Tehran prosecutors have opened a criminal case against a gynecologist who described what she called a growing trend of unmarried women choosing to have children without fathers present, Iranian media reported Monday.
The physician, identified as Zohreh Amiri, had said that single motherhood was becoming increasingly common among young Iranian women, particularly those born in the 2000s.
“The newest thing that has become fashionable, and has become very common, is the phenomenon of single mothers,” Amiri said, the asking whether raising children without fathers should be regarded entirely as a personal choice or warranted broader social discussion.
She described encountering several young women who had consciously decided to continue their pregnancies despite knowing that their children's fathers would not participate in raising them.
Before prosecutors intervened, the Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Sabereen News channel circulated a video of Amiri's remarks, denounced the phenomenon as the normalization of a new social abnormality and called for judicial action.
“The phenomenon of single motherhood has recently emerged and is increasing sharply. This means that some young women deliberately become pregnant by their boyfriends and keep the child, even though the child will never have a father. This is the normalization of a new social abnormality. The judiciary must address this matter as soon as possible,” Sabereen News wrote.
On Monday, Tehran prosecutors announced that the doctor had been summoned for questioning after allegedly failing to provide evidence supporting her claims. The judiciary said she had been formally accused of spreading falsehoods and that her social media account was no longer accessible.
Researchers prosecuted over sensitive social issues
The case recalls previous instances in which Iranian authorities pursued medical professionals and researchers whose work brought sensitive social problems into public discussion.
In 2008, physicians Arash and Kamiar Alaei were arrested after pioneering HIV/AIDS prevention programs addressing drug use, sexual health and the spread of infection. Authorities accused the brothers of cooperating with an enemy government. They received prison sentences of six and three years, respectively, before being released.
A decade later, population researcher Meimanat Hosseini Chavoshi was arrested in 2018 amid allegations of espionage linked to her demographic research. Iranian authorities also summoned fellow demographer Mohammad Jalal Abbasi for questioning about population and fertility studies.
British-Iranian anthropologist Kameel Ahmady, whose research covered child marriage, female genital mutilation and unmarried cohabitation, was arrested in 2019. He received a nine-year prison sentence in 2020 after authorities accused him of conducting subversive research, though he managed to escape Iran.
Sociologist Saeed Madani, whose studies examined poverty, prostitution, domestic violence and child abuse, was arrested in 2022 and sentenced to nine years on national security and propaganda charges. His sentence was subsequently reduced, and he was released in April 2026.
The cases illustrate the risks faced by researchers examining aspects of Iranian society that conflict with official narratives about family, morality and social order. Amiri's prosecution now extends that record to a physician describing changes she says she has witnessed in her own medical practice.
A 17-year-old Iranian teenager shot dead while helping a wounded protester in January had previously been abducted and tortured by security forces at age 13 for taking part in anti-clerical moves during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, Iran International has learned.
Mohammad-Parsa Amini was repeatedly detained and interrogated over his participation in school protests and a protest tactic known as "turban tossing," a source close to his family told Iran International.
The practice spread during nationwide demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, with protesters knocking turbans off clerics' heads to express opposition to the Islamic Republic.
Shot while helping a wounded protester
Amini left home on the evening of January 8 to join anti-government protests, telling his worried family, "My blood is no more precious than anyone else's."
The teenager was shot by security forces that night while trying to help an injured protester. He died after being taken to a medical clinic in Fardis, near Karaj.
A nurse at the clinic telephoned his family and urged them to retrieve his body before security forces could take custody of it, an informed source said.
The family brought his body home and kept it there overnight before transferring it to Behesht-e Sakineh cemetery in Karaj the following morning to complete the necessary burial procedures.
The process of obtaining permission to bury Amini took five days, after which his family laid him to rest beside his grandfather at Imamzadeh Ebrahim cemetery in Malard under tight security restrictions.
Abducted and beaten at age 13
Amini had previously faced repeated detention, interrogation and intimidation by security forces during the nationwide protests of 2022, when he was just 13, according to a source close to his family.
