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Continued Human Rights Violations In Iran: Security Forces Open Fire On People Celebrating Khamenei’s Death

Mehdi Hosseini
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Continued Human Rights Violations In Iran: Security Forces Open Fire On People Celebrating Khamenei’s Death

As the Iranian regime staged the funeral of Ali Khamenei four months after his death, human rights media reported that regime security forces opened fire on crowds celebrating the death of the dictator.

The human rights organization Hengaw reported on Wednesday, July 8, that during street celebrations following the announcement of the death of the Iranian regime’s supreme leader, regime forces opened fire on people in several cities across Iran, killing several civilians.

Iran’s July 9 Student Uprising Mark 27th Anniversary

Hengaw reported that it has identified two of those killed during that period. According to the report, Nahal Ghalandari from Khorramabad and Faezeh Afshari from Semirom in Isfahan Province were two women who were killed by direct gunfire from regime forces on February 28 and 29 during celebrations following the announcement of Khamenei’s death.

At the same time, the legal advocacy group Dadban announced that 12 people arrested during the January protests in Isfahan have been sentenced to death in a case known as the “Alikhani Square” case.

According to Dadban, the sentences were upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court on July 5, and the cases have been referred to the Enforcement of Judgments Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan for implementation.

The case was opened after four members of the regime’s Basij paramilitary force were killed during the January 2026 protests in Alikhani Square. A total of 59 people were arrested in connection with the case. Twenty-three of those arrested, despite reportedly having no involvement in the incident, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years. All those sentenced to death in the case are under the age of 30.

The Human Rights Center of Iran also reported on Wednesday that more than 14 days after the arrest of Saeed Hassani, a Baha’i resident of Shiraz, there is still no information about his whereabouts, physical condition, or circumstances of detention.

Mr. Hassani was arrested on June 23 by security agents at his workplace in Shiraz, who reportedly used violence and beat him before transferring him to an undisclosed location. He had previously been arrested by the same security agency in 2016 and spent more than two months in detention.

Meanwhile, Hengaw reported that as part of a new wave of arrests targeting citizens and activists, Mamosta Abubakr Yousefi and Younes Mousapour were arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence on Sunday, July 5, and transferred to the agency’s detention center in Urmia.

According to Hengaw’s sources, regime forces used severe physical violence and degrading treatment while arresting the two men. No information is available regarding the reasons for their arrest, the charges against them, or their health, and judicial authorities have refused to respond to inquiries from their families.

HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), also reported that political prisoner Abbas Vahedian Shahroudi, who suffers from psoriasis, lung and gum infections, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, has been denied specialized medical care. Prison authorities have prevented his transfer to medical facilities outside the prison. Shahroudi, a writer and civil activist, is imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

Mahmoud Taravat-Ravari, an attorney, announced in an Instagram post that the detention of three imprisoned lawyers—Elham Zeraatpisheh, Bahar Sahraeian, and Astareh Ansari—has continued for two months.

Iran’s July 9 Student Uprising Mark 27th Anniversary

Esmaeil Mohades
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Iran’s July 9 Student Uprising Mark 27th Anniversary

Twenty-seven years have passed since July 9, 1999, when the Iranian regime’s official security forces and paramilitary groups loyal to Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader of the Iranian regime, attacked the Tehran University dormitories and violently crushed peaceful student protests.

In the early hours after midnight on July 9, 1999, a large number of students at the Amirabad student dormitory in Tehran held an anti-government demonstration and chanted slogans against the regime’s repression.

Shortly afterward, special anti-riot units surrounded the area and stormed the student dormitories using tear gas, batons, and firearms. They brutally beat and assaulted the students.

Now, on July 9, Ali Khamenei is being buried—the man whose decrees extinguished proved that the Iranian regime is not reformable. July 9, 1999, has repeatedly been described by journalists and student and civil activists as a turning point in the Iranian people’s struggle against dictatorship.

The brutality of Khamenei’s plainclothes agents reached the point that they threw protesting students from the upper floors of the Amirabad dormitory. This savage act resulted in the deaths and injuries of a number of students.

