Wednesday, October 21, 2026

English

Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported on Wednesday, 29 Mehr, that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, met and held talks with Mojtaba Khamenei, the third leader of the Islamic Republic. According to the report, the meeting reviewed the latest developments in the military and economic war with the United States and Israel. Tasnim wrote that both sides stressed the need to strengthen the country’s sources of power, the effective role of representatives in preserving “social cohesion and national unity,” the continuation of “the people’s informed presence at rallies,” and the government and parliament’s commitment to resolving people’s livelihood problems and advancing the affairs of strategic partners. No images of the meeting have been published in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s media. @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

English

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing the Islamic Republic of once again trying to develop nuclear weapons, said the only way to eliminate this threat “for good” is to overthrow Iran’s government. Speaking on Wednesday, 29 Mehr, at the graduation ceremony for Israeli army officer cadets at Bahad 1 military school in the country’s south, Netanyahu said Iran’s government had still not learned from what had happened to it. Referring to Mojtaba Khamenei, he said: “Mojtaba Khamenei decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. He has pulled the trigger, and Iran is once again trying to develop its deadly weapons.” The Israeli prime minister added that he had ordered the army, the Mossad, and the security agencies to overthrow Iran’s government to remove this threat. @VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

English

More than seven months after Ali Khamenei, the former leader of the Islamic Republic, was killed, a member of the Assembly of Experts says his will “has still not been found” after the bombing. Saeed Solh-Mirzaei also claims that the will “was being revised and had no duplicate.” According to the Assembly member, the computer file of the will that was being revised, stored on a computer at the Leader’s compound, was also destroyed in the bombing along with the computer. This is despite the fact that the political wills of heads of state are normally prepared in several identical copies and kept in different locations. No similar claim had been made before during the more than seven months since then. Shortly after Ali Khamenei was killed on 9 Esfand 1404, his son Mojtaba was announced as the next leader of the Islamic Republic. No video or audio of him has been released so far, and there is still uncertainty about his fate. @ VahidHeadline The release of the former leader of the Islamic Republic’s will could pave the way for factional interpretations of its contents within the establishment. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

English

2:05 Parnian Dabiri’s mother, one of those killed in the Dey 1404 protests, criticized in a video the Islamic Republic authorities’ double standards toward students killed in the Dey protests compared with the children killed in Minab, and asked: Was killing students during the Dey protests not a crime? In the video, published on Wednesday, 29 Mehr, she says that on her way to her daughter’s grave, she saw a billboard showing images of the children killed in Minab, with the slogan, “Not seeing this scene is a crime.” Objecting to the government’s double standards, she asks: Was killing students during the Dey protests not a crime? Why didn’t you put up a single banner condemning the killing of students during the protests? Parnian Dabiri’s mother also referred to calls made to families asking them to declare their children martyrs, and said: “When we have seen with our own eyes who killed our child, how can we do that?” The grieving mother went on to discuss security pressure and why families remain silent about their children’s deaths, stressing: “The hatred in our hearts is getting worse every day.” @VahidHeadline 03:29 📡 @VahidOnline

English

More than a month after border crossings between Iran and Iraq were opened and closed, the Iraqi government on Wednesday, 29 Mehr, ordered the closure of the al-Shaib border crossing, known as Chazabeh on the Iranian side. Al Jazeera, citing an Iraqi official, reported that the move was made on the direct order of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. However, the Iraqi government has yet to issue an official statement, and the reason for the move remains unclear. Al Jazeera also reported that the crossing’s closure “will be completed by the gradual shutdown of several other land borders in the coming days.” Under the order, “until further notice,” neither people nor freight vehicles will be allowed to pass through the crossing. The news comes after the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, 25 Mehr, following reports that commercial activity at a crossing between Iran and Pakistan had been halted, that “traffic and border exchanges between Iran and Pakistan have been temporarily suspended.” Without providing further details, Esmaeil Baghaei cited “technical problems and the need to take precautionary measures” as the reason. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

English

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Wednesday that an unidentified projectile struck a tanker 11 nautical miles west of Bukha, Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters, citing the organization, reported that the fire caused by the attack had been brought under control. The tanker anchored at the scene after the incident, and reports say all crew members are safe. In another report published Wednesday, UKMTO said a “military” incident occurred on Tuesday 121 nautical miles east of the Omani region of Duqm, but provided no further details. According to maritime data, the Islamic Republic has attacked at least 24 vessels this month. The secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization said Wednesday that mines are still in the Strait of Hormuz and that the only route approved by the organization is not safe. Kpler has recorded at least 18 attacks on ships over the past two weeks. LSEG analysts also said the attacks have extended beyond the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman. @VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

