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Middle East Eye
3 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Iran: Executions soar following end of Israeli assault
At the height of Israel's war against Iran, Kambiz Hosseini - an anti-establishment figure working for the Saudi-funded media outlet Iran International - told his followers that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would soon be killed. On 19 June, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Khamenei's death would mean the end of the Islamic Republic, Hosseini urged his followers to wait just a little longer, writing: 'You have waited 46 years, 4 months, and 29 days; wait three more days.' For three days, nothing happened. Then, on the fourth, everything changed. Less than two hours after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Hosseini posted anxiously on X: 'If Khamenei survives in these remaining hours, he will massacre the people! He will take revenge on everyone.' And Khamenei survived. It wasn't only Hosseini and his followers, who supported foreign intervention to overthrow the Islamic Republic, who were worried. Many Iranians inside and outside the country soon witnessed a wave of repression, arrests and executions after the war ended. On the morning of 24 June, just hours after the ceasefire took effect, three people were hanged in Urmia prison. Idris Aali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad had been accused of collaborating with Mossad before the war and were swiftly executed. 'What threatens the establishment is not a foreign enemy, but the opposition and ordinary people inside Iran' - Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, Iran Human Rights In the days before that, three other prisoners - Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, Majid Mossayebi, and Esmail Fekri - were also executed in different prisons on charges of spying for Israel. At the same time, Iranian state media announced that over 700 people had been arrested across the country for 'espionage', 'spreading anti-establishment propaganda', or 'collaborating with hostile governments'. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, head of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights organisation, put the number at least 900 in an interview with Middle East Eye. He also pointed to a new law passed by Iran's parliament during the war, and its details revealed on 28 June, known as the 'intensifying punishment for agents collaborating with hostile states' bill. According to him, this law is meant to increase pressure on citizens and provide legal justification for future executions. 'The real targets are not Mossad agents, but ordinary people. Under this law, anyone can be accused of 'corruption on earth' and executed. Even talking to people outside Iran could now be considered espionage,' he explained. 'What threatens the establishment is not a foreign enemy, but the opposition and ordinary people inside Iran.' Ceasefires and executions For Iranians opposed to the government, ceasefires do not bring relief. The last time the Islamic Republic agreed to a ceasefire was in 1988, ending the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. What followed was the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners, some of whom were nearing the end of their sentences and awaiting release. At the time, the killings didn't receive media coverage due to censorship. Even years later, when the world learned about it, the perpetrators openly defended their actions. Now, many establishment critics fear that history is about to repeat itself. A former political prisoner who survived the 1988 massacre, who asked to remain anonymous, told MEE that although today's circumstances may be different, the repression has already begun. They pointed to the widespread arrests of political activists and dissidents reported in recent days. Among those detained are Hassan and Hossein Ronaghi in Tehran; Noyan Hejazi and Nazanin Abedini in Jouibar; Jalal Khodamoradi in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj; blogger Donya Hosseini from Khuzestan province; and four Kurdish activists in Piranshahr. According to this former prisoner, after intense conflict with a foreign enemy, the establishment always tries to eliminate any opposition at home. 'The regime knows it has been defeated by Israel in many military and intelligence areas, and for this reason, it is unwilling to take the risk of any internal dissent," they said. A member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran in France displays portraits of victims of the 1988 executions in 2019 (Eric Feferberg/ AFP) "It fears this could bring down a 46-year-old dictatorship.' They also recalled the wave of executions after the suppression of the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement in 2022, when protesters were swiftly tried and executed without access to lawyers. 'Since 1979, this religious dictatorship has relied on executions to deal with opponents. By incorporating Shia jurisprudence into its system, it has even given religious legitimacy to these killings," they concluded. "More executions are certainly coming, and the regime will resort to killing and intimidating ordinary people to ensure its survival." One of the most evident signs of increasing repression is the return of Basij checkpoints to the streets. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The Basij is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Its members, known as "volunteers", are rewarded with government jobs, university admissions, low-interest loans, and other benefits. How supporters of 'Woman Life Freedom' in Iran rejected Israel's assault Read More » The Basij have been deployed in many incidents the government wishes to distance itself from, such as attacks on Tehran University dormitories and the British and Saudi embassies in recent years. They also carry out arbitrary arrests during protests. Just two days after Israel attacked Iran, the government announced the return of Basij checkpoints. Their reappearance came with attacks by plainclothes agents on non-political public figures critical of the establishment. One such case was Voria Ghafouri, a former Iranian national football player. His cafe in western Tehran was shut down by seven plainclothes officers, without explanation or a court order. Meanwhile, the state has also been sending threatening mass text messages to citizens, warning them against following anti-government media outside Iran. One such message, seen by MEE, warned recipients that if they did not delete likes, comments, or follows from certain pages, they would face legal consequences. One citizen, who received the message, said he didn't even use his phone to read the news. 