In the Iranian regime’s official narrative, the student protests over restrictions on press freedom, which began after the closure of the newspaper Salam in July 1999, are referred to as the “July 9 Sedition” and are blamed on the “enemy.” Ali Khamenei personally promoted this narrative in several speeches. In his first speech on July 12, 1999, he described the suppression of the students and the bloody assault on the Tehran University dormitories as “a very grave mistake and an improper act,” saying his heart had been “wounded.” However, elsewhere in the same speech, he told the students, “Be vigilant against the enemy and do not fail to identify strangers who infiltrate everywhere disguised as insiders. See the hidden hands.”

Many student activists, journalists, and witnesses to the events of July 9 and the ensuing crackdown have emphasized Khamenei’s direct role. Throughout his rule over Iran, critics and opponents repeatedly questioned him about his responsibility for the events, a question he never answered until his death. Instead, he consistently blamed the “enemy,” portraying July 9, like other protests during his authoritarian rule, as another foreign conspiracy.

Following the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, the Iranian regime succeeded in suppressing public protests for a period of time.

The suppression of the student uprising, following the rise of Mohammad Khatami to the presidency in June 1997, was an attempt by the ruling establishment to contain the country’s increasingly explosive social atmosphere.

With the passage of time, it has become clear that this was a futile attempt to portray a dictatorship under the banner of “reform” as a modern democracy.

During this period, whenever the regime could not tolerate dissenting views, it also continued the physical elimination of its opponents, culminating in what became known as the 1998 chain murders.

As usual, the Iranian regime refused to release the final number of those killed and injured. However, substantial evidence indicates that at least seven people were killed during the crackdown.

Ezzatollah Ebrahimnejad, Fereshteh Alizadeh, and Saeed Zeinali are among those whose deaths or fatal disappearances have been documented.

The uprising spread to 17 cities across Iran. In Tabriz, one student was killed, dozens were injured, and hundreds of other students were arrested.

In the following days, the demonstrations reached a new peak as hundreds of thousands of young people and Tehran residents joined the protests.

The role of the current speaker of Iran’s parliament and the official overseeing negotiations with the United States in suppressing the opposition.

One of the most notorious figures identified for his role in suppressing the student uprising is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the current speaker of the Iranian regime’s parliament.

At the time, as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Air Force, he played a key role in suppressing the students and attacking the Tehran University dormitories.

He himself said: “I was the commander of the IRGC Air Force. There are photos of me on a 1000cc motorcycle carrying a stick, alongside Hossein Khaleghi. I stood in the streets to clear the streets. Wherever it is necessary for us to come into the streets and use clubs, we are among those who wield the clubs. And we are proud of it.”

This uprising demonstrated that all factions within the ruling religious dictatorship are fundamentally the same. There are no genuine reformists or moderates among the ruling factions. Nevertheless, after Mohammad Khatami came to power and was portrayed as a reformist figure, Western countries expanded their political and commercial relations with the Iranian regime.

The result of this engagement with the Iranian regime was the repression and deaths of hundreds of people in Iran.

U.S. Military Attacks More Than 90 Targets in Iran

Hoshang Amiri
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U.S. Military Attacks More Than 90 Targets in Iran

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that on Wednesday evening, U.S. forces struck about 90 military targets belonging to the Iranian regime.

According to the CENTCOM statement, the targets included air defense systems, coastal surveillance equipment, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.

CENTCOM added that the latest strikes followed the successful execution of offensive operations against the Iranian regime on Tuesday evening.

US and Iranian Regime Exchange Escalating Military Strikes

In those strikes, CENTCOM forces also targeted about 80 military objectives belonging to the Iranian regime, including more than 60 small boats operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to CENTCOM, the attacks were intended to impose heavy costs on the Iranian regime for violating the ceasefire by attacking three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM emphasized that the latest strikes further degraded the Iranian regime’s ability to attack commercial vessels and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz. It added that U.S. forces remain vigilant, possess overwhelming combat capability, and are prepared to carry out any operations ordered by the Commander-in-Chief.

At the same time, military and political authorities in Kuwait and Bahrain announced early Thursday, July 9, that they had intercepted missile and drone attacks, saying the two countries’ air defense systems had repelled the assaults.