English

Fox News: A day after Netanyahu called Trump, Israeli aircraft practiced a “route for an attack on Tehran” in Syrian skies Fox News reported on Wednesday morning, 29 Mehr, that Israeli fighter jets had conducted an exercise in an “air corridor toward Iran” over Syria and Iraq, one week before the country’s parliamentary elections. According to the report, the exercise took place a day after Benjamin Netanyahu’s phone call with Donald Trump. During the call, and in front of the cameras, Netanyahu told Trump: “We have to finish what we started.” Over the past two weeks, Iranian state media have repeatedly reported “enemy” fighter jets and military aircraft flying over Iraqi airspace. @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

English

Fox News, citing two U.S. officials, reported that the carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the U.S. Marine Corps’ 13th Expeditionary Unit are headed to the Middle East. The network added on Tuesday, 28 Mehr, without naming the officials, that their arrival will bring the number of U.S. aircraft carriers in the region back up to three. According to the report, around 10,000 sailors and Marines will also be added to U.S. forces in the Middle East. Fox News first reported on October 1 that the United States had decided to send a third aircraft carrier and another Marine unit to the Middle East. The network’s latest report on Tuesday provides further details about the deployment of the Roosevelt carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Reports say these forces are expected to reach the region by the end of November. These military movements come as tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic continue. @VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

English

A video from the Arak aluminum plant has been shared on social media, showing a fire and explosion at the factory. The explosion and fire occurred on Line 6 of Iran Aluminum Company (IRALCO), reportedly after a furnace on the production line exploded. Following the release of the footage, the governor of Arak strongly denied “reports of an explosion and any security-related incident or sabotage,” calling it “a technical fault in the electrical system.” @VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

English

The death sentence of Manouchehr Fallah, a prisoner held at Lakan Prison in Rasht, has once again been upheld by the Supreme Court, and his case has been sent to the Rasht Criminal Sentences Enforcement Office for implementation. According to a report by Emtedad, the repeated upholding and overturning of his sentence has placed him under severe psychological pressure. Fallah was initially sentenced to death by Branch Two of the Rasht Revolutionary Court on charges of “destruction with the intent to oppose the Islamic government.” The basis for the sentence was damage amounting to 15 million tomans to the door of the Rasht courthouse. The original sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, but after a retrial request, Fallah’s lawyer, Milad Panahi-Pour, announced in late 1404 that it had been overturned. The case was then referred for reconsideration to an equivalent branch, Branch One of the Rasht Revolutionary Court. Judge Darvish-Goftar once again issued a death sentence, which has now also been upheld by the Supreme Court. The transfer of the case to the sentences enforcement office has heightened fears that the sentence may be carried out. The published report did not specify a date for the execution. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

English

Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, criticized the United States’ conduct in diplomatic processes in an interview with Iraqi television network Al-Ikhbariya, saying Tehran had entered negotiations with the American side three times, but all three rounds ended in military confrontation and war. Emphasizing that the attacks took place precisely in the middle of negotiations, Araghchi said it had become definitively clear to Tehran that Washington could not be trusted at the negotiating table. He also said that although the two sides had reached a mutual understanding with Trump in the third round of talks, the U.S. president had not kept his word, and his commitments lasted only two weeks—bringing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s trust in the American side down to zero. @VahidOOnLine At a meeting with Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, Masoud Pezeshkian said: “All the region’s problems—from escalating tensions to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz—stem from America’s warlike nature. The Americans must explain why they started the war in the first place and dragged themselves and the world into trouble and hardship.” Pezeshkian added: “We know that war benefits neither us, nor the region and the world, nor even the United States. Before any negotiations can take place, the pressure, threats, and sanctions must be lifted.” He said: “Our people do not trust America today and believe that if we negotiate, they will attack us again. They keep using the media to claim they want to attack our country in order to frighten our people, even though our people do not fear martyrdom.” Addressing Pakistan’s army chief, Pezeshkian added: “As our Muslim brothers, you must make them understand that Muslims cannot be treated this way. We do not want to bully anyone, but we will not submit to bullying.” @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

English

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, answered reporters’ questions about the war with Iran on Tuesday, 28 Mehr, on the sidelines of a meeting at the White House. Trump said: “I have to make the final decision about Iran—how we want to win [the war]. Do we want to win by a good method, or a bad one?” Trump, who had earlier raised the possibility of using the “Mother of All Bombs,” the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, against nuclear facilities in Iran, did not explain exactly what he meant by a “good method” and a “bad method.” @ VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline