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UPDATE: 8:30 PM CEST
Former EU Heavyweight Admits ‘We Got It Wrong’ As He Warns ‘Silence on Iran Is Complicity’
Former Brussels’ heavyweight Charles Michel has turned his back on the EU’s ongoing policy of tacit appeasement of Iran saying “silence was complicity” in the horrors being meted out on the Iranian people. Michel, who was President of the European Council from 2019 until last year, toed the European Union line throughout his EU career. Over the year, Brussels has juxtaposed condemnation of some elements of Tehran’s hardline Islamic regime while continuing to recognise and engage with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his agents.
Critics view the position as appeasement of the religious dictatorship, with Michel now admitting it “had not worked and could not work”. Grassroots Iranian freedom fighters have pleaded with the EU for years to stop engaging with Tehran. This has not happened. Indeed, in the last months of his EU tenure, Michel even went so far as to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
UPDATE: 3:30 PM CEST
Lebanese President Steps Up Calls for Hezbollah to Disarm
BEIRUT, July 31 (Reuters) – Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stepped up his calls for Hezbollah to disarm on Thursday, suggesting failure to do so would give Israel an excuse to continue attacks and saying the issue would be on the agenda of a cabinet meeting next week.
The comments reflect mounting pressure over the issue of Hezbollah’s arms, which has loomed over Lebanon since the Iran-aligned group was pummeled in a war with Israel last year. Washington wants Hezbollah disarmed – a demand echoed by the Beirut government as it aims to establish a monopoly on weapons.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech on Wednesday that calls for its disarmament served only Israel.
The Israeli military said in a statement it had on Thursday struck infrastructure used to produce and store weapons in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, as well as in the south of the country, including an explosives manufacturing site it said was used to develop Hezbollah weaponry.
Secret Transfers: China’s ‘Dark Fleet’ Helps Iran Sneak Oil Past U.S. Sanctions
China is reportedly using a “dark fleet” to conduct secret ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil in an effort to evade U.S. sanctions on Tehran’s tankers.
CBS News sent a crew to scout an area roughly 80 nautical miles from Singapore and found four ship-to-ship transfers occurring; all the “dark fleet” tankers had their transponders switched off, and “clearly do not want to be identified,” the outlet reported.
“Both ships have a net or something, a tarp, deployed over the stern, covering the name and identification number — it’s obvious deceptive practice,” Charlie Brown, senior adviser with United Against Nuclear Iran and advisor to the Trump administration, who has been studying the “dark fleet” for years, stated.
“This is ‘dark fleet’ parking central,” he commented, calling one ship, the Tifani, “a well-known ‘dark fleet’ tanker.”
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CEST
Rome Summit Highlights ‘The Only Way’ For A Free Iran: Regime Change by the People
Against a backdrop of escalating human rights abuses in Iran, prominent political figures from across Europe and the United States gathered in Rome for the Free Iran World Summit 2025. The conference, held on July 31, 2025, focused on the intensifying crisis within the clerical regime and the international community’s role in supporting a democratic alternative. The event days after Iran’s regime executed political prisoners Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), whose steadfastness in the face of torture and death was a recurring theme throughout the day’s discussions.
Two Women, Mahtab Bayati and Nahid Jokar, 52, Executed in Iran
Two women, Mahtab Bayati in Vakilabad Prison (Mashhad) and 52-year-old Nahid Jokar in Adelabad Prison (Shiraz), were executed on drug-related charges.
On the morning of Wednesday, July 30, 2025, Mahtab Bayati was executed in the Central Prison of Mashhad. Less than 24 hours later, in the early hours of Thursday, July 31, Nahid Jokar was hanged in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.
Both women had been sentenced to death following legal proceedings that, according to informed sources, lacked transparency and failed to meet standards of due process. No official announcement of their executions has been made by Iranian judicial authorities or prison officials at the time of this report.
Rozita Moazami Goodarzi Targeted in a New Wave of Repression
In a disturbing escalation of pressure on families of political prisoners, Iranian security forces have taken Leila Saremi hostage to force her daughter, Rozita Moazami Goodarzi, surrender herself to authorities.
In the early hours of Wednesday, July 30, 2025, security forces from the Ministry of Intelligence, accompanied by plainclothes agents, raided the home of Farzad Moazami Goodarzi’s father in Borujerd—marking the second such raid in less than ten days. The operation, which took place around 5 a.m., was reportedly aimed at arresting Rozita Moazami Goodarzi, sister of the imprisoned political prisoner.
Rozita Moazami Goodarzi was not present at the time of the raid. Security agents threatened the family, declaring that unless Rozita voluntarily reports to the Intelligence Ministry, her mother—Leila Saremi, who has been in detention since last week—will remain imprisoned under torture as a form of leverage.
Industry Struggles and Public Anger Grow Amid Water and Power Crisis in Iran
As the water and electricity crisis continues across the country, concerns are growing about its impact on the daily lives of citizens and the operations of production and industrial units. Criticism of the government of Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian regime’s president, has intensified due to its failure to contain the crisis. The state-run newspaper Ham-Mihan reported on Thursday, July 31, that the rationing and increased restrictions on water allocation to the industrial sector—intended to prioritize household needs—have fueled widespread concerns over the economic and social consequences of this approach.
The report stated: “Many industries and some refineries are facing shortages in water and electricity, which could lead to higher prices or even scarcity of energy products such as gasoline.”
Western Nations Condemn Iran’s State-Sponsored Threats in Joint Statement
July 31, 2025 — In an unprecedented joint declaration, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and 11 European nations have publicly condemned the Iranian regime’s escalating intelligence operations targeting individuals in Europe and North America. The statement, released by the U.S. State Department, highlights a disturbing pattern of assassination plots, kidnapping attempts, and harassment campaigns directed at journalists, dissidents, Jewish communities, and current or former public officials.
The statement was issued collectively by the governments of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, alongside the U.S. and U.K.
“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,” the statement declared.
Iran Regime’s Use of Finger Amputation as Punishment Condemned as Torture and Grave Human Rights Violation
On the night of July 30, 2025, the Iranian regime carried out the amputation of four fingers on the right hands of three prisoners—Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharafian, and Mehdi Shahivand—using a guillotine device at Urmia Central Prison. This act, witnessed by senior prison officials including prison head Peyman Khanzadeh and the deputy prosecutor, has provoked widespread condemnation from human rights groups and the international community, labeling it an act of torture and a blatant violation of international law.
According to multiple reports, the amputations took place in the sentence implementation room inside the prison between 10 p.m. and midnight. Prior to the mutilation, the men were injected with anesthetic and were blindfolded, handcuffed, and shackled. After the amputations, they were briefly transferred by ambulance to a medical facility in Urmia, where their wounds were bandaged but not adequately treated. They were then returned to the prison’s intake ward without access to proper medical care or psychological support.