{"id":346986,"date":"2026-07-29T07:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T06:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=346986"},"modified":"2026-07-29T07:00:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T06:00:31","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-july-29-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-july-29-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 July 29, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NCRI
NCRI supporters in Gothenburg, Sweden, gathered to protest the execution of political prisoner and PMOI member\u00a0Mehdi Khanaki on July 25, 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

UPDATE: 8:00 A<\/strong>M CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran Regime Publicly Executes Two January Uprising Protesters in Isfahan Amid Public Protests<\/h3>\n

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As the religious fascism ruling Iran struggles to contain the fallout from the massive nationwide uprisings of January 2026, it has increasingly resorted to its most macabre tool of terror: public executions.<\/p>\n

On the morning of Tuesday, July 28, 2026, the henchmen of the mullahs\u2019 regime publicly hanged two brave young protesters, Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani, 24, and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi, 27. The executions took place at Alikhani Square in Isfahan.\u00a0Rather than projecting strength, these brutal public displays expose the deep vulnerability of a desperate regime completely incapable of quelling a rebellious society that no longer fears its apparatus of repression.<\/p>\n

The two executed youths were prosecuted for their participation in the January 2026 uprising. According to the regime\u2019s judiciary, as cited by the Mizan news agency, they were leveled with fabricated and draconian charges, including \u201cMoharebeh\u201d (enmity against God), \u201ccorruption on Earth,\u201d and alleged involvement in the deaths of four State Security Force (SSF) officers. The regime also accused them of possessing firearms and Molotov cocktails, setting fire to a police station, and blocking streets.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran Hangs 2 Protesters in Public, Crowd Cries ‘Dishonorable’ As Security Fires Tear Gas<\/h3>\n

\"Fox-News\"<\/p>\n

Iran<\/a>\u00a0publicly hanged two young men Tuesday over their alleged roles in January’s nationwide anti-government protests, as onlookers chanted “Dishonorable, dishonorable!” before security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an exiled Iranian opposition group.<\/p>\n

Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi were hanged Tuesday in Isfahan’s Shahid Alikhani Square \u2014 where authorities alleged they committed offenses connected to the Jan. 8 protests, according to the NCRI and\u00a0Iranian state media.<\/a><\/p>\n

The NCRI said onlookers condemned the executions before security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. The opposition group also said security personnel had been deployed on rooftops and surrounding streets.<\/p>\n

Iranian state media also reported the public\u00a0executions<\/a>, Reuters said, with Iran’s semi-official news agency Mehr saying they were carried out in Alikhani Square “in the presence of a group of people.”<\/p>\n

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

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Iran Holds Public Hanging for 2 Protesters at Site of Anti-Regime Rally: \u2018Dishonorable!\u2019<\/h3>\n

\"New-York-Post-30112020\"<\/p>\n

Iran escalated its\u00a0barbaric executions of anti-regime protesters\u00a0<\/a>Tuesday, holding public hangings for two men at the same spot where they demanded change in January.\u00a0Harrowing video captured the moment scores of Iranians yelled in defiance as the regime carried out the public execution of\u00a0Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi in Isfahan\u2019s Shahid Alikhani Square.<\/p>\n

\u201cDishonorable, dishonorable!\u201d the crowd chanted at\u00a0the security forces<\/a>\u00a0for executing the men, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) group.<\/p>\n

Badjani and Hosseinabadi were last together at the same square during the January protests that erupted across Iran against the brutal regime and its handling of the country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

The protests turned chaotic on Jan. 8 and 9 when Tehran\u2019s security forces\u00a0cracked down on dissent<\/a>, with the two men being among 12 accused of killing four security guards during one of the demonstrations in Alikhani Square.<\/p>\n

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

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The 1988 Massacre: The Greatest Unpunished Crime Against Humanity<\/h3>\n

