Jailed Iranian Nobel Prize Winner Mohammadi Goes On Hunger Strike
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi is on hunger strike while being detained by Iranian authorities, according to a statement from her family-run foundation.
In a statement shared with CNN on February 4, the Paris-based Narges Mohammadi Human Rights Foundation said it had received credible information that Mohammadi began her strike on February 2 “to protest her unlawful detention and the dire conditions in which she is being held, realities faced by numerous political prisoners currently held in Iran.”
Her son, Ali Rahmani, said he was “deeply worried” about his mother and others jailed by the regime.
“What is happening in our country is a crime against humanity,” he said. He added that before her arrest, his mother was “calling for solidarity, unity, and peace.”
The Narges Foundation warned that the continued detention of Mohammadi, who suffers from a number of medical issues, was “extremely dangerous and a violation of human rights laws.”
The 53-year-old, who was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for more than two decades of fighting for women's rights in Iran, was detained in December by Iranian security forces during a memorial ceremony in Mashhad for Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer and human rights activist whose death sparked controversy and allegations of foul play..
Iran Talks Must Include Missiles and Rights Abuse, Says Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the United States is ready to meet Iran this week, but any discussions must address both its missile and nuclear programs as well as its support for regional militias.
“In order for talks to actually lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles, that includes their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region, that includes their nuclear program, and that includes the treatment of their own people,” Rubio told reporters on February 4.
Tehran has previously insisted that any negotiations should be confined to its nuclear program, and that it refuses to discuss its missile capabilities or support for regional allies.
Meanwhile, the US news site Axios is reporting that Washington has said it will not agree to Tehran's demands to change the location and format of talks planned for February 6, according to two US officials it spoke to.
Although the US and Iran were reportedly set to meet in Istanbul alongside regional observers, Tehran said it would rather relocate the talks to Oman and keep them bilateral, arguing this would ensure the agenda stays focused on nuclear issues alone.
The Key Sticking Points To A US-Iran Deal Aimed At Averting War
- By Kian Sharifi
White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi are set to meet on February 6 in a last-ditch bid to avert war. As a US naval armada nears, Tehran is facing a tough choice: Make a slew of concessions for an end to Washington's "maximum pressure" policy, or risk war.
Read the full article by Kian Sharifi and Hannah Kaviani here.
Iranian Students Turn Memorials Into Protests
Students at universities throughout Iran are gathering to honor classmates who were killed during nationwide protests in January. In Mashhad, Tabriz, and Shiraz, students have chanted, held sit-ins, and refused to take school exams. Iranian security forces launched a massive crackdown on protesters in January -- more than 6,800 people were killed, according to US-based human rights group HRANA, but the actual death toll is believed to be far higher.
Lawyer Details Harsh Conditions For Families Of Detainees
Several weeks after the crackdown on the January protests and the arrest of tens of thousands of demonstrators, reports show mounting psychological, financial, and legal pressures on the families of those detained.
In a article published by the semiofficial ILNA news agency on February 4, Hadi Sharifzadeh, a lawyer in Fars Province, described a "very heavy atmosphere" among families and stressed that many are anxiously and confusedly seeking details about the legal status of their teenage or young children.
Sharifzadeh said that while many families are reaching out to lawyers on behalf of their loved ones, independent attorneys cannot take on these cases, which is only worsening family anxieties.
For cases concerning national security, under Iran's criminal code, only judiciary-approved lawyers are allowed to participate in legal proceedings. Sharifzadeh said there is a limited number of such lawyers and this fundamentally conflicts with legal principles.
The lawyer also emphasized how rarely courts uphold objections to pretrial detention orders or bail amounts, noting that objections are rarely upheld in practice. He reported instances where families were asked to deposit money into a bank account to post bail, a practice he said was "without legal basis" and potentially an abuse of the families' desperate situation.
The US-based HRANA rights group reported on February 4 that at least 50,235 people have been arrested in connection with the recent protests.
