Iran freed a Belgian aid worker imprisoned in Tehran for 455 days on charges of spying, in exchange for Belgium releasing a former Iranian diplomat who was convicted in 2021 of a thwarted bomb plot, officials from both countries said on Friday. The aid worker, Olivier Vandecasteele, was flown late Thursday from Tehran to Muscat, […]
Tag: Iran
Iran Releases 2 French Citizens From Detention
Two French citizens detained by Iran were released on Friday on humanitarian grounds and made their way back to France, according to French and Iranian authorities. One of the men, Benjamin Brière, a 38-year-old French tourist, had been held for three years. The other, Bernard Phelan, a 64-year-old French-Irish travel consultant, was arrested in October […]
In U.S.-Led Iraq War, Iran Was the Big Winner
If visitors to Baghdad knew nothing of Iraqi politics, they could be forgiven for thinking that the trim-bearded, green-uniformed man whose larger-than-life photo is everywhere in the Iraqi capital was Iraq’s president. Along the boulevard that tracks the Tigris River and inside the Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government, the likeness of Maj. Gen. […]
A NATO Minnow Reels From Cyberattacks Linked to Iran
TIRANA, Albania — Customers at one of Albania’s biggest banks got a shock shortly before Christmas when a curt text popped up on their cellphones: “Your account has been blocked. The balance of your account is zero. Thank you.” The messages, which turned out to be fake, signaled the opening of a disruptive new front […]
Their Hair Long and Flowing or in Ponytails, Women in Iran Flaunt Their Locks
An engineer strode onstage at an event in Tehran, wearing tight pants and a stylish shirt, and clutching a microphone in one hand. Her long brown hair, tied in a ponytail, swung freely behind her, uncovered, in open defiance of Iran’s strict hijab law. “I am Zeinab Kazempour,” she told the convention of Iran’s professional […]
Iran Executes Alireza Akbari, Ex-Official Accused of Spying
Iran has executed Alireza Akbari, a former deputy defense minister and a dual British citizen, on charges of espionage for the British spy agency, the judiciary said early Saturday, in what appeared to be the first execution in decades of a high-profile Iranian official or dual citizen, and a move likely to raise tensions with […]
Iran Executes 2 Men Arrested in Protests
Iran on Saturday hanged two men, a 22-year-old national karate champion and a 39-year-old poultry worker, who participated in antigovernment demonstrations and whose executions were condemned as a ploy by the government to use violence and sow fear to crush the protests. The men, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, the karate champion, and Sayed Mohammad Hosseini, the […]
Here Are the People Iran Sentenced to Death in Its Protest Crackdown
They are a doctor, a rapper, a karate champion, a barber and an actor, sons, grandsons and fathers. They are among the 13 people Iran has hurriedly sentenced to death in its campaign to quash the monthslong uprising against the Islamic Republic. In December, two men were hanged in quick succession, the second from a […]
Soccer Star Says His Family Stopped From Leaving Iran for Supporting Protests
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A prominent former soccer player in Iran who has expressed support for anti-government protests said his wife and daughter were prevented from leaving the country on Monday after their plane made an unannounced stopover en route to Dubai. Ali Daei, who had his own passport briefly confiscated earlier this year, […]
Iran Ousted From UN Women’s Rights Agency in US-backed Vote
Iran was kicked out of the United Nations women’s agency on Wednesday in a U.S.-led vote that comes months into Tehran’s brutal crackdown on an uprising organized by women and young people demanding the end of the Islamic Republic’s rule. The resolution, backed by 29 members of the U.N. Economic and Social Council, was the […]