Long viewed as merely an oil chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz is now emerging as a digital flashpoint, after Iran floated “protection fees” for subsea fiber-optic cables crossing the waterway in a move experts warn could give Tehran new leverage.
Millions of Iranian students saw remote schooling disrupted by internet outages and failures on the state-run online education platform during more than two months of school closures, renewing criticism of Iran’s virtual education system.
Two years after former president Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter vanished in fog, Iran has lost far more than a president: its succession plan, regional shield, aura of safety and confidence that time was on its side.
Dental treatment costs in Iran have surged in recent months, with industry officials warning that inflation and rising import costs are pushing basic care beyond the reach of many households.
Shahab Dalili, a US permanent resident jailed in Iran for nearly a decade after traveling there for his father’s funeral, has returned to Washington following his release from Tehran’s Evin prison, Hostage Aid Worldwide said on Monday.
US President Donald Trump said Monday he had halted a strike on Iran planned for Tuesday after Arab states including Tehran’s new foe the UAE urged him to allow more time for talks, even as reports said Tehran’s latest proposal had fallen short of US expectations.
Amnesty International said on Monday that executions worldwide rose to their highest recorded level in more than four decades in 2025, with the Islamic Republic responsible for the vast majority of the increase.
Europol said on Monday that 14,200 posts and links tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had been targeted in a coordinated operation against online terrorist material.
Pressure on Iran’s housing market is pushing a rise in shared living arrangements in small urban apartments, with landlords and tenants increasingly dividing limited space to cope with rising rents and mortgage costs, according to local media.
Severe shortages of opium syrup are disrupting addiction treatment across Iran, Shargh daily reported on Sunday, raising fears that thousands of recovering drug users could return to narcotics use as clinics struggle to secure supplies of a key maintenance medication.
A trial date has been set for three defendants charged over an alleged arson incident near Iran International’s studios in northwest London, with the case scheduled to begin on January 25, 2027, at the Central Criminal Court.
Fuel shortages and tighter rationing are pushing drivers across Iran into a growing gasoline black market, with citizens describing long lines at gas stations and sharply inflated prices in messages sent to Iran International.
More Iranians are moving back in with family or taking on roommates after losing jobs and struggling to keep up with rising rents in major cities, according to messages sent to Iran International.
Countries should pay Iran annual fees for fiber-optic cables that pass beneath the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian lawmaker said, saying that hundreds of billions of dollars in financial transactions move through the lines each day.
Iran’s foreign minister accused the United Arab Emirates on Thursday of direct involvement in military operations against Iran, escalating Tehran’s criticism of regional states during a BRICS meeting in New Delhi.
Iran sought to rally BRICS countries against US and Israeli military action on Thursday, casting the regional conflict as resistance to American power as concerns over maritime security and energy disruption dominated the bloc’s foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.
A series of tremors in and around Tehran late Tuesday stirred shock, dark humor and political despair among residents, with some initially mistaking them for renewed US-Israeli strikes.
A University of Arkansas Iranian-American professor fired from her tenured position in late March is now facing investigations in Britain over allegations of academic misconduct tied to her research on Iran.
A British-Iranian man said a suspected Iran-linked agent offered him £40,000 ($53,000) to kill a London-based journalist critical of Tehran, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
Iran executed Ehsan Afrashteh on Wednesday on accusations of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel, the judiciary’s Mizan News reported.
Iranian poet Peyman Farahavar remains at risk of execution after the country’s Supreme Court rejected his request for judicial review, a rights group said on Tuesday.
Some Iranians say security bodies blocked their internet or SIM cards over alleged online activity against the Islamic Republic, then demanded pro-government posts, written pledges and guarantors to restore access, according to messages sent to Iran International.