World
AI enabling Iran’s crackdown on women as authoritarian regime uses tech to enforce head covering
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to crack down on its populace is having a particular impact on the freedoms of Iranian women.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital the Iranian regime “is moving into the AI realm to benefit even more from technology that links together the disparate elements of facial recognition, CCTV, cell phone analysis, traffic geolocation and internet monitoring,” which “bolster its cyber crackdown on street protesters or women who don’t wear their hijab correctly.”
Enhanced AI tools will be a key facet of the forthcoming Hijab and Chastity Bill, approved by the Iranian Parliament in September 2023 and awaiting ratification from the regime’s Guardian Council.
Taleblu said AI has become “the cherry on the sundae of Iran’s digital repression, whether that starts with very crude tools like CCTV in a shop or whatever repository of purportedly criminal behavior that the regime puts at the feet of these AI sorting tools. Because humans don’t have to make the linkages, it frees up more manpower for mischief from the Iranian repressive apparatus.”
IRANIAN PRESIDENT’S WIFE SAYS HIJAB LAW DONE ‘OUT OF RESPECT FOR WOMEN’ AS VIOLATORS FACE 10 YEARS IN PRISON
A huge mural of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader painted next to a smaller one of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, right, on Motahari Street March 8, 2020, in Tehran, Iran. ( Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)
Article 30 of the Hijab and Chastity Bill states police will “create and strengthen intelligent systems for identifying perpetrators of illegal behavior using tools such as fixed and mobile cameras,” Iran International reported. Article 60 forces private businesses to turn in video footage to enforcement personnel to check for compliance.
Businesses that fail to comply could lose “two to six months worth of profits.” Women who fail to cover their hair properly face consequences ranging from fines to “social exclusion, exile, closure of social media pages, passport confiscation for up to two years” and possibly imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Iranians protests the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police in Tehran, Oct. 1, 2022. (The Associated Press)
Taleblu explained the Hijab and Chastity Bill allows authorities to use AI to leverage “lawfare and economic warfare against women” by going after non-compliant women’s homes, cars, bank accounts and livelihoods.
U.N. experts say the bill allows Iran to govern “through systemic discrimination with the intention of suppressing women and girls into total submission,” which amounts to gender persecution, or gender apartheid.
IRAN LOOKS TO AI TO WEATHER WESTERN SANCTIONS, HELP MILITARY TO FIGHT ‘ ON THE CHEAP’
CCTV cameras on a street in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2023. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
Long before the bill’s passage, the regime began preparing for increased AI use, installing new cameras throughout Iran as early as April 2023. A report from Amnesty International detailed increasing pressures on Iranian women between April 15, 2023, and June 14, 2023. During this period, an Iranian police spokesperson claimed police had sent “almost 1 million SMS warning messages to women captured unveiled in their cars” and 133,174 messages about vehicle immobilizations. About 2,000 cars had been confiscated, and more than 4,000 “repeat offenders” had been referred to Iran’s judiciary.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, Amnesty International found the morality police had “ordered the arbitrary confiscation of hundreds of thousands of vehicles” because those inside were improperly covered. Testimony indicates confiscation orders were “based on pictures captured by surveillance cameras or reports from plainclothes agents patrolling the streets and using a police app … to report license plates.” Amnesty also reported that some women were sentenced to prison or flogging, faced fines or were sent to “morality” classes.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
Students take to the streets in Iran on the 83rd day of protests in 2022. (National Council of Resistance of Iran)
The regime likely used AI during 2022 protests after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was beaten after being arrested by morality police for wearing her hijab too loosely.
As head of the United Nations’ fact-finding mission into Iran’s 2022 protests, Sara Hossain determined the Iranian regime did use AI to monitor social media platforms during protests, Iran Wire reported.
In October 2023, the U.S. sped up its timeline for blocking exports of AI chips to China, Iran and Russia to curtail their access to advanced AI capabilities.
Iranian police walk a street amid the implementation of the new hijab surveillance in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2023. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters/File Photo)
Taleblu suggested additional methods for controlling access to tech that could “bolster Iran’s digital or cyber repressive apparatus.” He recommends the U.S. work with European firms to increase export controls and keep close track of new Chinese tech subsidiaries operating in Iran. By consistently exposing and sanctioning new firms, the U.S. “increases their transaction costs.”
“There is talk of tech and cyberspace and AI freeing people and building bridges,” Taleblu said, “but the Islamic Republic is really intending to use them to build boundaries and then continue to wall off Iran and impose their will on the population.”
