Putin agrees to mediate between Iran and US - Russian state media

Following the summons, Chamanmah said that while no official charges have been mentioned, she would appear before the judiciary with her lawyer.

She said she has been subjected her to repeated interrogations without a judicial order since her return to the country out of what she called love for her homeland.

The young actress was stopped at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport upon arrival, where her passport was confiscated and she was given an instant travel ban.

Since then, she said, "I have been repeatedly interrogated and questioned by various security agencies without a judicial order and, in some cases, faced mistreatment and insulting behavior.

"While government officials constantly talk about the return of Iranians abroad, from the moment I returned to my homeland, I have not been allowed even a single day to live in peace."

Chamanmah's summons comes just days after the directors and lead actors of My Favorite Cake, an Iranian film that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, went on trial in a court in Tehran, alongside other members of the production team.

Iran's entertainment stars have been among scores placed under such punishments as travel bans alongside the likes of sports figures in the wake of the 2022 uprising, many of whom having supported the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

Other punishments included pay freezes, fines and sackings, causing a surge of stars fleeing the country.

Turkey's move followed a meeting at Iran's Foreign Ministry, where Turkey's ambassador met with Mahmoud Heydari, the ministry's Director General for the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, on Monday.

The meeting was prompted by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's recent remarks regarding Iran's role in Syria.

"The mutual interests of our nations and the delicate regional situation necessitate the avoidance of inaccurate statements and unfounded analyses that could strain bilateral relations," Heydari stated.

Fidan, in an interview with Al Jazeera, had described Iran's reliance on militias as dangerous and called for a policy shift.

He also suggested that "if you are attempting to destabilize a third country, other nations may reciprocate by supporting groups within your own borders."

Earlier on Monday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson acknowledged disagreements between Tehran and Ankara.

"We place great value on our bilateral relationship with Turkey," Esmaeil Baghaei said. "However, the recurring remarks we have heard were counterproductive, requiring Iran to articulate its position firmly and clearly."

Baghaei further added, "Perhaps our Turkish counterparts should give greater consideration to the policies of the Zionist regime (Israel) in Syria and the wider region."

The incident took place in eastern Tehran's Damavand Street last Thursday, according to a report by Tehran-based Didban News website.

Although the report referenced other incidents involving malfunctioning and poorly maintained escalators, it noted that the direct cause of this woman's death was her hijab getting caught.

The case is not the first time Iran’s compulsory hijab rules have been linked to fatal accidents involving women.

On November 7, 2021, Iranian media reported that 21-year-old Marzieh Taherian died at a spinning workshop in Semnan, northern Iran, after her headscarf became caught in a machine, pulling her head inside.

On June 5, 2023, a 26-year-old female worker at a plastic injection molding workshop in the northeastern Iranian city of Neyshabur, lost her life when her veil became entangled in a machine, dragging her into it.

The incidents highlight the potential safety risks associated with mandatory hijab in workplaces and public spaces.

On Monday, UN rights chief Volker Turk urged Iran to permanently repeal its hijab laws and end along with all other laws and practices that discriminate against women and girls.

However, despite multiple fatalities in recent years, and repeated calls from rights groups and UN officials, Iranian authorities continue to enforce mandatory hijab laws on women and girls.

"The Minister of Defense and the Secretary of Defense agreed that Iran is the main threat to the region, and that close cooperation between Israel and the United States should continue with the aim of preventing it from obtaining nuclear weapons," a statement from Katz's office said.

Katz thanked Hassett for the support of President Donald Trump and the administration to accelerate the delivery of weapons and security equipment to Israel.

On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement to say that he has signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel.

"The decision to reverse the Biden Administration’s partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump," he said.

Since taking office, the Trump Administration has approved nearly $12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel.

"This important decision coincides with President Trump’s repeal of a Biden-era memorandum which had imposed baseless and politicized conditions on military assistance to Israel at a time when our close ally was fighting a war of survival on multiple fronts against Iran and terror proxies," he said.

Last year, Iran launched two aerial strikes on Israel amid attacks from its military allies around the region as the two enemies' shadow war came to the fore, with Israel retaliating with strikes deep into Iran.

Seven weapons experts flew from Moscow to Tehran on April 24 and September 17 last year, according to the report.

Their trips occurred amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, as both countries exchanged military strikes in the same months.

The report, citing a senior Iranian defense ministry official, said Russian missile experts had visited multiple Iranian missile production facilities last year, including two underground sites. Some of these visits took place in September, the official said, without specifying locations.

A Western defense official cited by Reuters said that Russian missile specialists visited an Iranian missile base west of the port of Amirabad on Iran’s Caspian Sea coast in September.

According to Reuters, all seven Russian experts have military backgrounds.

The report said that a review of Russian databases showed that two hold the rank of colonel, two are lieutenant-colonel, and others specialize in air-defense missile systems, artillery, rocketry, advanced weapons development, and missile testing.

Their employment records range from 2021 to 2024, but it is unclear whether they still hold these positions, Reuters said.

The report said Hooshyaran-e Vatan, a group of activist hackers opposed to the Iranian government, provided the flight booking information to Reuters. The hackers claimed the seven Russians traveled with VIP status.

Reuters said it corroborated this information with a Russian passenger manifest from September, obtained from a source with access to Russian state databases. However, Reuters said it was unable to verify the manifest for the April flight.

Reuters identified two of the Russians booked on the April flight as Denis Kalko, 48, and Vadim Malov, 46. Tax records showed that Kalko previously worked at the defense ministry’s Academy for Military Anti-Aircraft Defense, while Malov worked for a military unit that trains anti-aircraft missile forces, according to 2024 records.

It also identified three other Russians on the April flight: Andrei Gusev, 45, a lieutenant-colonel who works as deputy head of the faculty of General Purpose Rockets and Artillery Munitions at the defense ministry’s Penza Artillery Engineering Institute; Alexander Antonov, 43, who has worked at the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate; and Marat Khusainov, 54, a colonel linked to the Kapustin Yar missile-testing range.

According to Reuters, Sergei Yurchenko, 46, was one of two passengers on the September flight. Mobile phone records showed he worked at the Rocket and Artillery Directorate. His passport number had the prefix “22,” which is not used for private citizens or diplomats, Reuters said, citing Russian government regulations.

Reuters identified the other passenger as Oleg Fedosov, 46, who, according to Russian records, is linked to the Directorate of Advanced Inter-Service Research and Special Projects, a defense ministry branch developing future weapons systems.

Fedosov had previously flown from Tehran to Moscow in October 2023, using his official state passport, Russian border crossing records showed.