'I have two mobile lines, one for work and one personal. I got the text message on the phone that I wasn't even using for news,' he said. Public intimidation These intimidation tactics are not just isolated acts of harassment but part of a broader system of fear used to silence dissent and justify more extreme forms of punishment, including executions. According to Amiri-Moghaddam, the establishment often uses vague or fabricated charges like espionage, 'propaganda against the regime,' or 'corruption on earth' to legitimise these crackdowns. Amiri-Moghaddam also warned that if the international community remains silent, Iran's rulers may resort to mass executions. Iran says 71 killed in Israeli strike on Evin Prison Read More » 'The Islamic Republic has always followed one core principle: preserving the establishment. What has consistently threatened its survival is the domestic opposition,' he said. He added that one of the highest waves of executions occurred in the country during the 2015 nuclear negotiations with western countries. 'At that time, we warned EU representatives, but they told us their main focus was the nuclear deal, so they ignored the rest," he explained. He noted a similar pattern in the eight months leading up to the recent war with Israel. With attention on Iran's presidential election, Trump's return to power, and new nuclear talks, Iran used the last year to execute over a thousand people. There were at least 343 executions in Iran in the first four months of 2025 - a 75 percent increase over the same period in 2024, according to Iran Human Rights.
Time Magazine
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time Magazine
Iran Carries Out String of Executions and Arrests
Iran has executed three men convicted of spying for Israel and detained hundreds more civilians in a widening crackdown that rights groups say reflects growing paranoia within the Islamic Republic's leadership following a deadly exchange of strikes with Israel. The executions, carried out by hanging in the northwestern city of Urmia, targeted Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul—ethnic Kurds accused of aiding the Israeli Mossad in the 2020 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent nuclear scientist. Their names had previously appeared on a list published by Iran Human Rights (IHR), an Oslo-based advocacy group, which warned that at least ten men faced imminent execution on similar charges. The timing of the executions appears intended less to inflame anti-Israel sentiment than to project strength internally, a source familiar with the matter told TIME, describing it as a signal of resolve by a government increasingly consumed with fears of infiltration. The recent crackdown has also renewed international concern over the fate of Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian doctor and academic who has spent more than seven years on death row. IHR reported this week that Djalali was moved from Tehran's Evin Prison to an undisclosed location shortly after an Israeli strike on the facility. 'There is an imminent risk that his death sentence will be carried out at any moment,' the group warned. Since the outbreak of open hostilities with Israel on June 13, Iranian authorities have arrested more than 700 people on charges related to alleged collaboration with Israel, according to rights monitors. This week's executions bring to six the number of Iranians put to death for espionage since the start of the conflict. Though Iran's government has presented these arrests and executions as evidence of a crackdown on foreign meddling, public sentiment appears to be shifting in a more complex direction. A source in Iran, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TIME that for the first time in decades, 'widespread hatred' toward Israel is growing among ordinary Iranians—fueled not by government propaganda, but by firsthand experience of violence. 'Israel was very willing to kill six Iranian civilians for their [military] target, and that's something which has really made a lot of Iranians angry,' the source said. 'Iranians feel very critical of their own government because it wasn't able to defend them… and at the same time, they're extremely resentful, verging on hatred, toward the Israeli government because of all the civilian deaths.' The Iranian government has become increasingly paranoid about intelligence leaks since its almost two-week long conflict with Israel, which began with Israeli attacks on key military and nuclear targets on June 13. The first strikes resulted in the deaths of multiple highly ranked military officials and top scientists working on Tehran's nuclear program. Israel has previously conducted covert operations and targeted strikes within Iran's borders, including the high-profile assassination of Hamas political leader Ismael Haniyeh in 2024. However, the scale and visibility of the latest campaign have been unprecedented. During nearly two weeks of conflict, Israeli missile strikes killed at least 974 Iranians—including 387 civilians and 268 military personnel—according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Israel reported 28 deaths from Iranian missile retaliation. Though a cease-fire is now in place, the fallout from the confrontation continues to unfold. Iranian authorities remain focused on rooting out suspected espionage networks, while the public contends with a shifting landscape of fear, anger, and mistrust—directed both at their own government and at Israel.
