World
Iranian woman strips down in anti-hijab protest following vicious assault by regime militia
JERUSALEM—A female Iranian student on Sunday stripped down to her underwear on the campus of Tehran’s Islamic Azad University to protest an assault on her by the IRGC’s paramilitary militia, known as the Basij, because she allegedly was improperly wearing the mandatory hijab. Since it’s part of the IRGC, the Basij is a U.S-designated terrorist organization.
The video of the unidentified woman walking through the courtyard of the university’s Science and Research Branch in her underwear rapidly went viral on social media.
A university official confirmed the student’s arrest. “Following an indecent act by a student at the Science and Research Branch of the university, campus security intervened and handed the individual over to law enforcement authorities,” Amir Mahjoub, director general of public relations at the university, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, according to a report by the London-based news organization Iran International reported
Fox News Digital was not able to independently confirm the student’s name, but media outlets in France and Germany have identified her as Ahoo Daryaei.
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An Iranian student stripped down to her underwear to protest an assault on her because she was allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory hijab. (Courtesy: Iran International)
He added, “The motives and underlying reasons for the student’s actions are currently under investigation.”
The U.N.’s special rapporteur for Iran, Mai Soto, posted on X, “I will be monitoring this incident closely, including the authorities response. #Iran,” along with a video of the young woman sitting in the courtyard from the U.S. government news outlet Voice of America’s Farsi outlet.
According to Iran International, Amir Kabir Newsletter, a student group on Telegram, reported the Islamic Republic’s security forces severely assaulted the young student. After the regime bashed her head into a car door or a pillar, “Blood stains from the student were reportedly seen on the car’s tires,” the newsletter report noted.
The Iranian American lawyer Elika Eftekhari told Fox News Digital, “Her protest may seem shocking to outsiders because it comes with the certainty of imprisonment, torture and rape as punishment from Islamic Republic officials. She reminds me of Jan Palach’s act of self-immolation in the formerly communist Czech Republic. It speaks to the pervasive psychology of depression and hopelessness among Iranians, who often feel trapped in a negative spiral both within the world and vis-à-vis their futures.”
IRAN’S MORALITY POLICE RESUME STREET PATROLS, FORCING WOMEN TO WEAR HEADSCARVES AFTER MONTHS-LONG PROTEST
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by Iran’s “morality police,” in Tehran, on Sept. 21, 2022. (West Asia News Agency)
Eftekhari, a member of the U.S.-based Alliance for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran, added, “At the same time, there is tremendous fortitude in this expression of resistance, by taking the regime’s gender apartheid misogyny by the throat, so to speak, and ripping it to shreds through civil disobedience. The call to action here for the U.S. and West is clear: first and foremost, recognize her by commenting, tweeting, and issuing statements. Importantly, they must understand her actions within the analytical framework of readiness on the part of Iranians in Iran for regime change, not reform.”
Lisa Daftari, editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk and an expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital, “We are seeing many examples of Iranian women courageously defying the mandatory Islamic hijab laws in Iran. Iranian men and women have been protesting the oppressive Islamic Republic’s rule for decades, but particularly since the Woman, Life, Freedom demonstrations following the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini two years ago, the hijab, women’s dress code and women in general have been at the center of the anti-regime opposition.”
US SANCTIONS IRANIAN OFFICIALS OVER WOMEN’S RIGHTS ABUSES
In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, Iranians protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police, in Tehran, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Middle East Images, File)
She continued, “Each episode builds confidence in other Iranians to stand up against the regime’s oppressive laws.”
The Iranian American human rights activist Masih Alinejad wrote on X: “In Iran, a student harassed by her university’s morality police over her ‘improper’ hijab didn’t back down. She turned her body into a protest, stripping to her underwear and marching through campus – defying a regime that constantly controls women’s bodies. Her act is a powerful reminder of Iranian women’s fight for freedom. Yes we use our bodies like weapons to fight back a regime that kills women for showing their hair. This happened at Tehran’s Science and Research University. She has since been arrested by the authorities. Be her voice. #WomanLifeFreedom.”
Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian said during his 2024 campaign, in which females are not allowed to run for president, that he will end the infamous morality police patrols that arrest women for failing to comply with hijab rules.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his ballot in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 1, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Yet, critics see Pezeshkian ‘s pledge to be empty rhetoric. Just last month, Iran’s Guardian Council passed the controversial hijab and chastity bill, which means a “violation of the Hijab and Chastity law carries a fine of three million tomans [$50].” Iran’s parliament is now reviewing the bill.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, controls all laws and legislation in the highly repressive state. The president is largely a symbolic figure.
World
Trump evacuated from White House correspondents’ dinner after shots fired
BREAKINGBREAKING,
The US president was escorted out from the event at a Washington DC hotel by his secret service agents.
Published On 26 Apr 2026
United States President Donald Trump has been evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, DC, after shots were fired outside the event.
The evacuation on Saturday evening came after gun shots were heard outside the hotel ballroom where Trump and the first lady had been sitting ahead of the annual media event.
Trump hailed the United States Secret Service and local enforcement after the incident in a post on Truth Social.
“They acted quickly and bravely,” Trump said.
“The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we “LET THE SHOW GO ON” but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly. Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again.”
Footage from the scene showed Trump and attendees taking cover behind their table after shots rang out, as people yelled “Get down!” and “Stay down!”
Trump was then rushed away from the scene by Secret Service agents, after which heavily armed agents surrounded the table.
Al Jazeera producer Chris Sheridan said he heard what he believed to be five gun shots outside the ballroom.
“We could smell the powder. We immediately dove to the ground. It was directly behind me,” Sheridan said.
Weijia Jiang, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, told the media that the programme would resume and that more details will be provided soon.
More to come…
World
Trump hosts crypto contest winners at Mar-a-Lago as his coin languishes
World
Latin American leftists met in Spain, signaling push against US influence on continent
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MEXICO CITY: The recent high-profile gathering of leftist leaders in Barcelona, convened by Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, is drawing increasing attention for what analysts describe as a broader geopolitical positioning that could challenge U.S. influence across Latin America and beyond.
The summit brought together Brazil president Lula da Silva, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum. Framed as a platform for addressing inequality, climate change and the rise of right-wing political movements, yet the rhetoric coming from it has raised questions in Washington and across the region about whether a more coordinated political counterweight to the United States is taking shape.
Without naming the Trump administration, Sánchez warned of the “normalization of the use of force” and “attempts to undermine international law”, as criticism of U.S. foreign policy. He also pushed for reforms to global institutions, arguing that the current system no longer reflects today’s geopolitical realities, a position that implicitly challenges long-standing U.S. leadership in those bodies.
WALZ RIPS TRUMP AND VANCE IN EUROPE, SAYS ‘FEEBLE-MINDED, TRIGGER-HAPPY PRESIDENT’ HAS NO EXIT PLAN FOR IRAN
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez take part in the 4th Meeting in Defense of Democracy, held at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in LâHospitalet de Llobregat, where he welcomed the attending delegations and underscored the need to strengthen international cooperation in defense of democratic values in Barcelona, Spain on April 18, 2026. The event included the greeting of heads of delegation and the traditional family photo, ahead of the start of the leadersâ meeting. Among those attending were South African President Cyril Ramaphosa; Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum; Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet; and Colombian President Gustavo Petro. (Lorena Sopena Lopez/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The Barcelona summit reflects a deliberate effort by Pedro Sánchez to position himself as a leading figure within an emerging progressive bloc that is increasingly critical of U.S. foreign policy under President Trump,” Juan Angel Soto, founder and CEO of Fortius Consulting told Fox News Digital.
“This positioning is particularly complex given Spain’s structural anchoring in both the European Union and NATO, which traditionally align it closely with Washington. However, Sánchez has simultaneously deepened ties with the Global South, evident in his growing proximity to China, as well as to leaders such as Lula, Sheinbaum, and Petro, suggesting a dual-track foreign policy that seeks greater autonomy from U.S. influence,” Soto said.
