15-year-old footballer shot dead in central Iran protests

A 65-year-old man was killed after being shot by security forces during nationwide protests in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, people familiar with the matter told Iran International.

Khodadad Alftati, originally from Kermanshah province, was fatally shot on the evening of January 8, in the Fardis area of the city, the sources said.

Alftati was laid to rest on January 12, according to the sources.

A 19-year-old detained protester is facing charges that could carry the death penalty, people familiar with the matter told Iran International.

Mohammad Karimkhani has been accused of “espionage” and “collaboration with Israel” in connection with nationwide protests and allegations that he “made Molotov cocktails and possessed wartime ammunition,” according to the indictment.

Karimkhani is at risk of being issued a death sentence, the sources told Iran International.

Sources told Iran International that judicial authorities have so far prevented Karimkhani from accessing legal counsel.

Hundreds of workers have been detained during the nationwide protests in the Shirino area of Kangan, an industrial area in Bushehr province in southern Iran, and are being held in facilities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, according to a post on X by human rights defender and university professor Hossein Raeesi.

Raeesi said the workers were transferred to warehouses belonging to Omran Sahel, a construction firm affiliated with the Guards’ engineering conglomerate tied to Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters.

“The lives of all these workers are in danger,” he wrote, adding that they were being held in inhumane conditions without access to basic facilities.

Raeesi added that at least five workers died in the early days of detention as a result of torture.

An Iranian man from the southern port city of Bushehr released a video in English appealing to US President Donald Trump and Western governments to halt any deal with Iran’s ruling establishment before taking his own life.

In the roughly 10-minute video, the man, identified by Iranian media and activists as Pouria Hamidi, said he wanted to draw attention to what he described as a deadly crackdown on protests in Iran and urged Washington not to pursue negotiations with Tehran.

“If you’re watching this, then I’m not around anymore,” he said at the start of the video, adding that he was speaking to raise awareness about a massacre carried out by Iranian authorities during recent unrest.

“More than 40,000 people died, killed, massacred. More than Russia and Ukraine war and more than Israel and Palestine.”

Addressing US leaders directly, Hamidi urged them to abandon diplomacy with Tehran, saying any agreement would “betray all those people who died.”

“So please,” he said. “I beg you, do whatever you can to stop this deal.”

The video, recorded in English, also included appeals for foreign intervention, criticism of Iran’s religious establishment and expressions of support for exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi.

“America attacking the Iran is the only hope we have right now,” he said, adding, “We can't fight this regime alone. Our people need foreign intervention.”

Hamidi described his message as an attempt to give meaning to his life and said he hoped Iranians would support one another.

At the end of the recording, he switched to Persian, saying: “We people of Iran are lonely people and have nobody, so please support each other. Long live Iran.”

Israel remains on high alert as it weighs both the risk of a new military campaign and what it sees as a worse outcome: an agreement with Iran that leaves the ruling system intact, unlocks frozen funds and fails to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, Israel Hayom reported on Sunday.

“Officially, Israel is currently on the sidelines. Still, it is impossible to miss the high level of alert, not only in anticipation of a possible imminent military campaign. The main concern at present is actually the alternative scenario: an agreement with Iran that leaves the ayatollah regime in place, releases frozen funds, allows a missile program and does not fully eliminate its nuclear project,” read the article.

During that period, Israeli officials are expected to step up diplomatic outreach, intelligence activity and operational planning to persuade US President Donald Trump that there is a “historic window of opportunity” to curb Iran’s threat.

“It is likely that during this time Israel will continue its diplomatic, operational and intelligence blitz in an effort to persuade Trump not to miss what it sees as a historic window of opportunity,” it said.

Those efforts were also expected to shape Netanyahu’s planned meeting with Trump in Washington later this week, the report said.