Bita Bakhtiari

Jan 10, 2025 | rferl.org | Kian Sharifi |Abubakar Siddique |Kaisa Alliksaar |Bita Bakhtiari

Lebanese lawmakers have elected army chief Joseph Aoun as the country’s new president, ending a two-year gridlock in a clear sign of the weakening of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed political party and military force that had scuttled past efforts to name a president. Lawmakers from Hezbollah, which is a U.S.-designated terrorist group, and its ally Amal had for two years obstructed attempts to elect a president by walking out of the parliament, preventing it from reaching a quorum.

Jan 10, 2025 | rferl.org | Kian Sharifi |Abubakar Siddique |Kaisa Alliksaar |Bita Bakhtiari

Iran is weaker and more vulnerable than it has been in years after suffering a series of major blows. During a punishing 2024, Tehran saw its regional influence diminished, its military deterrence against archfoes Israel and the United States weakened, and its economy languish. Experts say the Islamic republic has tough decisions to make in the year ahead as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office and the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers expires.

Jan 9, 2025 | rferl.org | Abubakar Siddique |Kaisa Alliksaar |Kian Sharifi |Bita Bakhtiari

A Swiss national who was accused of spying by Tehran was found dead in prison in what officials say was a suicide. The Mizan news website, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, said the Swiss citizen had been "arrested by security agencies for espionage and his case was under investigation" when he took his own life at the prison in the eastern city of Semnan on January 9.

Jan 7, 2025 | rferl.org | Abubakar Siddique |Kaisa Alliksaar |Kian Sharifi |Bita Bakhtiari

Iran executed at least 901 people in 2024 -- including 31 women, some of whom were convicted of killing their husbands while fighting off a rape or other cases of domestic violence -- a nine-year high that has sparked outrage at the United Nations. About 40 of the total executions came in the last week of December alone, the UN high commissioner for human rights said in a report published on January 7.