Saudi Arabia frees Iranian cleric imprisoned for video critical of Riyadh

“Family members of 3 Indian citizens have informed the Embassy of India that their relatives are missing after having travelled to Iran,” the embassy said in a statement.

“The Embassy has strongly taken up this matter with the Iranian authorities, and requested that the missing Indians should be urgently traced and their safety should be ensured.”

The missing men — Hushanpreet Singh, Jaspal Singh, and Amritpal Singh — are all from the northern Indian state of Punjab and reportedly lost contact with their families shortly after landing in Tehran on May 1.

According to Indian media, they had planned to travel to Australia via Dubai and Iran, reportedly with the help of an agent based in Hoshiarpur who is now also missing.

Relatives said the men were kidnapped and that a ransom was demanded.

The embassy said it is in regular contact with the families. There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities.

Sina Gholinejad, 37, admitted to one count of computer fraud and abuse and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for August.

According to court documents, Gholinejad and co-conspirators used the Robbinhood ransomware to breach and encrypt files on the networks of municipalities, health care providers, and nonprofit organizations across the United States between January 2019 and March 2024.

Victims included the cities of Greenville, Gresham, Yonkers, and Baltimore, which alone incurred more than $19 million in damages and lost services.

The attacks rendered city systems offline for months, disrupting essential functions such as water billing, property tax collection, and parking enforcement. Prosecutors said the group demanded Bitcoin payments in exchange for decryption keys and sometimes threatened to publish stolen data.

No state affiliation of the case has been made by the DOJ, but US authorities have previously warned of cyber threats from Iranian state-linked groups. Iran has denied targeting US entities with cyberattacks.

Gholinejad was arrested on January 10, 2025, at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The FBI led the investigation, with assistance from Bulgarian authorities.

Gholamreza Ghasemian, a conservative religious scholar and a former head of Iran’s parliamentary library and documentation center, was detained in the city of Medina while performing Hajj rituals, the reports said.

On Tuesday, Iran’s judiciary spokesman said the arrest of Gholamreza Ghasemian in Saudi Arabia was “unjustified and unlawful,” adding that the Foreign Ministry would follow up on the case.

Saudi authorities have not commented publicly on the matter.

In a video posted before his arrest, Ghasemian criticized Saudi Arabia, accusing it of transforming the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina into destinations for entertainment and commercialization.

He also described conditions for pilgrims as highly restrictive, alleging that Saudi authorities prevent worshippers from engaging deeply with Islamic teachings during Hajj.

Cleric linked to 2016 Saudi embassy attack

Ghasemian has been linked by an Iranian documentary filmmaker to the 2016 attack on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, which triggered a major rupture in relations between Tehran and Riyadh.

According to the filmmaker, Javad Mogouei, Ghasemian gave a fiery speech at a religious gathering shortly before some attendees went on to storm the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

The assault on the embassy and the consulate in Mashhad came after Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The incident led Riyadh to sever diplomatic ties, accusing Iran of failing to protect foreign missions. Iranian security forces were widely criticized for allowing demonstrators to set fire to the embassy and destroy diplomatic property.

Saudi and Iran continue to rebuild relations

The arrest comes at a time of cautious rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh, who resumed diplomatic relations in 2023 after a seven-year break.

In April, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman made a rare visit to Tehran, marking only the second such trip since Iran’s 1979 revolution.

Ties have also improved in practical terms. Earlier this month, a direct flight by Saudi carrier Flynas landed in Iran for the first time in nearly a decade, marking the start of Hajj operations under a bilateral agreement that will see around 37,000 Iranian pilgrims flown to Saudi Arabia by July 1. Flynas and Iran Air are jointly operating the routes.

“It’s not like we will die of hunger if they refuse to negotiate with us or impose sanctions. We will find a way to survive,” Pezeshkian said referring to indirect nuclear negotiations with the US.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the founding of Islamic Azad University, Pezeshkian emphasized self-reliance, unity, and the mobilization of Iran’s domestic talent. “If we reach agreement internally with our people and elites, we will not need anyone else,” he said.

Pezeshkian, a moderate politician elected last year, expressed optimism about Iran’s ability to overcome economic and political challenges, including sanctions. “There are hundreds of ways to overcome problems. We must unite and let our experts act,” he added.