HRW Says Iran’s Human Rights Situation 'Spirals Deeper Into Crisis'
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Iran's human rights situation has spiraled deeper into crisis amid the killings of antiestablishment protesters in recent weeks, mass and "arbitrary arrests, and a rise in executions to "a scale unseen since the late 1980s."
In its 2026 World Report on human rights, which reviews human rights practices in more than 100 countries, HRW said last year was characterized by "widespread and systematic" violations of the right to life, while it found that the start of this year was marked by evidence "of a coordinated escalation in the authorities’ use of unlawful and lethal force" in a crackdown on protests sparked by deteriorating living conditions.
“The spiral of impunity and bloodshed resulted in an execution spree unseen in decades, in 2025, and the deadliest protest crackdown that led to unprecedented mass killings of thousands of protesters and bystanders this year,” said Bahar Saba, senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“The international community should urgently pursue concrete accountability measures through all available avenues, including universal jurisdiction, to hold those responsible to account.”
Families Of Those Killed In Ilam Protests Demand Justice
The families of those killed in the protests in Malekshahi in Iran's Ilam Province have issued a statement demanding that those who ordered and carried out the shootings be held accountable.
The statement, signed by a group of families of the deceased, states that the shooting of protesting citizens and the killing of Latif Karimi, Mohammad Reza Karami, Mehdi Emamipour, Reza Azimzadeh, and Mohsen (Fares) Mohammadi took place inside the Malekshahi building of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and that this is "recorded and undeniable" with existing documents, images, and evidence.
The families wrote in the statement that "all the IRGC commanders were present and responsible inside the building at the moment of the shooting." They specifically held the commander of the Malekshahi IRGC, Rasoul Moradian, responsible.
Reports from Malekshahi claim that security forces also fired on crowds of protesters, resulting in many deaths and injuries.
The families of the victims have emphasized that their goal is to establish the truth and make sure justice prevails and have said they will continue to pursue the case through legal and international channels.
Good morning.
"They would like to negotiate," Trump told reporters at the White House on February 3, referring to Iran. "We are negotiating with them right now."
The total number of deaths confirmed by HRANA has reached 6,872. According to these figures, 6,443 of those killed have been recorded as protesters, while 156 are listed as children under the age of 18.
US Shoots Down Iranian Drone Flying Near USS Abraham Lincoln
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed a report on February 3 that the United States had shot down an Iranian drone that drew near to the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
The US military announced on February 3 that it had shot down an Iranian drone that military officials said had "aggressively approached" the flagship aircraft carrier.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the carrier was sailing in the Arabian Sea about 500 miles off the southern coast of Iran on February 3 when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone approached it with "unclear intent."
The drone continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalation measures by US forces in international waters, Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for CENTCOM, told Reuters and Fox News.
The US military said an F-35C fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shot down the drone in "self-defense" to protect the ship and personnel present.
US officials stressed that no US personnel were injured in the incident and no equipment was damaged.
CENTCOM also reported a separate incident that day. Hours after the drone was shot down, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forces reportedly harassed a US-flagged merchant ship with an American crew in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Fox News, two IRGC boats, along with an Iranian drone, approached the MV Stena Imperator at high speed and threatened to seize it.
CENTCOM says the guided missile destroyer USS McFaul, which was in the area, immediately responded and escorted the vessel with air support. According to the US military, the situation has since de-escalated and the US tanker has continued on its way.
The incidents come as diplomatic efforts are under way to broker nuclear talks between Iran and the United States.
Security Officers Raid Home Of Photojournalist Yalda Moeiri
Mojgan Ilanloo, a documentary filmmaker inside Iran, has spoken of a raid by security officers on the home of photojournalist Yalda Moeiri.
In a post on Instagram on February 4, he wrote: "10 IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) intelligence forces stormed Ms. Moeiri's house at 8 a.m. this morning."
According to Ilanloo, they ransacked her house while she was “asleep and took all her electronic devices…with them.”
According to the report, the photojournalist has also been asked to present herself to the Ardebili Holy Prosecutor's Office.