Iranian president visits Egypt in rare diplomatic outreach

“People of Iran, do not miss this historic opportunity. Act now. The people of Israel stand with you,” Danny Danon, speaking in strained Persian, said during a Security Council meeting on Wednesday in remarks aimed at Iran's people.

His speech is part of Israel’s effort to spotlight the threat it says its arch-enemy the Islamic Republic poses to the Middle East and comes after Tehran's key Arab ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria was toppled this month by hardline Sunni insurgents.

“The opportunity to end Iran’s ambitions to create a Shi'ite supremacist empire is within reach,” framing the Islamic Republic as a sectarian menace to global stability.

His rhetoric closely aligns with that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been ramping up his criticism of Iran in recent weeks. Netanyahu, who has long voiced concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its regional influence, framed the Islamic Republic as the head of a broader destabilizing axis.

“A year ago, I said we'd change the face of the Mideast, and we're indeed doing so. Syria is not the same Syria. Lebanon is not the same Lebanon. Gaza is not the same Gaza. And the head of the axis, Iran, is not the same Iran," Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday. "It has also felt the might of our arms,” he added, underscoring Israel’s military role in reshaping the region.

At the same time Tehran faces mounting external pressure with historic setbacks to its armed allies in Lebanon and Syria, days-long nationwide shutdowns due to gas and electricity shortages underscore domestic woes.

This riposte by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei came after the UNGA adopted the resolution which criticized the Islamic Republics treatment of prisoners, ethnic and religious minorities and women.

“The proponents of the anti-Iran resolution, including the Zionist regime, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, are major violators of human rights," Baghaei said. "This is a source of shame, and the Canadian officials who initiate such actions against our country every year are urged to focus on reforming their actions both inside and outside their country instead of accusing others.”

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The resolution, which passed with 80 votes in favor and 27 against, criticized the Iranian government’s unlawful use of the death penalty, arbitrary arrests, torture and its persistent suppression of peaceful protests.

It also condemned the Islamic Republic for discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities and minors.

Human rights advocates have expressed concern over these abuses and called Tehran’s actions a tool of political repression.

The UNGA called for an immediate halt to executions, many of which are carried out based on forced confessions extracted under torture and without the benefit of fair trials.

In particular, the resolution singles out the government’s pattern of executing political prisoners as evidence of its commitment to silencing dissent.

This marks a continuation of the crackdown on political opposition which has seen approximately 625 executions since the inauguration of Iran’s current president Masoud Pezeshkian in late July, including 22 women.

The resolution also underscored the Iranian government’s ongoing violations of women’s rights, pointing to restrictive laws that discriminate against females.

"(The UNGA) strongly urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of systemic discrimination and violence against women and girls, in public and private life," the resolution read.

"(It) urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary arrests and detention ... (and) calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to release women human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising their rights."

The resolution further called for the suspension of all death sentences in Iran.

Baghaei defended his government’s actions and labeled the international accusations “baseless and politically motivated.”

The defendants, Nandito Badea, 19, and George Stana, 23, were arrested in Romania earlier this month at the request of British authorities.

They will appear at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales on January 17, when their trial will officially begin. The defendants are charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Pouria Zeraati, a British-Iranian national, was attacked near his home in Wimbledon, southwest London, in March and was hospitalized with injuries to the leg. The incident raised concerns about threats to critics of the Iranian government, with British authorities investigating whether Zeraati was targeted due to his work.

Iran has denied any involvement in the attack.

Acting Commander Helen Flanagan from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command emphasized the importance of the investigation and thanked Romanian authorities for their cooperation. She urged the public not to speculate on the case in order to allow the legal process to unfold.

“I would like to thank our Romanian counterparts for their cooperation on this matter, as well as colleagues from the CPS and NCA who have helped us to reach this point,” she said.

“Now that criminal proceedings are fully active here in the UK, I continue to ask people not to speculate about the case or motivation so that the criminal justice process can ran its course.”

Adam Baillie, a spokesperson for Iran International, previously welcomed the progress of the investigation, noting that the developments were reassuring for journalists facing similar threats.

Iran has delivered arms to Sudanese army forces and provided them with dozens of drones, the news outlet reported, helping tip the conflict against militia opponents.

Russia, which has provided fuel and weapons components, along with Iran have both been in talks with Sudan's generals on building military bases astride the Red Sea, Bloomberg reported citing Sudanese and Western officials.

The support puts Tehran and Moscow on the winning side of the war, in contrast to their epochal setback in Syria where their mutual ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled this month by rebels they had been fighting for years.

Iran re-established diplomatic ties with Sudan in late 2023 after a seven-year deep freeze after Khartoum joined a Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen against Tehran's allies in the armed Houthi movement.

Militias fighting the army felled a domestically crafted drone made with Iranian parts, Bloomberg reported citing Wim Zwijnenburg, a researcher at Dutch pro-peace organization PAX.

Zwijnenburg located an Iranian military drone on an air strip outside the capital earlier this year, Bloomberg wrote.

It cited the Conflict Observatory monitor saying at least seven flights operated by Qeshm Fars Air traveled between Tehran and Port Sudan in the first half of the year.

The firm, which is under US sanctions, is affiliated with the external operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Khandan was arrested on Friday after Iranian security forces raided his home. His daughter, Mehraveh Khandan, revealed in an Instagram post that her father was detained at his residence. The reason for his arrest has not been disclosed.

In its statement, the ECBA said Wednesday, “We call for an end to the judicial harassment of Reza Khandan and Nasrin Sotoudeh, in line with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.”

Khandan has been arrested in the past for his activism and his support of his wife’s campaign against Iran’s mandatory hijab laws.