Power cuts kill at least five in Iran, daily says

The paper said the gatherings take place every Thursday, with around 100 people holding placards demanding clarity on their cases. Many applicants told Shargh they have been left in “suspension,” with neither approvals nor rejections issued.

Some of the protesters are family members applying for reunification visas. “I have been separated from my wife and children for more than three years. I completed my interview in May but since then there has been no answer,” one applicant, Masoud, was quoted as saying.

Students and jobseekers at risk

Others said they risk losing jobs or university placements. Bita, who has an offer to study for a master’s degree in Germany, said her semester begins in October but no interview date has been set. “The risk of missing my term is real, and then I may have to start the whole process again,” she said.

Shargh estimated more than 6,000 people face delays, including some 4,000 in family reunification cases. Applicants accused Germany of discriminatory treatment, pointing to faster processing in neighboring countries.

Reduced embassy services

The protests follow Germany’s announcement last month that its Tehran embassy would operate at reduced capacity after Ambassador Markus Potzel ended his mission, citing “personal reasons.” Berlin said staff cuts would mean stricter visa issuance.

Impact of the June war

Several embassies scaled back or suspended consular services in Iran during and after the June conflict with Israel, leaving thousands of passports stuck in foreign missions. While some countries have since resumed normal operations, Germany has continued to restrict services.

MTN now faces a “liquidity dead-end” in Iran after years of trying to withdraw funds, the investment analysis website GuruFocus reported on Friday.

“Our minority stake in Irancell is effectively a frozen asset,” chief executive Ralph Mupita said, citing sanctions that prevent any movement of capital.

MTN has been seeking to exit Iran since 2016, when it announced plans to pull back from the Middle East. While it once repatriated about $430 million in loan repayments and accumulated dividends between 2011 and 2016, its later attempts have failed.

The company’s difficulties deepened with US President Donald Trump’s renewed sanctions against the Islamic Republic during his second term. MTN disclosed in 2021 that it still held $204 million in Iran, largely linked to loan repayments and dividends, but no transfer has been reported since.

Mupita stressed the lack of operational influence. MTN has “zero operational control” over Irancell, GuruFocus cited him as saying, writing that sanctions have left the group powerless to access cash flow from its Iranian venture.

Partnerships under scrutiny

Irancell is majority owned by Gostaresh Electronic Sina, a subsidiary of the Mostazafan Foundation.

The foundation was established in early 1980 following the Islamic Revolution. It succeeded the Pahlavi Foundation and inherited extensive assets confiscated from the Pahlavi era.

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Legally, the foundation is neither public nor private—it is a nonprofit entity that answers only to Iran’s Supreme Leader.

It is the second-largest commercial enterprise in Iran—behind only the National Iranian Oil Company—and the largest holding conglomerate in the Middle East.

The foundation controls over 350 subsidiaries and affiliates, employs more than 200,000 people, and its holdings span diverse sectors like agriculture, industry, transportation, tourism, construction materials, mining, and media.

According to the foundation’s 2016 accounts, Irancell was its most profitable asset. The operator is also a major shareholder in the ride-hailing platform Snapp.

MTN’s entanglement with sanctioned entities has drawn international attention. The group is cooperating with a US Department of Justice grand jury inquiry into past dealings in both Afghanistan and Iran, though no charges have been filed and the company says it has made no legal provisions related to the probe.

Broader repositioning

MTN has already divested from Afghanistan and continues to scale back its Middle East exposure, while scanning for growth opportunities in its home market. Mupita has pointed to South Africa’s saturated telecom sector and tighter profit margins as drivers behind potential mergers, including revived talks with Telkom SA, according to Bloomberg.

For now, MTN’s stranded billions in Iran remain a stark reminder of the risks for foreign investors entangled with the Islamic Republic. The company’s minority stake, once a prized foothold in a lucrative market, has instead become a financial liability locked by geopolitics.

The café’s Instagram page had advertised a Friday gathering with a DJ and cash prizes for participants. But it later posted an image of a police closure notice and urged followers not to attend.

Despite extensive legal restrictions, more women have taken up motorcycles in Iranian cities in recent years, particularly since the protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in morality police custody. The trend has spread beyond Tehran to places such as Yazd and other provinces, according to officials.

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Under current law, women are barred from obtaining motorcycle licenses. The traffic code amendment passed in 2010 specifies men only, leaving women who ride in a legal vacuum. Driving without a license is an offense, yet enforcement against women riders has been uneven, with police issuing warnings or seizing bikes at their discretion.

Kazem Delkhosh, deputy in the parliamentary affairs office of President Masoud Pezeshkian, said in August the government is considering changes. “We are preparing legislation for women who want to ride and the women’s affairs office is also working on a bill,” Delkhosh told the state-run Iran newspaper.

Lack of licensing carries wider consequences, he added. “If a female rider is injured or causes damage, there is no license to hold her accountable or for insurance to cover losses,” Delkhosh said.

Senior police officials maintain the current ban is binding. “According to existing law, licenses for female motorcyclists cannot be issued,” the deputy head of the traffic police said last month.

Religious ban

Clerics often argue that women riding motorcycles (or bicycles) in public settings may attract male attention, threaten societal morality, and undermine women’s chastity—even if they're fully covered.

Others, however, argue the restrictions are inconsistent. “If a woman can drive a bus or truck and earn people’s trust, why not a motorcycle?” sociologist Maryam Yousefi asked in an interview with Iran newspaper.

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Rights groups have repeatedly called for change. On International Women’s Day this year, 30 organizations demanded an end to gender-based discrimination.

The sealing of the café has once more underscored the clash between social realities and restrictions, leaving women riders caught between growing public visibility and an unresolved legal void.