Shortly before that, the IRGC claimed it had attacked two U.S. bases in Kuwait and two U.S. bases in Bahrain.

According to the IRGC statement, forces of the Iranian regime attacked the U.S. bases at Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, as well as Juffair and Sheikh Isa in Bahrain.

The IRGC said in a statement that the attacks were carried out in response to strikes on various locations across the country and threatened that if the United States continued its attacks against the Iranian regime, it would also target other U.S. bases in the region.

Shipping data show that following the Iranian regime’s latest attacks on vessels and the second consecutive day of U.S. strikes against military targets in southern Iran, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly come to a halt.

U.S. President Donald Trump, during a meeting with the President of Ukraine on Wednesday, July 8, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, expressed anger over what he described as the Iranian regime officials’ failure to honor their commitments and said he believed any agreement with the Iranian regime would not be durable.

Amnesty International Challenges Silence Over the Iranian Regime’s Crimes

Jubin Katiraie
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Amnesty International Challenges Silence Over the Iranian Regime’s Crimes

The bloody crackdown on the January protests in Iran remains unaddressed, and Amnesty International has warned that the continued impunity enjoyed by those responsible is paving the way for further crimes and even broader repression in Iran.

Six months after the bloody suppression of the nationwide January 2026 protests in Iran, Amnesty International said in a statement that, given the complete lack of prospects for justice inside Iran, pursuing accountability for the victims through international criminal justice mechanisms must be treated as an urgent and non-negotiable priority.

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the statement released on Wednesday, July 8, that six months after thousands of women, men, and children were killed by Iranian security forces in just two days, the international community’s failure to take meaningful steps toward justice is indefensible.

Iran’s ‘No To Executions Tuesdays’ campaign Enters Its 128th Week

She warned that continued inaction would perpetuate the cycle of deadly repression, in which victims’ families are denied justice while perpetrators, protected by impunity, become emboldened to commit further crimes.

Warning Against Ignoring Human Rights

Amnesty International also urged governments not to use diplomatic negotiations and engagement between the United States and Iran as a pretext for ignoring Iran’s human rights crisis.

According to the organization, officials of the Iranian regime have paid no price for their widespread and unlawful use of lethal force against protesters, and this impunity has increased the risk of further bloody crackdowns.

Amnesty International reiterated that because perpetrators of human rights violations in Iran enjoy structural impunity, the only path to justice is through international mechanisms. The organization called on United Nations member states to prioritize Iran’s human rights crisis, support the establishment of an independent international mechanism to investigate these crimes, and urge the UN Security Council to refer Iran’s case to the International Criminal Court.

The organization also recalled that Amnesty International’s Secretary General warned last month that any agreement resulting only in a temporary halt to hostilities while ignoring human rights could become a cover for continued impunity and repression.

According to Amnesty International’s statement, the so-called Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between Iran’s regime and the United States can only lay the foundation for lasting peace if it places the protection of human rights, accountability for violations of international law, reparations for victims, and guarantees of non-repetition at its core.

The nationwide protests began on December 28, 2025, following the collapse of the rial’s value, rising inflation, a worsening cost-of-living crisis, and widespread dissatisfaction with the government’s performance. They quickly spread to cities across the country. In addition to economic demands, protesters called for freedom, human dignity, democracy, and an end to the rule of the Iranian regime.

According to Amnesty International, Iran’s regime used lethal force on an unprecedented scale to suppress the protests while simultaneously imposing widespread internet shutdowns, creating an environment of complete impunity for those responsible.

Iran’s regime Supreme National Security Council has put the death toll from the protests at 3,117. However, Mai Sato, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, previously stated that the number of those killed had exceeded 5,000.

Amnesty International also said that after the protests ended, the Iranian regime sought to silence all dissent through mass arrests, enforced disappearances, bans on public gatherings, pressure on victims’ families, and death sentences against protesters and political opponents.

The organization added that following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, the crackdown on dissidents intensified under the pretext of “wartime conditions.” At least 44 people have been executed in politically motivated cases, while many others remain at risk of execution.

Mai Sato, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, also warned on July 1 that the human rights situation in Iran had already been critical even before the war, and that any final agreement failing to address this issue would risk a return to previous conditions—or an even worse deterioration.