Four unidentified masked men intercepted him in an alley near his home in Fardis as he was returning home on one occasion, the source said.
The men knocked him to the ground, covered his mouth and forced him into a car before driving him to a deserted area near his neighborhood.
Two of the men sat on either side of Amini in the back seat, beating, insulting and threatening him throughout the journey, the source said.
The assailants injured his head and face and forced him to put a pill in his mouth. Amini managed to spit it out after being released, according to the source.
The threats continued after the abduction, prompting his family to move to another home for safety.
Security forces subsequently located their new residence, and the harassment and threats against the teenager continued.
Amini was an energetic and independent teenager who was eager to work and support himself financially, the source close to his family said.
He continued his education through the tenth grade before leaving school to enter the workforce.
Iranians expressed anger and grief over the execution of three protesters and new death sentences against others, criticizing the United States and the international community for their response in messages sent to Iran International.
Iran's judiciary announced on November 8 that Hassan Divband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh, three people arrested during the January protests in Karaj, had been executed.
The executions came alongside reports of additional death sentences against protesters in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
Abolfazl Sedaghat, 20, Matin Farnian and Vahid Khedrikhah were sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh, or "waging war against God," in a joint case, according to the human rights organization HRANA.
Death sentences were also issued against Ali Zaghi and Ilya Akbari, bringing the number of protesters sentenced to death in the so-called Shandiz case to six, according to earlier reporting.
'We can no longer bear the news of executions'
"We woke up this morning to the news that three more innocent young men had been executed. I can no longer bear hearing about executions," a resident of Isfahan wrote to Iran International.
The executions prompted messages of grief and anger from people across Iran, many expressing concern about the future of younger generations.
"Every morning when we wake up, we are confronted with news of our beloved children being killed. You have taken life away from us," a Tehran resident wrote, addressing Iranian authorities.
Another from Dezful urged fellow Iranians to consider the future facing their children.
"Look at your beloved child. How can you bring yourself to leave the Islamic Republic as their inheritance? How can you bear to leave your child in line for execution and torture?" the citizen wrote.
Another, referring to discussion of possible US strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure, said the country's infrastructure was not their primary concern.
This citizen argued that the Islamic Republic's continued rule was destroying the country's infrastructure every day, from electricity and water supplies to the lives of its young people.
Questioning US response and call for continued solidarity
Several messages sent to Iran International criticized Washington's response to the executions, with some directly addressing US President Donald Trump.
"Do the human rights-defending Democrats in America not see all these crimes in Iran?" one asked, referring to the executions in Karaj.
Another described the executions as retaliation by the Islamic Republic against the Iranian people and questioned Trump's response.
"The oppressive system of the Islamic Republic cannot reach your soldiers, so it takes revenge on the Iranian people through executions. Isn't it time to fulfill your promise?" reads a message.
Other messages emphasized solidarity among Iranians and the importance of continuing efforts to seek justice for those executed.
A resident of Bandar Abbas expressed grief over the executions while thanking Iranians abroad for organizing demonstrations.
"One eye mourns the brave compatriots who lose their lives at the gallows every day, while the other sheds tears for the remarkable gatherings of compassionate Iranians who, despite all their difficulties, put their homeland first," the resident wrote.
A Tehran resident described the three executed protesters as "three stars whose names will live forever" and expressed determination to continue their cause.
"Victory is certain," the audience wrote.
Amnesty International warns over use of death penalty
Iranian authorities have intensified their crackdown in recent months through widespread summonses and arrests, lengthy prison sentences and a sharp increase in executions.
The growing use of capital punishment has also drawn criticism from international human rights organizations.
Iranian authorities are using the death penalty as a tool to suppress dissent, Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International's deputy regional director, warned on October 13.
“The arbitrary executions of these five young men serves as another chilling reminder of how the Iranian authorities weaponize the death penalty to render the cost of dissent so high that it terrorizes the population into silence and deters further mass uprisings challenging their repressive decades-long rule,” she said.
