TEHRAN: Iran’s government has warned it will not tolerate any signs of “instability” as the first anniversary nears of the death of Mahsa Amini and the months-long protests it sparked.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died on September 16 last year after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
Her death triggered months of nationwide demonstrations under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
Hundreds of people were killed in street clashes, including dozens of security personnel, before authorities moved to quell what they branded foreign-instigated “riots.”
One year on, no plans for demonstrations have been overtly announced to mark the anniversary of Amini’s death on Saturday, which is also a religious public holiday.
President Ebrahim Raisi issued a warning in a television interview on Tuesday.
“Those who intend to abuse Mahsa Amini’s name under this pretext, to be an agent of foreigners, to create this instability in the country, we know what will happen to them,” he said.
Security services will be vigilant, the deputy head of the judiciary, Sadeq Rahimi, said late last month.
“The intelligence and security agencies are monitoring all the movements and will identify and deliver to judicial authorities those who want to... take to streets in the coming days and create problems,” he warned.
Last week, Iranian authorities shut down at least five social media pages and arrested the six individuals behind them, on accusations they were “organizing riots” for the anniversary.
Last year’s wave of protests posed a major challenge for the Iranian government, which is also at odds with Western powers over its nuclear program and under punishing sanctions.
“No incident in the history of the Islamic republic has driven such a wedge between the system and the people as the death of Mahsa Amini,” said Fayyaz Zahed, a professor of contemporary history.
He said he believes the government “cannot solely rely on security and repressive responses” to contain the issue.
Mohammad Sadegh Javadi-Hessar, a reformist activist based in the northeastern city of Mashhad, said many people “are still traumatized by last year’s events.”
The months-long demonstrations, aside from the bloodshed, also saw thousands of people arrested.
In February, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared the end of the unrest and the defeat of the “plot” fomented by the “enemy,” a reference to the Western governments and Iranian exiled opposition groups that backed the demonstrations.
On Monday, Khamenei accused Iran’s arch foe the United States of intending to exploit “issues they think can cause crisis in Iran” including that of women.
Women in Iran have been required to cover their heads and necks since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and encouraged to wear modest garments.
While last year’s protests have cooled, many Iranian women, especially in the capital Tehran, have been increasingly flouting the strict dress code.
“The most remarkable effect the Mahsa movement had on Iranian society was the change in the society... which has become more colorful and livelier,” said Zahed.
“Women’s clothing has changed significantly,” he said, also noting a shift to brighter colors.
Authorities have pushed back, installing surveillance cameras in public places to monitor violations and shutting businesses where rules have been breached.
Iran’s parliament has discussed a bill that would toughen penalties on those flouting the dress code.
But not everyone backs the strict punishments.
Prominent Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has expressed his rejection against using “violence and pressure” to impose the hijab headscarf.
Reformist leaders have also denounced the recent dismissal of dozens of university professors.
Local media has quoted several professors as saying they were dismissed against the backdrop of their political views in support of the protest movement.
While the issue of hijab remains critical, for many in Iran, where inflation hovers at nearly 50 percent, economic pain is a priority, said Javadi-Hessar, the activist.
“The main demand of the people is the improvement of the economy, ahead of civil and political freedoms,” he said.
Iran on alert ahead of Mahsa Amini’s death anniversary
https://arab.news/wax6z
Iran on alert ahead of Mahsa Amini’s death anniversary
- Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died on September 16 last year after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women
US Defense Secretary Hegseth vows ‘unrelenting’ strikes against Houthis until they back down
Speaking on Fox News on Sunday hours after the Trump administration launched strikes against the Iran-backed group in Yemen, Hegseth said the campaign was a response to the scores of attacks the Houthis have launched on ships since November 2023 and served as a warning to Iran to stop backing the group.
“This will continue until you say ‘We’re done shooting at ships. We’re done shooting at assets,’” Hegseth said.
Turkiye calls on EU to lift Syria sanctions ahead of international conference
- The EU will host the ninth international conference in support of Syria on Monday
- For the first time, representatives of Syria’s new interim government have been invited to attend
ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Sunday called on the European Union to unconditionally lift sanctions on the Syrian Arab Republic, ahead of an international aid conference in Brussels to which the war-torn country’s new authorities have been invited.
Ankara, allied with Syria’s new rulers who ousted president Bashar Assad and took power in December, views such a step as necessary for a “peaceful transition” in the country, Turkiye’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
The European Union on Monday will host the ninth international conference in support of Syria. For the first time, representatives of Syria’s government — the new interim authorities — have been invited to attend.
The event aims to raise international support for Syria’s transition and recovery after more than 13 years of civil war.
The European bloc on February 24 already announced an easing of sanctions on Syria’s energy, transport and banking sectors to relieve some of the challenges facing Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president.
But Europe and other powers remain wary over what direction Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) — which spearheaded the lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8 — may take Syria.
While there are hopes Sharaa’s authorities can stabilize the country and usher in an inclusive future, recent deadly violence targeting the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs has kept doubts floating.
