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‘Killing off the country’: Iran executes dozens, arrests 4,000+ in war crackdown
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U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday accused Iran’s regime of dramatically intensifying its crackdown on dissent in the wake of the February conflict, warning that Tehran has carried out executions, mass arrests, torture and one of the world’s longest internet shutdowns while invoking national security.
In a sharply worded statement from Geneva, Türk said at least 21 people have been executed and more than 4,000 arrested on national security-related charges since Feb. 28, as the regime faces mounting scrutiny over what he described as a sweeping assault on fundamental rights.
«I am appalled that, on top of the already severe impacts of the conflict, the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities, in harsh and brutal ways,» Türk said.
COULD NARGES MOHAMMADI UNITE IRAN’S OPPOSITION? HUSBAND SAYS IMPRISONED NOBEL LAUREATE STILL FIGHTING
A protester holds ‘Stop executions in Iran’ and ‘Free Iran’ placards during the demonstration. Demonstrators gathered outside Downing Street in protest against executions in Iran and in support of freedom for Iran. (Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Since the start of the conflict two months ago, the U.N. said nine people have been executed in connection with the January 2026 protests, 10 for alleged membership in opposition groups, and two on espionage charges. It’s estimated that some 40,000 people were killed by regime forces during January’s uprising.
Türk warned that Iran’s broad use of vaguely defined national security laws has enabled authorities to fast-track prosecutions, deny legal counsel, and rely on coerced confessions.
«Even where national security is invoked, human rights can only be limited where strictly necessary and proportionate,» he said, calling on Tehran to halt executions, impose a moratorium on capital punishment, and immediately release those arbitrarily detained.
For many Iranian dissidents, the findings reflect an already dire reality.
A billboard depicting Iran’s supreme leaders since 1979: (L to R) Ayatollahs Ruhollah Khomeini (until 1989), Ali Khamenei (until 2026), and Mojtaba Khamenei (incumbent) is displayed above a highway in Tehran on March 10, 2026. Iran marked the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father as its supreme leader on March 9, 2026. (AFP/Via Getty Images)
«It is bad,» Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of the Iran So Far Away Substack, told Fox News Digital. «They’re completely killing off the country.»
On Saturday, it was reported that Iran had executed another athlete, a 21-year-old karate champion. Sassan Azadvar Joonqani was detained in January during the anti-regime protests and was executed by the regime on Thursday, according to a report in Euronews.
Wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi was executed by the regime in March for alleged illegal actions in January’s protests against the authorities. (The Foreign Desk)
Last month, Iran executed another athlete, 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi, for protesting against the regime, Fox News Digital reported.
Türk’s office said detainees have reportedly faced enforced disappearances, torture, mock executions, and televised confessions, with ethnic and religious minorities including Bahá’ís, Zoroastrians, Kurds and Baluch Iranians facing particular risk.
RUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS’ US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS
Ali and Kiana Rahmani accept the Nobel Peace Prize 2023 on behalf of their mother, imprisoned Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, at Oslo City Hall in Norway on Dec. 10, 2023. (Javad Parsa/NTB/Reuters)
Among those cited by the U.N. was imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, whose condition sharply worsened Friday after what her family described as a catastrophic health crisis following months of being denied specialized care.
According to a statement from the Narges Foundation that was published Friday, Mohammadi was urgently transferred by ambulance from Zanjan Prison to a hospital after suffering two episodes of complete loss of consciousness in a single day, accompanied by severe cardiac distress. The foundation said prison doctors determined her condition could no longer be managed on-site after what her family called a «last-minute» transfer that may have come dangerously late.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that her physical condition had already become increasingly dire after what he described as a violent arrest and deteriorating prison treatment. «She has sustained severe trauma and urgently requires medical attention.»
Rahmani previously said Mohammadi’s medical team and outside specialists had pushed for treatment in Tehran due to her history of multiple heart procedures, while authorities allegedly blocked those recommendations until her condition became life-threatening. Despite her physical decline, Rahmani said, «Spiritually and mentally, Narges remains steadfast.»
IRAN’S KHAMENEI LASHES OUT AT PROTESTERS AS NATIONWIDE ANTI-REGIME UNREST GROWS
In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, tear gas is fired during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (UGC via AP) (UGC via AP)
The U.N. statement, combined with Mohammadi’s emergency hospitalization, has intensified scrutiny of Iran’s prison conditions, which Türk described as marked by overcrowding, medical neglect, and severe human rights abuses.