The latest executions and death sentences have renewed expressions of grief and anger among Iranians, with messages to Iran International reflecting both frustration over the international response and determination to continue seeking justice for those killed.
Iran has executed three men arrested during January protests in Karaj, west of Tehran, after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences, the judiciary said early Sunday.
Hassan Divband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh had been sentenced to death and confiscation of their assets on charges of participating in operations for Israel, the United States and “hostile groups” against Iran’s national security and interests.
Judicial authorities alleged the men took part in attacks on public and government buildings, damaged public property and electricity infrastructure, and disrupted services during protests on January 8 and 9.
According to the judiciary, Divband was arrested on January 11 following a report by the Intelligence Ministry’s Alborz provincial office. Authorities accused him of setting fire to public property and encouraging others to carry out acts of destruction.
Ten other people were subsequently arrested on accusations of participating in the protests and collaborating with Divband.
The Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced the three men to death and eight other defendants to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years.
The judiciary said proceedings to confiscate the executed men’s assets were continuing.
Human Rights Watch and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center said in September that authorities were using rushed proceedings, torture-tainted confessions and public executions to instill fear and deter dissent. Their review found that 16 of 29 protest-related execution cases involved no allegation of killing.
An Iran International investigation in October showed Iran had executed nearly two people a week in political and security cases since the January protests, including over protest- and war-related accusations, while another 190 people faced death sentences.
At least 70 people were executed from January 7 to October 5. Human rights organizations and activists say the figures are minimum totals, covering only cases that have been reported and verified.
Of the 70 people executed, 35 were put to death in cases connected to the January protests, nine in cases linked to the 12-day and 40-day wars, and 26 in other political and security cases.
Iranian exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi accepted Germany’s Freedom Prize for the Iranian people in Frankfurt on Saturday, its first award to a nation rather than a person, and said he would hold it until he could hand it to them in Tehran, as tens of thousands rallied in the city.
Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi accepted Germany’s Freedom Prize on behalf of the Iranian people in Frankfurt on Saturday, the first time the award has gone to a nation rather than a person, as tens of thousands of Iranians rallied in the city for the uprising at home.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom presented the 2026 prize at St. Paul’s Church, the seat of Germany’s first elected national assembly in 1848. The foundation, which is affiliated with the liberal Free Democratic Party, has awarded the prize every two years since 2006 to individuals who advance civil society and liberal values. This year it chose a nation.
“Not to any group, any party or any person,” said the foundation’s chairman, Steffen Saebisch, “but to a people: the Iranian nation.”
Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah and the best-known figure in the opposition, holds the prize in trust until, in the foundation’s words, representatives freely elected by Iranians can receive it.
Pahlavi said he had agreed to take the prize only on condition that he hold it as a custodian, not an owner.
“A custodian safeguards something of great value that belongs to someone else,” he said. “When the time comes, he returns it intact and in its entirety.”
That time, he said, was nearer than Tehran would admit. “One day, and I believe that day is closer than the dying clerical regime would like to admit, I will place it in the hands of its rightful owners, the Iranian people. Not on foreign soil, but in our capital, Tehran.”
He described the country as a house whose owners had been shut out. “For 47 years, Iran has been like a house whose residents, its rightful owners, have been locked out of their own home or held captive inside it,” he said. “The keys were taken from the people in 1979. I see it as my duty to help reclaim those keys and return them to their only rightful owners, the Iranian people.”
He paid tribute to the families of those killed in the struggle for freedom.
‘A nation willing to die for the right to vote’
Pahlavi built his speech on the building. In 1848 Germany’s first elected parliament sat in St. Paul’s Church and wrote a catalogue of rights that never took effect. In 1906, he said, merchants and intellectuals in Tehran forced the creation of Iran’s first parliament and “believed exactly what the men in this church in 1848 believed: that the nation is not the property of potentates, but of the people.”
