South Korea summoned Iran’s ambassador on Wednesday to protest an attack on a South Korean-operated vessel in the Strait of Hormuz after investigators found the ship was likely hit by Iranian-developed anti-ship missiles, Yonhap reported.
First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo said technical analysis showed two unidentified airborne objects that struck the HMM Namu on May 4 were likely Noor-series anti-ship missiles developed by Iran.
The first warhead failed to detonate, while the second exploded on impact, according to the government probe. Park said the missiles are used by Iran’s navy, the Revolutionary Guards and pro-Iran groups.
“Multiple pieces of evidence point toward Iran,” Park said, while adding that Seoul could not confirm the launch site, the exact perpetrator or whether the attack was intentional.
The foreign ministry said it summoned Iranian Ambassador Saeed Koozechi to deliver a strong protest and demand responsible measures, including steps to prevent a recurrence.
The attack caused an explosion and fire aboard the HMM Namu, leaving one of the 24 crew members with minor injuries. Iran’s embassy in Seoul has previously denied any military involvement in the incident.
The Iranian envoy expressed regret over the damage to the South Korean vessel.
“I would personally like to express regret over the damage caused to the South Korean ship,” he said.
But when asked whether Iran accepted the findings of South Korea’s investigation or whether Tehran would apologize, he denied involvement, saying people should beware of “false-flag operations by hostile countries.”
Hillel Newman said Israel supported talks between Iran and the United States, but only if they removed what he described as existential threats from the Islamic Republic.
“We’re in favor... of talks as long as they attain the objectives. We cannot compromise on the objectives,” Newman said.
“As I said, the objectives are removal of the nuclear capability, zero enrichment, zero enriched uranium in Iran,” he added. “Also the fact of the ballistic missiles and stopping their support of the proxies which cause unrest in the entire Middle East.”
Newman said Israel was prepared to accept a diplomatic outcome if it achieved those aims.
“If we can attain it through negotiations and diplomatic discussions, fine. If not, we might have to go back to the military campaign in order to attain the objectives, but the objectives must be attained,” he said.
The remarks come as US-Iran talks continue over a possible agreement to end the conflict, with Tehran and Washington still divided over Iran’s highly enriched uranium, sanctions relief, frozen assets and the Strait of Hormuz.
Asked whether Israel would act independently if negotiations produced a ceasefire, Newman said Israel was already giving diplomacy a chance.
“We’re actually now in a kind of a ceasefire which we have declared and accepted because we’re giving a good opportunity in good faith for the discussions, for the diplomatic resolution of the issue,” he said.
Newman said Israel had confidence in US President Donald Trump and described coordination between Washington and Israel as “unprecedented.”
“We have trust, we have confidence in President Trump. We work together closely. There’s coordination,” he said.
He also said any agreement affecting Lebanon would depend on conditions, including whether Iran-backed Hezbollah retreats north of the Litani River.
“We just have to make sure that the Hezbollah terrorists are not launching rockets against Israel and as much as possible not armed and present in the southern part of Lebanon beyond the south of the Litani River,” Newman said. “That’s all we want. We don’t want any territorial aspirations in Lebanon.”
‘Weakening IRGC could open path for Iranians’
Newman said Israel distinguished between the Islamic Republic and the Iranian people, adding that weakening the IRGC, Basij and the ruling establishment could create “a new opportunity” for Iranians.
“In the end, the people of Iran must take their destiny into their own hands,” he said. “By weakening the Basij forces and by weakening the IRGC, by weakening the regime itself, we are opening perhaps a new opportunity for the people of Iran.”
During the Iran war, Israel targeted not only senior commanders and strategic military sites but also checkpoints and street-level security units.
The report described how menstruation remains shrouded in shame and silence for many Iranian girls, particularly in smaller towns and poorer communities, where limited education and cultural taboos leave adolescents unprepared for puberty.
One student in a village near Miandoab told Shargh she avoided leaving her classroom during breaks out of fear classmates would notice blood stains on her clothes. Another girl believed she had cancer when she experienced her first period.
“Absence from school is one of the first reactions many girls have when they experience menstruation,” a teacher identified as Nazanin told the newspaper. “The less awareness there is in the family, the more common this behavior becomes.”