Türk also cited dire prison conditions, including overcrowding, shortages of food, water and medicine, and denial of medical care.
The U.N. further highlighted reports of lethal violence in detention facilities, including claims that security forces killed at least five detainees in Chabahar Prison after protests over suspended food distribution.
But while dissidents welcomed the U.N.’s unusually forceful language, some also questioned whether condemnation without action can meaningfully alter conditions, especially as Iran this week was elevated to a vice-chair role on a U.N. nuclear nonproliferation committee.
«The reason why Iranians just don’t trust, don’t like and don’t want to know from the U.N.,» Zand said, is what she described as its repeated failure «to rise to the occasion of responding to the regime and holding their feet to the fire at the right time… with the right amount of pressure.»
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Iranian diaspora activists gathered in front of the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin on Jan. 27, 2024, to protest the increase in death sentences by Iran’s Islamic Republic rulers. The demonstration was organized by the Echo Iran group. (Echo Iran/Middle East Images/AFP)
While she said the latest statement itself was important, Zand argued many view such condemnations as hollow when paired with what they see as institutional legitimacy granted to Tehran.
«They’re making a statement… fine,» she said. «But what are they gonna do about it?»
war with iran, iran, persecutions, united nations, terrorism
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President Donald Trump wants Congress to supercharge military funding and pass stalled voter ID and citizenship verification legislation in one fell swoop, but many Republicans aren’t sold on the plan.
Trump on Wednesday called on congressional Republicans to steer around Democrats’ opposition again and «immediately» pass a third budget reconciliation package, including $350 billion in defense spending coupled with the stalled Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.
«This is a GENERATIONAL Investment in our Military, even bigger than President Reagan’s! Recon 3.0 is the ONLY path to the full $1.5 TRILLION DOLLAR Military Budget our Warriors need in order to build THE ARSENAL OF FREEDOM,» Trump said on Truth Social.
TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE SENATE DESPITE REPUBLICAN REVOLT
President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2026. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The president’s request came just hours after he signed Republicans’ second budget reconciliation bill into law that would fund immigration enforcement through the rest of his presidency for $70 billion. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act was also passed through budget reconciliation.
But many Republicans are lukewarm at best to the idea of restarting the budget reconciliation process, which would require strict party unity amid a dwindling calendar of legislative days heading into the November midterm elections.
The GOP has also yet to fully come around to Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense spending request, and some lawmakers have voiced concern about circumventing the normal appropriations process to boost defense spending.
Trump’s plea for a third bite at the apple comes as he and congressional Republicans are increasingly at odds over policy decisions that have made passing legislation on the Hill all the more difficult.
TRUMP SCORES VICTORY DESPITE GROWING GOP DIVIDE AFTER SENATE PASSES $70B ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING PACKAGE
Some Republicans who have pushed for a third attempt at the party-line process have acknowledged that it’s unlikely to work. Further, Congress is unlikely to pass any other bills before the midterm elections in November because of Democratic opposition.
«I think it’s a very, very long shot that anything passes between now and the midterms,» Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. «It gives me heartburn to say that, but I think that’s political reality.»
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., didn’t completely close the door on another reconciliation bill, but he noted that there is skepticism among Republicans on moving forward.
«You’ve got to have something that you can win on,» Thune said. «And you’ve heard some of our folks already express their views on another reconciliation bill.»
Earlier in the week, during a contentious Senate Appropriations hearing, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., both agreed that another reconciliation bill was unlikely to happen, particularly as a dumping ground for billions in additional defense spending.
TRUMP LOCKS IN ICE FUNDING THROUGH END OF PRESIDENCY AFTER HOUSE PASSES $70B PACKAGE
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to members of the media at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 10, 2026. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, «Reconciliation is not the best approach.»
«It would be very difficult to get the reconciliation bill approved,» Collins said.
Discussions on a third reconciliation package were underway in the House prior to Trump’s public endorsement. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has voiced confidence that his chamber will clear a third budget bill by the August recess.
But some GOP lawmakers have questioned its viability amid Republicans’ slim majority and the potential lack of a unifying policy idea to keep the conference together.
«I haven’t quite heard enough policy proposals that lead me to think it’s going to gel, but I’m certainly open-minded,» Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
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Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., a Republican-turned-independent who voted against Trump’s $70 billion immigration enforcement measure, indicated he isn’t likely to support a third attempt.
