Iran sentences acclaimed filmmaker to prison term on propaganda charge

The rise outstrips a previous record of 1.17 million hit on September 30 after European states moved to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program, further constraining its trade opportunities.

By Monday afternoon, the dollar was trading at just over 1.19 million rials, the Euro about 1.38 million and the UK Pound near 1.57 million.

Local exchange-rate websites also showed the Emami gold coin — Iran’s most traded benchmark coin used by households and investors as a store of value — hitting a fresh record above 1.26 billion rials, extending a sharp rise that began over the weekend.

The latest slide in the rial comes amid soaring inflation, renewed volatility in Iran’s unofficial markets and continued uncertainty over stalled nuclear talks with the United States.

The US dollar, which traded at about 140,000 rials in 2018, has risen roughly eight-fold since Donald Trump restored US sanctions on Iran seven years ago.

Britain, France and Germany triggered the so-called snapback mechanism to restore UN sanction under Security Council Resolution 2231, citing Iran's failure to comply with its nuclear obligations.

The move restored UN penalties previously suspended under the resolution, tightening external constraints on Iran’s economy. Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and accuses the United States and European countries of economic warfare.

On Monday, local media reported that alongside fading hopes for reviving nuclear talks, rising gasoline prices have also contributed to turbulence in Iran’s currency and gold markets.

After months of debate, the government formally introduced a three-tier gasoline pricing system, with the third rate set to take effect at 50,000 rials on December 6.

Nasir Abedi, the former administrative and financial deputy of IIDO's Tehran office, had been convicted of rape and sexual abuse of one daughter and assault against another, according to the source who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Abedi, the source said, repeatedly assaulted one girl before she turned twelve, adding that a forensic examiner confirmed rape and the court upheld the findings.

But senior figures, the source added, intervened in the judicial process as the case progressed.

The charge relating to the second child was removed from the final verdict following internal pressure, leaving only one count of rape. The sentence of flogging “was never carried out because of outside interference,” the source told Iran International.

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The organization, according to the source, also acted to block any public disclosures once details of the case circulated internally.

Potential death sentences

Under Iranian criminal law, sexual relations with close relatives constitute one of the gravest offenses, carrying a potential death sentence if penetration is legally established.

While cases involving coercion against children can result in capital punishment or other severe penalties, proceedings within family structures are often influenced by pressure from political, clerical or security institutions.

The timing of the revelations coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, drawing renewed attention to domestic and sexual violence in Iran.

Advocacy groups and survivors have long argued that opaque judicial processes allow politically connected offenders to evade serious consequences.

Past cases echo similar pressures

The Islamic Republic has faced earlier allegations of interference in sexual-abuse cases involving figures.

A former provincial Islamic guidance official, Reza Seghati, received only a flogging sentence after a court classified his same-sex encounter in 2023 as “incomplete,” a decision critics said reflected extra-judicial pressure.

Another notable case involved Saeed Toosi, a prominent Qur’an reciter linked to the Supreme Leader’s office, whose accusers said judicial proceedings collapsed under political influence.

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Abedi previously held positions in other religious foundations, including the Ghadir International Foundation, and in public statements had described the IIDO as an institution “serving Islam” and “affiliated with the leader.”

The organization identifies the promotion of what it calls “pure Islam” as its mandate and plays a central role in enforcing the compulsory hijab and state-endorsed social norms.

Transparency concerns

Although many sexual-violence cases in Iran remain confidential, available reports suggest incidents involving women and children have risen in recent years.

Activists say survivors often lack safe reporting channels and face family pressure and social stigma, while state bodies have at times prioritized institutional reputation over accountability.

The latest allegations highlight the structural obstacles confronting survivors who seek justice and the enduring role of secrecy in shielding powerful offenders.

The Marand–Cheshmeh Soraya transit line, which will run toward Turkey’s Aralik border region, will span about 200 kilometres and cost roughly $1.6 billion.

Iranian authorities say construction is expected to take three to four years to complete.

Speaking in Tehran alongside his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Araghchi said the two sides had agreed in their meeting “to begin work, on a priority basis, to connect the two countries’ railway lines at the border.”

