{"id":346965,"date":"2026-07-28T06:40:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T05:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=346965"},"modified":"2026-07-28T06:40:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T05:40:41","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-july-28-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-july-28-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 July 28, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NCRI
NCRI supporters in Stockholm, gathered outside Sweden\u2019s Foreign Ministry on July 25, 2026, to protest the execution of political prisoner and PMOI member\u00a0Mehdi Khanaki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h3>\n

UPDATE: 7:30 A<\/strong>M CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

How The Legacy of Operation Eternal Light Lives on In Iran\u2019s Resistance Units Today<\/h3>\n

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On July 25, 2026, marking the anniversary of the Iranian Resistance\u2019s most formidable military challenge to the clerical regime, PMOI Resistance Units orchestrated a coordinated, nationwide campaign of defiance. Despite the regime\u2019s brutal massacres following the devastating nationwide uprisings of December 2025 and January 2026, the Resistance Units remain unbroken.<\/p>\n

Across the country, these brave activists commemorated the anniversary of Operation Eternal Light, proving that the fight for a free Iran continues in every corner of the country and that the sacrifices of the past still fuel today\u2019s revolution.<\/p>\n

To understand the bravery of today\u2019s Resistance Units, one must understand the historical magnitude of the 1988 operation. On July 25, 1988, the National Liberation Army (NLA) launched its largest operation, called \u201cEternal Light,\u201d targeting the entirety of the Iranian regime. Pushing deep into Iranian territory, this large-scale military offensive brought the clerical establishment to the brink of collapse. The Iranian regime suffered 55,000 casualties in the ensuing battles.<\/p>\n

It was a brilliant strategic counter-move. The regime had intended to use a supposed peace after the eight-year war to annihilate the opposition, but Operation Eternal Light disrupted this plot, successfully forcing Khomeini to drink the \u201cpoison\u201d of the UN ceasefire. During this monumental offensive, 1,304 NLA officers and soldiers laid down their lives for the freedom of their country, cementing a legacy of selfless sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Iran: Women Arrested in the January 2026 Uprising Face Prison Terms and Detentions<\/h3>\n

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As Iranian authorities continue to prosecute women arrested during the January 2026 uprising and other detainees, several women have faced prison sentences, prolonged detention, or continued legal uncertainty. Among those affected in recent days are Kowkab Badaghi, Shadi Shadman, Mehregan Namavar, Shakila Ghasemi, Forouzan Ansari, and Astareh Ansari.<\/p>\n

Branch 18 of the Khuzestan Province Court of Appeals has upheld the one-year prison sentence imposed on Kowkab Badaghi Pagah, a history teacher and teachers\u2019 union activist from Khuzestan.<\/p>\n

Badaghi, a history teacher from Izeh, had\u00a0previously been summoned<\/a>\u00a0before the Preliminary Administrative Violations Board of the Khuzestan Department of Education. In September 2025, the department\u2019s Appeals Board also sentenced her to a three-month suspension from her teaching position.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Iran\u2019s Deepening Economic Crisis Pushes Workers to the Brink as Poverty and Unpaid Wages Soar<\/h3>\n

\"Protests<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s worsening economic crisis is placing unprecedented pressure on working-class families as the rapid depreciation of the national currency and relentless inflation erode purchasing power across the country. With the poverty line in major cities now estimated at at least 70 million tomans per month, millions of workers are struggling to meet even their most basic needs.<\/p>\n

At the same time, reports from factories and service industries indicate that workers are confronting a new wave of layoffs, delayed wage payments, reduced benefits, and increasing job insecurity. Labor activists warn that a large segment of Iran\u2019s workforce\u2014many of whom already lived below the poverty line before the recent escalation of the country\u2019s economic crisis\u2014may no longer be able to endure these conditions much longer.<\/p>\n

If current trends continue through the end of the summer, they caution, labor protests are likely to expand significantly.\u00a0In recent weeks, several factories that had previously reduced operations or dismissed employees resumed production and asked former workers to return. For many, returning to work meant temporarily escaping unemployment, abandoning informal jobs such as ride-hailing services, and hoping for a stable income once again.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Reza Pahlavi\u2019s Tweet vs History: Rebranding an Authoritarian Legacy<\/h3>\n

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In his recent tweet, Reza Pahlavi attempts a familiar exercise: turning his father, Mohammad Reza Shah, from an authoritarian ruler into a romantic national saint\u2014a man of rain-soaked fields and beating patriotic hearts, rather than of prisons, coups and censorship.<\/p>\n

In Reza\u2019s narrative, the Shah is \u201cthe most alive political figure in the hearts of Iranians\u201d forty\u2011six years after his death, and the 1979 revolution is reduced to a mere \u201cdisaster\u201d that tragically interrupted Iran\u2019s march to prosperity. The problem is that history stubbornly refuses to cooperate with this storyline.<\/p>\n

Let us start with the foundation of this \u201cpatriotic\u201d rule: the 1953 coup. The Shah\u2019s restored power did not fall from the sky; it was delivered through Operation Ajax, a joint CIA\u2013MI6 operation that overthrew the democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh after he nationalized Iran\u2019s oil industry. Mossadegh was arrested, tried for treason, imprisoned, and then kept under house arrest until his death, while the Shah returned to the throne backed explicitly by foreign intelligence services. Calling this outcome \u201cnational sovereignty\u201d requires a very generous imagination.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Migration from Southern Iran in the Shadow of the Iranian Regime\u2019s Warmongering<\/h3>\n

