Iran Executes Man Convicted Of Killing Police Officer
Iran has executed a man convicted of killing a police officer during clashes with fuel smugglers in 2022, the judiciary said on October 11, amid a surge in executions since war erupted in February and anti-government protests broke out late last year.
The man, identified in court as Danial, was convicted of deliberately running over officer Reza Ehterami in the southern city of Bandar Abbas, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported, citing local prosecutor Aref Akbari. Iran's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence.
Iran executes more people annually than any country except China, according to rights groups.
The country's heavily subsidized fuel prices are among the world's lowest, encouraging widespread smuggling to neighboring countries.
With reporting by AFP
US Military Disables Cargo Vessel Departing Iranian Port
The US military said it had disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel's crew ignored warnings and attempted to run the US naval blockade against Iran.
"A US military fighter jet struck the stern of Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica (also known as the “Arika Sun”) with a precision munition, fully disabling the ship’s propulsion without harming the crew," the US Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X.
CENTCOM said the vessel had departed from an Iranian port and had attempted to transit regional waters.
"All mariners are advised to heed blockade warnings from CENTCOM forces. Crews should also continue to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches," it said.
Trump Condemns Deadly Attack On Saudi Airport, Says US 'May' Join Fight
The United States strongly condemned an attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on an airport in Saudi Arabia that killed at least 12 people, including an American, prompting President Donald Trump to suggest that US forces could join with the Saudis to fight the Iran-backed militants.
The third strike this week on Riyadh's Khalid International Airport killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300 on October 10, according to Saudi authorities, as the Houthi rebels have intensified their drone and missile campaign that they launched in the summer against the kingdom.
When asked by reporters at the White House whether the US would join the Saudi strikes against the Houthis, Trump responded: "We may."
"We're going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision," Trump said. "We move very quickly."
He later told reporters he "will be speaking" with Saudi Arabian leader Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
"What happened in Saudi Arabia's not acceptable," Trump said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that an American was killed in the attack and demanded that such strikes cease immediately.
"These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life. They must stop now," Rubio wrote on X.
US media have reported that Washington has turned down previous requests by Saudi Arabia for the US to join the military campaign against the Houthis.
The Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government called the attack -- which hit a passenger terminal -- a "war crime" and vowed the coalition "will respond decisively to this terrorist attack."
Since a truce in their long-running war collapsed in July, the Houthis, based in Yemen, have conducted drone and missile strikes against Saudi Arabia at an unprecedented level, hitting airports, oil facilities, and tankers, even as they fight the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.
Yemen’s civil war also erupted in July after the four-year, UN-brokered truce between the government and the rebels fell apart.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Trump May Join Saudis' Fight Against Houthis After 12 Killed In Airport Attack
US President Donald Trump said he will decide “very quickly” whether to join with Saudi Arabia in striking back against Iran-allied Houthi rebels after a deadly missile attack on Riyadh's international airport.
"We may. We're going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision," Trump told reporters at the White House on October 10. "We move very quickly."
Saudi authorities suspended operations at the airport after a suspected Houthi missile killed at least 12 people and wounded 309 others and forced waiting passengers to flee for safety.
The Saudi aviation officials confirmed that an attack had injured several people at the airport. A diplomatic source attributed it to a Houthi missile, AFP reported.
Health officials declared a rare mass call-up of doctors to deal with the "serious emergency," a medical source told AFP. Foreign embassies warned their citizens to avoid the airport.
Since a truce in their long-running war collapsed in July, the Houthis, based in Yemen, have conducted drone and missile strikes against Saudi Arabia at an unprecedented level, hitting airports, oil facilities, and tankers.
Yemen’s civil war erupted again in July after the four-year, UN-brokered truce between the government and the rebels fell apart.
Saudi Arabia heads an international coalition that has supported Yemen's internationally recognized government militarily since 2015 and is now being dragged deeper into civil war amid the wider Middle East conflict.
US media have reported that Saudi Arabia has been turned down in its previous requests to Washington for military assistance in dealing with the Houthis.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Yemeni Government Forces Press Offensive Against Houthis Near Bab al-Mandab Strait
Yemeni government forces were advancing against Houthi fighters near the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait but had yet to secure the waterway, military sources told AFP on October 10, as fighting in western Yemen killed at least 63 people in 24 hours.
The sources said 35 government troops and 28 Houthi fighters had been killed in clashes around the strait, a vital shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Saudi-backed government launched a counteroffensive last week to reclaim territory seized by the Iran-aligned Houthis, who recently took control of Yemen's western coastline.
The Houthis acknowledged the government assault but said they had repelled it. A military spokesman for the rebel group said its forces had driven back Saudi-backed troops advancing towards the strait.
Government military sources said Mayun Island, in the middle of the strait, remained under Houthi control. Battlefield claims could not be independently verified.
The Saudi-led coalition said it had struck more than 130 Houthi targets early on October 10, while Houthi media reported Saudi air strikes near the strait.
The renewed fighting, which erupted in July after four years of relative calm, has displaced more than 200,000 people, according to UN figures.
The fighting threatens to compound pressure on global energy supplies already strained by the war involving Iran and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, another vital oil transit route.
