Thousands at risk as Iran executions surge to 'horrific scale' - Amnesty

Colonel Einollah Jahani, the former deputy head of Iran’s traffic police, told ISNA news agency on Wednesday that Article 20 of the country’s traffic law currently tasks the police with issuing motorcycle licenses for men but is silent on women.

“From a legal perspective, this article only clarifies the police’s duty toward men and does not prohibit issuing licenses to women,” he said. “The silence of the law has created a gap that must be resolved by parliament.”

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The government has submitted a bill to parliament to address the issue, state media has reported, but Jahani said that some lawmakers remain uneasy over how women would observe Islamic dress codes while riding.

He argued the concern was misplaced: “Both men and women must wear helmets, and helmets provide the necessary coverage to meet hijab requirements. This is a safety obligation that also addresses religious concerns.”

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  Women’s motorcycle licenses need legal change, Iran police say

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  Tehran cafe shut down over women bikers’ event

Iran’s traffic police chief, Brigadier General Teymour Hosseini, said earlier this week that any licensing of women would require formal changes to bylaws and law, and that the force was “awaiting an official notification on women’s motorcycling so we can proceed.”

Women have been legally allowed to own and register motorcycles in their name, but licensing has been withheld, leaving many to ride without permits in a legal gray zone.

Jahani said this inconsistency should be corrected: “There is no prohibition for women to own motorcycles under the constitution. They can hold official registration papers in their own name, so logically they should also be able to obtain licenses.”

He added that women have increasingly demanded the right to ride motorcycles, citing economic pressures, traffic congestion and the need for affordable transportation.

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“In the past there was no demand, but today motorcycling has become a social demand,” he said, noting that research shows women generally drive more cautiously than men.

The debate comes against the backdrop of wider calls for women’s rights in Iran since the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody, which ignited nationwide protests.

Conservative clerics have resisted moves to permit public motorcycling by women, arguing it could breach social norms, but reformist officials say formal training courses can provide a workable compromise.

Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote, “The message of the Zionist entity’s recent crime in Qatar is clear: O countries of the region! Prepare yourselves for my coming domination.”

His comments came a day after Israeli warplanes bombed a Hamas office in Doha, in what Israel called an operation against the group’s senior leadership. Qatar condemned the attack as “criminal and cowardly,” while Iran labeled it an “extremely dangerous” violation of sovereignty and international law.

President Masoud Pezeshkian also condemned the strike as an “illegal, inhumane and anti-peace action,” telling Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani by phone that Tehran stood in solidarity with its Persian Gulf neighbor. “Attacking an independent country is a clear violation of national sovereignty and the UN Charter,” he said.

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  Iran condemns 'extremely dangerous' Israeli strike on Hamas in Qatar

The strike in Doha, coordinated with Washington according to Israeli media, killed members of Hamas’s political bureau, though both Qatar and Hamas gave no details on casualties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later insisted the raid was “a wholly independent Israeli operation.”

Hamas, which has based its political leadership in Qatar for years, said its ceasefire delegation had survived the attack and accused the United States of enabling Israel’s actions while presenting itself as mediator.

The incident comes as Iran recalibrates its foreign policy after a June war with Israel and the United States devastated its military and nuclear infrastructure.

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  Calls for Larijani to lead nuclear talks may signal push for rethink

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has in recent weeks sought Qatari mediation with the West, and Larijani is seen as a potential lead negotiator in renewed nuclear talks as UN sanctions loom.

Iranian media and analysts have floated his possible return to leading nuclear negotiations, amid suggestions the Supreme National Security Council could regain control of the dossier as Tehran faces looming UN sanctions under the European-triggered “snapback” mechanism.

The strike on Qatar marks a dangerous new front in a region still unsettled by June’s 12-day war, when Israeli and US forces targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities and military infrastructure.

China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday the resumption of supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was “a positive step in promoting the easing of the Iran nuclear issue.”

“Congratulations! It is a good moment for the E3 to stop and cancel the SnapBack procedure in order to keep the positive trend,” Moscow’s envoy to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, wrote on X shortly after IAEA chief Rafael Grossi unveiled the deal in Cairo.

Grossi said he and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had agreed on “practical modalities” for inspections during talks in the Egyptian capital, describing the step as “a door we are opening” toward restoring verification activities that were cut off after Israeli and US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year.

Araghchi told reporters the understanding was designed to reflect “Iran’s exceptional security conditions and the Agency’s technical requirements,” while warning that Tehran would void the deal if “hostile actions” such as the reinstatement of Security Council resolutions were pursued.

