Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has called for protesters to be suppressed following a week of demonstrations over economic hardships, with at least 10 deaths reported. The protests, the largest since 2022, are fueled by economic decline and political discontent, and have been met with violent crackdowns by security forces. US warnings and international tensions add complexity to the situation.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has called for protesters to be suppressed following a week of demonstrations over economic issues, with violence resulting in multiple deaths. The protests, the largest since 2022, are fueled by economic hardship and political discontent, and have been met with a forceful crackdown by Iran's security forces, amid tensions with the US and accusations of foreign interference.
Iran has conducted a large-scale crackdown, arresting hundreds and executing several, in response to recent conflict with Israel, aiming to tighten control amid fears of infiltration and espionage.
Iran has intensified its internal security measures, including mass arrests and executions, especially targeting Kurdish regions, amid heightened tensions following Israeli airstrikes, with authorities focusing on preventing internal unrest and suspected infiltration by foreign agents.
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador secured a landslide victory in the country's elections, with his New Ideas party expected to win almost all of the legislative seats. Bukele's fierce gang crackdown and security strategy, which led to a significant drop in murder rates, garnered widespread support from voters. Despite concerns about erosion of democracy and potential constitutional reforms, Bukele's popularity remains high, although his second term is likely to face economic challenges.
Turkish police have detained 90 people with suspected links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and arrested 928 others for possessing illegal arms in a wide security crackdown following a suicide bomb attack in Ankara. The operations, involving thousands of security personnel, were carried out in 64 provinces across the country. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack, which targeted the Turkish Ministry of Interior, and resulted in two police officers being wounded. In response, Turkey's warplanes conducted airstrikes on suspected PKK sites in northern Iraq.
Egypt has launched a national political dialogue aimed at producing political, economic and social reform recommendations that could be presented for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's consideration. The dialogue is one of several steps aimed at countering criticism of Egypt's human rights record, but critics say recent steps on human rights are cosmetic, pointing to continuing detentions and arrests of dissidents, and say they doubt the dialogue signals real change. Discussions around the constitution, foreign policy and "strategic national security" would be off limits.
