On Saturday, public hospital nurses in Shiraz, southern Iran, extended their strike into a sixth day, joined by others in protest against harsh working conditions, low wages, and ongoing government neglect.
Kiyani and Alizadeh, who secured bronze for her new country, Bulgaria, shared a long, warm embrace and posed for photos after receiving their medals. Kiyani was also seen kissing her former roommate and friend on the shoulder.
However, this emotional moment was omitted from Iran's state television coverage. The state-run sports commentator referred to Alizadeh only as "she" or "the rival" and described the match as "a historic revenge."
A video of the two old friends embracing, which moved many Iranian fans to tears, has since gone viral on social media.
Many Iranian social media users have condemned the “oppressive” policies of the Islamic Republic that forced Alizadeh and two dozen other athletes sports people leave their homeland and their teams behind to live in exile in recent years. Most female athletes who defect to other countries, including Alizadeh, speak against the Islamic Government's oppression.
Another emotional scene was created in Paris Thursday when Sabah Shariati, an Iranian wrestler who competed for Azerbaijan’s team, lost against Iran's bronze medalist Amin Mirzadeh. Mirzadeh lifted him on his shoulders as a sign of respect when he found out this was Shariati’s last match.
Supporters of the state laud Kiyani for not “turning her back on the motherland” and call Alizadeh a “traitor”.
Kiyani who remained in Iran, as her Instagram posts show, is not a conformist, either. She supported the Woman, Life, Freedom movement of 2022-23 and campaigned against capital punishment on social media. “My silence doesn’t mean I’m happy,” one of her Instagram stories read.
If not for the prospects of a medal, and consenting to wear the hijab, she would not have been allowed to compete in Paris or any other international competitions. She may even face repercussions for embracing her friend instead of turning her back on the “traitor’ in Paris Olympics.
Some others have urged authorities to allow her to return home and join her teammates.
“Iran is the home of all Iranians. I wish Kimia could return to Iran and to be a winner again,” former minister of communication Mohammad-Javad Azari-Jahromi, a close ally of the reform-oriented President Masoud Pezeshkian, posted on X Thursday.
Alizadeh was given a hero’s welcome by Iranian officials in 2016 for winning an Olympic bronze. She was showered with gifts and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei lauded her for her victory which he said proved that hijab is no impediment to women’s success.
In 2020, however, Alizadeh defected to Germany to avoid competing for the Iranian Olympics team in protest to oppression of Iranian women and discarded her veil. She competed as a member of the refugee team in Tokyo Olympics where she and Kiyani had to face each other. Alizadeh won 3-0 but both were eventually eliminated.
“I’m one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they played in whatever manner they wished,” she said after her defection about being used for propaganda by the authorities when she was a member of the Iranian team such as obliging her to dedicate her 2016 medal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and saying that wearing the hijab was created no obstacles to female athletes.
In the aftermath of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, Alizadeh supported the leadership of Iran's exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi.
Iran's Supreme Leader has imposed a ban on Iranian athletes competing with Israelis. The ban forces athletes to forfeit matches or claim injury to avoid facing Israelis even at the cost of losing medals.
"Legally, Iran has no restrictions or prohibitions on buying or selling conventional weapons. But morally, Iran will avoid transferring any weapons, including missiles, that may be used in the conflict with Ukraine until it ends," Iran’s UN representative said.
Two European sources told Reuters that dozens of Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, adding that they expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of the satellite-guided weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Some experts compare the Fath-360 truck-mounted missiles, that come in batches of six, to the US HIMARS rockets, although their overall range and accuracy is less.
Russian defense ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract on Dec. 13, 2023 in Tehran with Iranian officials for the Fath-360 and another ballistic missile system built by Iran's government-owned Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) called the Ababil, said the two intelligence officials, who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters.
The sources did not specify an exact timeline for the delivery of Fath-360 missiles but but said it would be soon.
The officials highlighted that Russian personnel have visited Iran to learn to operate the Fath-360 defense system. One of the sources said that "the only next possible" step after training would be actual delivery of the missiles to Russia.
The Fath-360 defense system launches missiles with a maximum range of 120 km (75 miles) and a warhead of 150 kg, while the Russian-manufactured Iskander-M ballistic missiles have a a range of 500km, but harder to operate. Iskander is also truck mounted but comes in one or two salvos.
The supply of Fath-360s could allow Russia to use more of its own arsenal for targets beyond the front line, while employing Iranian warheads for closer-range targets, a military expert told Reuters.
