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Shervin Hajipour sentenced for ‘inciting and provoking people to riot to disturb national security’An Iranian pop singer whose song became an anthem during mass protests more than a year ago has been sentenced to at least three years in prison.Shervin Hajipour, 26, wrote and published Baraye during nationwide demonstrations triggered by Mahsa Amini’s death in custody in September 2022. Continue reading...

Turnout of 38.5% or less predicted despite moves to make voting easier and allow more candidatesA majority of Iran’s angry and disillusioned electorate are predicted to stay away from parliamentary elections on Friday, viewing the process as a masquerade of democracy intended to give legitimacy to a regime that has failed to deliver on living standards, the environment and personal freedom.In repeated speeches, the...

Safa Aeli was charged with taking part in protests that erupted following death of 22-year-old after her arrest for allegedly flouting strict dress rules for womenThe uncle of Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian-Kurdish woman whose death in custody sparked months of protests, has been sentenced to more than five years in jail for his criticism of the government in 2022, rights groups have said.Safa...

Militants fired missiles at Greek-owned ship, says US military, in strike that raises questions over who Houthis are trying to targetIran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen have carried out their first attack in the Red Sea in six days, firing at an Iran-bound grain cargo ship, the US military has said, in a strike that raises questions about the group’s targeting.The lull in attacks on...

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei supported Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel, which Meta said violated its policiesMeta has removed Instagram and Facebook accounts run on behalf of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following criticism over his support for Hamas after the group’s 7 October attack on Israel that sparked the months-long war still raging in the Gaza Strip, the company confirmed on Friday.Meta, based...

EU diplomat Johan Floderus’s sister calls on Sweden to start speaking up loudly to demand his releaseThe family of a Swedish EU diplomat imprisoned in Iran for more than 663 days fear he will be given a death sentence or life imprisonment within the coming days after prosecutors sought the maximum sentence in his case.“I ask how can this be happening? He is my...

US secretary of state to fly to Cairo after meeting Saudi crown prince as UN reports increase in Israeli strikes on southern former ‘safe’ city of Rafah US-backed Kurdish fighters killed in drone strike on US base in SyriaFrench diplomat to review UNRWA after claims of staff role in Hamas attackAt least 27,585 Palestinians have been killed and 66,978 wounded in Israeli strikes on...

Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iranian-backed militia, claims attack after at least six fighters killedAt least six US-backed Kurdish fighters have been killed in a drone strike on a US base in eastern Syria. The attack was claimed by an Iranian-backed militia that was the target of US airstrikes on Friday.The deaths are the latest indicator of how conflict is seeping across the Middle...

Whitney Wright, who is known for her criticism of Israel, posed at defunct American embassy in Tehran observing Islamic dress codeAn American pornography actor has faced accusations of promoting propaganda for Iran’s government after boasting on social media about a trip to the Islamic republic.Iranian authorities have denied being behind the visit by Whitney Wright, saying she was issued a visa like any other...

Both banks deny helping Tehran-controlled oil firm PCC to move money in breach of sanctionsTwo of the UK’s largest lenders, Santander UK and Lloyds Banking Group, allegedly held bank accounts for front companies that helped Iranian entities evade US sanctions, according to reports.The news has rattled investors, who sold off shares in the two banks on Monday morning, amid fears that the lenders could...

Iran-backed group says airstrikes ‘will not deter us’ after targets hit following continued Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red SeaRead all our Middle East coverageIran has denounced the latest US and UK strikes on targets in Yemen saying they “contradict” their declared intention of avoiding a wider Middle East conflict, AFP reports.These attacks are “in clear contradiction with the repeated claims of Washington...

Joint operation to further disable militias follows attacks on US and international interests amid war in GazaThe United States and Britain struck at least 30 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday in another wave of assaults meant to further disable Iran-backed groups that have attacked US and international interests in response to the Israel-Hamas war.Ships and fighter jets on Saturday launched strikes against the...

Defence secretary says third joint UK-US assault on Iran-backed group is to protect lives and ‘preserve freedom of navigation’The UK has joined the US for a third time in conducting a wave of airstrikes on Iran-linked Houthi targets in Yemen.The defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said the fresh assaults were “not an escalation”, but instead were designed to “protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of...

The carefully planned raids were the largest yet against Iran’s proxies and are likely to continue until threats to US personnel are neutralisedMiddle East crisis – live updatesUS retaliation, when it came, was broad and deep, and telegraphed five days in advance.The White House, the Pentagon and state department had spent the best part of a week talking about the response to Sunday’s drone...

Strikes expected to take place in Syria and possibly Iraq, after three US soldiers were killed at a base in JordanMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US has ordered a series of reprisal strikes to be launched over more than one day against an Iranian-backed militia, the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said.Austin said all drones in the region attacking the US were...

The US military says it also hit up to 10 unmanned drones that were preparing to launchIsraeli media reports that Hamas representatives are again conducting talks in Cairo on the outlines of a possible hostage deal, with Egypt and Qatar mediating.Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that two Palestinian men have been shot and wounded overnight by Israeli security forces during a raid on the...

Head of Islamic Revolutionary Guards defiant as US prepares ‘very consequential response’ to drone attack on Jordan baseThe head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards has said the country is not afraid of war with the US, as the Pentagon weighs how directly to respond to the killing of three US military personnel in a drone attack in Jordan.The IRGC commander-in-chief, Maj Gen Hossein Salami,...

Proposed truce is the most serious peace initiative to be tabled for months; Iran reacts after Biden says he has decided on response to Jordan drone strikeOvernight the US central command reported that Yemen’s Houthis fired one anti-ship cruise missile towards the Red Sea, which was shot down by USS Gravely.The attack was at 11.30pm local time. Continue reading...

Tehran warns Washington but regime unsure of degree of support for interventionist foreign policyIran has told the US via intermediaries that if it strikes Iranian soil directly, Tehran will itself hit back at American assets in the Middle East, drawing the two sides into a direct conflict.The warning comes as Iran waits on high alert to see how Joe Biden responds to the death...

Iran-backed militia Washington blamed for attack announces it has suspended anti-US operationsJoe Biden has said he has decided how to respond to a drone strike in northern Jordan which killed three American soldiers and wounded dozens more, as the Iran-backed militia that Washington blamed for the attack said it had suspended anti-US operations.As Washington pondered its response, Kataib Hezbollah announced the suspension of all...

Lloyd Austin says president ‘will not tolerate attacks on US forces’, but Qatar warns that reprisal attacks could undermine Israel hostage talksSee all our Middle East coverageUS defense secretary Lloyd Austin has vowed to take “all necessary actions” to defend US troops after Iran-backed militants killed three US troops and wounded dozens more in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan.“The president...

The group that claimed responsibility for deadly attack on US military base in north-east JordanMiddle East crisis – live updatesThree US service personnel were killed and dozens wounded after a drone hit a military outpost in Jordan, known as Tower 22, which lies on the border with Iraq and Syria. The US president, Joe Biden, has blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack and said:...

Iranian backed militia took credit for attack that injured 34 troops and killed first US soldiers since start of Gaza conflictThe spectre of a direct US-Iranian military conflict drew closer on Sunday when the US president Joe Biden announced three US servicemen had been killed and more than 34 injured following a drone attack on a US service base on the border of Jordan...

Former president’s exclusion from group likely to choose next supreme leader angers reformistsThe Iranian regime has taken its crackdown on any internal opposition into a new phase by disqualifying the reformist former president Hassan Rouhani from seeking re-election to the assembly of experts, the body that chooses the country’s supreme leader.Reformists reacted angrily on Thursday to the regime-controlled guardian council’s announcement. The 88 assembly...