UN human rights experts called on Iran to end what they described as escalating persecution of independent lawyers, warning that restrictions on legal representation were leaving defendants vulnerable to arbitrary detention, coerced confessions and unfair trials.
“Independent lawyers are increasingly being prosecuted and intimidated for their professional work and for defending human rights,” the experts said in a statement.
At least 135 lawyers faced judicial or security measures in Iran between September 2025 and September 2026, including arrests, summonses, imprisonment, professional suspensions and travel bans, according to figures documented by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and cited by the experts.
A separate report by the Netherlands-based Lawyers for Lawyers and the London-based Centre for Supporters of Human Rights documented the arrests of at least 23 lawyers across eight Iranian provinces following nationwide anti-government protests.
The experts said Iranian authorities had reportedly instructed lawyers not to take protest-related cases and obstructed independent lawyers from representing defendants in politically sensitive proceedings.
Defendants were often restricted to court-appointed lawyers during initial investigations, while independent lawyers faced limited access to clients and case files, they added.
The statement cited the October 11 arrest of human rights lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi after he appeared before the Isfahan Revolutionary Court on behalf of two clients, Taraneh and Romina Rahimi.
Taraneh was sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh, or “enmity against God,” while Romina received a 25-year prison sentence for aiding and abetting moharebeh in connection with the January 2026 protests, according to the experts.
The experts also raised concerns about pressure on women lawyers, including warnings, suspensions and disciplinary action over alleged violations of compulsory hijab requirements, as well as intimidation and smear campaigns.
They warned that the independence of Iran's bar associations was increasingly under threat, citing interference in elections, the disqualification of candidates critical of the authorities and the expansion of judiciary-controlled licensing outside independent bar associations.
The statement was issued by five UN special rapporteurs, including Mai Sato, the expert on human rights in Iran, and Margaret Satterthwaite, the expert on the independence of judges and lawyers, along with members of UN working groups on arbitrary detention and discrimination against women and girls.
“When independent lawyers are arrested or intimidated for defending their clients, the consequences extend far beyond the legal profession,” the experts said.
“The right to an effective defence, fair trials and the rule of law itself are at stake.”
Tehran prosecutors have opened a criminal case against a gynecologist who spoke publicly about what she described as a growing trend of unmarried Iranian women choosing to raise children without fathers, Iranian media reported Monday.
The physician, Zohreh Amiri, said 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, before questioning 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 decided to continue their pregnancies despite knowing that the children's fathers would not participate in raising them.
Her observations, however, were based on her medical practice, and it remains unclear whether they reflect a broader demographic trend.
Before prosecutors intervened, the Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Sabereen News channel circulated a video of Amiri's remarks, denouncing what it described as the normalisation of a new social abnormality and demanding judicial action.
“This is the normalization of a new social abnormality. The judiciary must address this matter as soon as possible,” the channel wrote.
On Monday, Tehran prosecutors announced that Amiri 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.
The case touches on a sensitive issue in Iran, where the Islamic Republic has long promoted marriage and childbearing within traditional family structures while maintaining legal and social restrictions on relationships outside marriage.
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 issues into public discussion.
In 2008, physicians Arash and Kamiar Alaei were arrested after pioneering HIV/AIDS prevention programmes 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 espionage allegations linked to her demographic research. Authorities also summoned fellow demographer Mohammad Jalal Abbasi for questioning about population and fertility studies.
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.
Although the circumstances and charges differed, the cases illustrate the risks faced by researchers examining aspects of Iranian society that challenge official narratives about family, morality and social order.
Democrats' sweeping midterm gains have weakened Donald Trump at home. But do they amount to the strategic victory that some in Tehran are claiming?
“You lost the war and the election,” Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei declared on X, mocking what he portrayed as turmoil within the Trump administration and questioning who in Washington should receive Tehran's warning against another war.
“So who exactly in Washington do we need to get this message across to?” he asked.
Iranian establishment newspapers have also been quick to celebrate. Hamshahri declared “The Shadow of Iran Over America's Elections,” while another outlet depicted Trump as a hostage, invoking the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979.
But Trump remains president, with substantial authority over military and foreign policy decisions, even as a Democratic Congress gains greater power to scrutinize and constrain his administration.
Tehran's victory narrative
Behnam Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the Islamic Republic's political messaging is central to its strategy.
“The strategy is the propaganda,” he told Iran International’s Eye for Iran podcast.
