Iran and Azerbaijan hold joint military drill in Nagorno-Karabakh

The three were convicted of “corruption on earth” and “assisting in armed rebellion,” charges that carry the death penalty under Iran’s Islamic law.

The judiciary described them as key coordinators in the planning and logistics of the attacks, which killed a total of 15 people, according to official figures.

Five others received prison terms ranging from five to 25 years. Two were identified as members of the Islamic State militant group, also known as Daesh.

The shrine, a prominent religious and tourist site, was targeted twice in less than a year. Iranian authorities previously executed two people connected to the first attack in October 2022.

In the second attack in August 2023, the main perpetrator was identified as Rahmatullah Nowruzov, a Tajik national. Authorities arrested multiple foreign nationals in connection with that incident.

Iranian officials have attributed the attacks to extremist groups.

A cross-party group of more than 550 MPs and peers have signed a letter calling on the government to label the IRGC a terrorist organization. The signatories include prominent figures such as former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock, ex-Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and former home secretary Suella Braverman.

The appeal comes shortly after British counter-terrorism police charged three Iranian nationals with offences under the National Security Act, alleging they acted on behalf of Iran’s intelligence service and carried out surveillance targeting Iran International journalists.

The men — Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 56 — were arrested at their homes in London on May 3 and charged on Friday.

All three are accused of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between August 14, 2024 and February 16, 2025, in breach of Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. The foreign state involved is Iran, police said.

Tory MP Bob Blackman who coordinated the letter, said "Iranian terrorism has reached our soil. A serious terror plot, involving several Iranians, was recently thwarted in the UK."

“Our ally, the US, rightly designated the IRGC as a terrorist entity several years ago. While the regime has never been weaker, we must set aside all wrong-headed political and diplomatic calculations and proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist entity — an action long overdue.”

The lawmakers argue that allowing the IRGC to operate without restriction sends the wrong message to authoritarian governments. “Appeasing this faltering regime betrays democratic values, emboldens its repressive policies, and undermines global security as Tehran continues its nuclear ambitions and terrorism,” the letter said.

The letter called for firm action against the Revolutionary Guards, saying “the IRGC should be designated as a terrorist organization.”

The UK government has not formally banned the IRGC, but it has imposed sanctions on its members and entities.

Demonstrations were reported in Isfahan, Ahvaz, Birjand, Kermanshah, Qom, Shahinshahr and Mashhad, where bakers voiced frustration over the economic strain threatening their businesses and livelihoods.

Protesters held banners reading, “We are bakers, not slaves. Hear our voice,” and chanted, “Enough with the promises, our tables are empty.”

Footage verified by Iran International showed bakers in Mashhad returning their card readers in protest. In Qom, one baker said he had ceased baking for days, citing nearly a month of uncompensated labor: “I worked 27 days for nothing. The old saying goes, whether it’s a donkey or a fool, it’s still working.”

Bakers cite the failure of the government’s integrated system, delays in promised subsidies under President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration, and steep rises in fuel, insurance, and raw material costs.

Some complained of repeated power outages that destroyed large batches of dough. One video showed a baker smearing spoiled dough on his face in protest over the blackouts.

The protests follow weeks of similar actions outside governorate and municipal offices. In several rallies, demonstrators chanted for the resignation of what they called “incompetent officials.”

On May 7, Gilan governor Hadi Haghshenas acknowledged that current bread prices were unsustainable for producers. “Given the increase in labor wages and utility costs, a price adjustment is reasonable,” he said, adding that a working group would soon finalize a decision on revised rates.

The unrest underscores deepening tensions over basic commodities in Iran, where inflation and subsidy mismanagement continue to fuel economic discontent. Bakers say that without immediate relief, Iran’s most essential staple may soon be priced—or simply unavailable—beyond the reach of ordinary households.

Even after a stringent new bill on the subject stalled in parliament last year, authorities are looking for age-old and high-tech ways to police women's appearance.

