According to Hamzeh Mohammadi Moghaddam, head of the Ilam Red Crescent Society, six emergency rescue teams, along with ambulances from the provincial emergency services, were immediately dispatched to the scene.
Reports indicate that the collision involved a semi-truck and several passenger and pickup vehicles.
Tragically, at least five individuals have lost their lives, while several others sustained injuries.
Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the accident.
“In the name of security, certain actions are being taken that are, in reality, anti-security. The filtering measures implemented by the Supreme Council of Cyberspace are a prime example. Nearly 85% of users now rely on VPNs, meaning unrestricted access to all kinds of content, which completely undermines security,” Motamedi stated.
He argued that Iran’s telecommunications industry does not suffer from fundamental issues but rather from self-imposed obstacles such as reduced internet speed and extensive filtering.
Motamedi pointed out that, unlike most countries where fixed broadband is faster than mobile internet, Iran faces the opposite situation, further complicating connectivity.
Motamedi noted that while fiber optics were a global priority two decades ago, Iran is only now addressing the issue, failing to keep pace with modern technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, smart industries, and the Internet of Things.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology must shift its focus toward cutting-edge technologies rather than outdated concerns, stating that if these basic issues are resolved, the sector can move forward with more innovative projects.
Iran Airtour was scheduled to resume its Tehran-Paris service on February 1, marking the first direct flight on this route in months. However, according to the airline’s CEO, French authorities unexpectedly canceled the flight without providing a reason.
The European Union had previously imposed sanctions on several Iranian airlines, including Iran Air, leading to the suspension of numerous flights to European destinations. Despite these restrictions, Iran Airtour had planned to resume services, only for the flight to be abruptly called off by France at the last moment.
The airline’s CEO expressed regret over the situation, emphasizing that the cancellation was not initiated by the company.
He poited out that the airline is actively pursuing the matter with relevant authorities.
Agam Berger, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier, was the first to be released on Thursday as she emerged from under rubble at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, which has repeatedly been targeted by the Israeli military since October 2023.
Later on Thursday, an Israeli female civilian, Arbel Yehoud, was released outside of what used to be the house of former Hamas political chief Yahya Sinwar in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Another Israeli civilian and five Thai nationals were also handed over to Red Cross officials, the Israeli army wrote on X.
In return, Israel is due to release 110 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed over 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,500 since Oct. 7, 2023.
Ten Israeli captives have so far been released in return for 290 Palestinian prisoners since the deal came into force.
Under the first phase of the deal, 33 Israeli captives are set to be released in exchange for an estimated 1,700 to 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Salwan Momika, 38, staged several burnings and desecrations of Islam’s holy book in Sweden in 2023. Videos of the Quran burnings got worldwide publicity and raised anger and criticism in several Muslim nations, leading to riots and unrest in many places.
The Stockholm District Court said a verdict scheduled Thursday in a trial in which Momika was a defendant was postponed because one of the defendants had died. A judge at the court, Göran Lundahl, confirmed that the deceased was Momika. He added he didn’t have any information on when and how Momika died.
Police announced they were alerted to a shooting Wednesday night at an apartment building in Sodertalje, near Stockholm, and found a man with gunshot wounds. He later died, and a preliminary murder investigation was opened.
Broadcaster SVT reported, without naming sources, that the victim was Momika. It added Momika came to Sweden from Iraq in 2018 and was granted a three-year residence permit in 2021.
Prosecutor Rasmus Öman told Swedish news agency TT that several people had been arrested in the case. He did not elaborate.
Momika and a co-defendant were charged in August with incitement to hatred because of statements they made in connection with the Quran burnings. A verdict was supposed to be handed down on Thursday morning.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe began to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels to avoid financing the Kremlin’s war chest. Despite these efforts, Europe’s imports of Russian LNG, which is largely not subject to sanctions, have soared to record levels in 2024.
“First you have to have a deal because otherwise you will be left without gas from Russia and without the U.S.,” one diplomat told Reuters.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested replacing Russian LNG with U.S. exports in a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Nov. 8. On Jan. 23, Trump said he would guarantee supplies of U.S. LNG to Europe, although he did not provide a timeline or specify the amount of exports.
“The general idea was floated by the Commission in confessionals in order to test the waters… Apparently one or more member (states) signalled enough opposition for the Commission not to deem it opportune to propose such a measure now,” another European diplomat told Reuters.
Bloomberg reported on Jan. 14, citing undisclosed officials, that the EU was considering a gradual ban on Russian LNG, but eventually settled on proposing new restrictions on Russian aluminum as part of its next round of sanctions.
On Jan 28, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing a report by Belgian, German, and Ukrainian NGOs, that German imports of Russian LNG via other EU countries continue to rise despite restrictions on direct shipments.
According to FT, Belgium, Spain, and France receive Russian LNG cargos, which they later re-export to other countries. This makes it difficult to trace the origin and allows Germany to import Russian LNG even after banning its ports from receiving Russian LNG shipments.
The European Union imposed its first major restrictions on Russian gas, including LNG, in its 14th sanctions package in June. Russia still remains Europe’s second-largest importer of LNG, after the U.S.
In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump said the federal government would use “all available and appropriate legal tools” to prosecute and remove perpetrators of “unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence”.
“Jewish students have faced an unrelenting barrage of discrimination; denial of access to campus common areas and facilities, including libraries and classrooms; and intimidation, harassment, and physical threats and assault,” Trump’s order said.
A fact sheet on the order released by the White House indicated that the crackdown would extend to “all” student visa holders who participated in “pro-jihadist protests” on university campuses.
