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."



US Top Diplomat Rubio, China’s Wang Speak in First Phone Call, China Says

 Newly confirmed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks next to his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio at the State Department in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Newly confirmed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks next to his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio at the State Department in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Top Diplomat Rubio, China’s Wang Speak in First Phone Call, China Says

 Newly confirmed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks next to his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio at the State Department in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Newly confirmed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks next to his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio at the State Department in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi by phone on Friday, China's foreign ministry said, the first call between the two top diplomats since President Donald Trump's administration took office on Monday.

The call is the first publicly disclosed contact between an official in the second Trump administration and a Chinese counterpart.

According to a Chinese foreign ministry readout of the call, the two discussed US-China relations and Taiwan.

Wang told Rubio, a known China hawk, "I hope you would conduct yourself well and play a constructive role in the future of the Chinese and American people and in world peace and stability," according to the readout.

In his Senate confirmation hearing last week Rubio labeled China as the gravest threat facing the United States.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the talks, which come days after Trump said on Wednesday he was considering a 10% duty on Chinese imports because of Beijing’s role in the fentanyl trade.

On Thursday, at a speech to the World Economic Forum, Trump said he was expecting to do "very well" and to get along with China, but his inner circle including Rubio have different views on how to deal with China.

Last week, Xi and Trump agreed on a phone call ahead of the latter's inauguration for a second term, to create a strategic communication channel on "major issues."

During his first term, Trump quickly struck up a relationship with Xi and both men lavishly hosted each other in Florida and Beijing. But that did not stop ties deteriorating into a trade war that unleashed a series of tit-for-tat tariffs and uprooted global supply chains.

According to China's Foreign Ministry, Wang told Rubio that heads of state and China had "pointed out the direction and established the tone for China-US relations."

"The teams of both sides should implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation, promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations, and find the right way for China and the United States to get along in the new era."

Wang also said that China has "no intention of surpassing or replacing anyone, but we must defend our legitimate right to development."

On Taiwan, he said that the island Taiwan has been part of China's territory since ancient times and China would never allow it to be separated from China.

"The United States has made a solemn commitment to pursue the one-China policy in the three Sino-US joint communiques and must not break its promise," Wang said.

"A major power should behave like a major power, should assume its due international responsibilities, should maintain world peace, and should help all countries achieve common development," he added, echoing statements US officials have made about China.