Iranian Regime’s Iraqi Proxy Groups in the Trap of Arrest and the Law

Mehdi Hosseini
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Iranian Regime’s Iraqi Proxy Groups in the Trap of Arrest and the Law

Following the arrest of one of the Iranian regime’s proxy operatives in Iraq, who had also been sanctioned by the United States, a large amount of cash was discovered and confiscated from his house. He was involved in money laundering and facilitating the smuggling of the Iranian regime’s sanctioned oil.

Proxy groups were one of the lines and bastions that the Iranian regime had created over the past decades to protect itself. Former regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei, through Qasem Soleimani, created, armed, and supplied proxy group allies in various countries over several decades.

Iraq Sets September 30 as Deadline for Disarmament of Iranian Regime-Backed Militia Groups

Khamenei, whose corpse-carrying carnival is being witnessed in Iranian cities these days, had repeatedly and openly declared that if the regime does not set its defenses in countries like Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Palestine, and Lebanon, it would have to fight the enemy in the streets of Iranian cities.

This slogan might have been useful for the Iranian regime until before 2017, but when the first widespread protests swept the streets of Iran and the Iranian people chanted “Our enemy is right here, they lie that it’s America,” it turned into a useless tool.

It took a few years for the ineffectiveness of this strategy and tactic to prove itself more prominently. The internal protests of 2019 and 2022 were part of this process.

But the turning point began after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the Iranian Resistance Movement, which seeks regime change in Iran, had been declaring to the international community for decades that “the head of the snake is in Tehran,” but the West, which was in a sweet sleep and a mirage of finding moderates and moderation in Iran, closed its eyes to this reality. Until the danger did not just reach their ears, but a heavy blow struck their heads.

The Iranian Regime’s Proxy Groups, the Body and Tail of the Snake

This meant that the proxy groups involved in terrorism in Middle Eastern countries were the body and tail of the snake. However, the West, pursuing a policy of appeasement, did not have much interest or function to confront these proxy groups. But when the surprise blow was delivered to one of the West’s allies, after a while, the main issue, namely “the head of the snake is in Tehran,” inevitably came to the West’s table.

Following the October 7 attack, the Iranian regime’s proxy groups received crushing blows one after another. Some like Assad regime in Syria were destroyed, and some like Hamas and Hezbollah received backbreaking blows. The Yemeni Houthis also received effective blows in the meantime.

However, Iraq and the Iranian regime’s proxy groups in this country were on the sidelines of the attacks and blows in this process, just as the Pakistani Zainabiyoun and the Afghan Fatemiyoun were on the sidelines. It can be said that currently, the focus of the West and regional governments is on two countries and the Iranian regime’s proxy groups in them: Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) and other Iranian regime proxy groups in Iraq.

Following the October 7 attack, the Iranian regime’s funding, arming, and manning of its proxy groups in regional countries continued. When the West somewhat blocked the Iranian regime’s overt and cover paths for financing proxy groups, the tactic changed. Gold replaced cash. The examples discovered at Beirut Airport bear witness to this.

Now, new news is arriving from Iraq. After Nouri al-Maliki, the Iranian regime’s operative for the premiership of Iraq, was sidelined due to U.S. opposition, Ali Faleh al-Zaidi took the prime ministerial seat.

Confronting the Iranian Regime’s Operatives and Terror Financiers

Under U.S. pressure, the confrontation against the Iranian regime’s Iraqi proxy groups—which were being attacked during the recent two wars, as well as before and after them—came under pressure. The pressures were of various types: military attacks, disarmament efforts, arrests, preventing the financing of terrorism, sanctions, etc.

On Sunday, June 28, 2026, media reported that the Iraqi Deputy Minister of Oil, Ali Maaraj al-Bahadli, was arrested at his home in the upscale Zayouna neighborhood of Baghdad. The charge at that time was not completely clear. However, it had previously been rumored that Maaraj was accused of helping the Iranian regime’s proxy groups in Iraq that were engaged in oil smuggling.

