Iran cleric says war is 'on the table' if talks fail

“I am horrified by reports that at least eight people, including two children, have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests,” Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Another 30 people appeared to face the same risk, he added.

Amnesty International said last week that at least 30 people connected to the protests face possible execution. Eight of them – Saleh Mohammadi, 18, Mohammad Amin Biglari, 19, Ali Fahim, Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, Amirhossein Hatami, Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar – were sentenced to death in February within weeks of their arrests.

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  Seven sentenced to death in Iran protest fire case

At least 22 others, including two 17-year-olds, are awaiting trial or remain in legal proceedings, the rights group said. Amnesty reported that defendants had been subjected to “torture-tainted confessions” and other serious due process violations, including denial of access to lawyers during investigations and rejection of independent counsel chosen by families.

The organization called for an immediate halt to executions and the quashing of protest-related death sentences.

Human rights reports say tens of thousands of people have been detained in recent weeks, with some independent sources estimating the true number of summonses and arrests at close to 100,000 or even higher.

A significant portion of those detained are teenagers, young adults and citizens under the age of 30 – a generation that often has no prior experience of security interrogations or expedited court proceedings.

“I am extremely alarmed about the potential for regional military escalation and its impact on civilians, and I hope the voice of reason prevails,” Turk said in the same address.

An Iranian navy flotilla returned to territorial waters after a 100-day mission that covered about 13,000 nautical miles, state media reported.

Flotilla 103, made up of the Makran forward base ship and the Bayandor-class corvette IRIS Naghdi of the regular navy, as well as the Shahid Mahdavi warship of the Revolutionary Guards navy, docked in the southeastern port area of Konarak, the report said.

The flotilla began its mission in early December to take part in the international “Exercise for Peace” drill in South Africa, according to state media.

Flotilla commander Captain Emad nejad Moridi said nine countries took part in the drill and that despite what he described as efforts to prevent Iran’s participation, the group maintained an “effective and strong presence” through active naval diplomacy.

He said the main goal was to raise Iran’s flag in international waters and deliver a message of peace and friendship.

Moridi added that Iran’s navy personnel would defend the country’s maritime interests and borders “to the last drop of blood.”

The report said the companies, Zedcex and Zedxion, listed a supposed director and person with significant control named “Elizabeth Newman,” but investigators found no passport records, migration history or other evidence that such a person exists.

Promotional materials for the exchanges used stock video footage labeled “Pretty black woman talking to camera” from Shutterstock to portray the fictitious executive, while other “team members” also appeared to be generic stock clips.

The companies were able to register in Britain because, until recently, Companies House required no identity verification for corporate filings.

OCCRP’s investigation also linked the exchanges to Iranian tycoon Babak Morteza Zanjani, who was sentenced to death in 2016 for embezzling oil revenues but whose sentence was commuted in 2024.

Zanjani briefly appeared as a director of Zedxion, the report said, and his name remains embedded in the metadata of the exchange’s white paper. A YouTube video also shows him promoting Zedcex.

Despite filing as dormant companies in Britain, the two exchanges processed roughly $94 billion in transactions, OCCRP reported.

Investigators traced more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency flows connected to entities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, according to the report and blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs.

That included more than $10 million sent to a Yemeni financier accused of supporting Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the report said.

A key link between the network and Zanjani emerged through social media posts by his partner, Solmaz Bani—also known as Niyoosha or Sara Bani—a former model whom investigators say registered newsletter domains connected to the exchanges and appeared in login data tied to their operations.

According to the investigation, images shared by Zedxion’s Telegram channel in May 2024 showed a white cat with grey-brown markings and a distinctive purple bell collar.

A nearly identical cat, wearing the same collar, appeared in photographs posted on Bani’s now-deleted Facebook account in February 2025.

Investigators also said distinctive furniture seen in Zanjani’s social media posts matched items appearing in photographs linked to the exchange network.

The report said the scheme may have helped finance activities linked to the Revolutionary Guard, including repression during protests in Iran in January 2026 triggered by inflation and currency collapse.

The US Treasury sanctioned Zanjani on January 30, 2026. Britain has also sanctioned him, though the exchanges themselves have not been targeted.

New identity-verification requirements for Companies House filings are due to take effect in May 2026.

Zanjani dismissed the US accusations on social media platform X, calling them “merely a pretext for seizing 660 million Tether and extortion.”

The exchanges and Bani did not respond to requests for comment, according to the investigation.

A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday that Iran will never accept a suspension of uranium enrichment, as indirect talks with the United States continue.

Ahmad Khatami, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader, referred to US President Donald Trump as the “contemporary Pharaoh” and said he seeks to impose his views by force, according to state media.

“But the Iranian nation will not bow to force. The Islamic Republic has never accepted suspension of enrichment and will not accept it. Raising the issue of suspending enrichment is impossible,” Khatami said.

He added that in the event of a conflict, “the result will be in favor of the side of truth,” and said Iranians would prefer “death with dignity” over “life with humiliation.”

China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Iran and urged those already there to leave as soon as possible, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.

The advisory comes amid rising regional tensions and security risks.

China’s foreign ministry and embassy in Iran have called on Chinese nationals to strengthen safety precautions and depart while commercial routes remain available, according to the report.