An 18-year-old mechanic was killed by a gunshot to his right eye after being wounded and detained on January 9, according to information obtained by Iran International from a source close to his family.

Iran's police intelligence agency has sent threatening text messages warning citizens of possible prosecution over online activity, including people who do not use social media, according to accounts shared with Iran International.

People in Iran have described deteriorating hospital services, rising treatment costs, shortages of medical staff and equipment, and long waits for care, as healthcare workers struggle with low wages and growing workloads, according to accounts shared with Iran International.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated threats against Iran on Sunday, and Tehran warned of retaliation even as diplomatic efforts continued over the Strait of Hormuz and the wider conflict.

Iran's parliament speaker said a "Persian Gulf Data Authority" was coming and urged regional governments and investors to withhold resources from AI companies involved in military operations, amid threats by Iranian hardliners against digital infrastructure across the region.

Retirees staged protests in several Iranian cities on Sunday over soaring living costs, inadequate pensions and healthcare problems, with some demonstrators also chanting against government corruption, repression and executions.

Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, a sanctioned veteran of Iran's missile industry with ties to the Revolutionary Guards, became defense minister on Sunday, following his predecessor's killing in the war with the United States and Israel.

A wave of deadly attacks on Iranian security forces in the country’s restive southeast has brought renewed attention to a coalition of Baluch militants seeking to broaden their fight against the Islamic Republic, raising questions about how far the insurgency can spread.

Investment in trade routes linking Asia and Europe through Central Asia and the Caucasus is putting pressure on Iran’s ambitions to become a major transit hub, with neighboring countries developing transport and digital networks that bypass Iranian territory.

A growing number of former Iranian officials and political figures are calling for an agreement with the United States, while hardliners and military commanders continue to push for confrontation, exposing a deeper struggle over the direction of Tehran’s foreign policy.

Decades of American sanctions strengthened Iran’s Revolutionary Guards by hollowing out the middle class, former US diplomat Joey Hood told Iran International, and once the fighting ends, Tehran will face a reckoning with its own people.

US President Donald Trump waived the application of some sanctions, restrictions and duties on Russia under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, according to an executive order issued Friday.

Nearly five decades after the 1979 Revolution brought an end to Iran's legal wine industry, the country retains vast vineyards and a centuries-old winemaking heritage but remains absent from a global wine export market worth $37.8 billion in 2025.

Iranian authorities executed political prisoner Ali-Sina Mostafavi, a 38-year-old mountaineer and musician from the southeastern city of Kerman, the judiciary’s Mizan News reported on Wednesday.