Rising costs force unsafe alternatives
Inflation, the report said, has sharply increased the cost of sanitary pads and other hygiene products, particularly affecting women in low-income and marginalized areas.
Somayeh, a 38-year-old worker in a food packaging workshop near Tehran, said long shifts and limited bathroom access often force her to delay changing sanitary products for hours.
“When you have to choose between buying food for your children or sanitary pads for yourself, you choose food,” she said.
Social worker Mahya Vahedi said some women have turned to cloth and other non-hygienic substitutes because they cannot afford sanitary pads, leading to infections and untreated wounds.
“Buying hygiene products has become a luxury for many families,” Vahedi said.
Unlike several countries that provide free menstrual products in schools and public spaces, Iran offers almost no free access to sanitary products in schools, universities or public facilities, the report said.
Debate grows over menstrual leave
The report also highlighted growing debate around menstrual leave policies in workplaces.
Shima, an office worker interviewed by Shargh, said menstruation remains difficult to discuss openly at work despite the physical pain many women endure.
“How can part of the workforce spend several days each month working through pain and bleeding with no recognition of those conditions?” she said.
Political economy analyst Anisha Asadollahi said menstrual leave has become a point of tension between gender equality demands and Iran’s labor market realities.
Some critics, she said, fear additional labor protections for women could discourage employers from hiring them, citing past labor policies that unintentionally reduced women’s employment opportunities.
But Asadollahi argued recognizing menstrual leave remains important because workplace norms are still built around “the male body as the standard worker.”
“Giving up rights because of fear of discrimination only strengthens unequal structures,” she said.
Citing field reports from several provinces, the outlet said essential daily items including sterile gauze, specialized wound dressings, catheters, catheter bags, syringes, lubricating gel, tissues and medication for pressure sores have seen steep price increases.
The cost of these supplies, according to the report, has at least doubled or tripled over the past two months for people requiring long-term care.
The continued economic crisis has reduced access to critical medical equipment, worsening pressure sores and undermining the quality of daily care for patients, Khabar Online said.
The outlet warned that the monthly welfare payment of 25 million rials ($15) allocated for hygiene supplies no longer covers rising care costs and could lead to worsening health conditions and higher treatment expenses for people with disabilities.
In recent weeks, Iranians have told Iran International of soaring inflation, medicine shortages, sharp price increases, deepening recession, widespread job losses and disruptions caused by internet outages.
“One family cannot even find medicine for their child anymore,” one citizen said in a message to Iran International, adding that internet restrictions had cut people with mobility impairments off from their only link to society.
‘Disabled people pushed back to the Stone Age’
Some people with spinal injuries have begun reusing disposable hygiene items because of rising costs, leading to infections and secondary wounds, Behrouz Morovati, head of the Campaign for Disabled People, told Khabar Online.
Morovati said soaring diaper prices have forced some families to use makeshift alternatives such as cloth and rags.
“Because of limited access to hygiene supplies, the normal lives of disabled people have been pushed back to the Stone Age,” he said. “Even wounds that could be controlled through regular care have deepened in many cases, increasing the risk of infection, hospitalization and irreversible complications.”
Morovati had previously warned in December 2025 that 95% of people with disabilities in Iran were living below the absolute poverty line.
Patients describe mounting pressure
Khabar Online also spoke to several people with spinal cord injuries about the impact of the economic crisis on their daily lives.
Mahmoud, a resident of Qazvin with a degree in business management, said people with spinal injuries require at least four catheters and four syringes a day.
“Each catheter now costs between 120,000 and 150,000 rials and each syringe around 50,000 rials,” he said. “Those two items alone cost nearly 30 million rials ($17) a month.”
Pressure sores, he added, require daily washing, sterilization and dressing changes, which have become increasingly expensive.
“Some days I have to leave longer gaps between dressing changes or use non-standard supplies to control costs, but that only worsens my condition,” Mahmoud said. “Pain and fear of infection have become part of my daily life.”
Zahra Moradi, a psychology graduate living in Karaj, said women with spinal injuries face additional challenges under worsening economic conditions.
“Access to hygiene products during menstruation, bladder and bowel complications and limited access to healthcare all affect women’s overall health,” she said.
High medical costs and limited services, Moradi added, have also led to emotional and social distress, feelings of shame and declining self-confidence among women with spinal injuries.
