Iran’s currency has lost half its value in just six months and is now at risk of losing its role as both a store of value and a functioning currency, as households and businesses increasingly shift prices, savings, and expectations toward the US dollar.

Two explosions in southern Iran killed at least seven people and injured more than a dozen on Saturday, with officials blaming gas leaks, residents questioning the claim, and Israel denying any involvement.

Security forces were given free rein to use lethal force during the January 8–9 crackdown to spread fear and deter further protests in Iran, a senior government official said in a closed-door meeting, according to a source familiar with the talks.

Global beauty brand Huda Beauty has become the focus of a viral backlash after its founder, Huda Kattan, shared a social media post that many Iranians said echoed Tehran’s narrative about the deadly crackdown on nationwide protests.

Two brothers based in the UK are behind a messaging app accused by digital rights groups of sharing user data with Iranian authorities, the Guardian reported on Friday.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, directs a significant overseas real estate network through intermediaries, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday citing a year-long investigation.

Amirhossein (Iman) Seyrafi, a former political prisoner and digital security expert previously accused of spying for the United States, has been arrested amid Iran’s sweeping crackdown on dissent, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.