\"ashraf<\/p>\n

The massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988 is recorded as the largest crime against humanity since World War II and the most heinous genocide in modern Iranian history.\u00a0This horrific tragedy<\/a>\u00a0can be termed \u201cthe greatest unpunished crime against humanity.\u201d With the massacre decree, Khomeini sought to eradicate an entire generation of\u00a0PMOI<\/a>\u00a0members to guarantee his regime\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n

The murderous clerical regime began preparations for this nationwide genocide in the winter and spring of 1988 by segregating, reshuffling, and transferring prisoners between facilities. The machinery of slaughter and crime was set in motion on July 19, 1988, when the infamous Khomeini issued a secret and ruthless edict (fatwa) ordering the execution of all prisoners who remained steadfast in their commitment to resistance and allegiance to the PMOI. In this fatwa, he decreed that all steadfast PMOI members were deemed \u201cmohareb\u201d (at war with God) and must be executed immediately.<\/p>\n

Following this fatwa, \u201cDeath Commissions\u201d\u2014comprising a Sharia judge, a prosecutor, and a representative of the Ministry of Intelligence (including executioners such as Ebrahim Raisi and Mostafa Pourmohammadi)\u2014were stationed in Evin, Gohardasht, and prisons across the country, commencing their summary trials.<\/p>\n

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

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Resistance Units Mark Ashraf Martyrs Anniversary and Reject Hereditary Rule with Nationwide Campaign<\/h3>\n

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Resistance Units across Iran carried out two coordinated nationwide campaigns in recent days: one commemorating the martyrs of the July 2009 attack on Camp Ashraf in Iraq, and another denouncing what they described as the Iranian regime\u2019s attempt to legitimize Mojtaba Khamenei\u2019s hereditary succession as Supreme Leader through religious propaganda.<\/p>\n

The activities, which spanned dozens of cities, combined memorial events, anti-regime slogans, posters, banners, and acts targeting symbols and institutions of the regime. Together, the campaigns underscored the Resistance\u2019s message that the struggle against the clerical dictatorship continues despite leadership changes following the death of Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n

The first campaign marked the anniversary of the July 28\u201329, 2009 attack on Camp Ashraf, when Iraqi security forces under then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, acting after the transfer of camp security from U.S. forces, launched a deadly assault on residents of the camp.<\/p>\n

Camp Ashraf, located in Iraq\u2019s Diyala Province, housed thousands of members of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK). During the raid, Iraqi forces used live ammunition, armored vehicles, and batons against unarmed residents. At least nine residents were killed, hundreds were injured, and dozens were detained, prompting widespread condemnation from international human rights organizations.<\/p>\n

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

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Ali Khamenei\u2019s 37-Year Rule: The Legacy of Repression, Corruption, and Absolute Power<\/h3>\n

\"Ali<\/p>\n

For nearly 37 years, from June 1989 until his death in February 2026, Ali Khamenei stood at the apex of Iran\u2019s clerical dictatorship, transforming the office of Supreme Leader into the center of an extensive system of political repression, economic domination, and institutionalized impunity.<\/p>\n

His rule shaped nearly every aspect of the Iranian regime\u2019s domestic and foreign policies. Under his leadership, the country witnessed repeated massacres of protesters, widespread executions, systematic human rights abuses, economic decline, and growing international isolation. His death during the 2026 war created the most serious leadership crisis in the history of the doctrine of\u00a0Velayat-e Faqih<\/em>, with his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, assuming control of the regime amid deepening political instability.<\/p>\n

Ali Khamenei rose through the ranks of the revolutionary establishment following the 1979 anti-monarchical revolution. Although he lacked the senior religious credentials traditionally associated with the position of Supreme Leader, he steadily accumulated influence through key appointments.<\/p>\n

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

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UN Experts Urge Iran to Halt Executions of Protesters After Mass Death Sentences<\/h3>\n