Asharq Al-Awsat reported on July 1, 2026, that the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq announced that in the first stage, 11 million U.S. dollars and 4 billion Iraqi dinars (an amount exceeding 3 million U.S. dollars) were confiscated from Ali Maaraj al-Bahadli.

Images published after his arrest indicated that bags of cash hidden inside the walls of his home were pulled out and confiscated by security forces.

The council also stated that while this amount of money and several properties belonging to Maaraj al-Bahadli have been seized and confiscated, the investigation is in its early stages and will continue.

After the fall of the former Iraqi regime, Maaraj al-Bahadli entered an important sector of the Iraqi oil industry with the help of the Iranian regime, becoming the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Missan Oil Company. His activities were not limited only to the oil industry. He was an individual who, while climbing the steps of his career ladder, also climbed the political ladder with the help of the Iranian regime.

From Climbing Step-by-Step to Free Fall

From 2014, with the support of the “State of Law” coalition, the Iranian regime-backed coalition led by al-Maliki, Maaraj al-Bahadli entered the Iraqi Parliament and reached the position of head of the parliament’s important Oil and Energy Committee. A position that opened his way for financing through the oil industry and for the future plans of the mullahs in Tehran.

He then colluded with another prime minister supported by the Iranian regime, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, and played an important role in building Sudani’s “Construction and Development” coalition. Part of this role included the financing that had accrued to him through the oil industry and its smuggling.

With the support of the Iranian regime and his reciprocal assistance to the Iranian regime-backed proxy groups, Maaraj al-Bahadli climbed the ladder of progress up to the threshold of being nominated for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. But just as a ladder has steps of progress, it may also have steps of descent or fall, at a time when Maaraj al-Bahadli was spending the oil money of his own country, Iraq, on the desires and goals of the Iranian regime.

His fall began when the U.S. Treasury, in May 2026, sanctioned and listed Ali Maaraj al-Bahadli under Executive Order 13902. Al-Bahadli was accused by the United States of being involved in forging certificates of origin for exported oil, blending Iraqi oil with the Iranian regime’s oil and exporting it under the name of Iraqi oil, and assisting in smuggling and facilitating the export of the Iranian regime’s sanctioned oil.

Among other charges brought against Maaraj al-Bahadli is the financial support of certain Iranian regime proxy groups such as “Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq” and individuals supported by the Iranian regime such as “Salim Ahmad Said.”

Khamenei’s Wandering Corpse, the Hidden Son, and the Fate of Proxy Groups

The arrest of Ali Maaraj al-Bahadli, following the detention of another deputy minister of oil of Iraq, Adnan al-Jumaili—who is also recognized as one of the Iranian regime’s proxy operatives—indicates that confronting the Iranian regime’s Iraqi proxy groups is the capture of another bastion among those bastions that Khamenei saw as a dam blocking his imaginary enemies from reaching Tehran. But now, Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, who has been appointed as the new supreme leader, out of fear of their real internal enemies, namely the people of Iran, does not even dare to appear over his dam-less, 4-month-old, graveless father’s corpse.

While fear and panic have cast their shadow over the leaders of the Iranian regime in Tehran, and no water is warmed for them from the bastion of their proxy groups, Ali Faleh al-Zaidi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, in another move following the arrest of Ali Maaraj al-Bahadli, drove a nail into the coffin of the Iranian regime. On July 4, 2026, he announced that his government has designated a significant reward for individuals who identify persons involved in corruption through the acquisition of public property via illegal methods.

The experience of more than the past two decades in Iraq has proven that just like in Iran, wherever there has been talk of corruption and embezzlement, the Iranian regime’s proxy groups or its operatives have always been at the front of the line. Now, however, when the issue of confronting corruption and disarming proxy groups in Iraq has intensified, they are trying to project themselves at the back of the line! But this is a futile effort.

Ultimately, Khamenei the father and his proxy groups

Just as Khamenei the father—whom these groups could not fight for and protect in the streets of neighboring countries, and who was killed in the heart of Tehran—now these groups are also being brought to trial in the heart of their own countries.

This is a war that is moving forward in parallel: in Iran between the people of Iran and the Iranian regime, and for the people of regional countries with the proxy groups spawned by the Iranian regime. History has always shown whom victory belongs to.

