The Iranian government announced yesterday (Wednesday) that Tehran had received the American response to its latest proposals to end the war, and that it was being studied, amid disagreement over the order of steps of the seven-day plan. The government did not reveal the content of the response, or whether Washington rejected the plan.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi received the response from the Qatari mediators in Doha on Tuesday evening, where he stopped on his way back from New York. An official familiar with the talks told Reuters that the main disagreement relates to the order of steps, not the elements of the plan.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that his government “will make every effort” to complete the memorandum of understanding, adding that the agreement “must now be based on a win-win strategy.” He defended the memorandum, saying that it “did not affect our dignity in any way,” and that it committed the United States to “specific commitments.”
Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump said: “I don’t know if they will surrender yet, but they will surrender,” and reiterated that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon.
Axios quoted sources as saying, “Things are stuck.” The Iranians are asking for things that the United States cannot accept, and the United States believes that it is winning, so it sees no need to make concessions.”
On the ground, 3 ships were hit by “unspecified” projectiles while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, on Tuesday, according to the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority, which did not specify the responsible party. Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hussein Mohebi said that the Guard has been targeting small ships trying to cross the strait for some time and preventing their passage, adding: “However, the United States has not responded for a while.”
An Iranian woman, who was sentenced to death for participating in protests early this year, appealed to the international community to save her life and the lives of others facing the death penalty, according to an audio message from prison published by human rights organizations, today (Wednesday).
The call of Mahbooba Shahbani, 33 years old, came from her prison in the city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, while the authorities executed two other men on charges related to the mass protests, which reached their peak in the country at the beginning of this year.
Human rights organizations accuse Iran of escalating the executions of prominent prisoners, in an attempt to intimidate the population and ensure that the protests that preceded the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran at the end of February will not be repeated.
“The sentence issued against me shows that many others are at risk of execution,” Shahbani said in a phone call to prisoners in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, after her lawyer informed her of the death sentence on September 26.
She added in the call, an audio recording of which was published by the “Iran Human Rights” (IHR) organization, based in Norway, and the “Center for Human Rights in Iran” (CHRI), based in the United States: “I am not worried about myself, but rather I am worried about others whose rule I support.”
The authenticity of the message could not be immediately verified. The call included an automated voice saying that the caller was a prisoner, which is standard practice in calls from Iranian prisons.
Shahbani said, in the call attributed to her: “I direct my appeal to everyone: public opinion, the United Nations, and human rights organizations. Not only for me, but for all the others whose rulings were upheld, and who spent months sleeping in fear and anxiety,” she added, adding: “I appeal to them to do something.”
“I appeal to everyone”
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana), Shahbani was convicted of carrying out actions “to strengthen Israel, the United States, and individuals associated with opposition groups” during the protests.
But the Iran Human Rights Organization said that Shahbani only used her motorcycle to transport injured demonstrators. She added that she was transferred to solitary confinement after making the call from prison.
Shahbani said in her letter: “Conditions are very bad for the prisoners due to the pressure they are putting on us. I appeal to everyone to do what they can.”
The Iranian judiciary had previously announced the execution of Ali Hemmati and Majeed Nik-Andish by hanging in Mashhad on charges related to the killing of 4 members of the security forces in protests.
According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, since wartime executions resumed in March, 31 people, all men, have been hanged in connection with the January protests, and two more people in connection with the 2022 protests. Dozens are at risk of execution.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran said that 9 women across Iran face the risk of execution on political and security charges.
In April, US President Donald Trump republished a message on the “X” platform from a young pro-Israel activist in the United States, stating that 8 women were facing execution by hanging, and the US President urged the Iranian authorities to pardon them.
Shahbani was one of the women mentioned in the post, knowing that some of them were later released, or no longer face the risk of execution.
