dubai, united arab emirates
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Iran has sentenced Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who started a hunger strike, to an additional seven years in prison, supporters announced Sunday, as the Iranian government cracks down on all dissent following nationwide protests and thousands of deaths at the hands of security forces.
Mohammadi’s new conviction comes as Iran seeks to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program to avoid threats of military attack by US President Donald Trump. Iran’s top diplomat on Sunday argued that Iran’s strength stems from its ability to “say no to great powers” and that it developed an extremist position shortly after negotiations with the United States in Oman.
Mohammadi’s supporters cited lawyers who spoke to him. Lawyer Mostafa Nili confirmed the verdict against X, saying it was handed down by the revolutionary court in Mashhad city on Saturday. Such courts typically issue sentences with little or no opportunity for defendants to contest the charges.
“She was sentenced to six years in prison for ‘gathering and collusion,’ one-and-a-half years in prison and a two-year travel ban for propaganda,” he wrote. She was further exiled for two years to the city of Khosuf, about 740 kilometers southeast of the capital Tehran, the lawyer added.
Iran did not immediately recognize the verdict. Supporters said Mohammadi had been on a hunger strike since February 2, which ended on Sunday following a verdict for his failing health. She was arrested in December at a ceremony honoring Khosrow Alikordi, a 46-year-old Iranian lawyer and human rights activist based in Mashhad. Footage from the demonstration showed her screaming, demanding justice for Alicordi and others.
Supporters had warned for months before his December arrest that Mohammadi, 53, was at risk of being thrown back into prison after being furloughed in December 2024 due to medical concerns.
Planned for just three weeks, Ms. Muhammadi’s time in prison was extended, likely because activists and Western countries put pressure on Iran to release her. She remained on the road during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
Mohammadi remains active in public protests and international media appearances, at one point demonstrating in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, where she was being held.
Muhammadi was serving 13 years and nine months in prison for conspiracy against national security and propaganda against the Iranian government. She also supports the nationwide protests sparked by Martha Amini’s death in 2022, in which women openly defy the government by not wearing the hijab.
Mohammadi suffered multiple heart attacks while in prison and underwent emergency surgery in 2022, supporters said. Her lawyer revealed in late 2024 that doctors discovered a bone lesion they feared might be cancerous, which was later removed.
“Given her illness, it is anticipated that she will be released on temporary bail to receive treatment,” Nili wrote.
However, Iranian authorities have taken a tough stance against all opposition since the demonstrations. Iran’s Attorney General Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei spoke on Sunday, making comments that suggested harsh prison sentences await many.
“Look at some of the people who once participated in the revolution and accompanied the revolution,” he said. “What they’re saying today, what they’re writing, what statements they’re making, they’re going to be disappointed, they’re going to feel bad (and) they’re going to be hurt.”
The news about Mohammadi comes as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats at a summit in Tehran that he stands by his position that Iran must be able to enrich uranium, a key point of contention with President Trump, who bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities in June during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Washington this week, and Iran will be a major topic of discussion, his office announced.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hailed Friday’s talks with his American counterpart in Oman as a “step forward,” but Araghchi’s comments point to challenges ahead. The United States has already moved the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, ships and fighter jets to the Middle East to pressure Iran into a deal and ensure President Trump has the firepower needed to attack the Islamic Republic if he chooses.
“I believe that the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s strength lies in its ability to resist bullying, domination and pressure from others,” Araghchi said. “They are afraid of our atomic bomb, but we are not pursuing the atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers. The secret of the Islamic Republic’s power lies in its ability to say no to the great powers.”
Araguchi’s choice to explicitly use “atomic bomb” as a rhetorical device was probably no coincidence. Although Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, Western countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency say that as late as 2003, Iran had a systematic military program aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
Iran has enriched uranium to 60% purity, the only non-weapons state to do so in a short technological step to 90% weapons grade. Iranian officials have increasingly threatened in recent years that the Islamic Republic may seek a bomb, even as they have said that the sermons by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei are a binding fatwa (religious edict) and that Iran will not build one.
Mr. Pezeshkian, likely with Khamenei’s blessing, ordered Mr. Araghchi to proceed with talks with the Americans, and wrote about the talks in Sunday’s X newspaper.
“The Iran-US talks held through the follow-up efforts of friendly governments in the region were a step forward,” the president said. “Dialogue has always been our strategy towards a peaceful solution. … The Iranian state has always responded with respect and respect, but will not tolerate the language of force.”
It remains unclear when, where, or if a second round of talks will take place. After Friday’s meeting, President Trump provided few details, but said, “Iran seems very keen to get a deal, and rightly so.”