Earlier this month, Iran’s transport minister Farzaneh Sadegh said the project would transform the southern section of the historic Silk Road into an “all-rail corridor ensuring the continuity of the network between China and Europe”.

She said it would enable “fast and cheap transport of all types of cargo with minimal stops”.

The ancient Silk Road linked East Asia to the Middle East and Europe for centuries before declining with the rise of maritime trade routes.

China launched its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, seeking to revive those connections through major maritime, road and rail projects. Despite close political relations with China, Iran has been largely left out of the initiative’s major investments.

Iran has sought to expand infrastructure and trade ties with neighbouring states as it works to revive its strained economy.

Iran's semi-official ISNA cited education minister Alireza Kazemi as saying that Iranian school in Jeddah has reopened after years of closure.

The move, Kazemi said, has "increased Iran’s educational influence in the region."

Iran’s only school in Saudi Arabia was closed in 2016 after Iran withdrew its diplomatic staff from the kingdom.

At the time, Iranian reported that the school had 15 students and two Iranian teachers, who returned to Iran along with the diplomats after the ambassador left Saudi Arabia.

In January 2016, Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016 following the storming of its embassy in Tehran during a dispute over Riyadh's execution of Shiite Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Nimr, who was one of the leaders of the Shiite protests in Saudi Arabia in 2011, had studied in Iran’s religious city of Qom.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called the execution of Nimr "a political mistake and a great sin".

Tehran and Riyadh agreed to end their diplomatic rift and re-open embassies in a major deal facilitated by China in 2023.

Iran’s reopening of the school in Jeddah comes as Saudi Arabia plays a renewed intermediary role between Tehran and Washington, after President Masoud Pezeshkian asked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to convey a message to the United States to help prepare the conditions for resuming nuclear talks.

In 2020, Iran’s state-run English-language newspaper Tehran Times reported that the education ministry was overseeing 95 Iranian schools in 43 countries. However, in 2022, Iranian media, citing the deputy head of the Centre for International Affairs and Overseas Schools, said the number of overseas schools had fallen by about half, without giving a new total.

Rouhani told former ministers and senior officials that Iran had entered a prolonged period of strategic uncertainty following the 12-day confrontation, arguing that the absence of clear deterrence has left the country exposed to regional pressures and foreign threats.

Rouhani said that “after five months have passed since the 12-day war, we are still in a situation of neither war nor peace, and there is no sense of security in the country. Whether actual security exists or not is another matter.”

He added that “when people do not feel secure, talking about economic growth, lowering inflation or attracting investment has little meaning. This feeling of insecurity – psychological insecurity, social insecurity, intellectual insecurity, mental insecurity – exists.”

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  Comeback or last stand? Rouhani in crosshairs of Iran’s power struggle

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  Diplomatic concessions and reform needed to forestall war, Rouhani warns

He said national security in any country rests on deterrence and on stopping adversaries from initiating conflict.

Rouhani tied Iran’s own shortfalls in deterrence to regional instability, saying neighboring states still rely heavily on the United States and Israel for security. He said Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan do not control their airspace or security environments in ways that would limit hostile activity, and that this has reduced Iran’s strategic buffer zone.

“Unfortunately, we do not currently have broad regional deterrence. Our neighboring countries – Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan – are, unfortunately, operating in environments largely shaped by the United States and Israel.”

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He warned that this landscape has created what he described as unusually free access for Israel, saying “Israel moves up to our borders in undefended and open airspace” and “the sky up to Iran has become completely safe for the enemy.”

Rouhani said national cohesion and accurate assessments of Iran’s own capabilities remain essential for maintaining deterrence. He cautioned against overestimating Iran’s military or technological strengths and said misjudging adversaries could lead to strategic miscalculations.

Rouhani said renewed diplomacy remains essential even if political negotiations are difficult. “In politics, a complete dead end is very rare. We must make extra efforts to resolve issues.”

He said avoiding a renewed conflict ultimately rests with Iran, adding “whether war happens again is in our hands.”