«We have now gotten to this habit of one party takes power, they do reconciliation bills and the other party does it, and this cycle hasn’t been good,» the California lawmaker told Fox News Digital. «It’s one of the things that fed the cycles of dysfunction that we have around here.»
politics, congress, republicans elections, spending, senate elections, donald trump
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Platner campaign rocked with damning allegations from another ex-lover as Senate race heats up: report
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A day after Graham Platner became the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, a woman took to social media to allege that she briefly dated Platner in 2021, recounting stories of having met him on the Tinder dating app, his infidelity and how Platner’s story about his infamous chest tattoo had changed over time.
«I am stepping forward as a person who has experienced lying and manipulation by his hand to lend my voice to what is a growing number of women who have been wronged by this man in one way or another,» a woman with the X handle, 420mercymain69, wrote in a long X statement on Thursday.
«It is hideous,» the woman, who claimed she was attracted to Platner’s Tinder profile because he was «hot and he was a leftist,» said in her X statement.
The new details add another layer to Platner’s allegedly deceptive conduct towards romantic partners and grows the pile of scandals that have trailed his campaign.
SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner participated in a television interview on May 1, 2026, in Portland, Maine, following a campaign event with the Maine AFL-CIO. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
Platner, who officially became the Democratic nominee to challenge incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, earlier this week, has grappled with his resurfaced past — receiving criticism for making off-color remarks on sexual abuse, race and terror and allegedly threatening behavior toward women.
According to 420mercymain69, a native of the Maryland area, the two of them started talking on Tinder in Feb. 2021 and started dating until mid-July 2021.
When approached about his Totenkopf tattoo, a symbol used by the Nazi SS, the author claims Platner said that he had gotten it in ignorance but that he had kept it as a reminder that the U.S. was viewed as «the bad guys» in many parts of the world.
«A sob story of monumental proportions that only further solidified my perception of his ideology,» the author remembered.
«But surprisingly enough not the one he gave to the people of Maine,» she continued. «And I do mean genuinely surprising because from the moment he announced his campaign, that is exactly what I expected to hear when the truth inevitably came out.»
DEMOCRATIC MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER CONFRONTED BY MS NOW HOST ABOUT TATTOO CONTROVERSY
Graham Platner with his wife Amy Gertner earlier this month. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
When the tattoo surfaced late last year, he had said he wasn’t familiar with its Nazi associations.
«Graham’s repeatedly said he picked a skull-and-crossbones tattoo off a wall in Croatia to commemorate surviving Ramadi and his friends who were killed there,» a spokesperson from the Platner campaign told Fox News. «Graham has also since covered up the tattoo, and answered countless questions about it.»
«Unlike Susan Collins, who refuses to take questions on her disastrous vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, gut rural hospitals, and supported every foreign war of the last thirty years,» the spokesperson continued.
Aside from the tattoo, 420mercymain69 also accused Platner of several instances of relational infidelity.
Platner and the post’s author parted ways after she discovered from a mutual friend that he was allegedly seeing someone else while the two were still dating.
«He was talking about a woman he had blown it with, saying she was ‘the love of his life.’ I was naïve and probably a little too starry-eyed from my own good, but as a person who had only been on a handful of dates with him and f—– around a bit, I was smart enough to know he wasn’t talking about me,» the woman claimed..
«I took the hint,» she continued.
She claimed that, after leaving the relationship, she discovered Platner had been engaged to a woman named «Jen» when the two began conversing.
She was also told that Platner was allegedly cheating on her with a third woman.
«She had walked in on him having sex with another person at a wedding they were at in D.C. That mutual friend also advised that he was trying to repair things with this woman and asked me if I was going to seek her out to tell her,» she said on X.
In summarizing her experience, which was reportedly confirmed by the New York Post, the author said she did not intend to derail Platner’s campaign, but that she shared concerns about his character. Fox News Digital could not independently confirm the claims from the alleged ex-girlfriend.
PLATNER SUPPORTER KHANNA CALLS SENATE HOPEFUL’S PAST RELATIONSHIPS ‘TOXIC,’ BUT SAYS HE DESERVES ‘REDEMPTION’
Graham Platner addresses the crowd at a YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, on June 9, 2026, after winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He will face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the election. (Matthew Symons for Fox News Digital)
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«There will be more information that comes out,» she claimed.
«If I were a Maine voter seeing the things I’m seeing, I wouldn’t have voted for him, personal experience notwithstanding, because I do not trust him. Why, after all that has come out, would I?»
scandal, graham platner, issues, fund raising, campaigning
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