The law was delayed due to significant public opposition and the authorities' likely reluctance to confront more protests like the nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom movement in 2022 which it suppressed using deadly force.

But far from being thwarted, the theocracy's enforcement apparatus is evolving in subtle but palpable ways.

An official push for citizen-led policing is empowering individuals to report on women deemed in violation of the state's morality codes. The law envisions business owners facing heavy fines or even closure if patrons of their establishments are reported and found non-compliant.

"That's economically prohibitive, especially in an environment where the economy is doing so poorly due to mismanagement, corruption, global isolation from the financial system and all things," Nia said.

"It really weaponizes people against one another. And it does it around financial incentives, which is very destructive because people need to live," she added. "It's very sinister when people are turned against one another and that really decays the fabric of a society."

The tattling has moved into cutting-edge technology, Nia added, with people being able to report women not wearing hijab inside their cars via an app.

"The other thing that was happening with cars is that there was an app that the regime put out and basically you could report if you saw a hijabless woman in a car," Nia said. "In terms of tech, nobody wants Big Brother watching them."

The official Nazer, or watcher, app allows people who are generally already registered as collaborating with the police or paramilitary basij forces to register and report alleged morality transgressions.

Nuclear deal, women's rights

Protesters and backers of Iran's 2022 protests remain skeptical about the prospect of a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington, Nia said.

"When we see the victims and survivors of Woman Life Freedom - people who paid the ultimate price to really exercise their rights on the streets, many of them are not keen on the deal."

"They very explicitly believe that this is the wrong direction, that this will extend a lifeline to the regime, and they're wondering why they made those sacrifices," she added.

The standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear program has long usurped the human rights situation in the country in the minds of foreign governments and news organizations, Nia lamented, pushing the prospect of meaningful change ever farther away.

"Once the sort of headiness of the Woman Life Freedom Movement and the desire of governments to engage faded after a three-month intense period, six months total ... then there wasn't a view towards a long-term strategy," she said.

"The attention economy is tight."

Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said on Saturday that the Supreme Court has validated the ruling for insulting the Prophet of Islam, making it executable.

“Given the petitions filed by defense lawyers, including a request for clemency and repentance, the sentence may be suspended pending review,” he said.

Following backlash from social media users and celebrities over his death sentence, Iran's Judiciary chief agreed to review the death sentence against the controversial underground singer under Article 477, which allows for a case to be reexamined if the verdict contradicts Islamic law, Tataloo's lawyer Majid Naghshi told Fars News Agency.

“It’s a one-time legal procedure,” Naghshi said. “This is a step forward, though no final decision has been issued.”

Tataloo was initially acquitted of blasphemy charges, but a Tehran prosecutor challenged the verdict. A parallel court issued the death sentence after a retrial, and the Supreme Court later confirmed it.

Tataloo is simultaneously serving a 10-year sentence for “encouraging corruption and vice” in Tehran’s Fashafuyeh prison. According to judiciary-linked outlets, the charges stem from his social media activity, which allegedly promoted immoral behavior, gambling, and sexual content.

The 37-year-old artist was once courted by state-linked figures: he performed a pro-nuclear anthem in 2015 and appeared alongside presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi in 2017.

However, he was later cast out as a corrupting influence. He relocated to Istanbul in 2018, where his online conduct drew criticism, including posts inviting underage girls to join a “Sultan’s Palace.” Instagram removed his account in 2019 for misogynistic content and promoting child marriage.

He was arrested by Turkish police in December 2023 after Iran’s consulate in Istanbul accused him of harassment. He was later extradited and detained at the Bazargan border.

Tataloo’s case has galvanized a wide range of Iranian public figures. Rapper Toomaj Salehi, footballer Mehdi Taremi, actress Sahar Ghoreishi and bodybuilder Hadi Choopan all condemned the sentence.

His legal team maintains that the execution order followed “extralegal severity” and that the original acquittal was improperly reversed. The final ruling now hinges on whether the judiciary finds the current sentence incompatible with Sharia.