THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 8:30 PM CEST
“In Prison, I learned: My Siblings Are Dead”
During the war between Israel and Iran in June, the idea of regime change in Iran suddenly gained traction. The son of the last Shah called for it, as did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, ruled out any intervention. Yet the Iranian resistance does not seek foreign intervention at all. Shabnam Madadzadeh spent five years in Iranian prisons. She now lives in Switzerland and is active in the resistance movement through the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). In an interview, she explains how the movement operates and what it thinks of the recent war.
UPDATE: 5:00 PM CEST
Women in Iran and the Third Option
According to international women’s organizations, Iran is one of the worst countries in the world for women. Tens of thousands of Iranian women have been tortured and executed for participating in the struggle for democracy and gender equality. Among them were girls as young as 13. The majority belonged to Iran’s leading resistance movement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Norway and the international community should recognize the Iranian people’s right to self-defense and support the democratic resistance movement.
Under the Islamic regime, men hold all power within the family, and women are not even allowed to leave the home without their husband’s permission. The legal marriage age for girls has been lowered from 18 to 13, and men effectively have exclusive rights to both divorce and child custody.
The situation has not improved under the so-called reformist president Pezeshkian. Decades of dialogue with Iran’s religious fascist regime have not led to meaningful reforms. Reform in today’s Iran is nothing more than an illusion. Iranian women are not fighting for change within this regime — they are fighting for a secular, democratic republic. That is why women lead both the street protests and the organized resistance.
UPDATE: 2:00 PM CEST
5 Years in Iranian Prisons – Shabnam Wants to Overthrow the Regime
Shabnam Madadzadeh is committed to achieving regime change in Iran. In an interview with 20 Minuten, she explains why she is doing this, what she had to sacrifice, and what a free Iran could look like.
During the war between Israel and Iran in June, the idea of regime change in Iran suddenly entered the conversation. The son of the last Shah called for it, as did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, ruled out an intervention. Yet the Iranian resistance is not seeking foreign intervention at all.
Shabnam Madadzadeh spent five years in Iranian prisons. Now living in Switzerland, she advocates for the resistance movement as part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). In the interview, she discusses the movement’s strategy and its perspective on the recent war.
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CEST
Iran’s Resistance Units Champion The ‘Third Option,’ Proving the People’s Will Is the Only Path to Freedom
Despite the clerical regime’s relentless repression, the flame of resistance burns brighter than ever across Iran. On July 11, PMOI Resistance Units in Zahedan took to the streets in a bold display of defiance, proving that the organized movement for a free Iran is not only active but expanding. Their actions are part of a growing wave of popular uprisings, sending an unmistakable message that the Iranian people’s determination to overthrow the religious dictatorship cannot be extinguished. As one of their placards declared, “The resistance of the Iranian people against the religious dictatorship is just and nothing can smother its flames.”
Iran’s Resistance Units champion the ‘Third Option,’ proving the people’s will is the only path to freedom https://t.co/hU3XsPBkyE
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 12, 2025
Central to the Resistance Units’ message is the “Third Option,” a direct challenge to the international community’s long-standing but failed policy toward Tehran. For decades, global powers have been trapped in a false dichotomy: either appease the mullahs’ corrupt dictatorship or engage in a destructive foreign war.
Rebellious Youth Deliver Fiery Response to Iranian Regime’s Fatal Attack in Baluchestan
Following an attack by the Iranian regime’s security forces on defenseless women in Gunich village, Khash county, Iran’s rebellious youth delivered 15 fiery responses. They targeted the regime’s bases and centers of suppression and set fire to images of regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran: The Goharshad Mosque Massacre in Mashhad
The massacre at Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad on July 14, 1935, stands as one of the darkest acts of the Pahlavi monarchical tyranny. The conflict erupted over the forced imposition of Western-style clothing and hats, a policy presented under the guise of modernization but entirely devoid of any political freedom.
On July 14, 1935, Reza Shah massacred countless souls at Goharshad Mosque for protesting a forced dress code. The crime wasn't just the violence, but the principle: a dictator imposing his will on the people. #No2ShahNo2Mullahs #FreeIran2025 pic.twitter.com/YtjMM9OO87
— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) July 12, 2025
The tensions that culminated in the massacre began to build in mid-July 1935. On July 10th, authorities began arresting protesters and public speakers. On the evening of July 12th, the order for a military assault was issued. With a battle bugle call, Reza Khan’s army forces attacked protesters who had staged a sit-in at the Goharshad Mosque—the epicenter of the dissent—leaving many killed and wounded.
Iran’s Leadership in Hiding: A Regime Gripped by Fear
Seventeen days after the ceasefire in the 12-day conflict, Iran regime’s ruling elite remains trapped in a state of heightened alert, with no end in sight. The regime’s leaders, once prominent symbols of authority, now live like fugitives, haunted by fears of targeted assassinations and covert operations by external adversaries. The cessation of hostilities has not eased the regime’s anxieties. The threat of precision strikes and clandestine operations has forced the regime’s senior officials into a secretive existence. In the 27 days since attacks claimed over 300 senior and mid-level military commanders, Iran regime’s governing institutions have abandoned normal operations. Public meetings, summits, and ceremonies have been canceled or held in secret, unannounced locations under stringent security measures. The regime’s efforts to project normalcy through symbolic gestures are undermined by undeniable realities.
