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."



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!"