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Israel's strike on Iran's Evin prison sparks fear for political prisoners

Israel's strike on Iran's Evin prison sparks fear for political prisoners

Washington Post13 hours ago

BEIRUT — Sayeh Seydal, a jailed Iranian dissident, narrowly escaped death when Israeli missiles struck Tehran's Evin Prison , where she was imprisoned. She had just stepped out of the prison's clinic, moments before it was destroyed in the blasts.
The June 23 strikes on Iran's most notorious prison for political dissidents killed at least 71 people, including staff, soldiers, visiting family members and people living nearby, Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said Sunday. In the ensuing chaos, authorities transferred Seydal and others to prisons outside of Tehran — overcrowded facilities, known for their harsh conditions.

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Trump to sign order lifting sanctions on Syria
Trump to sign order lifting sanctions on Syria

Fox News

timean hour ago

  • Fox News

Trump to sign order lifting sanctions on Syria

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to formally lift all sanctions on Syria on Monday afternoon. "This is in an effort to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace. The order will remove sanctions on Syria while maintaining sanctions on the former president Assad or his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS and their affiliates, and Iranian proxies," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Trump is "committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified and at peace with itself and its neighbors," Leavitt said. Some sanctions will still need to be lifted by Congress, and others date to 1979, when Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism. The administration has not yet lifted that designation. Trump met last month with Syria's new interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during a Middle East stint. From having a $10 million bounty on his head to sitting down with the U.S. president, the turnaround of the Syrian leader has been remarkable. Al-Sharaa's group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Syrian militant organization founded as an offshoot of al Qaeda, overthrew Assad in March. Al-Sharaa had been campaigning hard for a relationship with Washington and sanctions relief: he offered to build a Trump Tower in Damascus, détente with Israel, and U.S. access to Syria's oil and gas. He worked to soften the image of HTS and promised an inclusive governing structure. The new order comes as Israeli and Syrian officials are engaged in back-channel talks on a potential security and normalization deal. U.S. sanctions have included financial penalties on any foreign individual or company that provided material support to the Syrian government and prohibited anyone in the U.S. from dealing in any Syrian entity, including oil and gas. Syrian banks also were effectively cut off from global financial systems.

Satellite Imagery Shows Iran at Work at Fordo Nuclear Site
Satellite Imagery Shows Iran at Work at Fordo Nuclear Site

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Satellite Imagery Shows Iran at Work at Fordo Nuclear Site

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Trump is expected to sign an executive order ending US sanctions on Syria
Trump is expected to sign an executive order ending US sanctions on Syria

Associated Press

timean hour ago

  • Associated Press

Trump is expected to sign an executive order ending US sanctions on Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Monday ending U.S. sanctions on Syria, following through on his earlier promise to do so. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was designed to 'promote and support the country's path to stability and peace.' Sanctions will remain in place on former President Bashar Assad, his associates and others, she said. The U.S. granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in May, which was a first step toward fulfilling the Republican president's pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 13 years of civil war. Trump met with Syria's interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia in May and told Al-Sharaa that he would lift sanctions and explore normalizing relations in a major policy shift between the U.S. and Syria. 'This is another promise made and promise kept,' Leavitt said Monday. The European Union has also followed through with lifting nearly all remaining sanctions on Syria.

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