DUBAI: Most of the 70 inmates who escaped from a prison in western Iran last month are now back in jail, Iranian authorities said on Saturday, even though about 100,000 prisoners have been granted temporary release due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Iranian media have reported unrest in several prisons in the country, including the March 27 mass escape from the facility in Kurdistan province.
The judiciary’s Mizanoline website said some of the inmates had been captured by security forces, while others returned on their own to the prison in the city of Saqqez.
United Nations human rights spokesman Rupert Colville on Friday voiced concern over a possible coronavirus outbreak in prisons in Iran and other countries.
Iran — the Middle East country worst-hit by the epidemic — has already granted temporary release to about 100,000 inmates to curb prison overcrowding and ease fears of the virus’ spread.
The Health Ministry said on Saturday 158 more coronavirus patients had died in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 3,452. The total number of cases reached 55,743.
In a rare comment in Britain’s Guardian newspaper, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said US sanctions were crippling Iran’s fight against the coronavirus.
“As a result (of sanctions), the ability of my colleagues and I to provide the health, logistical and other essential infrastructure necessary to combat the disease has been drastically reduced. We experience this loss every day, and it can be counted in people that would not have died,” Hanachi said.
Separately, the foreign ministry accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of “medical-terrorism” through the sanctions, which have hit vital sectors such as oil and banking.
“Undisputed fact: US ‘diplomats’ have long been in the business of coups, arming terrorists,” ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Twitter on Saturday. “But @SecPompeo ... and his masters have taken the ‘job’ to a whole new level: #Medical_terrorism.”
Pompeo and other US officials have stressed that humanitarian supplies are exempt from sanctions Washington reimposed on Tehran after President Donald Trump abandoned Iran’s 2015 multilateral deal to limit its nuclear program.
However, broader US sanctions deter many US and global firms from humanitarian trade with Iran.
Meanwhile state media quoted President Hassan Rouhani as saying that state support for businesses hit by the coronavirus outbreak would be restricted to enterprises that give assurances not to lay off workers.
Rouhani has said 75% of a total budget allocation of about 1,000 trillion rials to address the pandemic would include grants and low-interest loans to enterprises affected by COVID-19.
The total allocated amount is worth some $6 billion at the rial’s free market exchange rate of about 166,000 rials per dollar. But the government may decide to allocate some of the funds at the official rate of 42,000 which is used to subsidise food and medicine.
Iran escaped prisoners back in jail amid coronavirus epidemic
https://arab.news/vwqn8
Iran escaped prisoners back in jail amid coronavirus epidemic
- Iranian media have reported unrest in several prisons in the country, including the March 27 mass escape from the facility in Kurdistan province
- United Nations human rights spokesman Rupert Colville on Friday voiced concern over a possible coronavirus outbreak in prisons in Iran and other countries
Aoun reassures Lebanon that risk of war is ‘fading’ in year-end message
- Israeli military spokesperson said it targeted 380 armed operatives, 950 military sites in Lebanon in past year
- Beirut’s southern suburb residents pledge to avoid celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday sought to reassure citizens in his year-end address, saying “the overall atmosphere remains positive and the risk of war is fading,” amid widespread concern over a possible Israeli escalation against Hezbollah.
Fear of renewed attacks followed Israeli criticism of a Lebanese Army weapons-confiscation operation that is set to enter its second phase at the start of the 2026. The plan include the expansion from areas north of the Litani River to the Awali River, after the first phase was completed south of the Litani.
President Aoun cautioned that this does not mean “completely eliminating the risk of war,” stressing that “work is underway with various friendly and brotherly countries to completely neutralize the threat of war.”
Addressing Internal Security officials, Aoun said that the “situation is among the best,” noting that this assessment has been echoed by foreign visitors to Lebanon, despite the strain caused by large numbers of Syrian and Palestinian refugees.
He added that security forces were fully carrying out their duties and solving crimes with notable speed, pointing to the successful visit of Pope Leo XIV earlier this year as further evidence of progress.
On Monday, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa stressed during a Beirut press conference that implementing “international agreements and resolutions, foremost among them the Nov. 27, 2014 agreement and Resolution 1701, constitutes the fundamental approach to sparing Lebanon further security tensions,” speaking of “dire consequences that could result from continued escalation.”
The Egyptian diplomat indicated that “there are no hidden warnings or threats directed at Lebanon, but rather a clear commitment to the agreements signed by the concerned parties, which must be fully implemented by everyone.”
The ambassador stated that his country, under the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is “exerting intensive efforts to reduce tensions in southern Lebanon and the region in general, through active diplomatic contacts led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty with relevant regional and international parties.”
Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adraee published on Wednesday a summary of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2025.
“The Army targeted approximately 380 armed operatives, including Ali Tabatabai (chief of staff), Hassan Kamal (responsible for anti-tank missiles on the southern front), Abbas Hassan Karky (logistics officer in the southern command), and Khodr Saeed Hashem (commander of the naval force in the Radwan Unit),” he said.
“It also attacked approximately 950 military targets, including 210 launch sites and weapons depots, 140 military buildings, and about 60 tunnel entrances,” Adraee added.
In the statement, he accused Hezbollah of committing about 1,920 ceasefire violations and said the military would continue its raids and targeting operations in the new year.
UNIFIL Com. Gen. Diodato Abagnara said in his end-of-the-year message that “UNIFIL will continue to support Lebanon and Israel in implementing their obligations under Resolution 1701, building on the stability achieved in 2025 and strengthening efforts toward a lasting peace.”
As part of the weapons restriction plan, on Tuesday, the Fatah movement — the Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon — handed over a new batch of heavy and medium weapons from the Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp to the Lebanese Army in four trucks, away from the media.
This is the second batch of weapons to be handed over from the camp, which is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It represents the fifth phase of the Palestinian weapons handover process in the camps, four of which were completed between Aug. 21 and Sept. 13, 2025, encompassing nine camps, including Ain Al-Hilweh.
The handover follows and implements an agreement reached between Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after the latter’s visit to Lebanon in May.
Abbas had announced “the Palestinian Authority’s support for the Lebanese state’s plan to extend its authority over all Lebanese territory, including the Palestinian camps.”
Hamas continues to refuse to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese Army, while Hezbollah maintains its weapons north of the Litani River.
The Lebanese Army implemented “exceptional security measures in various Lebanese regions on New Year’s Eve, with the aim of maintaining security.”
It called on citizens to “cooperate with the security measures taken to maintain public safety and prevent incidents,” warning of the consequences of firing weapons, which will be prosecuted as it poses a threat to public safety.
In another measure, authorities announced that gun licenses and traffic permits will be suspended until Jan. 2, 2026.
In Beirut’s southern suburbs, residents signed a pledge as part of an Internal Security Forces campaign against celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve, committing not to fire weapons in public and to report violations with photos or videos.