U.S. Treasury Revokes License Allowing Iranian Regime Oil and Petrochemical Sales

Hoshang Amiri
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U.S. Treasury Revokes License Allowing Iranian Regime Oil and Petrochemical Sales

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Tuesday, July 7, that it had revoked the general license covering the sale of the Iranian regime’s crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemical products. The decision followed recent attacks on several oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, attacks that Washington has attributed to the Iranian regime and warned would have consequences.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP), citing a U.S. official, reported that the U.S. government had revoked the license that had allowed the Iranian regime to sell oil. The official stressed that the regime’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz were “completely unacceptable” and would face serious consequences.

Iranian Regime Moves to Resume Oil Sales to Japan

The move comes as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization has reported that three oil tankers were attacked in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding areas in recent days. U.S. officials have said that preliminary findings indicate the Iranian regime was involved in the attacks, although no group has claimed responsibility and the Iranian regime has not responded to the allegations.

According to the reports, on July 6, two oil tankers—one carrying Saudi Arabian crude oil and the other transporting Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG)—were attacked. One day later, a third tanker in the same area was struck by a projectile, incidents that have once again challenged the security of one of the world’s most important energy transit routes.

Despite these tensions, the U.S. official emphasized that Washington continues to keep the diplomatic path open and that American negotiators are working in good faith to reach a final agreement with the Iranian regime. However, the official warned that the recent attacks could undermine the fragile understanding between the two sides and place the negotiations at serious risk.

The revocation comes as easing restrictions on oil exports had been one of the most significant economic incentives in negotiations between the United States and the Iranian regime. With the U.S. Treasury’s latest decision, economic pressure on the Iranian regime has once again increased.

Oil exports remain the Iranian regime’s most important source of foreign currency revenue. Despite U.S. sanctions, the regime has continued to export much of its oil in recent years, particularly to China. According to observers, revoking the license for oil and petrochemical sales could place additional pressure on the regime’s financial resources and further limit its ability to finance domestic expenditures and regional activities.

US and Iranian Regime Exchange Escalating Military Strikes

Esmaeil Mohades
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US and Iranian Regime Exchange Escalating Military Strikes

Tensions between the United States and the Iranian regime entered a new phase early Wednesday, July 8. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the launch of a large-scale operation against Iranian regime military targets, stating that the strikes were carried out in response to attacks by the regime’s forces on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the start of missile and drone attacks against U.S. positions in Bahrain and Kuwait.

In a statement, CENTCOM said U.S. forces had struck more than 80 targets associated with the Iranian regime in southern Iran. According to the statement, the targets included air defense systems, command-and-control centers, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile equipment, and more than 60 IRGC fast attack boats in or around the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command emphasized that the operation was intended to reduce the regime’s offensive capability to attack commercial shipping and to ensure the security of one of the world’s most important maritime routes. CENTCOM also described the regime’s actions against commercial vessels as unprovoked, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire, warning that if Tehran continues its actions, U.S. forces are prepared to respond further.

The state-run Mehr News Agency reported U.S. strikes on the Sirik area, while state television said multiple explosions had occurred in the vicinity of Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, and villages around the counties of Qeshm and Sirik. Iranian regime officials have not yet released information on the extent of the damage or possible casualties.

Pezeshkian Rushes Back to Tehran

In response, the IRGC announced that in its first retaliation against the U.S. strikes, the IRGC Aerospace Force and Navy jointly targeted “85 key U.S. military facilities” in Bahrain and Kuwait with missiles and drones. The statement also claimed that a U.S. MQ-9 drone had been shot down over southern Iran, a claim that has not been confirmed by U.S. officials.

At the same time, the state-run Fars News Agency claimed that the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain had come under attack and that several explosions had occurred at the base. However, neither the United States nor the Bahraini government has responded to the claim.

In Bahrain, the country’s Ministry of Interior announced that air raid sirens had sounded and urged residents to remain calm and proceed to the nearest safe location. In Kuwait, the country’s military said its air defense systems were intercepting incoming missiles and drones. The Kuwaiti military did not identify the source of the attacks but stressed that the explosions heard were caused by air defense interception operations.

Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the Iranian regime’s unified military command, also issued a statement declaring that the U.S. attacks would be met with a “crushing response.” The headquarters claimed that the only safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the route managed by Iran and warned that it would not allow U.S. interference in the waterway.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), described the U.S. attacks and the reimposition of oil sanctions on Iran as “a violation of the memorandum of understanding,” but made no reference to the attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Taken together, these developments indicate that the confrontation between Washington and Tehran has entered an unprecedented phase. With both sides carrying out direct attacks, exchanging threats, Gulf states remaining on high alert, and growing concerns over the security of the Strait of Hormuz, the risk of the conflict expanding across the region has increased significantly.

Iran’s ‘No To Executions Tuesdays’ campaign Enters Its 128th Week

Sia Rajabi
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Iran’s ‘No To Executions Tuesdays’ campaign Enters Its 128th Week

On Tuesday, July 7, the “No To Executions Tuesdays campaign” continued. The campaign, which was launched to end all forms of executions in Iran, is now being carried out simultaneously in 57 prisons across the country.

The imprisoned participants in the campaign issued a statement during the 128th week of their strike, condemning the reappointment of executioner Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei as head of the judiciary and calling for global protest against executions in Iran.

The prisoners’ statement reads as follows:

Continuation of the “No To Executions Tuesdays” Campaign in Its 128th Week Across 57 Prisons

The Retention of Mohseni Ejei in Office Is a Serious Threat to Prisoners and Human Rights in Iran

On the eve of July 9, the anniversary of the killing of students during the July 9, 1999 student protests, the “No To Executions Tuesdays campaign” honors the memory of those who gave their lives for freedom and equality. It commemorates the day when the regime violently suppressed student protests and brutally attacked the University of Tehran dormitories.

Arrested Iranian Protesters in Critical Conditions, Human Rights Bodies Warn

According to published figures, Iran’s illegitimate regime has executed at least 15 people since June 22 and has issued the inhumane death sentence against a number of prisoners convicted of both ordinary and political charges.

Last week, Judge Abolghasem Salavati, one of the Iranian regime’s most notorious judges who has issued numerous death sentences, handed down the medieval punishment of death to Arghavan Fallahi, a female political prisoner held in the women’s ward of Evin Prison. The sentence was issued despite the fact that the case was conducted under unfair conditions and under pressure from the regime’s security agencies.

Death Sentence Issued for Political Prisoner Arghavan Fallahi

Death sentences have also been issued against several people arrested during the January 2026 uprising, including Kamal Khan-Babaei, who is imprisoned in Choobindar Prison in Qazvin, and Vahid Khan-Sanami, who is held in Greater Tehran Prison. They were sentenced to death through unfair judicial proceedings intended to intimidate society.

These inhumane sentences are being issued as Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the regime’s judiciary chief, was recently reappointed by Iran’s autocratic ruler Mojtaba Khamenei. Ejei has a long record of human rights violations and, over the past four years, has overseen the highest number of death sentences carried out in the past three decades.

While condemning these unjust death sentences, the “No To Executions Tuesdays campaign” calls on all international bodies and people of conscience to respond to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Iran’s prisons. Death sentences are effectively decided behind closed doors through psychological and physical torture during interrogations. Therefore, everyone must take serious action, by every possible means, to pressure the regime to uphold the principles of fair trial, particularly by ensuring public court hearings in cases where the charges may result in capital punishment.

Finally, we would like to note that many people have created content in support of the campaign or have asked for their anti-execution content to be published through the “No To Executions Tuesdays campaign”. This is a nationwide campaign that belongs to all striking prisoners, regardless of political affiliation, and therefore represents a broad demand that transcends groups, parties, and political movements. In addition, numerous submissions are sent to the campaign’s social media pages. If we have not republished these submissions, it is primarily to ensure that the campaign remains above political factions and belongs equally to all its members, supporters, and opponents of the death penalty. Secondly, the primary purpose of the campaign’s online platforms is to publish the weekly statements and maintain an archive of them. We thank all supporters of the campaign and everyone opposing the death penalty for producing content and organizing progressive initiatives in defense of the right to life, and we warmly extend our solidarity to all of you.

