Iran

Young Iranian Dies after Self-Immolation in Southwest

A young Iranian man who set himself on fire after the municipal government tried to evict him from his store died of his injuries on Tuesday, official media reported. Ahmad Baledi, 20, had doused himself in petrol and lit himself ablaze on November 2 in Ahvaz, the capital of southwestern Khuzestan province, the newspaper Etemad previously ...

Iranian Actor Homayoun Ershadi, Star of 'Taste of Cherry', Dies Following Cancer Struggle

Iranian actor Homayoun Ershadi died at 78 on Tuesday after a battle with cancer, state news agency IRNA reported. Ershadi rose to international fame with his breakout role in the late Abbas Kiarostami's Palme d'Or-winning Taste of Cherry (1997), which tells the story of a hopeless man looking for someone to bury him after his planned ...

Iraqis Vote in General Election at a Crucial Regional Moment

Iraqis began voting for a new parliament on Tuesday at a pivotal time for the country and the wider region, in an election that both Iran and the United States will be closely watching. Iraq, which has long been a fertile land for proxy wars, has only recently regained a sense of stability, as it tries to move past decades of war since the US-led ...

Stalemate Over Iran’s Nuclear Program Raises Fears of Another War

With negotiations stalled and no clarity over Iran’s nuclear stockpiles, regional experts warn that another conflict with Israel could be inevitable, according to The New York Times in an article published on November 9. The 2015 nuclear deal, designed to limit Iran’s enrichment, expired last month. Sanctions have been reinstated, and ...

US Treasury Aims to Cut Hezbollah’s Funding

The US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, John Hurley, said the United States wants to seize a “favorable moment” in Lebanon to cut Iranian funding to Hezbollah and push the group to disarm. “There is a moment now in Lebanon. If we can get Hezbollah to disarm, the Lebanese people could get their country back,” ...

Tehran to Restrict Water as Iran Battles Drought

Iran was laying plans on Saturday to cut off water supplies periodically to Tehran's 10-million-strong population as it battles its worst drought in many decades. Rainfall in the capital has this year been at its lowest level in a century, local officials say, and half of Iran's provinces have not seen a drop fall in months. Now, to save ...

New U.S. Sanctions Target Hezbollah Financial Intermediaries

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday new sanctions against several individuals accused of transferring tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hezbollah in 2025 through Lebanese money exchange houses. According to the Treasury, these networks exploit Lebanon’s largely cash-based and informal financial system to fund the ...

Has the Countdown for Collapse Started in Iran?

A seismic shift appears to be underway in the Middle East. The tremors so far are faint but detectable, hinting at an upcoming eruption along the region’s geopolitical fault lines. Iran's ruling clerical regime is showing signs of great vulnerability, not just those pointing to potential unrest but also to the beginnings of a systemic collapse. ...

Iran Releases New Details on Ismail Haniyeh’s Killing

Ismail Haniyeh, the former leader of Hamas, was killed by a missile tracked to his mobile phone, according to Iranian officials. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has rejected claims that internal sabotage facilitated the assassination in Tehran. On November 3, Iran released new details on the death of Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas leader killed in ...

French Pair Released after 3-year Iran Jail Ordeal

Iran has released from prison a French pair held for more than three years and sentenced to lengthy jail sentences on espionage charges their families always rejected, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday. Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, both retired teachers, were both on a tourist visit to Iran when they were arrested ...