Two Iranian protesters sexually assaulted in custody - report

Iranian authorities have suspended the Tehran-based reformist daily Ham-Mihan after it published a series of articles on recent unrest, its editor told the news website Khabaronline on Monday.

The website quoted the editor as saying that Iran’s Press Supervisory Board had cited two recent articles as the reason for the decision. One was an editorial titled “From Dey 1357 to Dey 1403,” published on Jan. 25. Dey is a month in the Iranian calendar that roughly corresponds to late December and early January. The year 1357 marks the 1979 Islamic Revolution, while 1403 is the current Iranian calendar year.

The other was an article by journalist Elaheh Mohammadi titled “When the boundaries of treatment were broken,” published on Jan. 17 under the front-page headline “The hospital story from Ilam to Sina,” Khabaronline reported.

In its latest issue, Ham-Mihan also published an account of what it called the “unrest of Dey,” referring to the same period.

The newspaper wrote that the number of dead and wounded was high in the cities of Izeh and Ramhormoz, and that around 10 socially vulnerable people had died in Mashhad. It added that most of those detained were between the ages of 20 and 25, according to Khabaronline.

Ham-Mihan also wrote that what it described as unofficial reports pointed to protests in more than 100 cities across the country.

“Unofficial news suggests that protests took place in more than 100 cities in Iran, from smaller towns such as Marvdasht and Fasa in Fars province, Hafshejan in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Abdanan and Malekshahi in Ilam province, and Junaqan in Isfahan province, to larger cities including Rasht, Mashhad, Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kish, Qeshm and Bandar Abbas,” the newspaper wrote.

“The scale of the protests, as well as the number of those killed and wounded, remains unclear due to the internet shutdown and the lack of official figures. What we know comes from before the official cutoff and from conversations with residents of these cities,” it added.

Alireza Enayati said in an interview with the Saudi newspaper Okaz that Iran believed dialogue and joint regional action were the most effective ways to preserve stability and avoid broader conflict.

“In recent days, we have witnessed contacts from Arab countries,” Enayati said, adding that foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman had been in close communication with Tehran, alongside a recent visit by Oman’s foreign minister.

“These efforts are aimed at regional stability and strengthening security,” he said, adding that Iran welcomed initiatives to prevent escalation but warned that “the ignition of any tension, even a conflict targeting one specific country, would have serious consequences for the entire region.”

Enayati said Iran remained committed to peaceful solutions for regional crises and viewed dialogue as the only way to address even the most complex issues, while accusing other parties of opting for confrontation instead.

He warned against what he described as plans aimed at weakening countries in the region and said the real threat was Israel’s growing influence in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and at least two other regional leaders support what sources described as an active strategy aimed at toppling Iran’s leadership in the near term, according to a report by Israel Hayom.

“Netanyahu, along with at least two other regional leaders, supports an active approach aimed at toppling the regime in the near term and has committed to providing all necessary support toward that goal,” the newspaper reported.

The report said Netanyahu conveyed that view during recent talks with US President Donald Trump and other regional leaders, even as Washington decided last week not to launch a military strike on Iran.

According to Israel Hayom, intelligence assessments presented to Trump warned that a limited aerial strike would be unlikely to cause the collapse of Iran’s leadership and could carry significant risks.

Other regional intelligence agencies shared the view that Iran’s rulers would not fall quickly, but assessed that Tehran’s ability to respond militarily was weaker than its public rhetoric suggested, the paper said.

Israel Hayom also quoted a source as saying that a major US move against Iran was “not a question of if, but when,” adding that the timing and nature of any action were under constant review.

Waters, a co-founder of Pink Floyd, made the remarks on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Friday when asked about nationwide protests in Iran.

He said calls for political change were not representative of the public and portrayed the demonstrations as driven by economic pressures such as inflation and currency depreciation.

“The Iranians do not want regime change,” Waters said, adding that protesters were focused on economic pressures rather than political transformation.