Without a doubt, through resistance and collective solidarity against executions, we will prevail!

On Tuesday, July 7, imprisoned participants in the “No To Executions Tuesdays campaign” are on hunger strike for the 128th consecutive week in 57 prisons across Iran.

Oil Tanker Attacked Near the Strait of Hormuz

Mehdi Hosseini
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Oil Tanker Attacked Near the Strait of Hormuz

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British maritime security monitoring organization, reported that an oil tanker sailing south approximately 8 nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, was struck on its port side by an unidentified projectile, causing a fire to break out on board.

According to the report, no casualties or environmental pollution have been reported, and authorities are investigating the incident. Passing vessels have also been advised to navigate with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.

Tanker Trackers: Vessel Grounded in the Strait of Hormuz Belongs to Iran’s Oil Smuggling Network

The attack occurred along one of the world’s most strategically important energy shipping routes, where any maritime tension can quickly take on major security and economic implications. Media reports, citing U.S. officials, say the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of the Iranian regime fired on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, damaging at least two ships. Officials have not yet officially attributed direct responsibility for the attack.

In previous similar incidents, attacks on ships in the waters around Oman and the Strait of Hormuz have not remained isolated maritime incidents and have rapidly escalated into military crises. It appears that the Iranian regime has once again taken global trade routes and energy security hostage.

Arrested Iranian Protesters in Critical Conditions, Human Rights Bodies Warn

Jubin Katiraie
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Arrested Iranian Protesters in Critical Conditions, Human Rights Bodies Warn

Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based human rights organization, on Monday, July 6, expressed concern over the growing wave of executions of political prisoners in recent months and stressed that halting executions must be one of the main conditions of any agreement with the Iranian regime.

In a report, the human rights organization warned of an escalation in executions in Iran in the coming months and said officials of the Iranian regime have accelerated the execution of prisoners, particularly political activists, following the ceasefire with the United States and Israel. According to the report, at least 101 Iranians were executed in June alone.

Iran’s ‘No to Executions Tuesdays’ Campaign Marks 125th Week

At the same time, HRANA News Agency, an Iranian human rights news outlet, reported that Kamal Khan-Babaei, who was arrested during the January 2026 protests and is being held in Choobindar Prison in Qazvin, has been sentenced to death by Branch One of the Qazvin Revolutionary Court on the charge of “moharebeh” (“waging war against God”).

According to HRANA, one of the allegations cited against Mr. Khan-Babaei was “breaking two surveillance cameras.”

Kamal Khan-Babaei was arrested on January 15 and spent 10 days in a detention center operated by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, where he was interrogated and beaten in an effort to extract a forced confession.

The Human Rights Center in Iran also reported that Mohammad Moayedi-Shakib, a political prisoner held in Tehran’s Evin Prison who suffers from multiple medical conditions, including heart disease, a prostate disorder, and cervical and lumbar disc problems, began a hunger strike on Sunday, July 5, to protest the continued denial of transfer to medical facilities outside the prison.

According to the human rights organization, after beginning his hunger strike, the political prisoner was threatened by the prison warden that he would be transferred to Razi Psychiatric Hospital if he continued his protest.

Human rights sources also expressed concern over the life-threatening condition and deteriorating health of Rezvaneh Sadeghi, who was arrested during the January protests. According to these sources, shotgun pellets that remain lodged in the political prisoner’s head have shifted over time, with one pellet moving beneath her eye and close to the optic nerve.

The movement of the pellet has caused blood clotting, severe swelling extending from the corner of her eye to above her eyebrow, persistent pain, and significant vision loss. It is reported that despite warnings from a prison guard, medical staff at Evin Prison have deemed her condition normal and are preventing Ms. Sadeghi from being transferred to a hospital.

Meanwhile, in a separate report, the Human Rights Center in Iran said that Rashed Emami, an artist from Paveh and one of those arrested during the 2022 protests, was violently arrested on Monday, July 6, along with his wife, Sheler Modirzadeh, by regime forces and taken to an undisclosed location. No reliable information is currently available regarding the reasons for their arrest, the charges against them, their place of detention, or their whereabouts.

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