Time Magazine
6 days ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Orkla Snacks
TikTokkers fell hard for Swedish candy in 2024, especially Bubs gummies, which come in three shapes (oval, skulls and diamonds) and have a distinctive foamy texture thanks to a unique manufacturing process. The sudden spike in demand sparked by a few viral influencer hauls from candy store BonBon triggered a global shortage that 'came as a total surprise,' says Ingvill Berg, CEO of Orkla Snacks, the Oslo-based company that owns the Swedish Bubs brand. When retailers in the U.S., U.K., France and Korea reached out to order the colorful candy, 'we just have to say no,' Berg says. But sweet tooth relief is in sight. Orkla is ramping up production in Sweden and has partnered with Texas-based Mount Franklin Foods to help produce and distribute Bubs stateside. Four bagged varieties are slated to go on sale in the U.S. by fall 2025. 'We could sell much, much more, because we are in a situation with uncontrollable demand,' Berg says.
11-06-2025
- Politics
Iran executes man over 2022 protest killings. Activists say he was framed
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran on Wednesday executed a man convicted in the fatal shootings of seven people during a 2022 protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, though human rights activists say he was tortured into confessing to killings likely carried out by security services. The hanging of Abbas Kourkouri, also known as Mojahed Kourkouri, marks the first execution in nearly a year for someone arrested in the protests surrounding the death of Amini, who had been detained by police allegedly over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to their liking. Her death sparked months of demonstrations. Even today, some women refuse to wear their headscarves in public, openly defying a hijab law instituted by the country's theocracy. It's unclear why authorities chose now to execute Kourkouri, 42, though tensions have been rising regionally over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, and the result of talks with the United States remains uncertain. Iran is one of the world's top executioners and has been cracking down in other ways on society in the time since the Amini demonstrations. Kourkouri 'was sentenced to death without a fair trial and without access to a lawyer of his choice,' said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights, which tallied an average of one execution in the Islamic Republic every six hours over the last eight months. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported at the time that on Nov. 16, 2022 two gunmen on motorcycles shot at protesters and security personnel gathered at the central market in the southwestern city of Izeh in the country's restive, oil-rich Khuzestan province. The assault killed seven people, including a 9-year-old boy, and wounded three police officers and two members of the Basij, the all-volunteer arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The death of the boy, named Kian Pirfalak, drew anger from Iranians, particularly after his family reportedly said it was security forces — not other gunmen — who opened fire. Kourkouri was accused of being one of the gunmen. He was charged with a spate of offenses, including 'moharebeh' – an Islamic term meaning waging a battle against God. Authorities arrested him in December 2022 after reportedly shooting him in the leg. Activists say he was denied medical treatment beyond the bullet's removal. State media described Kourkouri as a drug dealer and 'instigator' with a history of extremist beliefs. But rights advocates say he isn't the violent person authorities have made him out to be and was himself an innocent protester. 'He was arrested during the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests, and the Islamic Republic authorities attempted to blame him" for the attack, Amiry-Moghaddam said. He added that the slain boy's parents and uncle believed Iranian security forces were responsible. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which also monitors Iran, similarly dismissed the Iranian government's claims. 'While authorities continue to describe the events of Nov. 16 in Izeh as a 'terrorist attack,' eyewitnesses and the families of victims have presented accounts that contradict the government's narrative,' it said Wednesday. The group quoted Kian's mother as saying, 'On our way home, officers opened fire on our car.' State media earlier broadcast videos of Kourkouri taking blame for the attack. But Amnesty International has said that authorities subjected him to solitary confinement and coerced his confessions, and that he wasn't at the scene at the time of the killings. One videotaped confession that had been aired on state TV showed Kourkouri in bed with his arm visibly bandaged and bloody, the rights group said. The footage resembled that of many other suspected coerced confessions broadcast in Iran. Kourkouri's death brings the tally of executions related to violence at the Amini protests up to 11. The last such execution came 10 months ago, after Reza Resaei, 34, was sentenced to death over the killing of a security officer. Rights groups also said his confession was forced. The United Nations-established Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran said Wednesday that proceedings against Kourkouri had been 'marred by gross human rights violations.' It called on Iran to halt executions, including those against women's rights activists. On the streets of Iranian cities, it's becoming increasingly common to see a woman pass by without a mandatory hijab, as the third anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked approaches this fall. The government has targeted private businesses where women are seen without their headscarves. Surveillance cameras search for women uncovered in vehicles to fine and impound their cars, and authorities have gone as far as to use aerial drones to monitor women. The country's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian campaigned on a promise to curb the morality police's harassment of women. But the country's ultimate authority rests with its 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei has in the past said 'unveiling is both religiously forbidden and politically forbidden.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran executes man over 2022 protest killings. Activists say he was framed