The Colombian leader tied global tensions directly to economic and energy systems, arguing that fossil fuel dependence has fueled conflict and inequality, an argument that aligns with broader criticism of Western-led economic models.
Roberto Salinas León, Director of International Affairs at Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City, told Fox News Digital: “The ill-named summit “In Defense of Democracy” held in Barcelona brought together notable “progressives” with an aim to bring together a global contingent opposed to, well, Trump 2.0. How convenient.”
TRUMP CRITICIZES SPAIN AMID IRAN, NATO RIFT AS PM SANCHEZ FACES QUESTIONS OVER POLITICAL MOTIVES
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez shake hands before their meeting in Beijing, China September 9, 2024 (China Daily via Reuters)
“Petro stated that ‘Latin American progressivism is a ray of hope for a humanity in crisis.’ Yet these would-be spokespersons for democracy have supported such inhumane brutal dictatorships like Cuba, Nicaragua, Maduro’s Venezuela, Iran, and others. This gathering is more aptly characterized as a political mascara of electoral autocracies, each leader undermining the institutional checks and balances of open liberal democracies,” he said.
Brazil’s Lula criticized what he described as interventionist policies by major powers and called for a rebalancing of global governance, including changes to the U.N. Security Council. At one point, he characterized recent U.S. leadership as contributing to global instability, reinforcing a central theme of the summit: that the current international order needs to be redefined.
President Donald Trump, center, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, second from left, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz and Chile’s President-elect Jose Antonio Kast pose for a family photo during the Shield of the Americas” Summit in Doral, Fla., on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
“The new Cold War is being waged between China and the United States; it is this very rivalry that is at stake in every country participating in the summit. Lula’s concern regarding the resurgence of the right has become patently obvious, particularly when observing Argentina and Chile, where the victories of Milei and Kast have ushered in ‘winds of change.’ We are, quite literally, living through times reminiscent of the fall of the Berlin Wall, specifically, the collapse of ‘21st-century socialism’ across Hispanic America, and this is precisely what has them so worried,” Brazilian political analyst Sandra Bronzina told Fox News Digital
“When the global progressive left rails against the United States, talking about sovereignty and peace, or speaking out against war, they are not doing so out of mere altruism or good intentions. Rather, they are driven by a shadowy self-interest: ensuring that China continues to colonize our nations, a process that is, evidently, already well underway.”
‘AMERICAS COUNTER CARTEL COALITION’: INSIDE THE US STRATEGY TO COMBAT NARCO TERROR, CONFRONT CHINA, OTHER FOES
Mexico’s Sheinbaum underscored the principle of national sovereignty, reiterating Latin America’s longstanding emphasis on non-intervention. She joined other leaders in opposing sanctions on countries such as Cuba, signaling a willingness to coordinate positions that diverge sharply from U.S. policy in the region.
Taken together, analysts say the messaging out of Barcelona suggests the early stages of a loosely aligned bloc, one that is increasingly willing to challenge U.S. positions on global governance, regional policy and economic strategy.
Chile elected right wing leader Jose Kast as president. (Juan Gonzalez/Reuters)
Yet even as leaders in Barcelona warn of a rising right-wing threat, political realities across the Americas tell a different story, one that may resonate more directly with U.S. audiences.
In Argentina, sweeping economic reforms focused on deregulation and fiscal discipline have captured global attention as an alternative to state-led models. In El Salvador, aggressive security policies have dramatically reduced violence. And in Ecuador, a renewed focus on law-and-order and institutional control is emerging as a response to escalating cartel violence.
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Analysts say these examples highlight a counter to the Barcelona narrative in that a significant portion of the region is moving toward policies centered on security, market reforms and stronger state authority — priorities that often align more closely with U.S. strategic interests.
Experts say the contrast is striking. On one side, a group of leaders in Barcelona is calling for a rethinking of global systems long associated with U.S. leadership. On the other, governments across the hemisphere are experimenting with approaches that emphasize economic liberalization and strong security measures.
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