EU foreign ministers have warned that the sanctions they eased could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move toward democracy.
“Syria’s economic security is essential for the country’s stability and security,” Turkiye’s ministry said, adding that “economic opportunities and jobs need to be created.”
“The sanctions must be lifted unconditionally and for an indeterminate period,” it said.
Turkiye, which hosts nearly three million Syrian refugees, also urged reconstruction of Syria “to encourage returns.”
Turkish deputy foreign minister Nuh Yilmaz will attend the Brussels conference.
Iraq says seized one ton of captagon from Syria via Turkiye
BAGHDAD: Iraqi security forces seized more than a ton of captagon tablets smuggled from Syria via Turkiye, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
Ministry spokesman Moqdad Miri said the Narcotics Directorate “seized a truck from Syria, bound for Iraq, via Turkiye, transporting 1.1 tons” of the powerful synthetic stimulant.
Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in south
- The strike targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am
Beirut: An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday killed one person, the health ministry said, the latest attack more than three months into a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The strike, which also wounded one person, targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am, the official National News Agency reported.
“The Israeli enemy’s air strike on a vehicle in the town of Yater resulted in the martyrdom of a citizen and the injury of another,” the ministry said in a statement carried by NNA.
It comes a day after the ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern border town of Burj Al-Muluk.
Following that raid, the Israeli military said it “struck a Hezbollah terrorist who took part in terrorist activity in the area of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon.”
And on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it carried out a strike in southern Lebanon that killed a senior Hezbollah militant.
That came as Lebanon received four detainees who had been taken to Israel during fighting with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, with a fifth detainee, a soldier, released on Thursday after he was taken earlier this month.
A November 27 truce largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war in which Israel sent in ground troops.
Israel has continued to carry out periodic strikes on Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect.
Israel had been due to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems “strategic.”
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Trump launches large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, at least 24 killed
- US president warns Iran, Houthis’ main backer, against supporting armed group
- Development takes place as Washington ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran
WASHINGTON/ADEN: US President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group’s attacks against Red Sea shipping, killing at least 24 people at the start of a campaign expected to last many days.
Trump also warned Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, that it needed to immediately halt support for the group. He said if Iran threatened the United States, “America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
The unfolding strikes — which one US official told Reuters might continue for weeks — represent the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January. It came as the United States ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran while trying to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
At least 13 civilians were killed and nine injured in US strikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.
At least 11 others, including four children and one woman, were killed and 14 were injured in a US strike on the northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported.
The Houthis’ political bureau described the attacks as a “war crime.”
“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation,” it said in a statement.
Residents in Sanaa said the strikes hit a building in a Houthi stronghold.
“The explosions were violent and shook the neighborhood like an earthquake. They terrified our women and children,” one of the residents, who gave his name as Abdullah Yahia, told Reuters.
Another strike on a power station in the town of Dahyan in Saada led to a power cut, Al-Masirah TV reported early on Sunday. Dahyan is where Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, the enigmatic leader of the Houthis, often meets his visitors.
The Houthis, an armed movement that took control of most of Yemen over the past decade, have launched scores of attacks on ships off its coast since November 2023, disrupting global commerce and setting the US military on a costly campaign to intercept missiles and drones that have burned through stocks of US air defenses.
A Pentagon spokesperson said the Houthis have attacked US warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023. The Houthis say the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war in Gaza with Hamas militants.
Iran’s other allies, Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been severely weakened by Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict. Syria’s Bashar Assad, who was closely aligned with Tehran, was overthrown by rebels in December.
But throughout, Yemen’s Houthis have remained resilient and often on the offensive, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killing at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
The US administration of then-President Joe Biden had sought to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack vessels off its coast but limited the US actions.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Trump has authorized a more aggressive approach.
Strikes across Yemen
The strikes on Saturday were carried out in part by fighter aircraft from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea, officials said.
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees troops in the Middle East, described Saturday’s strikes as the start of a large-scale operation across Yemen.
“Houthi attacks on American ships & aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X. “Freedom of Navigation will be restored.”
Trump held out the prospect of far more devastating military action against Yemen.
“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” Trump wrote.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the US government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy.”
“End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism. Stop killing of Yemeni people,” he said in an X post on early Sunday.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden, ending a period of relative calm starting in January with the Gaza ceasefire.
The US attacks came just days after a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from Trump was delivered, seeking talks over Iran’s nuclear program.
Khamenei on Wednesday rejected holding negotiations with the United States.
Still, Tehran is increasingly concerned that mounting public anger over economic hardships could erupt into mass protests, four Iranian officials told Reuters.
Last year, Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, in retaliation for Iranian missile and drone attacks, reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, according to US officials.
Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is dramatically accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level, the UN nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — has warned.
Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
In an apparent sign of US efforts to improve ties with Russia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to inform him about the US strikes in Yemen, the State Department said.
Russia has relied on Iranian-provided weaponry in its war in Ukraine, including missiles and drones, US and Ukrainian officials say.