\"UN-human-rights-experts\"<\/p>\n

GENEVA \u2013 United Nations human rights experts have called on the Iranian regime to immediately halt executions and overturn the death sentences imposed on 12 young protesters arrested during the January 2026 nationwide uprising. In a\u00a0statement released on July 27<\/a>, the experts condemned what they described as grave violations of international human rights standards, warning that the regime is using capital punishment as a tool to intimidate society and silence dissent.\u00a0The statement follows the execution of two protesters on July 19 and growing fears that the remaining defendants could face imminent execution after being sentenced in secret proceedings before the Revolutionary Court.<\/p>\n

The UN experts criticized the sentencing of 12 defendants in a single closed hearing, arguing that the proceedings failed to meet even the most basic standards of a fair trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cSentencing 12 people to death in one hearing, in a closed courtroom and without clarity as to each defendant\u2019s individual responsibility violates established fair trial standards,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0the experts said.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran Regime\u2019s Deepening Internal Feuds Expose Fear of Resistance and Structural Collapse<\/h3>\n

\"Protests<\/p>\n

The Iranian regime\u2019s escalating internal factional warfare, accompanied by increasingly desperate statements from the IRGC, has once again exposed the depth of its political deadlock, institutional fragmentation, and mounting fear of the organized Resistance and its expanding network of Resistance Units.<\/p>\n

Far from projecting confidence, recent official statements and media exchanges reveal a leadership struggling to contain both internal divisions and external pressure. As the regime attempts to rally its supporters through familiar propaganda, its own officials and state-controlled media continue to acknowledge a system suffering from profound structural decay.<\/p>\n

In a statement marking the 38th anniversary of Operation Eternal Light (Forough Javidan), the IRGC once again devoted significant attention to the role of the PMOI\/MEK in anti-regime protests, highlighting what it described as the organization\u2019s \u201cprominent role\u201d in nationwide uprisings.<\/p>\n

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

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Iranian Regime Proxy Forces Face Decline After War with United States<\/h3>\n

\"Irans-proxy-forces\"<\/p>\n

For years, one of the favorite expressions used by officials of the Iranian regime was \u201cstrategic depth.\u201d The argument was straightforward: if the Iranian regime was to be defended, it was better to do so not at Iran\u2019s borders but hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away.<\/p>\n

The result of this policy was the creation of a network stretching from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to Iran-backed militias in Iraq, the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the Houthis in Yemen. The Iranian regime called this network the \u201cAxis of Resistance\u201d and presented it as one of the most important symbols of its regional power.<\/p>\n

But the map that once stretched from Tehran to the Mediterranean is no longer what it used to be.<\/p>\n

Developments following October 7, the Gaza war, the blows inflicted on Hezbollah, the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and mounting pressure on armed groups in Iraq have, one after another, placed every link of this chain under strain.<\/p>\n

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

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How the Bab al-Mandeb Strait Became a Critical Chokepoint for Global Energy and Trade<\/h3>\n

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A narrow corridor between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, and how insecurity there is altering the cost of living across the globe.<\/p>\n

On a world map, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait might look like a narrow, insignificant gap between the coast of Yemen and the African continent. In reality, this 32-kilometer (20-mile) waterway is one of the most vital arteries of the international economy.<\/p>\n

As regional conflicts expand alongside a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States, global market attention has once again turned to this critical location\u2014a point where international shipping lines grapple with drone and missile threats from Yemen\u2019s Houthis, an Iranian-backed proxy force. Understanding why a tiny strait at the southern tip of the Red Sea can send shockwaves through the global economy requires a closer look at its geographical and commercial scale.<\/p>\n

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

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Gothenburg Rally Condemns Execution of PMOI Member Mehdi Khanaki, Calls for Urgent Action<\/h3>\n

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Gothenburg, Sweden \u2013 July 25, 2026:\u00a0Supporters of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK<\/span><\/a>) gathered o protest the execution of political prisoner and PMOI member\u00a0Mehdi Khanaki<\/a>, carried out over his involvement in Iran\u2019s January uprising.<\/p>\n

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Gothenburg Rally Condemns Execution of PMOI Member Mehdi Khanaki, Urges Urgent Action<\/div><\/div>
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