Iran lawmaker says no plan to restore internet access
An Iranian lawmaker said authorities have no plans to restore internet access, arguing the country remains under security threats despite being in a “neither war nor peace” situation.
Ali Yazdikhah, deputy head of parliament’s cultural committee, said on Thursday internet restrictions ordered by the Supreme National Security Council would continue, with international access limited to individuals and organizations deemed to have specialized needs. He also said domestic platforms meet “more than 90 percent” of public needs.
Iranian authorities and pro-government activists are promoting marriage through matchmaking stalls at nightly rallies, even as many young people delay starting families because of deepening economic hardship and rising living costs.
The initiative drew renewed attention after a video circulated online this week showing a couple marrying at one of the gatherings, turning a state-backed rally into a showcase for a policy goal many young Iranians say has become unaffordable.
Fars News, an outlet close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that matchmaking booths had been set up at rallies in Tehran, allowing young men and women to register for introductions under what organizers call “easy marriage.”
The report said some visitors had already completed initial registration, with organizers collecting basic personal information before matching applicants by age, education and religious beliefs.
A couple in a mass wedding ceremony during a pro-government rally in Iran
“Families come here looking for a good future for their children,” a woman overseeing one of the stalls said in comments published by Fars. “We try to make marriage easier by reducing expectations.”
She said the gatherings were a suitable venue because “family is one of the country’s core cultural values,” adding that men had registered in greater numbers than women.
The campaign comes as Iranian officials warn of falling marriage and birth rates, even as economists and sociologists point to inflation, unemployment, housing shortages and declining purchasing power as major reasons many young people delay family life.
Official statistics show marriage rates falling sharply over the past decade as the average age of marriage rises, especially in large cities where housing and living costs have surged.
Economic pressure collides with state messaging
The campaign also reflects a broader push by the Islamic Republic to frame marriage as a cultural and ideological priority despite worsening economic conditions that many young Iranians say make long-term commitments difficult.
State-linked media and religious institutions have increasingly promoted simpler weddings, lower dowries and earlier marriage as officials try to reverse Iran’s demographic decline.
Military vehicles decorated for a wedding convoy drive through Tehran during a pro-government rally.
At the same time, online platforms offering temporary religious unions – known in Shiite jurisprudence as sigheh – continue to operate openly across messaging applications and websites, creating what critics describe as a parallel market built around legally sanctioned short-term relationships.
An investigation by Iran International previously found Telegram channels advertising “Islamic marriage services” that arranged fixed-term unions in exchange for payments, with some operators presenting the arrangements as religiously approved alternatives to prohibited sexual relationships.
The investigation found some services demanded payments for introductions alone, while others offered monthly arrangements with fees varying according to age, location and education level.
The booths turn ideological rallies into platforms for state-backed social messaging. Organizers told Fars they urge young people to lower expectations and marry earlier.
Critics say the campaign ignores the economic pressures keeping many Iranians from marriage, including stagnant wages, high rents and uncertainty about the future.
Kuwait’s public prosecution referred suspects allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to court after they unlawfully entered Kuwaiti territory, the state news agency KUNA reported on Thursday.
The suspects were detected by the armed forces after crossing Kuwait’s maritime borders and entering a restricted military zone, the report said.
The European Parliament called on Thursday for expanded EU sanctions against Iranian officials over repression, executions and what lawmakers described as the largest mass killing of protesters in the country’s history.
“Parliament calls for more sanctions against Iranian officials, while Iranian people face the largest mass murder of protestors in the country's history,” it said in a statement.
MEPs condemned the use of the death penalty to deter political mobilization and urged Iran to abolish capital punishment and immediately release all political prisoners.
The resolution also criticized the secret execution of dissidents in March and April, including minors, and called for sanctions on officials and entities linked to repression, including the Revolutionary Guards and institutions associated with the Supreme Leader.
Lawmakers urged EU states to close Iranian diplomatic missions linked to transnational repression and provide Iranians with tools for safe and secure internet access amid an imposed internet blackout.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has ordered that the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium not be sent abroad, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two senior Iranian sources.
“The Supreme Leader’s directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country,” one of the sources told Reuters.
The sources said Iranian officials believed sending the material abroad would make the country more vulnerable to future US or Israeli attacks.
Iran had previously signaled willingness to ship out half of its 60% enriched uranium stockpile, but that position changed after repeated threats by US President Donald Trump to strike Iran, according to the report.
One source said there were still “feasible formulas” to resolve the issue, including diluting the stockpile under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision.
