RFE/RL's Radio Farda breaks through government censorship to deliver accurate news and provide a platform for informed discussion and debate to audiences in Iran.
US Vice President JD Vance has departed Washington for Islamabad for their first peace talks of the war in what could be the most consequential diplomatic encounter between the United States and Iran in over four decades.
Amid the fragile two-week cease-fire deal agreed between the United States and Iran, a Tehran resident sent a message to RFE/RL's Radio Farda describing a city suddenly free from the sound of bombs. He said even during the devastation of war, Iranians try to hold on to hope.
Israeli and Lebanese representatives will meet in Washington next week, a State Department official said hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for talks with Lebanon.
Iranians have expressed relief but also concern after the United States and Iran announced a deal to suspend hostilities for two weeks. Some Iranians say they expect challenging days ahead -- but they also want their own government to restore basic rights and release political prisoners.
The temporary truce between the United States and Iran wobbled less than a day after being agreed as Israel launched massive attacks on Iranian proxies in Lebanon, while Tehran launched strikes at oil centers in several Persian Gulf countries after claiming its energy facilities were targeted.
US-Israeli strikes continued to hit Iran on April 7 as it faces a deadline to reach a deal to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy "every power plant" and bridge in the country if Tehran doesn't reach an agreement by 8 p.m. US Eastern Time.
Hours before a US deadline for Iran to reach a deal or face intense attacks on power plants and other infrastructure, Pakistan urged President Donald Trump to give Tehran two more weeks to allow the two sides to reach a peace settlement.
Iran has reportedly conveyed a 10-point response to US proposals for ending the war to Pakistan, rejecting a temporary cease-fire and demanding a permanent end to hostilities as US President Donald Trump's deadline for massive strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure entered its final hours.
Rescue teams continue to search early on April 4 for a US crew member missing after their fighter jet was brought down over Iran, one of two American forces planes reportedly knocked out of the sky in the region a day earlier.
Smoke was seen around the airport in the Iranian city of Mashhad as US-Israeli strikes continued. Iran pledged new attacks on Israel, releasing footage they said showed rocket launches against Haifa. The latest exchange of strikes followed US President Donald Trump's TV address to the nation.
The US-Israeli war with Iran has continued following US President Donald Trump’s TV address to the nation, with a series of reported air strikes, defiant messaging from Tehran, and a US warning in Iraq of an imminent attack in Baghdad by Iranian proxy forces.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen said they launched a missile attack on Israel on April 1, simultaneously with Iran. Meanwhile, US-Israeli strikes on Iran continued as the conflict entered its fifth week. Iran also targeted neighboring Kuwait and Iraq with drones.
Iran announced the execution of two political prisoners on March 31, a day after the death penalty was also carried out on two others, in a sign that the clerical authorities are stepping up a crackdown on internal opposition in the country.
Iran and Israel continued to trade attacks that left a petrochemical plant in the Iranian city of Tabriz in flames, according to Iran's state media on March 30. It was followed by a strike on an Israeli refinery in Haifa. An Iraqi Air Force transport plane was also targeted by Iran-backed militias.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said that children as young as 12 can participate in defense-support roles. Amid ongoing US-Israeli strikes, the IRGC announced the launch of a broad campaign to mobilize public assistance in roles like security patrols and working at checkpoints.
Iran is inviting children 12 and older to sign up under a new program “for combatants defending the homeland,” with applicants directed to mosques and registration booths. Iran has a track record of recruiting children for security and even combat roles, and used child soldiers in the war with Iraq.
From "bone-shaking" strikes and "terrifying moments" to the fear of "more brutal" rule if the war ends -- civilians inside Iran shared their experiences with RFE/RL after nearly a month of US-Israeli strikes.
As the war approaches its one-month mark, ordinary Iranians describe sleepless nights, constant fear, and a country being destroyed. Some want it to end. Others are holding out for victory. Nearly all are exhausted.
President Donald Trump said the United States is "talking to the right people in Iran" about a deal to end the war, while Tehran launched attacks on Israel and Kuwait and US media outlets reported that thousands more troops may be headed to the region.
Human rights groups have condemned Iran's hanging of three men in the first executions over January protests and warned they fear more executions to come. Authorities in Iran are trying "to frighten the public" and keep them in line in order to remain in power, says Mahmoud Amiry-Moghaddam.
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