In the hardline Kayhan daily, columnist Jafar Bolouri described the country’s situation as “extraordinary,” cautioning that a new war could erupt at any moment alongside worsening economic and social pressure. He said the government’s priorities “do not match the situation,” accusing it of focusing on secondary issues instead of inflation, which “creates openings for enemies to exploit.”

The IRGC-linked Javan wrote that Western powers, unable to achieve their goals in the June 12-day war, are now using the snapback process as part of a “cognitive war” to inflame the economy and provoke unrest. “Supporters of the Zionist regime…exploit the snapback and hostile media to stir inflation, currency volatility and social unrest,” the paper said, warning that “domestic infiltrators” amplify these pressures.

The reformist Ham Mihan criticized what it called complacency among officials. “Snapback leads to the return of Security Council resolutions and gives sanctions a binding legal character. Evading them will be very difficult and costly,” the paper said. It added: “Some believe snapback adds little to existing sanctions. Such an interpretation is completely wrong.”

Snapback countdown

On August 28, Britain, France and Germany triggered the UN snapback mechanism, demanding that Tehran return to talks, grant inspectors wider access and account for its uranium stockpile. Under Resolution 2231, sanctions will automatically return after 30 days unless the Security Council votes otherwise.

Tehran has rejected the step. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Doha on Thursday that the decision was “illegal and unjustifiable,” and insisted that the EU should “play its role in fulfilling its responsibilities to neutralize moves against diplomacy.”

IAEA report raises alarm

A confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% remains “a matter of serious concern” after inspectors lost visibility following Israeli and US strikes in June. The report noted Iran had 440.9 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium as of June 13, a short step from weapons-grade levels.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told Reuters: “It would be ideal to reach an agreement before next week. It’s not something that can drag on for months.”

Officials downplay risks

Not all voices share the newspapers’ sense of alarm. IRGC political deputy Yadollah Javani called snapback talk a “psychological operation” to mask Western defeat in the June war. Babak Negahdari, head of parliament’s research center, argued that “the real pressure on Iran has come from US secondary sanctions,” and said any UN measures could be blunted by Russia and China, though he acknowledged “psychological and economic side effects if not handled carefully.”

Former presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi stressed that “some individuals do not understand the sensitivity of this moment” and warned against rhetoric that fuels division. He said the 12-day war had proved “national cohesion has completely overturned the enemy’s calculations,” and urged leaders to focus on preserving unity.

Supporters hailed the plan to feature renowned vocalist Homayoun Shajarian at Azadi (Freedom) Square as a rare chance for collective joy, while critics denounced it as a state ploy to deflect from the looming anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody.

Some urged Iranians to seize the event as a protest, while hardliners at home warned it would unleash unrest.

Shajarian, son of the late maestro Mohammad Reza Shajarian, announced on Instagram that after years of denials by the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance, he had finally been granted permission to hold a free public concert.

He described it as the fulfillment of an impossible dream.

“This concert is neither for anyone nor at anyone’s request. I stood with the people during the war with Israel, and now I just want to lift their spirits,” he said.

Sudden storm

Critics were quick to react.

“The Homayoun Shajarian 'concert' is not a concert—it’s a government project … Those who take part in it (under any pretext) are without question agents of the regime and its foot soldiers,” one posted on X.

Ultra-hardliners claimed the state lacked the security capacity to manage such a gathering.

Supporters countered that the city had organized vast religious rallies like the “10-Kilometer Ghadir Feast” even during the turmoil following the recent 12-day war with Israel.

Sadegh Koushki, a politician close to the ultra-hardline Paydari Front, condemned the idea, calling it a show of numbers meant to “extort revolutionary people and the Leader.”

Filmmaker Abolghasem Talebi warned the event would become “a display of nudity” and a launchpad for protests.

“A free concert in Freedom Square means lawlessness,” he said. “First Shajarian, then others. Gradually, we’ll face a coup of public squares through nudity and unveiled women—with government permission.”

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Cancellation

By Wednesday, Shajarian admitted his worst fear had come true: the concert would not take place, and his “impossible dream” would remain out of reach.

Tehran’s ultra-hardline mayor, Alireza Zakani, said security authorities had rejected the plan because of “time constraints” and lack of preparation, proposing to move it to the 12,000-seat Azadi Stadium.

Municipality officials claimed they were only informed days earlier, but the government countered that preparations had long been under discussion.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the administration had supported the event from the start, asserting that "millions" attending would have strengthened national unity.

Administration public relations chief Ali Ahmadnia said Freedom Square remained the priority but the 100,000-seat Azadi Stadium could serve as a fallback.

Shajarian has reportedly ignored officials’ calls, and many supporters on social media say they will not attend if the concert is not held at Freedom Square.

‘Problem lies elsewhere’

The cancellation itself became a new battlefield, as critics highlighted what it revealed about the establishment’s insecurity.

Many believe the decision stemmed from fear that massive crowds would dwarf the regime’s own rallies in Freedom Square, which often struggle to fill even with free transport, food, and mandatory attendance.

Sociologist Mohammad Fazeli ridiculed the municipality’s claim of being unprepared: “Fine, give them two weeks! If they’re not lying, they can prepare. Otherwise, their problem lies elsewhere.”

Veteran reformist Abbas Abdi, writing in Ham Mihan, argued that those in power fear the people more than foreign invasion. “Domestic warmongers and hardline opposition [abroad] alike oppose peaceful, joyful gatherings,” he wrote.

“From the start, I doubted authorities would accept such a security risk,” political analyst Omid Memarian told Iran International.

“The cancellation proves the regime lacks self-confidence and reveals the depth of the rift between people and the state.”