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran on Wednesday executed a man convicted in the fatal shootings of seven people during a 2022 protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, though human rights activists say he was tortured into confessing to killings likely carried out by security services. The hanging of Abbas Kourkouri, also known as Mojahed Kourkouri, marks the first execution in nearly a year for someone arrested in the protests surrounding the death of Amini, who had been detained by police allegedly over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to their liking. Her death sparked months of demonstrations. Even today, some women refuse to wear their headscarves in public, openly defying a hijab law instituted by the country's theocracy. It's unclear why authorities chose now to execute Kourkouri, 42, though tensions have been rising regionally over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, and the result of talks with the United States remains uncertain. Iran is one of the world's top executioners and has been cracking down in other ways on society in the time since the Amini demonstrations. Kourkouri 'was sentenced to death without a fair trial and without access to a lawyer of his choice,' said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights, which tallied an average of one execution in the Islamic Republic every six hours over the last eight months. Shooting happened during Amini protests Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported at the time that on Nov. 16, 2022 two gunmen on motorcycles shot at protesters and security personnel gathered at the central market in the southwestern city of Izeh in the country's restive, oil-rich Khuzestan province. The assault killed seven people, including a 9-year-old boy, and wounded three police officers and two members of the Basij, the all-volunteer arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The death of the boy, named Kian Pirfalak, drew anger from Iranians, particularly after his family reportedly said it was security forces — not other gunmen — who opened fire. Kourkouri was accused of being one of the gunmen. He was charged with a spate of offenses, including 'moharebeh' – an Islamic term meaning waging a battle against God. Authorities arrested him in December 2022 after reportedly shooting him in the leg. Activists say he was denied medical treatment beyond the bullet's removal. State media described Kourkouri as a drug dealer and 'instigator' with a history of extremist beliefs. But rights advocates say he isn't the violent person authorities have made him out to be and was himself an innocent protester. 'He was arrested during the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests, and the Islamic Republic authorities attempted to blame him" for the attack, Amiry-Moghaddam said. He added that the slain boy's parents and uncle believed Iranian security forces were responsible. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which also monitors Iran, similarly dismissed the Iranian government's claims. 'While authorities continue to describe the events of Nov. 16 in Izeh as a 'terrorist attack,' eyewitnesses and the families of victims have presented accounts that contradict the government's narrative,' it said Wednesday. The group quoted Kian's mother as saying, 'On our way home, officers opened fire on our car.' State media earlier broadcast videos of Kourkouri taking blame for the attack. But Amnesty International has said that authorities subjected him to solitary confinement and coerced his confessions, and that he wasn't at the scene at the time of the killings. One videotaped confession that had been aired on state TV showed Kourkouri in bed with his arm visibly bandaged and bloody, the rights group said. The footage resembled that of many other suspected coerced confessions broadcast in Iran. Kourkouri's death brings the tally of executions related to violence at the Amini protests up to 11. The last such execution came 10 months ago, after Reza Resaei, 34, was sentenced to death over the killing of a security officer. Rights groups also said his confession was forced. The United Nations-established Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran said Wednesday that proceedings against Kourkouri had been 'marred by gross human rights violations.' It called on Iran to halt executions, including those against women's rights activists. Iran still faces dissent years later On the streets of Iranian cities, it's becoming increasingly common to see a woman pass by without a mandatory hijab, as the third anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked approaches this fall. The government has targeted private businesses where women are seen without their headscarves. Surveillance cameras search for women uncovered in vehicles to fine and impound their cars, and authorities have gone as far as to use aerial drones to monitor women. The country's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian campaigned on a promise to curb the morality police's harassment of women. But the country's ultimate authority rests with its 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei has in the past said 'unveiling is both religiously forbidden and politically forbidden.'
