Iran protests

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) waves as he returns to his car after visiting the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, on October 12, 2024. At least 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a densely populated area of central Beirut on October 10, the Lebanese health ministry said, with a security source saying a Hezbollah figure was the target. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Meet Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, IRGC-vetted figure at center of US talks

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has emerged as one of the Islamic Republic’s most visible figures amid the conflict.

Traffic rolls along a main throughfare under a banner with images of past and present leaders that reads in Farsi, "Domino fall", as daily life returns to the streets following nationwide protests, in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 19, 2026. Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years. Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said January

Analysis

Iran’s longest-ever internet blackout leaves 99% offline: What to know

Facing a historic internet blackout, Iranians are locked in a struggle with authorities to find loopholes to get around this communications crackdown, leading to "shutdowns within a shutdown."

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Saudis shop for fresh products at a market in Riyadh on Feb. 18, 2026, on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia.

Analysis

Alternative supply routes emerge as Iran war tests Gulf food security

Roughly 61 million people in the Gulf rely on established food supply chains, many of which have been upended since the United States and Israel launched their attack against Iran on Feb. 28.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Iranian nationals arrive in Turkey after passing through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing in Van, northeastern Turkey, on March 3, 2026.

Feature

Iranians crossing into Turkey haunted by regime crackdown more than war

Many Iranians crossing into Turkey suggest the regime’s deadly crackdown on recent protests, not the bombardment, is the trauma they cannot shake.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

A picture from the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan on Feb. 22, 2026.

Exclusive

US-backed Kurdish forces poised to enter Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan 'within days'

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participates in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Jan. 15, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, architect of regional expansion, declared dead

In this photo released by the official website of the Supreme Leader's Office on Thursday, June 26, 2025, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears among his supporters for the first time since the Iran-Israel war, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images)

New Zealand slaps 40 Iran officials with sanctions over protest crackdown

A member of the security forces stands guard during a rally marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran on Feb. 11, 2026.

Iranians holding national flags and pictures of the Islamic republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, take part in a pro-government demonstration in the capital, Tehran's, central Enghelab Square on Nov. 25, 2019, to condemn days of "rioting" that Iran blames on its foreign foes. In a shock announcement 10 days ago, Iran raised the price of petrol by up to 200%, triggering nationwide protests in a country whose economy has been battered by US sanctions.

Iran's authorities reopen wounds of 2019 deadly crackdown

One and a half years after they crushed the November 2019 protests with an iron fist, Iranian authorities are not just dodging responsibility, but they are also adding insult to injury.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami speaks during a pro-government rally in the capital, Tehran's, central Enghelab Square on Nov. 25, 2019. In a shock announcement 10 days ago, Iran had raised the price of petrol by up to 200 %, triggering nationwide protests in a country whose economy has been battered by US sanctions.

EU hits Iranian officials with sanctions over human rights abuses

The eight individuals sanctioned include the head of the Revolutionary Guards and the commander of the Basij forces.

Iranian protesters hold flowers as riot police fire tear gas during a demonstration in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir University on January 11, 2020. - Demonstrations broke out for a second night in a row after Iran admitted to having shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet by mistake on January 8, killing all 176 people on board. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran frees 157, thousands remain jailed on protest anniversary

Iran’s judiciary has pardoned dozens of prisoners arrested during last year’s deadly anti-government protests, but thousands more are still behind bars, reportedly facing torture and other forms of mistreatment.

Prominent Iranian charity leader fights worsening health in detention

Held in solitary without a formal charge for nearly 100 days, Sharmin Meymandi-Nejad, the founder of a reputable Iranian charity, is facing deteriorating health as interrogators protract his indefinite detention.

Iranian protesters block a road during a demonstration against an increase in gasoline prices in the central city of Shiraz on November 16, 2019. - One person was killed and others injured in protests across Iran, hours after a surprise decision to increase petrol prices by 50 percent for the first 60 litres and 300 percent for anything above that each month, and impose rationing. Authorities said the move was aimed at helping needy citizens, and expected to generate 300 trillion rials ($2.55 billion) per a

Amnesty International accuses Iran of using torture to extract confessions after 2019 protests

Some 7,000 people were arrested by Iranian authorities, including children as young as 10, the rights group reported.

Iran arrests US-based leader of exile group

Authorities in Tehran say they detained Jamshid Sharmahd, the leader of a California-based opposition group, inside Iran, yet questions remain about his detention.

Iran sentences dissident journalist to death

Iran sees Rouhollah Zam as an enemy of the state in part as a result of his controversial coverage of anti-government protests in Iran; Iranian Supreme Court also upholds a five-year sentence for French-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah.

People protest against increased gas price, on a highway in Tehran, Iran November 16, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2CCD9U9AIN

Iran admits at least 200 protesters killed in November crackdown

Iran's interior minister has acknowledged that "sad things happened" during the unrest last year.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAY 27: President of Iran Hassan Rouhani attends the first official session of 11th round of the Iranian parliament after its opening ceremony in Tehran, Iran on May 27, 2020. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Iran opens new parliament packed with Rouhani critics

The tough road ahead of President Hassan Rouhani in the upcoming closing year of his term is expected to be made even even bumpier by the new ultraconservative legislature.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (not pictured) in Tokyo, Japan, December 20, 2019. Charly Triballeau/Pool via REUTERS - RC2YYD9DLX7A

Rouhani faces winter of Iran's discontent

Iran’s hard-liners have already secured a takeover of the parliament in elections this month; Trump says any negotiations are totally up to Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about his acquittal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC27VE985OCV

Europe worries as Trump seems to lose interest in new Iran deal

Europeans with embassies on the ground disagree with the belief by Donald Trump administration officials that the Iranian regime is on the brink of collapse, and that the administration can wait for Iran to surrender to a long US wish list.

Qaim residents fearful following conflict between US, Iran-backed militias

Recent US attacks on positions along the Syrian border held by Iran-linked armed groups — some of whom are on the Iraqi government payroll — have led to insecurity among local residents, who had been seeing improvements in their lives.