Iranian Killed at Memorial for Slain Protesters

A person holds a placard showing late Iranian woman Mahsa Amini with a message reading "woman, life, freedom" outside the Iranian embassy in Rome, Italy, 10 December 2022, following the execution of a protester in Iran. (EPA)
A person holds a placard showing late Iranian woman Mahsa Amini with a message reading "woman, life, freedom" outside the Iranian embassy in Rome, Italy, 10 December 2022, following the execution of a protester in Iran. (EPA)
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Iranian Killed at Memorial for Slain Protesters

A person holds a placard showing late Iranian woman Mahsa Amini with a message reading "woman, life, freedom" outside the Iranian embassy in Rome, Italy, 10 December 2022, following the execution of a protester in Iran. (EPA)
A person holds a placard showing late Iranian woman Mahsa Amini with a message reading "woman, life, freedom" outside the Iranian embassy in Rome, Italy, 10 December 2022, following the execution of a protester in Iran. (EPA)

Iran's security forces fired on a crowd in the Kurdish-populated west on Saturday, killing a 22-year-old, a rights group said, more than 100 days after the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini sparked nationwide protests. 

The country has been rocked by demonstrations since Amini died in custody on September 16 following her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women. 

Norway-based human rights group Hengaw said the man was killed in a cemetery in the city of Javanroud as residents marked the end of a 40-day mourning period for slain protesters. 

Security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas, killing Borhan Eliasi and wounding eight others, Hengaw said, in a report that could not be independently verified. 

Two of those wounded were said to be in critical condition. 

Activists have used social media to call for gatherings in Tehran and other cities to protest the worsening economic situation. 

The sanctions-hit country replaced its central bank chief on Thursday, state media said, after the rial shed nearly a third of its value on the parallel market in the past two months. 

US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported small gatherings in the capital and the central cities of Isfahan and Najafabad, sharing videos of protesters chanting anti-regime slogans. AFP was unable to immediately verify the footage. 

On Friday, hundreds took to the streets of the southeastern city of Zahedan, which has seen weekly protests since the security forces killed more than 90 people in the city on September 30, in what has been dubbed "Bloody Friday". 

Footage shared by protest monitor 1500tasvir and verified by AFP shows the crowd in the Sistan-Baluchistan provincial capital chanting "Death to the dictator", taking aim at Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. 

Sistan-Baluchistan, an impoverished province on Iran's border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, had been the site of often deadly violence even before protests erupted over Amini's death.  

At least 14,000 people have been arrested since the nationwide unrest began, the United Nations said last month. HRANA has put the figure at 19,000.  

Retrial for death row inmate 

Iranian officials say hundreds of people have been killed in the unrest, including members of the security forces, and thousands arrested.  

In an updated death toll issued Tuesday, Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said 476 protesters have been killed so far.  

Earlier in December, Iran executed two people in connection with the protests.  

The judiciary's Mizan Online news website reported that the supreme court has ordered the retrial of a third death row inmate sentenced over the nationwide protests.  

Foreign-based rights groups had reported Sahand Nourmohammad-Zadeh was sentenced to death for tearing down street railings and setting fire to rubbish bins and tyres.  

Mizan said the 26-year-old had been granted a retrial.  

"The appeal against the decision issued by a Tehran Revolutionary Court was upheld in the Supreme Court," a statement said, adding that Nourmohammad-Zadeh's case had been referred to a different court to be tried again.  

His lawyer, Hamed Ahmadi, told the ILNA news agency on December 21 that Nourmohammad-Zadeh had been sentenced to death after being convicted of the religious law offense of "moharebeh", or "enmity against God".  

Nourmohammad-Zadeh is the third person reportedly on death row to be granted a retrial after Kurdish rapper Saman Seydi, also known as Saman Yasin, and Mahan Sadrat.  

Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged in public on December 12 after being sentenced to death by a court in Iran's second city Mashhad for killing two members of the security forces with a knife.  

Four days earlier, Mohsen Shekari, also 23, was executed for wounding a member of the security forces.  

The judiciary has said nine others have been sentenced to death, while IHR said this week that dozens of protesters face charges that can carry the death penalty. 