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump noted in the fact sheet.
“I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
It was not immediately clear how broadly authorities might interpret definitions such as “anti-Semitism” and “pro-jihadist”.
Trump’s comments in his fact sheet appeared to suggest more sweeping action than the text of his order, though the latter cited existing law that allows for the revocations of visas in a wide range of circumstances.
Under the order, Trump directed the secretary of state, the secretary of education and the secretary of homeland security to familiarise universities with a section of immigration law governing “inadmissible aliens” and ensure that reports of activities that run afoul of the criteria for admissibility lead “to investigations and, if warranted, actions to remove such aliens”.
Under US immigration law, foreign nationals can be deemed “inadmissible aliens” under a range of scenarios apart from being convicted of a crime.
Those circumstances include cases where authorities have “reason to believe” a person is engaged in various types of unlawful activity or have determined he or she is “associated with a terrorist organisation”.
Trump’s order drew swift condemnation from a number of rights organisations.
“Like the college students who once protested segregation, the Vietnam war, and apartheid South Africa, the diverse collection of college students who protested against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza deserve our country’s thanks,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced in a statement.
“The Trump administration’s attempt to smear the many Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian and other college students who protested the Israeli government’s genocide in overwhelmingly peaceful ways represents a dishonest, overbroad and unenforceable attack on both free speech and the humanity of Palestinians, all for the sake of a foreign government. So is the administration’s apparent threat to deport any foreign student who merely participated in anti-genocide protests.”
FIRE, an advocacy group dedicated to protecting free speech, stressed the revocation of student visas should not be used “to punish and filter out ideas disfavored by the federal government”.
“The strength of our nation’s system of higher education derives from the exchange of the widest range of views, even unpopular or dissenting ones,” the group added.
“Students who commit crimes – including vandalism, threats, or violence – must face consequences, and those consequences may include the loss of a visa. But if today’s executive order reaches beyond illegal activity to instead punish students for protest or expression otherwise protected by the First Amendment, it must be withdrawn.”
Pro-Palestinian protests erupted at dozens of US university campuses last spring as Israel waged war on Gaza.
The demonstrations, which spread to top universities including Harvard, Yale and Columbia, prompted heated debate and recriminations over alleged anti-Semitism in higher education.
While some Jewish students reported acts of violence, intimidation and harassment at the protests, pro-Palestinian students and activists accused university authorities of wielding the charge of anti-Semitism as a tool to shut down legitimate criticism of Israel.
Prosecutors initially requested a 15-year prison term for Menendez, who was convicted last year of multiple charges, including acting as an agent for Egypt.
“You really don’t know the man you are about to sentence,” Menendez told the judge, as reported by the Associated Press.
“Your honour, I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions,” he added.
“I’ve done far more good than bad. I ask you, your honour, to judge me in that context.”
Menendez resigned from the Senate after his conviction last year. The focus of the case against him was a multi-layered bribery scheme involving Menendez, his wife Nadine, Egyptian-American businessman Wael Hana and a number of Egyptian officials.
Menendez and his wife had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and mortgage payments, and in exchange, the lawmaker helped ensure Egypt was getting billions of dollars in US aid.
The prosecutors in the case also accused Menendez of being involved in another bribery scheme involving a halal certification company.
They said that Hana, who was also sentenced to prison in this case, gave Menendez’s wife $10,000 per month.
In exchange, Menendez worked to stop the US government from critically examining Hana’s company, IS EG Halal, which certified halal meat for export to the US. IS EG Halal, a New Jersey start-up, had exclusive control over the certification of halal food exports from the US to Egypt.
A $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible gifted to Nadine was part of the multifaceted corruption scheme, according to prosecutors.
A search of the Menendez home in 2022 last summer revealed $480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes, in clothing, closets and a safe, with some of the envelopes bearing the fingerprints of Fred Daibes, one of the other defendants in the case.
Gold bars worth around $100,000 were also discovered in the house. After returning from a trip to Egypt in October 2021, Menendez reportedly googled, “How much is one kilo of gold worth?”
The former senator had “put his high office up for sale in exchange for this hoard of bribes”, prosecutors said, according to the Associated Press.
Menendez’s wife faces trial in March on many of the same charges as her husband.
According to a brief statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, ten fatalities and a number of wounded individuals arrived at Tubas Governmental Hospital following the horrific attack.
The Palestinian group has said in a statement that Israel’s deadly air strike in Tammun, a town in the Tubas governorate of the occupied West Bank, will not “break our resistance and will not terrorise our people”.
Hamas condemned the attack as a criminal act and called on Palestinians to resist the Israeli occupation.
The escalation in the West Bank comes amid a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza following 15 months of Israel’s genocidal war that killed over 47,400 people and injured over 111,000 others.
Reports say Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government partners demanded an escalation in the West Bank in return for not bringing down the government over the ceasefire deal.
At least 890 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,700 injured by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry.
In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
During his visit, the Leader honored the memory of the founder of the Islamic Republic and prayed for him.
Besides visiting the mausoleum, Ayatollah Khamenei paid tribute to the martyrs of the July 7, 1981, terrorist bombing and the September 8, 1981, terrorist bombing at the prime minister’s office, including prominent figures such as top jurist Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti, then president Mohammad Ali Rajai, and prime minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar.
The Leader also visited the graves of the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s, and those who fought in Iraq and Syria against militants, known as the Defenders of the Holy Shrines, offering prayers for them.
The Ten-Day Dawn marks the period between Imam Khomeini’s return to Iran on February 1, 1979, and the victory of the Islamic Revolution on February 11, which deposed the last Shah of Iran.
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