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Protesters on Sunday set a Tesla vehicle on fire and smashed windows at a United Nations agency in Geneva as they marched against a Group of Seven summit set to kick off across the border in France, prompting police to fire tear gas.
Around 20,000 people gathered for a march that was initially peaceful before some protesters later damaged what they described as symbols of capitalism and multilateralism, including the parked Tesla and the UN agency.
Demonstrators grabbed bricks from the ground to throw at police, as tear gas was deployed in Geneva’s streets, witnesses told Reuters.
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A Tesla car burns during a protest against the upcoming G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, in France, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 2026. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)
There have been previous protests at G7 gatherings over the years, with many demonstrators using the summits to speak out against capitalism, globalization, climate change and inequality.
Demonstrators in the latest protest said they were marching against the G7 as a symbol of concentrated political and economic power.
This comes after Tesla owner Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire last week.
“To me, it’s a meeting of the rich that shows once again how the rich can become even richer while the poor are left behind,” protestor Pippa Saugy told Reuters.
People hold a protest against the upcoming G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains in France, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 2026. (REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
The G7 summit, scheduled to take place from Monday to Wednesday in Évian-les-Bains, on the shore of Lake Geneva, will feature the leaders of France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S., as well as the European Union.
The conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to dominate the agenda. Leaders will likely attempt to avoid a clash with U.S. President Donald Trump after he announced a tentative agreement aimed at ending the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.
Businesses in Geneva were boarded up and hundreds of riot police were deployed in the streets over concerns about violence.
MIKE WALTZ SAYS GULF ALLIES BACK TRUMP’S IRAN PRESSURE CAMPAIGN AFTER REGIONAL TRIP: ‘ZERO DAYLIGHT’
People attend a protest against the upcoming G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains in France, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 2026. (REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
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“This is an attempt to frighten demonstrators, to frighten people and discourage them from coming out to protest,” protester Mattia Piccard told Reuters.
Another demonstrator said she wanted to raise the issue of gender inequality during the march against the G7.
“The values represented by the G7 are completely misogynistic, and they contribute to inequality,” Clélia Colin told the outlet.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Published on
At least 58 states and territories are contaminated by anti-personnel mines, the UN rights chief said on Tuesday, with heavy civilian casualties in Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
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“It is deeply troubling that almost 30 years since the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty was adopted, these explosive weapons continue to kill and injure people, often decades after they were placed,” Volker Türk said in a statement.
“It is essential that all states recommit to putting an end to the production, use and transfer of these weapons and redouble their efforts to cooperate in clearing mines already placed.”
Türk produced a report on the situation, drawing on information from governments, NGOs, humanitarian organisations and civil society.
At least 945 people were killed and 4,325 injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2024 alone, it said, citing the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor.
“Among victims where the status as military or civilian was known, civilians made up approximately 90% of all recorded casualties in 2024,” the report said.
The states with the highest number of casualties in 2024 were Myanmar with 2,029, Syria with 1,015, then Afghanistan with 624, followed by Ukraine, Nigeria, Mali, Yemen and Burkina Faso, which each recorded more than 200 casualties.
In a separate statement, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said mines and explosive remnants of war, including cluster munitions, killed or injured more than 5,000 people in 2025, again with the vast majority being civilians.
Türk’s office noted that children make up more than 40% of all civilian casualties of anti-personnel mines recorded since 1999.
Besides killing and maiming, anti-personnel mines turn areas into no-go zones, Türk’s office said, hampering rights, prolonging displacement and stopping land from being used for agriculture.
While the Ottawa mine ban convention has 162 states parties, Türk noted that other countries with considerable stockpiles are not yet members.
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland recently withdrew and Ukraine is suspending its implementation.
“States that have not yet ratified the treaty should promptly do so and those that have withdrawn should quickly rejoin,” said Türk.
He hailed Lebanon’s recent decision to join the Ottawa convention, despite the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Türk’s report said that in the seven years to 2025, contributions to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action sharply decreased from $125 million to $46 million (€107 million to €39 million).
Additional sources • AFP
World
Studiocanal Reveals Sales on Multiple Cannes Market Titles, Including ‘The Midnight Library,’ ‘Words of Love,’ ‘Another Day’
Studiocanal has revealed that it has closed sales on multiple films that either premiered at the Cannes Film Festival or are on its development and production slate, including “The Midnight Library.” The company also said it is negotiating presales on the new Paddington animated film.