Germany’s road ran through Weimar into Nazism, he said; Iran’s constitution was buried under a theocracy. “But this building teaches a lesson that tyrants never learn. The ideas of 1848 were not defeated.”
The church was bombed to ruins in 1944 and rebuilt by 1948, among the first buildings in the city to rise again. “A people standing in ruins chose to rebuild their house of freedom first. You did not forget liberty,” he said. “Well, neither have we.”
He described himself as a bridge. “A bridge carries people from one shore to another. One does not build a home on a bridge. You cross it, and then it has done its most important job.”
A German lawmaker, he said, had asked him this year whether Iranians were really ready for democracy. “I will admit the question stung.” His answer: “They prove it every time they march unarmed toward men with machine guns. They prove it when they organize strikes in a country with no free unions, and spread the truth in a country with no free press. A people willing to die for the right to vote is ready to exercise the right to vote.”
He asked the families of those killed in January, who were in the hall, to stand, and the audience to rise for them. “Daughters shielded by their dying fathers. Sons killed holding their mothers’ hands. That is the Islamic Republic.”
Pahlavi defended his support for military pressure on Iran’s rulers, a position that has divided the opposition. For years, he said, he had argued against both appeasement and war, for “maximum pressure on the regime, and maximum support for the Iranian people.”
January changed that. “An unarmed people cannot be asked to defeat, with bare hands, a state prepared to kill without limit,” he said. “We needed this humanitarian intervention and we do not apologize for it.” He said the targets should be the Revolutionary Guards and “the apparatus that turns its guns on our people,” and civilians and civilian infrastructure spared. “Every innocent Iranian lost in this war is a grief I carry.”
Pressure from outside could weaken the Islamic Republic, he said, “but it cannot replace it, and it must not try to choose what comes next. That belongs to the Iranian people alone.”
He set out four principles he called four freedoms: Iran’s territorial integrity; equal rights for every citizen “whatever their language, their origin or their beliefs”; a secular state that belongs to Shia and Sunni, Baha’i, Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian and the non-religious “because it belongs to none of them, exclusively”; and the right of Iranians to choose their form of government at the ballot box.
“Please notice what is not on this list,” he said. “No name, no party, no system of government is on it, because all of those choices belong to the people. I will not take it from them. Nor will I allow others to.”
To Iranians who had written that he should not be the one to hold the prize, he said: “Thank you. You were able to make your objections freely, in German newspapers and on German streets, without fear of arrest or a bullet. That is exactly the freedom I am fighting for in Tehran.” And: “My hand is open. To monarchists and republicans. To the left and the right. We do not have to agree about the past to agree about the future.”
He asked Germany for three things. Justice: to prosecute the crimes of January as German courts in Koblenz had tried Syrian torturers, so that “every commander still deciding whether to fire on his own people” knows “the world is keeping a record.” Connection: help Iranians stay online, because “the regime’s most important weapon on January 8 was not a rifle. It was the off switch.” And no deal over Iranians’ heads: “Any arrangement that keeps this regime in power buys a short calm and pays for it with Iranian lives.”
He cited Tehran’s support for Russia in Ukraine, the foiled plot against RAF Fairford, the 1992 Mykonos restaurant killings in Berlin and the execution of the German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd, and asked Germany to protect Iranians living under its watch from the state’s agents.
He ended with the Berlin Wall, which fell 37 years ago this week. “No one in this hall in 1988 would have dared to predict it,” he said. “That is how dictatorships end: slowly, and then all at once. That day is coming to Iran.”
Saebisch paid tribute to Iranians killed, jailed or exiled for opposing the Islamic Republic, and to “the hundreds of thousands who, despite mortal danger, take to the streets,” the women defying the morality police, and those who risk their lives to send videos out of the country. “Freedom often comes late,” he said, “but it comes.”
The foundation’s decision was driven by the January massacre, when security forces killed thousands of protesters and shut down the internet.
