A group of women chanted “Death to the dictator” in Tehran’s Sadeghieh neighborhood on Tuesday during the third anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, a video received by Iran International shows.
Iran has officially selected murky moral drama ‘Cause of Death: Unknown’ as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards due to be announced on March 2.
Directed by Ali Zarnegar, the 2023 film follows seven sojourners in the Lut Desert in southeastern Iran who face a moral dilemma after discovering a large sum of money on a deceased fellow traveler.
The story examines human ethics, survival and moral choices under pressure, and has drawn praise for its suspenseful narrative and minimalist storytelling.
The film’s path to recognition faced challenges. It was removed from the official selection of the 40th Fajr Film Festival in 2022 in Tehran, just days before the event.
Authorities pulled it from the state-run event for unclear reasons but allowed it to be screened elsewhere.
Zarnegar publicly criticized the decision, emphasizing that social cinema reflects society and lamenting the suppression of creative expression.
The movie won the Audience Award at the Iranian Film Festival in New York and received nominations for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor at the 2023 Shanghai International Film Festival where it also won Best Cinematography.
Iran has a history of submitting films to the Academy Awards, with internationally acclaimed works by Asghar Farhadi such as A Separation and The Salesman, which won Best Foreign Language Film in 2012 and 2017, respectively, and A Hero, which was nominated in 2022.
Before Farhadi’s success, 'Children of Heaven' by Majid Majidi became the first Iranian film to earn an Oscar nomination in 1999, though it lost to Roberto Benigni’s 'Life Is Beautiful'.
Iranian filmmakers Shirin Sohani and Hossein Malayemi won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in March for their film In the Shadow of the Cypress at the 97th Oscars in Hollywood, dedicating the award to their fellow Iranians.
While Iranian cinema has global reputation for its exploration of social themes, independent filmmakers operate under a system of stringent censorship.
The government requires script approval and screening permits by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, punishing those who challenge political or social taboos with bans, imprisonment or exile.
The Islamic Republic survived the Woman, Life, Freedom protests three years ago, but Iranian women’s defiance keeps reshaping society and their lives in irreversible ways.
After the crackdown, hardliners introduced new “hijab enforcement” bills and deployed surveillance cameras to identify unveiled women.
The laws remain on the books, but the persistent defiance of women—and men supporting them—has rendered them largely unenforceable.
“Looking back to three years ago, when the government seemed in total control, I wonder at the courage of those who left home to protest knowing they could be shot, arrested, blinded, or confined to a wheelchair for life,” said Shina, a 34-year-old artist in Tehran.
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on Tuesday on four Iranian nationals and more than a dozen companies and individuals in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates accused of helping Iran’s military move funds through oil sales and cryptocurrency.
“Iranian entities rely on shadow banking networks to evade sanctions and move millions through the international financial system,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley said in a statement.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue to disrupt these key financial streams that fund Iran’s weapons programs and malign activities in the Middle East and beyond.”
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said Iranian nationals Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand purchased more than $100 million in cryptocurrency for oil sales between 2023 and 2025.
Alivand, it alleged, also carried out transactions worth millions of dollars with Tawfiq Muhammad Sa’id al-Law, a Hezbollah-linked money changer who provided the group with access to digital wallets for funds tied to Iranian oil sales.
Also designated were Vahid Derakhshan and Leila Karimi, whom the Treasury said were involved in the financial activities of UAE- and Hong Kong-based firms tied to Derakhshan.
The action also targeted 13 UAE- and Hong Kong-based front companies, including Alpa Trading – FZCO, Powell Raw Materials Trading and Alpa Hong Kong Limited.
TheTreasury said the networks laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through front companies and digital assets to finance groups aligned with Iran and weapons programs including ballistic missiles and drones.
US revokes Chabahar sanctions waiver
Separately, the Secretary of State revoked a sanctions exception issued in 2018 under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (IFCA) for Afghanistan reconstruction assistance and economic development, effective Sept. 29, 2025.
Afghanistan was overrun by Washington's Taliban foes in 2021.
“Once the revocation is effective, persons who operate the Chabahar Port or engage in other activities described in IFCA may expose themselves to sanctions,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Thomas Pigott said in a statement.
The Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act imposes penalties on sectors of Iran’s economy linked to energy, shipping, and shipbuilding.
Chabahar Port, in southeastern Iran, had been exempted since 2018 to facilitate trade and reconstruction projects for Afghanistan.