A spokesperson for the US National Security Council told Reuters that US and its NATO allies and G7 partners "are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward with such transfers."
It "would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran's support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine," the spokesman said. "The White House has repeatedly warned of the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the outset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine."
A senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that while Iran has not supplied Fath-360 missiles, they have sold other missiles and drones to Russia. The official emphasized, "How each country uses this equipment is entirely their decision," stressing that Iran did not sell weapons to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said in July 2023 the system had been successfully tested by the country's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force.
Iran has supplied hundreds of Shahed drones to Russia since mid-2022, which have been extensively utilized for targeting civilian infrastructure and urban areas in Ukraine with NATO calling on Tehran to stop its military cooperation with Moscow.
The Shahed drones, however, carry a fraction of the explosives in comparison to the Fath-360 missiles and are easier to shoot down as they are slower than ballistic missiles.
The US, UK, and Canada imposed new sanctions on Iran’s drone industry in April this year, targeting Iranian drones, including their use by Russia in the war in Ukraine.
However, despite global sanctions, Iran imported at least $10 million worth of drone engine parts from countries including China, Turkey, the UAE, Germany, and even the US.
Data from Iran's customs organization, analyzed by Iran International, showed that several items listed under a US advisory guide were imported in the first two months of the current Iranian year, which began on March 20.
In July this year, NATO leaders accused Iran of "fueling Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine by providing direct military support to Russia, such as munitions and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), which seriously impacts Euro-Atlantic security and undermines the global non-proliferation regime."
Reports from workers rights group on social media indicate that nurses at several major public hospitals in Shiraz, including Namazi, Faghihi, Chamran, Amir Oncology, Zeinabieh, Ali Asghar, and Amir al-Momenin, have initiated a strike that has now spread to cities such as Abadeh, Tabriz, Zanjan, Karaj, and Fasa.
The nurses are protesting grueling working conditions, inadequate compensation for long hours, outdated nursing service tariffs, insufficient overtime pay, and the non-payment of welfare benefits. They are also decrying the Ministry of Health's lack of accountability.
In Shiraz, the strike has brought public hospitals to the brink of paralysis, with surgeries at Namazi Hospital being canceled, according to reports.
In Zanjan, demonstrators voiced their discontent with chants of "Incompetent officials, resign!" and "No to mandatory overtime!" Meanwhile, nurses at Sajad Hospital in Tabriz and Khomeini Hospital in Abadeh joined the growing movement, further intensifying the nationwide unrest.
On Tuesday, Tasnim News Agency reported on the strikes, noting that after last year's end-of-year protests by nurses, promises of a half-percent salary adjustment were made. However, with these commitments left unfulfilled, a renewed wave of protests has erupted among Shiraz public hospital nurses.
Tasnim quoted a nurse at a public hospital in Shiraz expressing frustration over the lack of follow-through on a parliamentary approved meager half-percent salary adjustment for nurses, stating, "Despite assurances of payment, funds had yet to be disbursed as of July."
The nurse noted, "Even this modest adjustment was reduced to 0.4 percent, yet no payments have been made."
Despite Iran's labor law prohibiting the formation of trade unions and imposing severe penalties for peaceful protests, nurses have continued to defy these restrictions in recent weeks amid deteriorating conditions and a deepening economic crisis.
The profession is grappling with alarming rates of job turnover and escalating migration, leading to critical shortages. Yet, the government remains resolute that these protests will be quelled.
In July, Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam, Secretary-General of the House of Nurses, reported that nurses who participated in the protests across various regions had been summoned and threatened.
Around the same time, ILNA News Agency published a report titled "From Threats and Exile to Dismissal: The Response to Protesting Nurses’ Demands," emphasizing that contract nurses in the private sector are denied the freedom to participate in protests, with those who do risk termination and dismissal.
According to ILNA, even permanent contract nurses under the Ministry of Health's jurisdiction have been summoned to disciplinary boards, punished, and subjected to rights violations and intense pressure.
In March, the Ham-Mihan newspaper detailed legal actions taken against nurses who had protested and participated in gatherings over the previous year.
The summoning, threatening, exiling, and dismissal of nurses in Iran are unfolding against the backdrop of a severe nursing shortage.
Fereydoun Moradi, a member of the Supreme Council of Nursing, revealed in July that 150 to 200 nurses are emigrating from the country each month. In August 2023, Abbas Abadi, Deputy Minister of Nursing at the Ministry of Health, announced a shortfall of approximately 100,000 nurses.
