Iran, Pasdaran on EU terrorist list. Tehran warns ships in Hormuz: 'Military exercise imminent'

He had published his telephone number on social media, inviting protesters injured during protests against the regime of the Guardians of the Revolution to contact him in case of need. For this Alireza Golchini, 52 - surgeon from Qazvin in central Iran - now risks the death sentence. The Guardian reports.

The charge against Golchini, as denounced by the Norwegian-based human rights organisation Hengaw, is 'moharebeh', or 'war against God'. Like him now at least nine volunteer doctors and paramedics have been arrested in recent days, according to Hengaw. "He was arrested violently in front of his wife and son, who is only 11 years old. They beat him so badly during the arrest that they broke his arm and ribs and dragged him out of the house. My family is terrified,' the doctor's cousin Nima Golchini, who lives in Canada, told the Guardian. 'All he did was his duty as a doctor: to save lives. He had taken an oath to save lives. How can a doctor not keep his oath? I am concerned not only for him, but also for the other health workers who have been arrested simply for keeping their oath,' she added.

"It appears to be a deliberate vendetta campaign against doctors and medical personnel who refuse to leave the injured," commented Hossein Raeesi, an Iranian human rights lawyer in exile.

The mourning families of anti-government protesters killed in Iran are forced to sign "false confessions stating that the deceased were supporters of the Islamic Republic regime, with the threat that otherwise the bodies will not be released or will be burned". Instead, the US State Department writes on its Farsi-language account. The communiqué released on X also states that the Iranian government has destroyed the country's economy and 'rendered the population unable to meet their basic needs; this was one of the many reasons for the protests of the Iranian people'. Now, he adds, the bereaved families, who are "themselves victims of economic hardship, are forced to take out loans just to recover and bury the bodies of their loved ones". "The exploitation of the grief of Iranians by the regime of the Islamic Republic is detestable and inhuman. The regime of the Islamic Republic treats Iranian citizens with the utmost brutality, forcing families to endure impossible demands to get back the bodies of their loved ones. This ferocity knows no bounds,' the message concludes.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, before attending the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, had announced a political decision for today on the inclusion of exponents of the Pasdaran - the Iranian Guardians of the Revolution - on theEuropean terrorist lists, following the crackdown in Iran in recent weeks. Arriving at the meeting, Tajani explained that there are "two things" on the table. The first concerns "the list of the Pasdaran that will be sanctioned". On this, he continued, "it seems to me that there is already a political agreement and therefore I believe that this list will absolutely be approved today". However, the European Union is also moving towards a further step: "We are moving towards a political agreement to include the Pasdaran as such in the list of terrorist organisations," Tajani said. On this point, he specified, "Today there will certainly be a political decision", while "the concrete decision will come in a few weeks".

Decisions on which - according to Tajani - many in Brussels agree. "The Belgium stands by those who legitimately want their democratic aspirations in Iran to be fulfilled and stress that a year ago, when the new Belgian government was formed, we explicitly stated in our coalition agreement that we wanted to include the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on the EU list of terrorist groups. We continue to support this initiative together with other European allies, especially in light of the atrocities and repression we have witnessed in recent weeks". This was said by the Belgian Foreign Minister, Maxime Prevot, upon his arrival at the EU Foreign Council.

Paris is also not backing down. This was confirmed in Brussels on the sidelines of the Council meeting by French Foreign MinisterJean-Noel Barrot. In Iran, he says, "the unsustainable repression that has fallen on the peaceful protest of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered. That is why we will adopt EU sanctions today against those responsible for the repression: prosecutors, police chiefs, pasdaran, more than twenty individuals and entities who will have their assets frozen and will not be allowed to enter the EU'. But, he adds, 'we must go further and that is why France has announced that it will support the inclusion of the Irgc in the EU list of terrorist organisations, because there can be no impunity for the crimes committed. It is also an appeal to the authorities to free the prisoners, who have been thrown into the regime's jails by the tens of thousands, to put an end to executions, and to re-establish access to communications and internet connection,' Barrot continued.

The Foreign Minister of Germany, Johann Wadephul, upon arriving at the meeting with EU counterparts, said he was "very pleased that many countries have now given the signal that this designation will finally be achieved: it is a success for the Iranian people, for humanity and for the EU community of values," he stressed.

US President Donald Trump is considering a new strike on Iran after preliminary negotiations between Washington and Tehran on limiting the country's nuclear programme and ballistic missile production failed to make progress. This is reported by CNN, which cites sources saying that options the tycoon is considering include air strikes targeted at Iranian leaders and security officials believed to be responsible for killings in the crackdown on protests, as well as attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and government institutions. According to sources, Trump has not yet made a final decision on how to proceed, but believes his military options have been expanded from earlier this month, now thatthe aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is in the region. Another source told CNN that for Trump all options remain on the table.

In the meantime another US warship has arrived in the Middle East, ship tracking data show, as speculation continues to grow about a possible new US attack on Iran. The BBC Verify writes. The missile-launching destroyer USS Delbert D Black was tracked yesterday as it sailed through the Suez Canal towards the Gulf, the tracking site MarineTraffic showed. It is believed that at least 10 US warships are now in the Middle East, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

The head of the Pentagon Pete Hegseth also spoke out, saying that the Iranians 'have every chance of reaching an agreement. They should not pursue nuclear capabilities. We will be ready to do whatever this president expects'.

Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, will pay an official visit to Turkey tomorrow, where he is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. This was announced by sources in the Ankara Foreign Ministry, pointing out that one of the topics at the centre of the talks will be the recent crisis between Iran and the United States, in the context of anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic and the US military deployment in the waters of the Middle East. During the meeting, Fidan will "reiterate that Turkey is opposed to military interventions in Iran", stressing that "Turkey is ready to contribute to the resolution of the current tensions through dialogue" and that Ankara "supports reaching a peaceful resolution to Iran's nuclear programme soon and is ready to provide assistance if necessary", the sources said. Other topics of the talks will include the situation in Gaza and Syria and bilateral economic and energy relations.

In a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly proposed to his US counterpart Donald Trump to hold a meeting between Turkey, USA and Iran to try to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. This was reported by the Turkish daily Hurriyet, according to which a video-call meeting was also being considered. Also according to Hurriyet, Trump is in favour of Erdogan's proposal and an important meeting will take place this week, when the Iranian foreign minister will travel to Turkey to meet with his counterpart Hakan Fidan. "While the whole world is talking about a possible US attack, on the diplomatic scene Turkey is engaged in silent but profound activity. Ankara has intervened, just as it did during the 12-day war. Both President Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan are conducting shuttle diplomacy,' Hurriyet writes.

Turkish state broadcaster Trt, picked up by Reuters, broadcast the news that Turkish authorities arrested six people - including an Iranian citizen - on charges of political and military espionage on behalf of Iran, after coordinated operations conducted on Wednesday 28 January in five provinces. The suspects were reportedly detained following a joint investigation conducted by Istanbul prosecutors, the anti-terrorist police and the Turkish intelligence agency. The charge against them is that they collected information on military bases and other sensitive sites in Turkey and abroad, allegedly in coordination with members of the intelligence branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to reports. Trt added that the six are also suspected of carrying out reconnaissance activities near the Incirlik air base operated by Nato in the southeastern Turkish province of Adana, participating in the transport of drones through Turkey for use in third countries, and sharing information with Iranian intelligence.

Foreign Ministry sources in Ankara - quoted by the Turkish newspaper Sabah - also reported a meeting in Ankara between Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan, the US ambassador to Turkey and the special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack. The focus of the talks was Iran and the work to contain tensions between Washington and Tehran, as well as the latest developments in Syria.

The Kremlin also calls for calm. It calls for "restraint" from the US regarding possible actions in Iran, believing that the possibilities for a diplomatic solution "have not been exhausted". Any actions of force risk creating 'chaos' in the region, warned the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the Russian news agency Tass. Russian President Vladimir Putin, before starting a meeting with his United Arab Emirates counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan - whose country recently hosted the trilateral peace talks between Russia and Ukraine - said that Russia is closely monitoring the situation in Iran and would like to discuss it with him during talks at the Kremlin.

Russia is ready to evacuate its personnel from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant if necessary. This was stated by Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia's state nuclear energy company, as reported by the state-run Tass news agency. Putin had said last year that hundreds of Russian citizens work at the plant, the only nuclear power plant currently operating in Iran, built by Moscow. Further nuclear plants are currently under construction at the Bushehr site by Russia.

The US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in June last year did not target Bushehr. At the time, Likhachev warned that an attack on the site could trigger a catastrophe comparable to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The US administration is having consultations with senior defence and intelligence officials of Israel and Saudi Arabia on possible military strikes against Iran. Axios reports this today, citing two US officials and two other informed sources.

The head of Israelimilitary intelligence, General Shlomi Binder, met with senior officials from the Pentagon, the CIA and the White House on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to an informed source, he shared with the Trump administration specific information on possible military targets in Iran. The Saudis, according to media reports, are very concerned about the possibility of a regional war and are trying to help achieve a diplomatic settlement.

For his part, the Saudi Defence Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Crown Prince's younger brother and his closest confidant, is expected to be in Washington today and tomorrow and to hold talks at the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House, meeting among others the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Yesterday, Saudi Arabia made it known that it will not allow its airspace or territory to be used for military action against Iran.

The army chief, General Amir Hatami, announced that the combat forces have been equipped with1,000 strategic drones to 'ensure rapid combat readiness and overwhelming responses to any act of aggression'. This was stated in a note reported in the Iranian media. The drones were developed by army specialists 'in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence, in light of new threats and lessons learned from the 12-day war' with Israel in June. "The drones have been designed in the destructive, offensive, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare categories, with the ability to strike precise fixed and mobile targets in land, sea, and air domains," the note states.

Tehran also warned ships at sea that for Sunday 1 and Monday 2 February it plans a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, which will include actual gunfire. The warning was broadcast via VHF radio. Associated Press saw a copy of the message, initially reported by EOS Risk Group. Two Pakistani security officials, who reported anonymously because they were not authorised to speak to journalists, also confirmed the warning was sent. The manoeuvres could affect traffic along a crucial waterway, because20% of all the world's oil passes through there.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Tehran has about 2,000 medium-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel, significant stockpiles of short-range missiles, anti-ship missiles, drones, and torpedo launchers, which pose a direct threat to US bases in the area and ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. "Tehran may be weak, but its robust missile force still makes it lethal," said Behnam Ben Taleblu - director of the Iran programme at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank - commenting on the remarks made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Congress on Wednesday 28 January.

'We knew very well that there are American means towards Iran but for now we are not yet worried'. So said Defence Minister Guido Crosetto at the Masseria forum in Rome on the risks of a possible US attack on Iran.