TEHRAN: Jailed Iranian activist and former cabinet member Mostafa Tajzadeh, a prominent figure of the Islamic republic’s reformist camp, has been charged with “propaganda” against the state, local media said Monday.
Tajzadeh, jailed since July 2022 in Tehran’s Evin prison, served as deputy interior minister under the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who oversaw a rapprochement with the West between 1997 and 2005.
He was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2022 on charges of “plotting against state security” among others, his lawyer said at the time.
Reformist daily Hammihan said Monday that new charges had been brought against Tajzadeh, accusing him again “of plotting against state security” and “propaganda against the Islamic republic.”
He had already spent a total of seven years behind bars, having been arrested in 2009 alongside other reformist leaders following the re-election of hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a vote contested by the opposition.
Tajzadeh, an outspoken commentator on national politics via social media channels operated by his relatives, said in a letter “that he would not appear in court” in the new case, according to Hammihan.
If convicted, Hammihan said, Tajzadeh could face up to six more years in jail.
In recent years, he has urged democratization and called on authorities to enact “structural changes” in the Iranian political system.
Iran brings new charges against jailed reformist: media
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Iran brings new charges against jailed reformist: media
- Tajzadeh, jailed since July 2022 in Tehran’s Evin prison, served as deputy interior minister under the presidency of Mohammad Khatami
- He was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2022 on charges of “plotting against state security” among others
Latest US sanctions target Houthi funding networks, Treasury says
- Since 2023, the Houthis have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with Israel
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration issued fresh sanctions on Friday further targeting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and the transfer of oil products, weapons and other so-called dual-use equipment that it said helped fund the group.
The action targets 21 individuals and entities as well as one vessel, including some alleged front companies in Yemen, Oman and the UAE, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement.
“The Houthis threaten the United States by committing acts of terror and attacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
The move builds on previous Treasury action to pressure the Houthis “vast revenue generation and smuggling networks, which enable the group to sustain its capability to conduct destabilizing regional activities,” including the Red Sea attacks, the department added.
Since 2023, the Houthis have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war on Gaza.
Tehran’s regional sway has been weakened by Israel’s attacks on its proxies, including on the Houthis in Yemen. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Daphen Psaledakis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
