Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent human rights activist, has described the No to Execution Tuesdays campaign by female prisoners as a "civil movement capable of expanding across Iran".
Speaking during a virtual event on Clubhouse to mark the campaign's first anniversary, Mohammadi highlighted its significance in opposing the widespread use of executions in Iran.
"The Islamic Republic seeks to assert its hollow authority by creating fear through mass executions," said Mohammadi, one of the most outspoken activists inside Iran.
"This campaign is not just a protest but a deeply human rights-driven effort that holds the potential to unite and mobilize people against the death penalty."
The campaign began on January 30, 2024, when political prisoners in the women’s ward of Tehran’s Evin Prison launched hunger strikes every Tuesday to protest increasing executions and show solidarity with inmates at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj who had done the same.
Now in its 53rd week, the movement has gained momentum, drawing support from political prisoners across Iran.
Mohammadi, currently on medical leave from imprisonment, expressed her hope for an Iran free of executions.
"The gallows ropes will be torn apart by the powerful hands of each one of us," she said.
"One day, these execution chambers will serve only as a historical lesson on the consequences of tyranny, guiding humanity toward progress, freedom and equality."
The campaign’s message has reached international audiences, amplified by the participation of Iranian political prisoners from diverse backgrounds.
Mohammadi called for continued unity among democracy and human rights advocates, underscoring the campaign’s potential to foster lasting change.
The new drone which was unveiled in early January has a range of 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) and an operating time of 20 minutes.
"Rezvan is similar to the Russian-made Lancet and Israeli-made Hero drones," a Telegram channel affiliated with the IRGC reported Tuesday.
The drone has been designed for rapid deployment and targeted attacks, particularly in complex terrain, according to the IRGC.
The suicide drone is fired from a cylindrical launcher and transmits live video to the operator, allowing for precise target selection and engagement, IRGC media Tasnim reported.
Iran has been conducting multiple military exercises in the past few weeks, including air defense drills near nuclear sites like Natanz and a 110,000-strong Basij mobilization in Tehran, to showcase its capabilities and project a message of strength in the region, following consecutive defeats for its allies since September.
IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami said earlier this month that the ongoing military exercises aim to make the enemies refine their assessments of Iran’s defense capabilities and demonstrate that the country’s deterrence is unaffected by external events, a tacit reference to the fall of Tehran’s longtime ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
“In the coming weeks and months, you will see a different face of the Islamic Republic. It will not speak the language of jihad, hostage-taking, or chaos. It will talk of deal-making, mutual interest, and pragmatism,” Pahlavi said at a National Press Club event in Washington DC on Tuesday.
“The United States has a choice—will it seek to use the leverage and this historic opportunity to fundamentally alter the trajectory of the Middle East and the world, or will it fall for the flirtations of a radical Islamic regime and hand the Middle East back to its radical, terrorist proxies?”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed openness to direct negotiations with the new Trump administration on Tehran's disputed nuclear program, though hardliners and Iran's Supreme Leader remain publicly opposed.
Trump withdrew the United States from an international nuclear deal with Iran in his first term and has said Tehran cannot be allowed to have nuclear arms, though he has appeared to rule out seeking the overthrow of the nearly fifty-year-old theocracy.
Pahlavi warned that the Islamic Republic of Iran remains the region’s chief obstacle to peace and prosperity, saying the weakening of Hamas in Gaza, the fall of Assad in Syria and the decapitation of Hezbollah in Lebanon present a historic opportunity.
“The Middle East is on the cusp of fundamental change—a reset that has the potential to course-correct decades of terror, conflict, and chaos to peace, prosperity, and stability.”
The exiled prince, who has resided in the Washington DC area for most of his life, said in apparent nod to Trump's opposition to foreign wars that no military intervention by the United States was required.
“Mr. President, anyone telling you that you have to sacrifice the lives of your brave troops to see change in Iran and a peaceful Middle East is lying to you,” saying the Iranian people would topple their own oppressors, whom he called "the world’s chief warmonger."
"Funding of proxies will continue. Regional instability will continue. Interference in the affairs of other countries will continue. Radicalization will continue," Pahlavi said. "None of that will change. Again, as I said, it's in the DNA of the regime. This DNA hasn't changed for 45 years. We should not expect it will change in the next 45 years."
Previously, Reza Pahlavi, in a letter to Donald Trump, warned the new US administration against trusting the Islamic Republic and emphasized that Trump has the opportunity to end the tyranny in Iran through a policy of maximum pressure.
