Iran

by Fady Noun | GATEWAY TO THE EAST

The population is “honoured” to have been chosen as the first destination of the pontiff's apostolic journey abroad, but it is also “exhausted”. From two years of war to attacks in southern Israel, many issues remain unresolved. Ortagus' mission for direct negotiations between the Jewish state and the Land of Cedars. The rift widens between Christians, Druze and Sunnis and the Shiite Hezbollah-Amal tandem.


Talks between Iran and the E3 countries on sanctions resumed yesterday in Geneva. Iran’s foreign minister says his government is open to "indirect talks" with the US if the latter abandons the military option. Domestic  tensions are growing between camps divided over the nuclear programme and talks. According to HRANA, executions increased by 54 per cent between July and August in 2025 over the same period last year.

| 27/08/2025
| IRAN

Of these, only 11 have been released on bail. The others remain in prison and join the more than 60 already in jail before the conflict for reasons of faith. According to the Ministry of Intelligence, they are “Mossad mercenaries” trained abroad by churches in the United States and Israel. Article 18: their “crime” was to have participated “in a gathering” of faithful “in a neighbouring country”.

| 13/08/2025
| IRAN
by Dario Salvi

According to the Jordanian scholar, the Netanyahu government's ultimate goal ‘goes beyond’ defeating Hamas and redrawing borders. The West Bank becomes an ‘opportunity to be exploited’ with a view to annexation. The weakness of the Palestinian Authority and the international community, the new paradigm of the Abraham Accords. Among the nations of the region, ‘more tactics than alliances’.

| 12/08/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST

Mehran Shamloui, 37, was trying to reach Europe, but was stopped by Turkish authorities who sent him back to his country of origin, he had been sentenced recently to 10 years in prison for religious activities. Meanwhile, Iran continues its policy of expelling hundreds of thousands of Afghan migrants.

| 07/07/2025
| IRAN – TURKEY – AFGHANISTAN
by Dario Salvi

Speaking to AsiaNews, the parish priest describes the tragic reality of a population that is getting more desperate by the day. The war continues in the shadow of Israel-Iran confrontation, with a glimmer of hope for fresh ceasefire negotiations. Netanyahu is set to visit the White House next week. Palestinians in Gaza show photos of Israeli children killed by Hamas on 7 October.

| 01/07/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST

In recent days, three men accused of “spying” for Israel were executed. Dozens of Afghan migrants were detained in Operation “Plan Hijrat”. According to the UN, Tehran is deporting up to 30,000 Afghans a day. Arrests and interrogations also among Baha'is and Iranian Jews. An apparent show of force to mask military weaknesses.

| 30/06/2025
| IRAN
Editor's choices
 
Chinese language teaching is increasingly about memorising and repeating sounds and signs, without the meditative beauty that underlies the language. Pronunciation is not a relevant variable in a codified system of linguistic levels since listening is ...
| 03/11/2025
| CHINA
 
by Andrea Ferrario
Informal employment is exploding in North Korea because of a drop in orders from China and lower wages. Tensions are also rising among the workers Kim supplies to China, fuelled by ever-increasing deductions from their wages to ensure revenue for the ...
| 30/10/2025
| NORTH KOREA
 
by Sarah Bernstein*
Sarah Bernstein, executive director of the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue in Jerusalem, spoke at the Vatican. For her, Nostra Aetate, promulgated by the Second Vatican Council 60 years ago, teaches that dialogue must address the burning realities ...
| 29/10/2025
| VATICAN – ISRAEL
 
by John Ai
Underground Bishop of Zhengding since 1981, he died this morning at the age of 90 in the bishop's residence where he had been confined. After he was jailed during the Cultural Revolution, he was tasked with rebuilding dioceses in several Chinese ...
| 29/10/2025
| CHINA
 
Sebastien Lai spoke to AsiaNews about his father’s ordeal. The 78-year-old Catholic businessman, who fought for democracy in Hong Kong, has been in prison since 2020. Given his poor health as a diabetic, “the fear for his life is very real.” ...
| 25/10/2025
| HONG KONG – ITALY
 
Following Pope Francis's outreach with popular movements, his successor spoke about the new poverty of the digital age. The creativity generated by artificial intelligence and robotics has brought "great progress in many areas,” but “it ...
| 24/10/2025
| VATICAN
 
by Lisa Bongiovanni
A new report by the Asia Centre highlights how fake news and phoney arguments have turned Thai public opinion against Indigenous groups (most of whom are not officially recognised by the Thai government), leading to the belief that their traditional ...
| 21/10/2025
| THAILAND
 
by Card Dominique Joseph Mathieu*
Work has been completed on the Maryam-e Moghaddas metro station, located near the Armenian Church of Saint Sarkis. In addition to ornamental elements evoking Christian symbolism and connecting it to Muslim tradition, there will also be a 2.5-metre statue ...
| 20/10/2025
| IRAN
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”