Human rights

A state building is covered with a giant anti-US billboard depicting a symbolic image of the destroyed USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 1, 2026.

Iran arrests Oscar-nominated writer, civil rights figures in expanding crackdown

Iranian authorities arrested three prominent activists over the weekend, including Oscar-nominated screenwriter and journalist Mehdi Mahmoudian as arrests surge across Iran.

SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP via Getty Images

European Union adds IRGC to terror list, expands sanctions

As the extent of the killing of protests is gradually revealed, the European Union has decided to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

Roj Camp

Feature

ISIS brides face uncertain future as Damascus clashes with Syria’s Kurds

With Syrian government forces taking over nearby al-Hol and security breaking down, families of ISIS fighters at Roj Camp live in fear and uncertainty.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images

Iran seizes on killing of Alex Pretti, accuses US of hypocrisy

AI-generated photos showing Americans asking Iran's supreme leader for help and a wave of Arabic-language commentary are circulating on social following the killing of a protester by US federal agents over the weekend.

Latest News

Iran blackout enters 12th day as filtered internet reveals crackdown

Pedestrians make their way along a path at Tehran Grand Bazaar, on Jan. 18, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Bruised, not broken: Iran’s regime shows no deep structural cracks — yet

Fires are lit as protesters rally on Jan. 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran’s internet crackdown intensifies as Trump eyes Starlink: What to know

Flag of Iran on a computer binary codes falling from the top and fading away.

Can Iran’s promised economic reforms quell unrest?

Security forces are seen during a pro-government rally on January 12, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

An Iranian woman walks past a mural depicting a scene from the Iranian national epic "Shahnameh" in the capital Tehran on January 6, 2026. Iran's economy has been hit hard by tough international sanctions, with the national currency, the rial, losing more than a third of its value against the US dollar over the past year and inflation in double digits. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Iran: What's fueling wave of protests and what comes next?

Protests that began over economic conditions have increasingly taken on a political tone reminiscent of earlier nationwide movements in Iran.

JESSICA GOW/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

Sweden summons Iranian ambassador over dual national sentence

The Iranian-Swedish national was arrested during Iran’s June war with Israel for allegedly spying on Israel’s behalf.

Iranian soldiers keep watch at a patrol post in Zabol, southeastern Iran, near the Afghan border, on Oct. 10, 2012.

Analysis

Militant merger in Iran’s Baluchistan signals new threat to Tehran

The group’s outreach to broader ethnic communities reflects a strategic bid for wider legitimacy and a role in the wider struggle against the Islamic Republic.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A fan waves a Pride flag before the soccer match between the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers at Lumen Field, on June 3, 2023, in Seattle, Washington.

Culture

World Cup: Iran fumes over LGBTQ+ themes as Jordan qualifies for first time

Morocco is hoping to build on its historic run in 2022, with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others in the region similarly vying to build on recent successes.

Security personnel from the Syrian Ministry of Interior stand outside the Justice Palace ahead of the first trial of more than a dozen suspects linked to massacres that left hundreds dead in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland earlier this year, in Aleppo on November 18, 2025. The first trial of more than a dozen suspects linked to massacres that left hundreds dead in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland earlier this year began on November 18, an AFP journalist in the courtroom said. The massacres in March, whic

Feature

A year since Assad’s fall, Aleppo trial tests Syria’s transitional justice

Syria recently launched its first open trial on the deadly sectarian violence in March, but questions about judicial independence and political influence make the upcoming hearings a major test of accountability in post-Assad Syria as the first anniversary of Assad’s fall approaches.

Alessandra Bajec

By Alessandra Bajec

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli is pictured in this undated image.

Turkey sentences journalist over 4 years in jail for threatening Erdogan

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli was sentenced to over four years in prison in a trial government critics say aimed at silencing one of Turkey's most influential journalists and intended to intimidate journalists nationwide.

An undated image of Saad Ibrahim Almadi.

Saudi Arabia lifts travel ban on US citizen Saad Almadi

Almadi's release comes during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington.

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Fed up with Netanyahu, more Israelis seek European passports

The number of Israelis seeking European passports has increased considerably in a trend that has continued even after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement.

A Palestinian man tries to extinguish flames from a burning truck after an Israeli settlers attack in the village of Beit Lid, east of Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank on Nov. 11, 2025.

Israeli settlers arrested after injuring 4 Palestinians in West Bank rampage: What to know

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that October saw the highest monthly number of Israeli settler attacks since it began tracking the incidents in 2006.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 24: A Police officer stands guard as demonstrators wave flags and cheer during a gathering to honor Iran’s military forces, following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, on June 24, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Iranian authorities announced this morning they would agree to a ceasefire with Israel, whose attacks on Iran's military and nuclear sites on June 13 sparked a daily exchange of missiles between the countries. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Iran’s IRGC says it arrested hacker tied to Israeli Mossad: What we know

Iran has ramped up its crackdown against individuals suspected of collaborating with Israel amid a heated cyberwarfare between the two countries.

Sudanese residents gather to receive free meals in Al Fasher, a city besieged by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than a year, in Darfur region, on August 11, 2025. RSF attacked a famine-hit refugee camp in North Darfur state on August 11, 2025, killing at least 40 civilians and injuring 19 others, rescuers said. Al-Fasher is the last city in the western Darfur region still held by the Sudanese army, at war with the paramilitary group since April 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AF

Aid groups sound alarm on 'atrocities' after RSF captures Sudan's el-Fasher

Sudan’s RSF are facing numerous accusations of rights violations and abuses against civilians following their takeover of el-Fasher city in the Darfur region.

Maj. Gen. Akram Saloum Abdullah, commander of the military police between 2014 and 2015, is pictured on Oct. 22, 2025.

Syria arrests ex-general accused of executions at Assad's 'human slaughterhouse'

The arrest comes as the new government intensifies efforts to hold former government figures accountable for crimes committed during decades of the Assad family’s rule.