Iran and the United States have engaged in indirect nuclear talks through intermediaries in recent months. While no formal deal has been announced, US officials have hinted at progress toward de-escalation.

Iran has been under heavy US sanctions since Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. Those have since increased since 2022 with the Woman, Life, Freedom protests leading to further global sanctions for rights abuses and Iran's support of Russia's war on Ukraine garnering others.

Pezeshkian’s administration has signaled a willingness to resolve domestic and international challenges through a combination of dialogue, resilience, and national unity. “Whether the enemy wants it or not, we will bring our country to the place it deserves,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has warned Iran that if a new nuclear deal is not reached, the US will 'bomb' Iran.

However, talks are sticking over the issue of Iran's uranium enrichment which the US wants Iran to stop completely, but which Iran says is its red line.

The award for his film It Was Just an Accident, hailed as a milestone for Iranian cinema and a symbolic victory for freedom of expression, also sparked harsh criticism from pro-government media in Iran.

Panahi, a former political prisoner banned from travel and filmmaking for over a decade, received a standing ovation at the award ceremony.

The Palme d'Or was presented by acclaimed actress Cate Blanchett on Saturday night. In his acceptance speech, Panahi struck a unifying tone, calling on Iranians inside and outside the country to "set aside our differences" and work collectively toward democracy, dignity and human rights.

“Let no one tell us what to wear, what to do or what films to make,” he said, drawing repeated applause from the audience.

The moment was described by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot as a "symbolic act of resistance" against repression. “Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or revives hope for freedom fighters around the world,” Barrot wrote on X.

A national and global moment

The win drew emotional reactions from across Iranian political and artistic figures at home and abroad.

Nobel Peace Laureate Narges Mohammadi, writing from inside Iran, described Panahi as a “brave and distinguished director” whose recognition was the result of years of relentless effort to deepen human and civil values through art.

Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled heir to Iran’s former monarchy, congratulated Panahi and called the award a “great honor for Iran.” He expressed hope that Iranian filmmakers could one day work “without censorship or restriction” in their homeland.

Iranian activist Hamed Esmaeilion called Panahi a “true hero,” praising his resilience in the face of censorship and repression. “His courage inspires all who fight for justice and freedom,” he said.

Political prisoner Mehdi Mahmoudian, speaking from Tehran’s Evin Prison, said the award was “not just a cinematic honor, but a victory of truth over censorship.”

Iranian-British actress Nazanin Boniadi also praised Panahi’s speech, calling him a “unifying voice” at a time when Iranians are searching for solidarity and vision.

The wave of celebration was echoed by 135 civil, political, and cultural activists, who issued a joint statement lauding Panahi as a symbol of artistic integrity and human rights advocacy.

The statement said that Panahi had joined a rare class of filmmakers alongside legends like Michelangelo Antonioni and Robert Altman—to win all three major European film prizes: the Golden Bear (Berlin), Golden Lion (Venice), and now the Palme d’Or (Cannes).

Film made in defiance

It Was Just an Accident, a political thriller, was shot clandestinely in Iran without government authorization and in open defiance of mandatory hijab laws.

The film’s production and Panahi’s public defiance of censorship laws have drawn admiration from international film communities and rights groups.

The Cannes jury also awarded Panahi the Festival’s Citizenship Prize, recognizing his broader contributions to freedom of expression.

An increasing number of Iranian filmmakers are defying the country's strict ideological censorship by making movies without seeking the Culture Ministry's permission for screening abroad.

Last year, prominent Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi said he will not produce any films in Iran until the ban on showing women without headscarves is lifted, as people demand.

Official backlash in Tehran

Inside Iran, however, the award was met with either silence or anger from state-linked outlets.

The conservative daily Farhikhtegan, affiliated with Islamic Azad University, dismissed the honor with the headline: “Palme d’Or Turns to Rust”.

The editorial accused European film festivals of orientalist bias and suggested that Panahi’s acclaim was driven by political motives rather than artistic merit.

The Student News Agency (SNN) went further, branding Panahi a “middleman” and “Iran-seller.” It called the ceremony a “political show” orchestrated by “PR marketers.”

Despite the criticism, Panahi’s victory has reignited conversations around freedom of expression, artistic resistance, and national unity among Iranians worldwide.

As he left the stage in Cannes, Panahi expressed a simple hope: “I dream of an Iran where artists are not silenced, where truth has no borders, and where no one lives in fear for telling a story.”