Pezeshkian invites diaspora to return, urges judicial coordination

“There’s tens of thousands — the last estimate is over 50,000 at least, maybe more,” Politico quoted Pahlavi as saying in an interview published on Saturday, adding that his office is giving priority to those within key state institutions.

He said his team is working to verify identities and assess the credibility of registrants. A second site for civilian supporters is expected to go live in the coming weeks.

Pahlavi to convene opposition conference in Munich

The Convention of National Cooperation, scheduled for Saturday in Munich, is expected to bring together around 500 regime opponents from inside and outside the country. Pahlavi said it will be “perhaps the largest gathering ever” of anti-regime voices since the 1979 revolution, aiming to project unity among opposition groups and reach audiences inside Iran via smuggled internet services, such as Starlink.

He said all participants back three core principles: preserving Iran’s territorial integrity, defending individual freedoms and equality, and separating religion from the state.

Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said gunmen stormed the judiciary building in the restive Sistan and Baluchestan province and opened fire, first targeting court offices and then shooting at civilians outside.

Security personnel helped court staff and visitors leave the area as gunfire and an explosion were heard from inside the building, Fars said. The cause of the explosion has not been announced. Local speculation pointed to a possible suicide bomber, though this remains unverified.

According to the rights group Haalvsh, the attackers entered through Azadi Street and directly targeted the judges’ offices. Eyewitnesses said several judiciary employees and security forces were hit. The area remains under tight lockdown.

Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni armed group rooted in Iran’s Baluch minority, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group had recently threatened retaliation over the execution of Baluch prisoners in Iran.

The province has seen a sharp rise in executions this year. Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO recorded at least 343 executions in the first four months of 2025, a 75-percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Baluch prisoners accounted for nearly one-third of all executions in April, including four men hanged on April 30. Rights groups have warned of the possible execution of 85 Baluch inmates in Zahedan Central Prison.

Jaish al-Adl, which has claimed a series of past attacks on military positions including those of the IRGC, is designated as a terrorist organization by both the Islamic Republic and the United States.

Sistan and Baluchestan has long been a center of unrest, frequently targeted by armed factions like Jaish al-Adl, known for ambushes, bombings, and raids that have killed both civilians and security personnel.

“Ministers condemned Iran’s unjust detention of foreign nationals and raised ongoing concerns over the human rights situation in Iran,” said the joint statement by the four ministers, who met for consultations in Sydney on Friday.

It cited “the escalation of the use of the death penalty as a political tool during the 12-day conflict, and the ongoing repression of women, girls, and human rights defenders.”

Their broad remarks also covered shared policy toward many other countries.

Iran’s judiciary chief announced on Wednesday that around 2,000 people were arrested during and after the 12-day war with Israel. Some detainees, accused of collaborating with Israel, could face the death penalty.

“Some of these individuals face severe punishments, including the death penalty, while others may receive lighter sentences,” Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said in an interview with state TV.

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran Mai Sato urged Tehran last month to end what they described as a “post-ceasefire crackdown.”

Australia and the UK also called on Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and “refrain from actions that would compromise efforts to address the security situation in the Middle East.”

Iranian deputy foreign ministers met with officials from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in Istanbul on Friday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said a senior IAEA official is expected to visit Tehran in the coming weeks to discuss a new cooperation framework.

“Ministers stated their determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon,” the UK-Australia joint statement added.

The proposed legislation, titled “Combating the Dissemination of False Content in Cyberspace,” was originally drafted by the judiciary but reviewed and submitted to Parliament by Pezeshkian’s cabinet on July 20.

It comes after Iran announced it had arrested 2,000 people during and after the 12-day war with Israel, with some detainees accused of collaborating with Israel.

Widespread internet restrictions imposed during the country’s 12-day conflict with Israel remain largely in place.

Given Iran's parliament is dominated by hardliners, the bill is expected to face little resistance. Some lawmakers are reportedly pushing to make it even stricter.

Vague language, severe penalties

Many have sounded the alarm over the broad and ambiguous language of what they call the cyber censorship bill.

Legal expert Mohammad-Hossein Jafari told the moderate outlet Entekhab that its lack of clear definitions could empower security agencies to arbitrarily prosecute critics.

The bill includes harsh penalties, such as steep fines, bans on media activity, and prison terms ranging from 10 to 15 years if content deemed false is posted during a “crisis”—a sentence harsher than that for armed robbery under Iranian law.

The timing has drawn further scrutiny, coming just days after a fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel and amid fresh arrests of citizens accused of spreading falsehoods on social media.

“The bill … is not designed to fight lies, but rather to eliminate independent narratives, restrict freedom of expression, and legally target journalists and critical users,” wrote journalist Alireza Rajaei.

Critics say the legislation will stoke public mistrust, entrench self-censorship, and undermine civil liberties. Former lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi argued the administration could have revised or blocked the judiciary’s draft instead of submitting it.

Legal expert Kambiz Norouzi and Reform Front head Azar Mansouri also called on Pezeshkian to withdraw the bill.

“This contradicts your stated principles and Chapter Three of the Constitution,” Mansouri wrote on X, referencing sections that guarantee citizens’ rights and the free flow of information.

Mounting personal criticism

An increasing number of critics are holding Pezeshkian personally responsible.

“The bill you submitted is a final blow to freedom of expression,” wrote IT professor and activist Ali Sharifi-Zarchi, noting that state media spreading false claims—such as the supposed downing of Israeli F-35s—remains untouched, while ordinary users are punished.

Lawyer Ali Mojtahedzadeh described the bill as “shameful and frightening,” adding in a pointed jab at the president:

“Even [ultra-hardliner Saeed] Jalili couldn’t have done more harm to free speech,” he posted on X.

Others have highlighted contradictions in Pezeshkian’s own rhetoric—including some who campaigned for him in last year’s election.

“How can you talk about dialogue,” journalist Ehsan Bodaghi asked on X, “when your government just backed legislation that silences citizens? Why didn’t you stand up to the Judiciary and protect what little freedom remains?”

Gharibabadi said he and Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi led what he called “serious, frank, and detailed” discussions with Britain, France and Germany. The meeting focused on sanctions relief and the future of the 2015 nuclear deal, with both sides presenting specific proposals and agreeing to continue consultations.

“We explained our principled positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism,” Gharibabadi wrote on X, adding that Tehran strongly criticized the E3’s stance on last month’s military strikes.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said earlier in the day that the talks were a “test of realism” for the E3 and warned against any effort to extend UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which expires in October.

Baghaei said the three powers had “no legal standing” to pursue such a move and accused them of aligning with the United States and Israel and Israel.

Iran did not reject a European offer to extend the UN resolution tied to the 2015 nuclear deal during talks in Istanbul on Friday, The Wall Street Journal’s Laurence Norman reported citing a European diplomat.

Norman said the meeting produced no breakthrough or breakdown and involved meaningful discussion as the E3 and EU offered a clear diplomatic proposal, with the European side prepared to pursue snapback sanctions but also expressed openness to an extension if Iran takes certain steps.

“There was a sense until recently that Iran seemed uninterested in any extension. Today that seems to have shifted,” Norman said on X, describing the talks as a potential turning point ahead of a decision expected by the end of August.

The Financial Times cited Western diplomats as saying that the E3 is considering offering Iran a delay in reimposing sanctions if Tehran resumes cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and engages with Washington. Without progress, the snapback could be triggered by mid-September.

Gharibabadi said a technical IAEA team will travel to Tehran in the coming weeks, but inspections of nuclear facilities are not planned. Any future cooperation, he added, will depend on Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and laws passed in response to the June strikes.