Unable to match the United States or Israel in conventional military strength, Tehran has relied on asymmetric tactics, economic disruption and political narratives, Taleblu argued.
Conservative political commentator Peter Roff warned that the Islamic Republic may have misjudged the consequences of Democratic control of Congress.
“The mullahs in Iran are the second biggest losers because they bet on change of control in Congress, changing the conduct of the war. And that's not going to happen,” he told Eye for Iran.
While Congress retains powers over funding, oversight and legislation, Roff argued that the election would not fundamentally constrain Trump's conduct toward Tehran.
A weakened president, in other words, is not necessarily one unwilling to act.
Did Iran cost Republicans the election?
Republican political strategist Albert Eisenberg acknowledged that the conflict contributed to the losses but rejected attempts to separate it from broader dissatisfaction with the administration.
“Anybody telling you that the Iran conflict didn't factor in is lying. Anybody who's telling you that the Iran conflict was the only factor is definitely lying,” Eisenberg said.
The war, he argued, accelerated an existing backlash, particularly because the White House failed to explain its objectives.
Joel Rubin, a Democratic foreign policy strategist and former deputy assistant secretary of state under President Barack Obama, argued that affordability, tariffs and economic uncertainty were already weighing on American households before the conflict.
He accused Vice President JD Vance of using Israel and the war to deflect responsibility for the administration's broader failures.
“What Vice President Vance did was demonize Israel for his own administration's failures to execute a war effectively, to explain it to the American people, to prepare for it, to get it through Congress,” Rubin said.
Washington's unresolved Iran strategy
Beyond the election results lies a more fundamental problem for Trump: the absence of a clearly communicated strategy for what comes after military pressure on the Islamic Republic.
Despite their disagreements over the midterms, analysts from both parties questioned whether the administration had adequately explained its objectives to Americans.
Eisenberg argued that Washington had failed to highlight the experiences of Americans affected by Iranian-backed attacks or the plight of women and minorities under the Islamic Republic.
Roff echoed that criticism: “The president has not made the geostrategic case to the American people, and he needs to.”.
Rubin warned that mounting political pressure could instead push Trump toward abandoning the confrontation without securing arrangements to address Tehran's nuclear program or regional activities.
Taleblu identified a related concern. Washington, he argued, has achieved significant military gains against Iranian nuclear and missile infrastructure without defining the political outcome those operations are intended to secure.
Regime change, containment, a limited agreement and deconfliction remain possible objectives, but the administration has yet to establish a coherent path toward any of them, he said.
“Just because the shooting isn't active doesn't mean there isn't a war,” Taleblu warned.
The danger of miscalculation
Tehran may see Trump's domestic troubles as an opportunity to prolong the confrontation or wait for a more favorable political environment in Washington. But that calculation carries risks.
Trump could seek a negotiated settlement, maintain existing pressure or pursue additional military action. The election alone does not determine which course he will choose.
Nor does Democratic control of Congress necessarily settle the question. Lawmakers could challenge the administration's handling of the war and seek to limit further military action, but their ability to change its course remains uncertain.
Taleblu warned that the Islamic Republic remains motivated by revenge and survival, making its behavior difficult to predict even during periods of reduced military activity.
For now, Tehran has gained a propaganda opportunity from Trump's electoral defeat. Whether that translates into a lasting strategic advantage remains uncertain.
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Iran signaled a willingness to negotiate an end to its confrontation with the United States on Monday, but insisted Washington must first lift measures imposed since the Islamabad understanding, as disputes over nuclear activities and control of the Strait of Hormuz continued.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had instructed officials to end the country's prolonged state of uncertainty between war and peace, opening the door to negotiations.
"The supreme leader ordered us to end the no-war, no-peace situation," Pezeshkian said. "We can hold talks with dignity and bring the matter to an end with dignity."
The president also called for changes in how Iran is governed, saying the country's resources should not leave its people struggling to meet basic needs.
"I cannot accept that anyone in the country goes to bed hungry," Pezeshkian said.
Iran sets conditions for two-day proposal
The president's remarks came as the foreign ministry outlined conditions for a proposed diplomatic arrangement that it said could restore regional security within two days.
Iran would fulfill its commitments under the proposal if Washington lifted sanctions, the naval blockade and other measures imposed since the Islamabad understanding, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
The proposal was a shortened version of an earlier seven-day plan, Baghaei said, adding that Qatar and Pakistan remained in regular contact with both sides.
