As protests against Iran’s government swelled significantly in size on Thursday night, the regime responded in many places by opening fire. A Tehran doctor told TIME on condition of anonymity that just six hospitals in the capital had recorded at least 217 protester deaths, “most by live ammunition.” The death …

Toplines The Iranian regime has sustained its nationwide internet shutdown, likely to disrupt protest coordination and obscure the scale of its crackdown.[1] Reports indicate that Iran’s internet connectivity has remained at approximately one percent of normal levels since 3:00 PM ET on January 8.[2] The Iranian regime has historically imposed …

Recent leaks made public by Al-Jazeera suggest that this is the case, but the story may be more complicated. The year 2025 marked a period of profound political transformation in both Syria and Lebanon. In Syria, it ushered in the first year without the Assad family in office since 1970, …