With reporting by AFP
In New Report, US Accuses Iran Of Recruiting Child Soldiers
The US State Department has placed Iran in the lowest tier in its assessment of government efforts to combat human trafficking, addressing allegations that Tehran recruits children for military and security purposes, including in armed groups operating in the region.
This classification indicates that a government does not fully meet minimum standards for combating human trafficking and is not making significant efforts to meet them.
Previous State Department reports have documented that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the Basij paramilitary force, and Iran-backed armed groups recruited or used members of other vulnerable groups, including Afghan migrants and refugees, for military purposes.
In March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned an IRGC campaign inviting children as young as 12 to volunteer for activities described as defending the homeland. Advertised duties included cooking, providing medical assistance, distributing supplies, staffing checkpoints, conducting intelligence and operational patrols, and escorting vehicles.
HRW warned that involving children in military or security activities exposed them to serious risks. Although the advertised duties do not establish that every recruit participated in combat, operational and intelligence assignments raise concerns about potential involvement in hostilities.
Separately, reports and images circulating in Iranian media and on social media have also raised concerns about the presence of children among Basij and other security personnel during violent government crackdowns on nationwide protests earlier this year.
Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, conscripting or enlisting children under 15 into armed forces or armed groups, or using them to participate actively in hostilities, can constitute a war crime under applicable conditions. Recruitment or use of older minors may also violate international obligations, depending on the circumstances.
How Iranian Operatives Used AI To Publish Fake Stories In US Media
Ervin B. Hoskins, an American freelance journalist, has penned dozens of articles critical of the US war with Iran in recent months.
Published in smaller US media outlets, his provocative articles cast the United States as the aggressor in the ongoing seven-month war, portrayed Israel as an untrustworthy ally, and framed Iran as a defiant underdog.
But Hoskins, it turns out, is not an American reporter. In fact, he doesn't even exist.
Hoskins was among seven fake journalist personas, all purporting to be from the West, that Iranian operatives used to plant articles in media outlets across the world, including the United States.
That is according to OpenAI, which said in an October 8 report that it had shut down an influence operation from Iran that used ChatGPT to secretly push anti-American propaganda.
"We identified almost 100 articles published or syndicated under the operation's bylines across roughly a dozen online outlets around the world," OpenAI said.
To read the full report, click here.
Why A Starlink Test In Italy Has Iran’s Internet Censors Worried
A Starlink trial on an Italian hilltop connected an ordinary smartphone to the Internet without mobile coverage, a satellite dish, or an external antenna.
The demonstration quickly drew attention in Iran, where Internet access remains heavily filtered and authorities imposed a near-total blackout during the January protests.
As Hannah Kaviani from RFE/RL's Radio Farda program Negah-e-Farda (Iran Tomorrow) explains, for many Iranians the test raised a provocative possibility: getting online without relying on infrastructure the state can control or switch off.
Two Iranians Deny Spying Charges In London Court
Two Iranian men pleaded not guilty in a London court on October 8 to charges of conducting surveillance on the Israeli Embassy and Jewish community sites on behalf of Iranian intelligence services.
Nematollah Shahsavani, 41, a dual Iranian-British citizen, and Alireza Farasati, 22, an Iranian national, appeared at the Old Bailey, London's Central Criminal Court. They are charged under the UK National Security Act 2023 with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.
The alleged activities took place between July 9 and August 15, 2025, and involved gathering information and conducting reconnaissance on potential targets. These reportedly included the Israeli Embassy and Consulate, Bevis Marks Synagogue -- Britain's oldest synagogue -- and other locations associated with the Jewish community.
The court also heard that an unidentified individual considered of intelligence interest to Iran was among the alleged targets.
Both defendants remain in custody pending a further hearing scheduled for February 12, 2027. Their trial is due to begin on April 26, 2027.
British authorities have repeatedly warned about suspected Iranian intelligence activity in the United Kingdom, including alleged targeting of government critics and Jewish and Israeli-linked individuals and institutions.
Iran has denied involvement in hostile activities abroad. The allegations against both men remain unproven, and they are entitled to a fair trial.
US Sanctions 17 Vessels Linked To Iran's Shadow Fleet
The US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on October 8 targeting 17 vessels and companies accused of helping Iran transport crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals in violation of US sanctions.
The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign launched in August to restrict Iran's access to foreign revenue and disrupt networks used to evade sanctions.
According to the Treasury Department, the targeted vessels have transported millions of barrels of Iranian oil and petroleum products to markets in South and East Asia. The ships operate under flags registered in multiple jurisdictions, while ownership and management are often linked to companies based in other countries.
The designated vessels include the Comoros-flagged tanker Paritosh, the Panama-flagged Bitu and Starway, and the Bahamas-flagged Gas Lucky. The Treasury Department also sanctioned companies associated with the vessels for operating in Iran's petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States would continue targeting networks that enable Iran’s oil sales and sanctions evasion.
"Treasury is starving the tyrannical regime in Tehran of the money it uses to wage war in the region, and we will continue exposing those who enable the regime's oil sales," Bessent said in a Treasury Department statement. "No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury’s authorities."
The measures block relevant property under US jurisdiction and generally prohibit US persons from conducting transactions with designated entities. Certain foreign financial institutions and other non-US actors may also face sanctions exposure for specified dealings with sanctioned parties.
The Treasury Department said it would continue monitoring Iran's shipping networks and taking action against efforts to circumvent sanctions.