Max du Plessis SC Appointed to UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran
Max du Plessis SC, a prominent South African barrister and expert in international law, has been appointed as an independent member of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Iranian regime. His appointment was made by Ambassador Jürg Lauber of Switzerland, President of the UN Human Rights Council. Du Plessis replaces Pakistani legal scholar Shaheen Sardar Ali on the three-member panel, which also includes Sara Hossain of Bangladesh—who serves as chair—and Viviana Krsticevic of Argentina.
The Fact-Finding Mission was established by Human Rights Council Resolution S-35/1 on November 24, 2022, during a special session convened in response to the widespread protests that erupted in Iran on September 16, 2022. These protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini in police custody and were met with a brutal crackdown by the Iranian regime. The Council tasked the Mission with investigating alleged human rights violations committed in connection with the protests, with particular attention to abuses against women and children.
Iran’s Regime Expels Over Half a Million Afghans in 16 Days
The United Nations has announced that in just 16 days following the end of military clashes between Iran’s regime and Israel, more than 500,000 Afghan nationals were expelled from Iran. Observers have called this one of the largest forced displacements of population in the past decade.
According to CNN, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that from June 24 to July 9, at least 508,426 Afghans exited Iran through its border crossings with Afghanistan. The organization warned that nearly 65,000 people were returned to Afghanistan on just Tuesday and Wednesday of the past week, and that this pace accelerated after Iran imposed a deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave.
German Authorities Say Aid Worker Has Not Left Iran, Contact Lost
The Stuttgart-based German aid organization STELP announced that Serkan Eren, its founder and a Turkish national who had traveled to Iran on a humanitarian mission, was scheduled to leave the country on June 28. However, he did not exit Iran, and all contact with him has been lost. In a statement issued on July 10, STELP urged the public to refrain from speculation and unauthorized actions in order to protect Serkan’s safety and ensure peace of mind for his family and loved ones. In June, Eren had traveled from Stuttgart to Tehran to deliver financial aid.
In an interview with the German media outlet SWR, he said that to avoid being mistaken for an “agent or saboteur,” he had left his bulletproof vest, helmet, and satellite phone in Germany and traveled to Iran with only a backpack and no protective equipment.
Iran’s Statistical Center Reports Rise in School Dropout Rates
As warnings persist about the wave of school dropouts among children and adolescents in Iran, data from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that the dropout rate among students in elementary and lower secondary education during the 2023–2024 academic year increased compared to the previous year. According to the Statistical Center, the overall dropout rate at the elementary level was 1.45%, which marks a 0.25% increase compared to the previous academic year.
Data from the center indicates that the dropout rate among boys in this level reached 1.53%, a 0.32% increase from the previous academic year.
Judiciary Under the Microscope of Justice – Part 3
Since the very inception of the ruling regime in Iran, the judiciary has not functioned as an institution of justice, but rather as a formalized apparatus for systematic repression. The issuance of execution orders, long-term imprisonments, torture, and the systematic elimination of dissidents, intellectuals, and minorities have all been legitimized and institutionalized within this body. Judges appointed by the Supreme Leader have consistently ignored the fundamental principles of fair trial and due process, acting as direct perpetrators or enablers of crimes against humanity. The victims of this repressive system—from the mass executions of 1988 to the teenagers killed in the streets during the 2022 uprising—are living testaments to the inhumane nature of this judicial system.
Iran’s Economy: Rising Production Costs, Capital Flight, and Crisis of Confidence
The year 2025 has brought a challenging landscape for Iran’s economy, marked by stagnation in the stock market, soaring production input costs, large-scale migrant labor exodus, and a sharp decline in household purchasing power. A detailed examination of various statistics reveals that the country’s economy remains under severe structural pressures, compounded by international sanctions and volatile domestic policies. According to the International Organization for Migration, over 460,000 Afghan nationals left Iran between June and July 2025, with 70% of these departures being forced returns. Since Afghan workers represent a significant portion of the low-cost labor force in the construction sector, this mass migration is expected to increase building costs in the second half of 2025.
One Final Push Could End the Mullahs Regime in Iran
As a fragile ceasefire is maintained between Israel and Iran, the world holds its breath. Iran-watchers believe that there is an almost unprecedented window of opportunity following the series of critical setbacks that have impacted on the mullahs’ regime in the past year, with the virtual collapse of their so-called ‘Axis of Resistance,’ including Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. Even their long-time allies China and Russia seem unwilling to intervene.
The precision bombing of the regime’s nuclear sites and the elimination of dozens of its leading Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and military commanders fostered the illusion that the Islamic Republic would collapse.