Waters also dismissed support for a return to monarchy or any political role for the former shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, whose name has been chanted by protesters in the streets.

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  What protesters in Iran are chanting

Accusations of distorting protesters’ demands

The comments drew swift pushback from Iranian users online, many of whom said Waters misrepresented the scale and slogans of the protests. Critics accused him of echoing official narratives and downplaying the extent of violence against demonstrators.

In response, activists launched an online petition titled “Show Roger Waters the True Desires of Iranians.” Arash F., the organizer, said Iran was at a critical moment and that Waters’ remarks prompted the campaign to convey what the petition describes as the demands of most Iranians at home and abroad.

“The people of Iran want regime change. The people of Iran are tired of Islam being imposed on them. The people of Iran at this point welcome any means that helps to rid us from these tyrants and thieves that operate our country,” the petition text said.

It urges Waters not to speak on behalf of Iranians and invites him to witness conditions firsthand if he wishes to comment.

Iranian rapper Shahin Najafi also weighed in on X, delivering one of the sharpest rebukes of Waters’ comments.

Najafi wrote that a figure he described as a public defender of Hamas had no legitimacy to comment on what he called the Iranian people’s revolution or their demands, arguing that such remarks amounted to aligning with “terrorist regime” and the Iranian authorities.

“More than twelve thousand Iranians have been killed by the regime’s forces. By justifying this violence, you stand complicit with the Islamic Republic. After Iran is freed from this child-killing terrorist regime, you will owe the Iranian people a clear and public apology,” he wrote.

Iranian musician and television host Arash Sobhani also criticized Waters in a post on X, saying the interview was a reminder that when an artist “replaces truth with ideology,” they stop being an artist and become a propagandist.

Sobhani added that similar images and narratives would likely be used to fire up audiences at Waters’ upcoming concerts, ending his post with a pointed reference to Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall.

Claims about protest violence

In another part of the interview, Waters attributed the killing of protesters not to state forces but to “organized armed thugs,” which he suggested could be linked to foreign intelligence services including MI6 and the CIA.

“The government sent the police out to protect those grocers, those business owners, those ordinary working people in Iran. They were attacked by gangs of armed thugs who murdered… Armed thugs probably organized by MI6 and the CIA,” said Waters.

The allegation, made without evidence, was widely criticized online as repeating official talking points and minimizing responsibility for the crackdown.

Iran International has previously reported that at least 12,000 people were killed in the largest mass killing in Iran’s modern history, during protests on January 8 and 9 that were carried out largely by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij on the orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

User reactions remained sharp. One X user wrote that they had once admired Waters but now saw his comments as either naive or financially motivated. Another accused him of “washing away the blood of Iranians” by distorting reality.

Others shared altered images of Waters wearing a clerical turban, depicting him as sympathetic to authoritarian governments and armed groups in the region – posts that quickly spread as a symbol of anger over his remarks.

Alireza Salimi said the impeachment process had been suspended but not removed from the parliamentary agenda, according to comments reported by the Tasnim news agency.

He said the decision was taken in light of remarks by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei calling for cooperation with the government and urging the executive branch to intensify efforts to address the country’s problems.

Salimi said parliament would continue its oversight role and would monitor the government’s performance closely, adding that lawmakers could resume using supervisory tools if the cabinet failed to meet expectations.

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  Tehran hardliners launch impeachment push on Pezeshkian cabinet

According to Tasnim, impeachment motions against the ministers of labor, oil, roads and urban development, energy, culture and Islamic guidance, sports, and agriculture had been referred to the presiding board. Proposals to impeach the ministers of industry and higher education had also been registered and were in the signature-gathering stage.

Separately, an impeachment motion against Labor Minister Ahmad Meydari was referred last week to parliament’s social affairs committee for review, Tasnim reported.

The move comes as protests that began over economic grievances have evolved into calls for regime change, with the country still largely under an internet blackout and reports of more than 12,000 people killed in the ensuing crackdown.