Colombo Port city during its first test flight in Colombo on November 11, 2026. (AFP)

The German military has banned the use of Chinese-made drones, including for training, and is replacing them with European models, the defense ministry said on Wednesday.

Citing the need for data and IT security, the ministry said that "Chinese-made models will no longer be used ... and existing systems will be replaced by products from domestic or, where applicable, European sources".

News magazine Der Spiegel first reported on the decision, based on worries the drones could transmit data on military exercises, training grounds or weapons systems to Chinese intelligence services.

The ministry said the armed forces, the Bundeswehr, had used "inexpensive, off-the-shelf drones for training purposes", buying them "with minimal bureaucratic effort".

"To strengthen the Bundeswehr's self-sufficiency and technological sovereignty, Chinese-made models will no longer be used for target or training purposes," its statement said.