“I think no people in the world paid a higher price for freedom in this year,” Ludwig Theodor Heuss, a member of the foundation’s board of trustees, told the Jerusalem Post before the ceremony. “The terrible thing is that these things go on. The killing goes on.”
Frankfurt’s mayor, Nils Kößler, said the prize was “dedicated to the people who protested and were killed in the most brutal manner,” and to “those who are in the regime’s prisons, enduring torture and facing execution at this very moment.” He ended his speech in Persian: “Be omid-e azadi,” in hope of freedom.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who chairs the European Parliament’s security and defense committee, said the world had stopped talking about Iranians.
“The world is negotiating over the nuclear issue and now also over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” she said. “But hardly anyone is talking about the people in Iran anymore.”
She called for freezing the assets of the Revolutionary Guards and their officials and for sanctions on security personnel, judges and prison authorities.
“Anyone negotiating with Tehran must never, under any circumstances, leave human rights off the table.”
“The future of Iran will not be decided by us in this church, nor by Washington, Berlin or Brussels,” she said. “Only the Iranian people will decide, freely and democratically.”
The rally
The ceremony opened a day of demonstrations around the world that organizers said were in support of the national uprising in Iran.
The gatherings began in Australia and Japan, before dawn in Europe, and are expected to continue through the day in cities across Europe, the United States and Canada. The largest is in Frankfurt, where the city moved the main rally from the riverside to Ostpark because the original site was too small for the crowd expected.
Police planned for 24,000 marchers from the Römerberg square and 30,000 at the park, where a stage and loudspeaker towers had been built overnight.
Yasmine Pahlavi said Frankfurt police had told the couple that threats from the Islamic Republic meant her husband could not appear or speak at the rally. His office said later that he still intended to join the gathering after the ceremony.
The prize came in a week when the Islamic Republic hanged two protesters, Amirhossein Maleki, 20, and Amirhossein Ebrahimi, 19, over the Isfahan protests, and days after it executed a third man in Sistan and Baluchestan. The foundation’s Heuss said more than 70 people were executed in October alone.
The wife of imprisoned Swedish-Iranian researcher Ahmadreza Jalali has challenged Tehran's calls for expatriates to return home, urging authorities to first release those jailed after visiting Iran.
"If you're going to invite people, the door must first be open," Vida Mehrannia told Iran International on Tuesday. "Open that door first. Release those who are inside."
Her husband, a specialist in disaster medicine who worked at universities in Sweden, Belgium and Italy, was arrested during a visit to Iran for an academic workshop in April 2016.
He was sentenced to death on espionage charges in October 2017. Jalali denied spying for Israel and said his confession had been obtained under torture.
Mehrannia said her husband had repeatedly faced the threat of imminent execution and endured solitary confinement and prolonged hunger strikes, leaving his physical and psychological health severely damaged.
The imprisonment has also devastated their family. Their 14-year-old son barely remembers living with his father, while their daughter has completed her education during his detention, Mehrannia said.
She said Jalali had been excluded from two prisoner exchanges, including the 2024 agreement that secured the release of two Swedish citizens in exchange for former Iranian prison official Hamid Nouri.
Jalali's case is among several involving academics, dual nationals and foreign residents arrested during visits to Iran, often on espionage or national security charges.
Princeton University doctoral researcher Xiyue Wang was arrested in 2016 while examining historical archives for his dissertation. Sentenced to 10 years for espionage, the American researcher was released in a prisoner exchange in December 2019.
British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert was arrested after attending a conference in Iran in 2018. She spent more than two years in prison on espionage charges before being exchanged for three Iranians detained abroad in November 2020.
British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in 2016 after visiting family with her young daughter. She was released in March 2022 after nearly six years.
Mehrannia also questioned why Iranian authorities had failed to respond to repeated requests for judicial review, saying her husband had been told his case was an international matter.
She said the authorities had the power to release Jalali, whose health has deteriorated after years of imprisonment, but had repeatedly failed to act.
