Iran uses courts to intensify persecution of Baha’is, rights groups say

The magazine said Azadikhah has become a standout figure through her work on IDM and breaks-focused Makhunik Records and Apranik Records, which she co-founded with artist AIDA. It said she has released music that supports Iranian musicians and raises money for causes including women prisoners whose freedom of speech is restricted.

Mixmag said Azadikhah organizes events in Tehran, curates artists through her platform Deep House Tehran and continues to release a steady flow of productions.

The magazine described her as one of the hardest working figures in Iran’s electronic music scene as she gains recognition abroad.

Crackdown widens on women artists in Iran

The attention for Azadikhah comes as Iranian authorities increase pressure on women in music and public performance.

Iran’s cyber police, known as FATA, blocked the Instagram accounts of two female singers in recent days as part of a wider effort to limit women’s public roles in music and online platforms.

Authorities shut down the Instagram page of singer Niousha Mofidi after she performed solo at a concert by Iranian pop singer Hamid Hami. Officials said the page was removed for producing criminal content. Her posts, including videos of her singing, were deleted.

The Instagram account of rapper Evi, which had nearly 26,000 followers, was also taken offline after security agencies told her to delete the page. She said publicly she would not do so.

Long-standing restrictions on women vocalists

Women in Iran have been barred from singing in front of men since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, based on state-backed religious interpretations. Artists and activists say restrictions have tightened in recent months, especially for women who oppose compulsory hijab rules.

In April, more than 160 artists, civil activists and organizations, including groups inside Iran, condemned what they described as a systematic effort to quiet female singers.

“Tehran and Minsk have complementary economies and can meet each other’s needs,” Aref said, stressing that political goodwill between the two nations provides “a strong basis for broadening ties in trade, industry, and technology.”

The two-day meeting, co-chaired by Iran’s Industry Minister Mohammad Atabak and Belarusian Industry Minister Andrei Kuznetsov, brought together senior officials, business representatives, and experts from both countries to outline a new phase of economic, scientific, and industrial cooperation.

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Atabak announced that Tehran and Minsk had agreed to establish joint industrial plants in Sistan-Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran, focusing on the production of heavy machinery, agricultural equipment, and mining technology as part of efforts to expand bilateral industrial cooperation. He called the initiative “a turning point” in bilateral industrial relations and part of efforts to implement the Iran–Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) free trade agreement.

Atabak added that the two governments aim to remove banking and customs obstacles, enhance trade facilitation, and allow Belarusian firms to use Iran’s southern ports as gateways to markets in India, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Officials also discussed joint ventures in pharmaceuticals, medical technology, and higher education, including university partnerships and mutual recognition of degrees. Aref said these initiatives could “turn scientific and technological cooperation into one of the pillars” of Iran–Belarus relations.

“This year, more than 1,500 people have been killed in Iran, many without fair trial or due process,” the post said. “The Islamic Republic uses the death penalty to instill fear and silence every dissenting voice.”

The same account earlier denounced what it called the suspicious death of Iranian human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, saying his case highlights the severe risks faced by those defending basic freedoms in the Islamic theocracy.

Alikordi, a 46-year-old prominent lawyer for jailed protesters and a former political prisoner, was found dead under unclear circumstances on Friday night, prompting some attorneys and activists to suggest possible Islamic Republic involvement.

“The world cannot turn a blind eye,” the post said. “The United States stands with the people of Iran and will continue to condemn these horrific violations.”

Iranian authorities executed at least 24 people across the country on Saturday and Sunday, underscoring what monitors describe as a rapid escalation in the use of capital punishment, human rights groups reported.

The figures indicate an average of 12 executions per day — roughly one every two hours.

The executions took place in prisons in different cities across Iran, reports from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said. Iranian state media acknowledged only one case.

Iran’s cyber police, known as FATA (Iran’s internet crime enforcement agency), blocked the account of Niousha Mofidi, a young woman who performed solo at a concert by Iranian pop singer Hamid Hami.

All posts on her Instagram account, which had nearly 12,000 followers, were deleted. Security officials said the page was closed for “producing criminal content.”

A video shared on social media showed Mofidi singing along from the audience while Hami told others, “Let her sing,” then remained silent so her voice could be heard alone. Mofidi had previously posted videos of her singing on Instagram.

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The Instagram account of Iranian rapper Evi, which had nearly 26,000 followers, was also taken offline on Monday. She had previously said security agencies contacted her, demanding she delete her page within 24 hours—a demand she refused.

“I will stand with my people for the rest of my life and will not accept anything that contradicts living freely, even if it is presented in the name of religious law,” she said in a post.

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Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women in Iran have been banned from singing in the presence of men, based on religious interpretations. The policy ended the official careers of female singers active before the revolution and pushed their work to the margins.

In recent months, repression against singers and music activists—particularly those opposing the mandatory hijab—has intensified.

More than 160 artists, civil activists, and organizations, including 19 based inside Iran in April condemned the government’s increasing crackdown on female singers, describing it as part of a systematic effort to suppress women and reinforce a gender-discriminatory system.

Workers from 12 South Pars refineries refused to report for duty and instead marched toward the Asaluyeh governor’s office in a rare mass demonstration over wages and job security, sources told Iran International.

Despite roadblocks, security deployments, and threats issued in the days prior, the protest drew unprecedented numbers from across the gas complex.

The Council for Organizing Protests of Informal Oil Workers described the march as “a magnificent procession,” while the Free Union of Iranian Workers called it “one of the biggest protest gatherings in Iran’s oil industry in nearly five decades.”

State-linked outlets sought to downplay the scale, describing it only as “a protest of a group of workers” without mentioning turnout numbers.

Labor organizations said authorities had issued direct warnings to workers, including text messages from the South Pars Gas Complex and threats from refinery security units.

Security and police forces had tightened control over all access routes to Asaluyeh, stopping vehicles carrying workers from reaching the rally.

Asaluyeh is a port city and industrial hub located in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf coast, in Bushehr Province. It is best known as the center of Iran’s South Pars/North Dome Gas Field, the world’s largest natural gas field shared between Iran and Qatar.

Labor union support

The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company issued a statement backing the South Pars workers, calling their demands “legitimate, humane, and long overdue.”

"The awareness, solidarity, and resolve of Iran’s working class, while independent organizing and collective resistance remain the only paths to securing workers’ rights," the statement said.

In a related development, a three-day simultaneous strike took place at nine onshore rigs and two offshore rigs of the North Drilling Company, Telegram channel Afkar-e Naft reported on Tuesday.