The European powers triggered the snapback mechanism under UN Security Council resolution 2231 in late August, a process that will restore international sanctions unless the Council adopts a new resolution by the end of September to extend relief. The mechanism was activated after the three accused Tehran of failing to comply with nuclear obligations.

The resumption of inspections is seen as a critical step in assessing Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium and its compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Western diplomats say any suspension of the snapback move would depend on Iran’s willingness to implement the deal in full.

In response to an Iran International request for submissions at the start of the new school year, Iranians submitted audio, text and video messages describing their concerns.

A recurring theme was the so-called “voluntary support” or enrollment fees in public schools—charges that schools make a condition for school attendance.

“My son has straight A’s and was accepted into a NODET school with flying colors, but I can't afford 2 billion rials for his tuition,” one message said. “The Iranian government is stripping away our children’s right to education.”

Gifted students who pass the National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET) exams can technically apply for tuition waivers if they cannot cover the costs.

Since 2023, the government has also promised tuition-free education for disadvantaged students, covering registration and other expenses. But parents say the reality is far different.

Another parent reported that public schools refused to enroll their child unless tuition was fully paid. “Due to joblessness and financial pressure, I still haven’t been able to enroll my child,” they said.

Some families even shared their children’s transcripts, noting that despite top grades, schools demanded steep enrollment fees. “My child tops every grade, yet the school demands 140 million rials ($137),” one parent said. “This clearly predicts a brain drain for our gifted students.”

A family in Ahvaz described wide variations in preschool and high school fees. “For high school, they demanded 150 million rials ($148), and one school asked for 350 million rials ($346). For preschool, they required an initial 16 million rial form fee, then 80 million rials ($79) for enrollment, plus 23 million rials ($22) for stationery.”

Some parents highlighted new obstacles, including compulsory preschool attendance. “Preschool isn’t mandatory, but when registering my son for first grade, they said he must attend preschool for a month with payment. The principal said it’s enough to pay, even if he attends just one session,” one parent wrote.

Others reported coercive practices. “My son goes to a public school. In June, before receiving his report card, they demanded 25 million rials per student for the new year. Without payment, next year’s registration wouldn’t proceed, and they withheld the report card,” a parent said.

Islamic dress code for girls

Families with daughters also face higher costs due to mandatory uniforms that comply with Islamic dress codes.

“The uniform for girls costs about 10 million rials ($9), and we paid 130 million rials ($128) for school transportation. Additional fees are charged throughout the year,” another parent said.

University tuition has followed a similar trajectory, rising sharply in recent semesters. “In previous semesters, I paid 32 million rials ($31) for 19 units, but now they want 70 million rials ($69) for 20 units. In this economic situation, it’s nearly impossible,” one student said.

A student in Mashhad reported that tuition at Azad University had increased by at least 70% compared to the previous semester. “The academic year at Azad University began with a major shock.

Students faced heavy costs for course registration. In humanities and arts, tuition has risen three to five times,” said Samira Rahi, a journalist in Turkey. “Many students have had to take a leave of absence or drop out due to these costs.”

Globally, countries allocate about 5% of GDP to education. Iran spends just 2.93% (2023), compared with the global average of 4.4%, according to The Global Economy, an online data resource.

"I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton Student, whose sister is an American Citizen, was just released by Kata’ib Hezbollah (MILITANT Hezbollah), and is now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months," Trump wrote on Truth Social, without elaborating.

"I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up. HAMAS, RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, NOW!"

Tsurkov, a PhD student at Princeton University in New Jersey and fellow at the New Lines Institute, disappeared in March 2023 while conducting research in Iraq.

Her sister Emma confirmed Tsurkov's release after 903 days in captivity and thanked the Trump administration.

No group among Iraq's kaleidoscope of armed militias had claimed responsibility for her disappearance. Israeli officials believed she was being held by Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shi’ite militia.

While the group has denied involvement, an Iraqi official had told Israel’s Channel 11 that she was first detained by Iraq’s intelligence service—or by individuals impersonating officers—before being transferred to the militia.

Kata’ib Hezbollah is one of several Iran-backed and funded armed groups which took part in Iraq's conflict against Islamic State militants but amassed power and influence by maintaining their arms after the fighting largely winded down.

While no official comment was made on the case by Tehran, an Iraqi security source told Iran International that among those considered for the exchange was Mohammadreza Nouri, a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

Nouri was sentenced to life imprisonment in Iraq in September 2023 for orchestrating the murder of American citizen Stephen Troell in Baghdad in November 2022. It was not clear if he was ultimately released.

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