The demands drew a sharp contrast with Washington's position after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Iran's terms as unacceptable.
Baghaei rejected the criticism and accused Washington of imposing unreasonable conditions on negotiations.
"We have made it very clear that if the United States meets the Islamic Republic's demands, security will return to the region within two days," Baghaei said.
Nuclear disputes remain unresolved
Iran will not transfer its enriched uranium abroad, and inspections of nuclear facilities damaged by US attacks cannot proceed under existing conditions, Baghaei said separately in an interview with Lebanon's Al Mayadeen television.
The spokesman said International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors had visited the Bushehr nuclear power plant several days earlier and that Iran remained in contact with the UN nuclear watchdog.
However, he argued that the attacks had complicated Iran's ability to fulfill its safeguards obligations.
The remarks coincided with comments from Iranian lawmakers about the country's nuclear capabilities and future policy.
Esmail Kowsari said US strikes during the 12-day war had destroyed aboveground buildings near nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan but had not damaged centrifuges or uranium enriched to 60%.
Another lawmaker, Hamidreza Gudarzi, argued that Iran should acquire nuclear weapons to deter future threats, while acknowledging that decisions on changes to the country's nuclear doctrine rested with senior authorities.
Hormuz dispute and regional diplomacy
Beyond the nuclear issue, Iran and the United States continued to dispute the security situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Revolutionary Guards denied that US forces had cleared any naval mines from the strategic waterway.
"No war mines have been cleared from the Strait of Hormuz, and this claim is an outright lie," Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebi said.
The disagreement came as regional governments sought to prevent further military escalation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had told US President Donald Trump during a recent telephone conversation that Ankara opposed another round of attacks on Iran and favored a diplomatic solution.
The United Arab Emirates also warned that a comprehensive settlement between Washington and Tehran remained difficult.
The consequences of the war could persist for years, requiring stronger defense capabilities and sustained diplomatic engagement, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said.
China pursued its own diplomatic contacts, with special envoy Zhai Jun meeting Iranian security official Ali Bagheri Kani during a regional tour that also includes Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Beijing emphasized that the widening Middle East conflict could not be resolved through military force.
Monday's developments left Iran and the United States expressing sharply different conditions for ending their confrontation, with nuclear disputes, sanctions and maritime security remaining central obstacles to a negotiated settlement.
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.
Severe weather and flooding across Iran have killed four people, injured 11 and cut off access to 190 villages, with emergency teams responding to widespread damage, officials said on Sunday.
Severe weather and flooding across Iran have killed four people, injured 11 and cut off access to 190 villages, with emergency teams responding to widespread damage, officials said on Sunday, November 8.
Two of the fatalities were caused by lightning strikes in Khuzestan province, national emergency services spokesman Mojtaba Lashgari told ISNA.
Lashgari said the 11 injuries were recorded in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Khuzestan and Bushehr provinces since November 6.
The storms also caused fallen trees and electricity poles, road closures, traffic accidents, building damage and temporary disruptions to water, power and telephone services, he added.
Heavy rainfall cut off access to 190 villages in Lorestan province, while damage to gas distribution lines and electricity infrastructure disrupted supplies to several communities, Mehr news agency reported.
Borujerd Governor Ghodratollah Valadi said six villages in the county faced flooding risks, with an evacuation ordered in Tang-e Mohammad Hajji because of the threat of landslides.
In Aligudarz, flooding along the Zez River stranded nomadic communities and destroyed much of their livestock and property, Tasnim news agency reported.
Rescue workers also evacuated seven women and children trapped by flooding in Lordegan.
Floodwaters reached Chelchelak village in Khuzestan and inundated streets in Suq, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.
Heavy rain flooded streets in Bushehr and Bandar Genaveh on Sunday, while footage showed the Qom River overflowing.
The Kandovan road between Karaj and Chalus experienced six floods within 48 hours, with road crews clearing mud and debris to reopen affected sections.
In Tehran province, water levels rose in the Kan River, with floodwaters flowing through its riverbed. Tehran emergency services said no injuries had been reported from rainfall or flooding in the province's mountainous areas.
National Crisis Management Organization spokesman Omid Mohtarami said around 1,600 people had received direct emergency assistance.
Mohtarami said 18,000 operational teams were working in flood-affected areas, with another 8,000 support teams on standby.
Red weather warnings remained in effect in several provinces, with maritime red alerts issued for Gilan and Mazandaran for Monday, November 9.