The Islamic Republic survived the Woman, Life, Freedom protests three years ago, but Iranian women’s defiance keeps reshaping society and their lives in irreversible ways.
After the crackdown, hardliners introduced new “hijab enforcement” bills and deployed surveillance cameras to identify unveiled women.
The laws remain on the books, but the persistent defiance of women—and men supporting them—has rendered them largely unenforceable.
“Looking back to three years ago, when the government seemed in total control, I wonder at the courage of those who left home to protest knowing they could be shot, arrested, blinded, or confined to a wheelchair for life,” said Shina, a 34-year-old artist in Tehran.
Recalling the 2022–2023 protests and the extraordinary violence against demonstrators, she described the cost as heavy.
“People eventually returned to their homes, but no one doubts that the change that followed was worth it. Those who protested will protest again, and many who stayed home will go out if women's achievements are in danger,” she said.
Walking through even conservative cities such as Qom and Mashhad, as witness accounts and an abundance of videos on social media attest, the rules for women's appearance have shifted drastically since Mahsa Amini died in morality police custody in 2022.
The nationwide protests which followed were scotched with deadly force.
Her supposed offense was strands of hair showing beneath her headscarf, though she wore a modest black coat and trousers.
At the time, morality police patrols were a daily fixture, stationed at squares, metro stops and shopping malls, stopping and arresting thousands of women or impounding their cars.
Today, unveiled women are a pervasive sight in shops, banks, restaurants and metro cars.
'No going back'
On top of the gains, new boundaries are being tested daily by women.
“There is no going back for women. The genie is out of the bottle and can’t be pushed back into it,” said Taha, a 55-year-old from Tehran, and pointed to shifts far beyond clothing.
“For decades, riding motorbikes was taboo. Just look at how many women now ride in defiance of authorities who refuse them licenses because of gender. Like those who defied the hijab, they are multiplying by the day and will eventually force the government to give in,” he said.
Public singing and dancing—once unimaginable—are now similarly more visible, especially among young people. Women post videos of their performances on social media. Each act chips away at decades of enforced control, much like posting unveiled photos once did.
Women are not alone
Many Iranian men openly support women’s demand for control over their appearance and lives.
“My daughter dreams of becoming a gymnast or ballerina, performing for the public and taking part in international competitions. Other young girls have similar aspirations," said Alireza, father of a teenage boy and girl.
"The women of my generation were forced into submission and their dreams were lost, but the young people of today will not give in; they know that they still have a long way to go and need our support."
Taha said male solidarity with women was essential for progress.
“Seeing women breaking out of boundaries is extraordinary and inspiring. We must support them in whatever way we can so our daughters, wives, and friends can't be forced back into defined roles,” he added.
"What Iranian women have achieved, through years of perseverance and sacrifice, has been a lesson to all.”
Ecuador has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations in a decree signed by President Daniel Noboa on Monday.
It cited reports from Ecuador’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) warning of the groups’ presence in South America and possible ties to domestic criminal networks.
The three groups, the decree added, pose a direct threat to public security and sovereignty of Ecuador. Quito has grappled with rising crime as drugs gangs have gained clout and firepower in recent years.
Israel’s foreign affairs minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed the decision and thanked the Ecuadorean government for the designations.
"Ecuador’s courageous step sends a clear message against Iran’s terror network and strengthens global security," Sa’ar said in a post on X. "We call on more countries in Latin America and around the world to follow suit."
The move brings Ecuador in line with the United States, which lists Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRGC as foreign terrorist organizations.
Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have similarly blacklisted the IRGC.
The United States has long urged other countries to blacklist the group, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to announce Ecuador's move prematurely on X following a visit to the country this month. The post was subsequently edited to remove a reference to Ecuador's terrorist designation of Hezbollah and the IRGC.
Ecuador’s designation of the IRGC comes less than a month after Australia announced plans to legislate its own designation of the group as a terrorist organization.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last month that intelligence gathered by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization showed Iran had directed attacks on a kosher restaurant in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne last year.
Iran denied the allegations and said Australia's move aimed to distract from righteous solidarity with Palestine among Australia's own citizens.
Paraguay designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in April and expanded its classification of Hamas and Hezbollah to include all components of both groups.
In a presidential decree, Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña expanded the country’s 2019 designation of the military wings of Hezbollah and Hamas to also cover their political and social branches.