Germany suspended arms export licenses to Israel - Reuters

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri stated, "If the morality police are to be addressed, then the 'inappropriateness' of that journalist should also be considered," seemingly alluding to Maryam Shabani's headscarf, which revealed a small portion of her hair.

Iran has been named by Freedom House as the world's most oppressive nation for press freedom, with dozens imprisoned in the wake of the 2022 uprising.

At Pezeshkian's press conference on Monday, held a month after his coming to office, Shabani began her question by mentioning that she had to navigate various alleys and back routes to avoid encounters with the morality police on the streets.

In response, Pezeshkian downplayed the seriousness of her remarks, saying, "Are they still bothering you? They were supposed to stop that. We’ll tell them to stop."

Criticizing Pezeshkian's approach, Montazeri remarked that while Pezeshkian emphasizes national unity as his slogan, such “unity should not come at the expense of relinquishing our core beliefs and fundamental principles.”

During his pre-presidential campaign, Pezeshkian had criticized the presence of the morality police. However, the police have reaffirmed their commitment to Project Nour, the establishment's hijab enforcement initiative that has been in effect since April, insisting that it remains a binding law.

Despite scaling back for a short time after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 - a tragedy that sparked months-long protests in Iran known as the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement - the morality police continue to maintain a presence on the streets.

Following Amini's death, more than 550 Iranians were killed as the government responded with full force to what has been the most significant challenge to the establishment's legitimacy since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

The most recent publicized instance of the ongoing pressure on women in Iran involves 31-year-old Arezou Badri. After allegedly violating hijab rules, she was shot by police and suffered severe injuries to her spine and lungs. While hospitalized in extreme pain and unable to sit or eat, she was coerced into making a confession.

Two years after the protests ignited by Mahsa Amini’s death, a UN Fact-Finding Mission report released on Friday highlighted the persistent human rights violations in Iran, particularly targeting women.

Ahead of the anniversary, Amnesty International also raised alarms, condemning the Iranian authorities' brutal crackdown on the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement. The organization emphasized the establishment's ongoing "war on women and girls," noting the intensified repression of those defying stringent veiling laws and the increased use of the death penalty to stifle dissent.

The rights group highlighted the country's persistent culture of impunity for crimes under international law.

Hezbollah deputy secretary general Hashim Safi Al Din threatened a "unique and bloody vengeance" following two days of suspected Israeli attacks on the communication devices of Hezbollah fighters, which have so far killed over 20 and injured more than 3,000 people.

“These attacks will certainly be uniquely punished; there will be a bloodily unique revenge," he said while attending a funeral for one of the victims. “I won’t talk about this at length” because “tomorrow, the leader of Hezbollah will speak and all will be revealed. And we will be in a new situation and a new confrontation with this enemy."

The enemy, he added, “should know that we are not beaten, that we will not break, that will not withdraw, and will not be influenced by what this enemy is doing.”

Iran says the latest explosions in Lebanon shows that Israel is a "serious threat" to peace and security in the Middle East.

"This action... amounts to mass murder," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Wednesday.

"(The explosions) violate all ethical and humanitarian principles, as well as international law, particularly international humanitarian law, and warrant international criminal prosecution, trial and punishment", he added.

The Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani also condemned the blasts that his Hezbollah's communications devices, and offered help to the wounded.

"The terrorism of the Zionist regime causes aversion and disgust. Iran strongly condemns yesterday's criminal explosion of communication devices and today's criminal explosion of walkie-talkies, which resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of Lebanese civilians," Mohajerani said in a post on her X account on Wednesday.

The UN's secretary general Antonio Guterres warned about "weaponizing" civilian objects, following the simultaneous explosion of pagers used by Hezbollah.

The briefing at UN headquarters in New York was held before the second round of explosions, which involved walkie-talkies.

“I think it’s very important that there is an effective control of civilian objects, not to weaponize civilian objects, that should be a rule that … governments should be able to implement,” Guterres said.

Images published on social media appeared to show that the source of the blasts included Icom IC-V82 two-way radios, also known as walkie-talkies.

The attacks come a day after pagers carried by Hezbollah members blew up across the country and neighbouring Syria in a likely Israeli attack which killed 12 people including at least two children and left up to 300 people in critical condition.

Mojtaba Amani, Tehran's ambassador to Beirut, was among the casualties of the first blasts on Tuesday. A pager he was carrying detonated, resulting in the loss of his left eye and severe damage to his right, according to sources from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps cited in the New York Times.

"I am honored that my blood has mixed with the blood of the injured Lebanese," Amani was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

Video footage circulating on social media appeared to show a new explosion hitting a funeral staffed by personnel in Hezbollah parade uniforms for a person killed the previous day.

Hezbollah, which is armed and backed by Iran, blamed Israel for the attacks and vowed retaliation.

“These attacks will certainly be uniquely punished; there will be a bloodily unique revenge," Hezbollah deputy secretary general Hashim Safi Al Din said on Wednesday, asking that the group's chief Hassan Nasrallah would address the attacks in a speech on Thursday.

Israel and Lebanon have been trading fire across their border since Hezbollah's Palestinian allies Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, kicking off a war in Gaza.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the original pager blasts and Israel's allies.

“Western countries and the Americans … fully support the crimes, killings and indiscriminate assassinations of the Zionist regime,” Pezeshkian said in a statement, referring to Israel.

Hezbollah has long been Iran’s strongest ally in Lebanon and a central figure in its broader regional strategy to confront Israel and the United States.

The group was founded in the 1980s with direct Iranian assistance, particularly through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), to fight Israeli forces occupying south Lebanon. Since then, Hezbollah has grown into both a political force in Lebanon and a powerful militia that frequently engages in conflict with Israel.

The United States, Israel's main backer, has denied any hand or foreknowledge of the alleged attacks and has urged against any escalation of tensions.

"We still believe there is a diplomatic path forward, particularly with Lebanon," he said," White House national security spokesman John Kirby.