Tehran Times

2025-08-01 20:08
By Soheila Zarfam

Inside Evin Prison after the ‘symbolic’ Israeli attack that killed 110 people

Tehran Times reports from aftermath of the tragedy featuring stories of survivors

TEHRAN – During my visit to Evin Prison in Tehran, alongside around 15 other journalists, I toured three heavily damaged buildings. Each structure held its own story, but the emotions sticking out in the background were all the same: grief, disbelief, and anger.
- Fox News fabricates story to justify Evin prison massacre
- Iran’s Judiciary says no Israeli spies harmed in Evin Prison strike

New Defense Council in works as Iran's officials affirm readiness against Israel: reports

TEHRAN – Tehran is set to activate a new "Supreme Defense Council" as part of significant structural changes within the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), according to reports from Iran's Fars and Tasnim news agencies published Friday and Saturday.
By Shahrokh Saei

Witkoff’s Gaza visit: A ‘photo-op’ meant to whitewash US-Israeli ‘bloodbaths’

TEHRAN — The visit of US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy to Gaza, framed as a humanitarian mission, appears to be a calculated effort to whitewash a humanitarian catastrophe widely seen as fueled by American support for Israel’s ongoing war on the enclave.
By Sondoss Al Asaad

Will Morgan Ortagus return to Beirut?

BEIRUT—As Lebanon awaits the repercussions of the threat by US envoy Thomas Barrack, information has leaked suggesting the end of his mission in Lebanon amid the talk of the possible return of Morgan Ortagus.
Path to diplomacy narrow, but still open with serious commitments: Iran FM

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that while the path to diplomacy remains open, any resumption of nuclear negotiations hinges on serious commitments from the United States, including compensation for the recent joint U.S.-Israeli aggression and firm guarantees against future attacks during talks.
Renewed aggression against Iran will change region’s geography of war: IRGC

TEHRAN – Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini, deputy head of public relations and spokesperson for the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), has warned that any future aggression against Iran will provoke a response “far more devastating” than previous operations—one that will fundamentally alter the geography of conflict across the region.

Politics

Iran’s deputy FM discusses key pressing issues with Chinese media

TEHRAN – Saeed Khatibzadeh, an advisor to Iran's foreign minister, a deputy foreign minister, and the president of the Office of Political and International Studies (IPIS), arrived in China for his first foreign visit after the recent US-Israeli hostilities targeting Iran in June.
Upcoming state visit of President Masoud Pezeshkian to Pakistan reflects this growing momentum

A foundational tenet of Iran’s foreign policy is the cultivation of strong, stable, and mutually beneficial ties with its neighbours.
Tehran condemns new US sanctions, says they reveal 'chronic addiction to unilateralism'

TEHRAN – Iran's Foreign Ministry has vehemently condemned new U.S. sanctions targeting the country's energy sector as an "illegal and hostile assault on the dignity and rights of the Iranian people."

Sports

Iran lose to France in 2025 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship semis

TEHRAN – Iran failed to book their place in the 2025 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship finals, losing to France 3-1 (14-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-19) on Saturday.
Tractor goalkeeper Beiranvand banned for four months

TEHRAN – Tractor football team goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand has been suspended for four months due to the illegal termination of his contract.
Former Iran football chief Mostafavi dies

TEHRAN – Dariush Mostafavi, former president of the Iran Football Federation, passed away Friday night.

Culture

Art against erasure: witnessing Gaza’s unseen pain

TEHRAN- A mother—whether in Norway or Nigeria—switches off the television, refusing the unbearable sight: a grieving mother in Gaza holding her child, starved to death. The image pierces too deep, shattering fragile calm. In that moment, denial shields her heart; the world’s pain presses too close. Yet the silence carries its own weight—a quiet witness to sorrow too vast to hold.
Tehran cultural center to screen “Mothers' Instinct”

TEHRAN- “Mothers' Instinct”, a 2024 American film directed by Benoît Delhomme, will be reviewed at the Arasbaran Cultural Center in Tehran on Sunday evening.
Georgian theater festival honors Iran’s “Confusion”

TEHRAN- The Iranian theater group Amitis received an honorable mention for their production “Confusion” at International Festival of Regional Theaters in Poti, Georgia on Friday.

Economy

Tehran, Minsk emphasize expansion of agricultural ties

TEHRAN- During a meeting between Iranian Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Qezeljeh and Belarusian Minister of Agriculture Yuri Gorlov, both sides emphasized the expansion of agricultural cooperation.
SEO chief reaffirms support measures to stabilize stock market

Tehran – The head of Iran’s Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting the capital market, saying stabilization and development funds will continue operating in the coming weeks to help balance the market.
Iran, EAEU to approve free trade roadmap in 2025 as bilateral trade rises

TEHRAN – The Eurasian Economic Commission is preparing to approve a joint roadmap with Iran to implement their newly finalized free trade agreement. The roadmap will guide cooperation from 2025 through 2028 and is expected to be ratified during the next joint committee meeting in September 2025.

Society

IRCS offers humanitarian assistance to flood-hit Vietnam

TEHRAN – Following deadly flooding and landslides across Vietnam, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has announced its readiness to provide necessary humanitarian assistance.
Iran grabs medals at International Olympiad in Informatics

TEHRAN – Iranian students won a gold medal, two silver medals, and a bronze medal at the 37th edition of the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) being held in Sucre, Bolivia.
UNIDO to foster resilience, environmental responsibility among refugees

TEHRAN – Supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) seeks to foster environmentally sustainable communities by promoting waste recycling and composting practices, thereby strengthening resilience and environmental stewardship in refugee settlements.

Tourism

Gaza’s cultural heritage under threat: experts warn of systematic erasure of Palestinian memory

TEHRAN – The Gaza Strip, a land steeped in millennia of history, is facing what experts describe as an unprecedented assault on its cultural heritage, with archaeologists warning that the destruction of ancient sites, museums, and archives risks erasing Palestinian historical memory entirely.
Muharram mourning rituals to be performed at Chazabeh border during Arbaeen

TEHRAN—Deputy head of Khuzestan Cultural Heritage Department gave news of implementing the registered mourning rituals of Muharram in border city of Chazabeh in southwest of Iran.
Water shortage a threat to Isfahan's historical houses

TEHRAN--Isfahan, a magnificent city of thousand-year-old architecture, is today on the verge of a crisis that quietly and silently but destructively threatens the life of its historical body: land subsidence, a phenomenon that has become one of the most dangerous challenges facing the city due to the water crisis, excessive extraction of groundwater, and the collapse of the traditional irrigation system.

International

Witkoff’s Gaza visit: A ‘photo-op’ meant to whitewash US-Israeli ‘bloodbaths’

TEHRAN — The visit of US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy to Gaza, framed as a humanitarian mission, appears to be a calculated effort to whitewash a humanitarian catastrophe widely seen as fueled by American support for Israel’s ongoing war on the enclave.
Will Morgan Ortagus return to Beirut?

BEIRUT—As Lebanon awaits the repercussions of the threat by US envoy Thomas Barrack, information has leaked suggesting the end of his mission in Lebanon amid the talk of the possible return of Morgan Ortagus.
Anti-Israeli protests in Syria

TEHRAN – Protests took place in several parts of Syria, denouncing the Israeli occupation regime and affirming the country’s unity.

Tehran Times reports from aftermath of the tragedy featuring stories of survivors