Iran’s parliament ratifies 20-year pact with Russia

In an article titled “Building a new reality for the region: Toward stability, sovereignty and solidarity in West Asia,” Araghchi painted a sobering picture of mounting challenges in the region, including protracted conflicts, environmental degradation, and humanitarian crises.

He argued that externally imposed security arrangements have repeatedly failed to deliver long-term stability.“The people of this region have paid the price for policies that were drafted without their consent or participation,” he wrote.

The top Iranian diplomat said the current geopolitical disorder is rooted in decades of unresolved conflicts, worsened by foreign interference.

He warned that issues like water scarcity, refugee displacement, and economic fragility are shared threats requiring regional cooperation rather than competitive power politics.

“Security in West Asia must no longer be treated as a zero-sum game,” Araghchi stressed. “It should be a collective endeavor based on mutual respect and inclusive dialogue.”

However, he warned that no regional security architecture would be complete without addressing the role of Israel, which he accused of persistent destabilization and operating outside international disarmament norms.

“A regime that systematically violates international law and enjoys unchecked military privilege cannot be part of any sustainable security framework,” Araghchi said, citing Israel’s nuclear ambiguity and history of regional military activity.

Araghchi called for West Asia to embrace a “homegrown paradigm of security” rooted in shared sovereignty and common prosperity, inviting global powers to support, rather than dictate, this transition.

“The future of West Asia will not be written in distant capitals,” he concluded. “It will be authored by the peoples of the region, based on frameworks reflecting their histories, cultures, and collective will.”

Araghchi’s article comes as indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States appear stalled, with both sides holding firm on uranium enrichment — a key sticking point each describes as a red line.

It also comes in the wake of a weakening of some of Iran's key military allies in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and allied groups in Syria, once a military stronghold for Tehran under the presidency of ousted President Bashar al Assad.

The attacker, identified as Yasin Hoseinzadeh, stormed the embassy in January 2023, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle.

He broke through the security post and opened fire, killing the head of the embassy’s security service, Orkhan Asgarov, and injuring two others — Vasif Taghiyev and Mahir Imanov — who tried to stop the attack, according to APA.

At the time, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev condemned the attack on social media, calling it a “terrorist act” and “unacceptable.”

Iranian authorities said the attacker acted on a personal motive, believing his wife was inside the embassy and refusing to see him.

He was sentenced to death for murder, illegal possession of firearms, and disturbing public order. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict, and the sentence was carried out on Wednesday morning.

The attack led to the suspension of Azerbaijan’s embassy operations in Iran. Diplomatic staff and their families were evacuated shortly after the incident, and the mission only resumed work at a new location in July last year following negotiations between the two countries.

Relations between the two neighbours have been tense, with Azerbaijan accusing Iran of mistreating its ethnic Azeri population, and Tehran expressing concern over Baku’s close ties with Israel and possible regional border shifts following the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

The 'Artemis Act' unveiled on Tuesday honors Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old asylum seeker who was expelled to Panama by the Trump administration after entering the US via its southern border.

She was denied a legally mandated interview and placed on a military flight without notice, her attorney said.

“Artemis Ghasemzadeh was denied the due process afforded to asylum seekers by law, plain and simple,” Arizona Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari. “Returning to the Islamic Republic of Iran would mean immediate—potentially deadly—danger for her, both as a woman and a Christian convert.”

“People like Artemis who are fleeing religious persecution should not be subject to expedited removal. They deserve a chance to plead their case–that's what my bill will guarantee,” she wrote on X.

Ghasemzadeh fled Iran after members of her underground bible study group were arrested. She told Iran International she was misled about her transfer, held in a jungle detention camp in Panama, and forced to subsist on contaminated water and stale bread.

“The food just helps us stay full and not die,” she said at the time, using a shared phone before being cut off.

The proposed Artemis Act would prohibit deportations to any country listed by the US government as committing “particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” aiming to prevent removals like Ghasemzadeh’s.

Her lawyer has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against both US and Panamanian authorities.

The SNSC directive, a copy of which was obtained by Iran International, warned that failure to comply would be considered an act of threatening national interests and security.

It instructed media outlets and editors to only rely on official statements from the Iranian Foreign Ministry—namely, the foreign minister and the ministry’s spokesperson—for any coverage related to the ongoing talks.

The directive was published hours after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that the current indirect nuclear talks with the United States are unlikely to succeed.

"Translating or republishing negotiation-related news from foreign sources including foreign state or non-state media, social networks, online activists, or any other sources is strictly prohibited and considered contrary to national interests and security," the notice said.

The council also warned against publishing any analysis, interpretation or speculation—whether supportive or critical—about the content or outcome of the negotiations.

"Media outlets are also expected, in order to maintain national unity, preserve public psychological calm, support the negotiating team, and convey a unified message to both domestic and international audiences," it continued.

Outlets must "refrain entirely from publishing any analysis, prediction, interpretation, or independent commentary regarding the details of the negotiations, the positions of the opposing parties, or conclusions based on unofficial reports," it added.

The directive emphasized that the restrictions are aimed at preventing the spread of misinformation and ensuring consistency in the country’s foreign policy messaging.

The 2024 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index ranked Iran 176th out of 180 countries assessed, citing state control of the media landscape and the arbitrary arrest and prosecution of journalists before revolutionary courts.

“Many users fall for false promises and suffer serious financial and reputational damage,” said Vahid Majid, head of Iran’s Cyber Police (FATA), in remarks to Tasnim, a news agency affiliated with the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He said the police were taking “consistent and firm action against websites facilitating sigheh, matchmaking.”

Majid added that victims often avoid filing complaints due to concerns over honor and privacy, hampering legal follow-up.

Police continue to track offenders even in the absence of formal complaints, he added, warning that “sigheh-related pages were under full surveillance.”

The remarks followed Iran International's reporting last week that while many of these platforms are indeed fraudulent, some do function. The outlet contacted several Telegram channels and found that in some cases, women responded, sent voice notes, or even agreed to meet in person in case of a cash exchange.

Although the Islamic Republic denies endorsing these services, the investigation pointed to a functioning market where sex work is marketed as religiously-sanctioned contract marriage.