“The Midnight Library,” starring and produced by Academy Award nominee Florence Pugh, emerged as one of the hottest titles at this year’s Cannes Film Market. After a competitive bidding war between studios, the film sold to Paramount Pictures for North America and numerous foreign territories.
Beyond Paramount’s territories, “The Midnight Library” will be distributed by Scanbox in Scandinavia, Sun Africa Group/MultiChoice in South Africa, and Filmcoopi in Switzerland. Studiocanal will release the film across its territory footprint, including the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand.
Studiocanal also closed deals for Rudi Rosenberg’s Un Certain Regard film “Words of Love,” Volker Schlöndorff’s “Visitation,” Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Violette,” Jeanne Herry’s Cannes competition selection “Another Day,” Simon Stone’s “Elsinore,” Jonathan Schey’s “Everybody Wants to F*ck Me,” Danny Boyle’s “Ink” and Fred Cavayé’s “Les Misérables.” Studiocanal will release the films in its territories.
Sales for the films are as follows:
“Elsinore”
Anuvu for airlines, MCF for Ex-Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, Spentzos for Greece, ADS for Hungary, Lev for Israel, Lusomundo for Portugal, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Sun Africa Group/MultiChoice for South Africa, Filmcoopi for Switzerland, and Bir Film for Turkey. It will be released in the U.S. in 2027 by LD Entertainment.
“Everybody Wants to F*Ck Me”
ACME for the Baltics, Prorom for Eastern Europe, Blitz for Ex-Yugoslavia, Myndform for Iceland, Lionsgate for India, Lev for Israel, Imagem for Latin America, Mongol Films for Mongolia, Lusomundo for Portugal, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Sun Africa Group/MultiChoice for South Africa, KTH for South Korea, Filmcoopi for Switzerland, Catchplay for Taiwan, and Svoe Kino for Ukraine.
“Ink”
Echolake for airlines, Cinelibri for Bulgaria, VVS for Canada, AQS for Czech Republic and Slovakia, Karantanja for Ex-Yugoslavia, Spentzos for Greece, Cinetel for Hungary, Myndform for Iceland, MVP for India, Shoval for Israel, Mongol Films for Mongolia, Lusomundo for Portugal, Independenta for Romania, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Sun Africa Group/MultiChoice for South Africa, NK Content for South Korea, Wanda for Spain, Ascot Elite for Switzerland, Fabula Films for Turkey, and UFD for Ukraine.
“Les Miserables”
Skeye for airlines, ACME for the Baltics, Cinelibri for Bulgaria, TVA for Canada, AQS for Czech Republic and Slovakia, Karantanja for Ex-Yugoslavia, Pathé Touch for French-speaking Africa, Spentzos for Greece, ADS for Hungary, Synapse for Latin America, GSC for Malaysia, Italia for the Middle East, Lusomundo for Portugal, Independenta for Romania, Shaw for Singapore, Scene & Sound for South Korea, Beta Fiction for Spain, DCM for Switzerland, Bir Film for Turkey, and Ad Astra for Ukraine.
“Words of Love”
Cineart for Benelux, Beta for Bulgaria, Immina for Canada, Pandora for Germany and Austria, Danaos for Greece, New Cinema for Israel, Teodora for Italy, Angel Films for Scandinavia, Atalante for Spain, Frenetic for Switzerland, and Mars for Turkey.
“Visitation”
Moving Story for Australia and New Zealand, Artifilm for Benelux, Beta for Bulgaria, Karantanija for Ex-Yugoslavia, Spentzos for Greece, Lev for Israel, Cetera for Japan, Alambique for Portugal, Scanbox for Scandinavia, A Contracorriente for Spain, and Filmcoopi for Switzerland.
“Violette”
Skeye for airlines, ACME for the Baltics, Cinelibri for Bulgaria, VVS for Canada, Blue Media for China, MCF for Ex-Yugoslavia, Spentzos for Greece, Vertigo for Hungary, Lev for Israel, Lucky Red for Italy, Lusomundo for Portugal, Bad Unicorn for Romania, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Shaw for Singapore, Beta Fiction for Spain, Frenetic for Switzerland, Bir for Turkey, and Arthouse for Ukraine.
“Another Day”
MCF for Ex-Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, Spentzos for Greece, Europictures for Italy, Scanbox for Scandinavia, Shaw for Singapore, Frenetic for Switzerland, Lusomundo for Portugal, and Mars for Turkey.
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