\"Tehran\u2014images<\/p>\n

The migration and displacement of people from cities in southern Iran is one of the consequences of the war that has affected the lives of millions of people in recent weeks. Some media outlets have compared the current situation to the mass displacement of people from southern and western Iran during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.<\/p>\n

During that period, thousands of families in Khuzestan Province and other war-affected regions abandoned their homes and moved to safer areas. Now, nearly four decades after the end of that war, the same sense of fear has once again fallen over southern Iran. This time, in addition to the threat of war, people are also struggling with economic hardship, temperatures exceeding 50\u00b0C (122\u00b0F), and repeated water and electricity outages.<\/p>\n

A war that may serve the Iranian regime as a means to further securitize society and intensify repression has a very different meaning for the people of southern Iran: concern for their lives, homes, jobs, and future.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Prospect of Renewed U.S.-Iranian Regime Talks Drives Oil Prices Lower<\/h3>\n

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Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian regime\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with Austria\u2019s state broadcaster that indirect contacts between Tehran and Washington are continuing, with mediators including Pakistan and Qatar facilitating the exchange of messages between the two sides.<\/p>\n

Baghaei said, \u201cThe Americans are exchanging messages with us, and under the current circumstances, mediators, including Pakistan and Qatar, are active and are conveying messages between the parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also stressed that the existence of an appropriate framework is essential before any talks can begin, claiming that the United States has undermined such a framework. Baghaei also claimed: \u201cNegotiations aimed at dictating or imposing demands will certainly not be acceptable to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

His remarks came after he also stated on Sunday, without providing details, that there had been \u201cprogress\u201d in discussions and exchanges between Tehran and Muscat, the capital of Oman.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Judge Mohammad Reza Tavakoli: Judge of Death Sentences & Violations of the Right to Life in Isfahan<\/h3>\n

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In two cases stemming from the January 2026 nationwide protests in Isfahan \u2014 namely the \u201cAlikhani Square Case\u201d and the \u201cShohada Square Case\u201d \u2014 where 12 protesters received death sentences in the former (with two individuals, Erfan Esfandiari and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, executed on July 19, 2026 [28 Tir 1405]) and 16 protesters face the grave risk of receiving death sentences in the latter, one judge\u2019s name stands out in the violation of the most fundamental human right \u2014 the right to life: Judge Mohammad Reza Tavakoli.<\/p>\n

When Judge Tavakoli served as the Head of Branch 5 of the Public Civil Court of Khomeinishahr in Isfahan, he was honored as an \u201cExemplary Judge of the Islamic Republic\u201d by Ali Ranjbar (Deputy of the Disciplinary Prosecutorial Office for Judicial Evaluation), Rasoul Zargarpour (Governor of Isfahan), Ahmad Khosravi-Vafa (Chief Justice of Isfahan Province), and Mohammad Reza Habibi (Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Isfahan Province).<\/p>\n

In November 2023 (Azar 1402), Mohammad Reza Tavakoli was appointed Head of the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan by a decree from the Head of the Judiciary.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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US And Iran Enter Conditional Pause in Attacks<\/h3>\n

\"Wreckage<\/p>\n

TEHRAN \u2014<\/strong> The suspension of U.S. attacks and the reduction in exchanges of fire are the first tangible signs that Iran and the United States may be returning to diplomacy. The available evidence, however, does not yet indicate that the war is over. While Donald Trump\u2019s administration has ordered a halt to further attacks, it has also threatened to resume military operations if negotiations fail. In Tehran, officials and analysts have spoken of readiness for a ceasefire, but the implementation of commitments under the previous understanding and the status of the Strait of Hormuz remain disputed.\u00a0Kourosh Ahmadi, a former Iranian diplomat,\u00a0told\u00a0Arman Melli<\/em>\u00a0that<\/a>\u00a0the battlefield had offered neither side a clear path to victory. Iran, he said, cannot destroy U.S. forces or sink American ships, while the United States cannot use military force to compel Tehran to accept its preferred policies.<\/p>\n

Ahmadi described<\/a>\u00a0the situation as a military \u201cstalemate\u201d and said the best course was to return to the\u00a0Islamabad understanding<\/a>\u2014a document that, according to Tehran\u2019s account, has not been revoked, but whose implementation was suspended or interrupted after the fighting resumed.\u00a0Arman Melli<\/em>\u00a0also reported that Pakistan, Oman and Qatar were working to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Brussels Rally Honors PMOI Martyrs and Executed Protesters, Condemns Iran\u2019s Executions<\/h3>\n

Brussels, July 25, 2026:\u00a0Supporters of the Iranian Resistance (NCRI<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0PMOI<\/span><\/a>) gathered outside the Iranian regime\u2019s embassy to protest the execution of political prisoner and PMOI member\u00a0Mehdi Khanaki<\/a>, which was carried out over his involvement in Iran\u2019s January uprising.<\/p>\n

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Brussels Rally Honors PMOI Martyrs and Protesters, Condemns Executions in Iran \u2013 July 25, 2026<\/div><\/div>
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