Return to US-Iran Hostilities Is Huge Setback for Civilians, UN Rights Chief Says

An aircraft prepares to land aboard the USS George H.W. Bush, at an unknown location, released July 14, 2026, in this still image taken from a handout video. US Central Command (CENTCOM)/Handout via Reuters
An aircraft prepares to land aboard the USS George H.W. Bush, at an unknown location, released July 14, 2026, in this still image taken from a handout video. US Central Command (CENTCOM)/Handout via Reuters
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Return to US-Iran Hostilities Is Huge Setback for Civilians, UN Rights Chief Says

An aircraft prepares to land aboard the USS George H.W. Bush, at an unknown location, released July 14, 2026, in this still image taken from a handout video. US Central Command (CENTCOM)/Handout via Reuters
An aircraft prepares to land aboard the USS George H.W. Bush, at an unknown location, released July 14, 2026, in this still image taken from a handout video. US Central Command (CENTCOM)/Handout via Reuters

The United Nations human rights chief said on Tuesday the resumption of hostilities between the United States and ‌Iran was ‌a huge ‌setback ⁠for civilians in ⁠the region, and he urged restraint.

"The return to wider hostilities in the ⁠Middle East ‌between the ‌US and Iran ‌is a huge ‌setback for civilians in the region and beyond. It undermines ‌peace efforts and deepens instability, with grave ⁠risks ⁠for human rights across the entire region," the UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

Iran fired missiles at Jordan and Bahrain on Tuesday after the United States launched a five-hour attack on Iranian targets, stepping up a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz that has pushed up oil prices to four-week highs.

US forces carried out waves of attacks for the third night in a row after Tehran said it had closed the strait, prompting US President Donald Trump to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping.

Iran hit back by attacking a Jordan with ballistic missiles while Bahrain said it had fended off an Iranian aerial attack. Jordan said it had shot down four ballistic missiles and explosions were heard in Manama, Bahrain's capital.

The worsening attacks have increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month will lead to a permanent halt in the war, which has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fears of a rise in inflation globally.


Netanyahu Says Israel Will Deliver ‘Decisive Blow’ if Iran Attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Deliver ‘Decisive Blow’ if Iran Attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to strike powerfully against Iran if it staged a new attack on his country.

"I will say it to the leaders of Iran: Do not count on things remaining quiet if you attack us," Netanyahu said at a conference in Dimona.

The southern town hosts a facility officially dedicated to nuclear research but is widely believed to house Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal.

"The days are over when someone strikes us and we don't hit back with a decisive blow," Netanyahu added.

He said the strikes would be more powerful than the ones carried out jointly with key ally the United States earlier this year.

"Do not count on a rerun," Netanyahu said, referring to the previous attacks on Iran, according to a video released by his office.

"Because it will not be a rerun, and that was already powerful enough. This will be a different event, much more powerful."

Netanyahu's threat came amid new US strikes on Iran and as US President Donald Trump vowed to reimpose a blockade on Iranian ports.

US strikes on Tuesday also hit the Iranian port city of Bushehr, which hosts Tehran's only civilian nuclear plant.

In retaliation to US strikes that began three days ago, Iran has launched missiles targeting US allies in the region.


Trump Steps Back from Proposal for Hormuz Fees

 A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Steps Back from Proposal for Hormuz Fees

 A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump stepped back from a proposal to charge a 20% fee to guard the Strait of Hormuz as part of the conflict with Iran, saying on Tuesday he would instead seek investment deals in the region.

US forces had carried out waves of attacks for ‌the third night ‌in a row after Tehran said it had ‌closed ⁠the strait, prompting Trump ⁠on Monday to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping and propose the fee.

But just a little under five hours before the fee had been due to come into effect at 2000 GMT, Trump said the strait was open to all shipping traffic except that of Iran.

Oil futures prices pared their ‌gains after the post after rising earlier on Tuesday.

The worsening attacks had increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month would lead to a permanent halt in the war, which has disrupted global energy supplies ‌and raised fears of a rise in inflation globally.

Iran had hit back by attacking ⁠Jordan with ballistic missiles while Bahrain said it had fended off an Iranian aerial attack. Jordan said it had shot down four ballistic missiles and explosions were heard in Manama, Bahrain's capital.

Before the war, about a fifth of global oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily. If the US were to impose a 20% fee, it could generate around $240 million a day.

The UN shipping agency said it opposed any fees for straits used in international navigation and that there was no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.