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Iranian police say 139 foreigners arrested over unrest in Yazd province

Iranian police said 139 foreign nationals have so far been arrested in the central province of Yazd for their participation in recent protests, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday, without specifying their nationalities. Yazd, a predominantly desert province with a relatively small population above 1 million, was one of many provinces affected by nationwide protests in January. The protests, which started in December over economic hardships and quickly turned political, were repressed in the most violent crackdown since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The official death toll stands at 3,117, although rights groups say many more people have been killed. US-based rights group HRANA has said that nearly 50,000 people have so far been arrested. Authorities blame Israel and the United States for fomenting the violence. "These (foreign) individuals played an active role in organising, inciting, and directing riotous actions, and in some cases were in contact with netwo...

More than 100 Israeli settlers storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque to celebrate Purim

More than 100 Israeli settlers forced their way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on Sunday to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim, according to a Palestinian agency. In a statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department, which oversees the holy sites in Jerusalem, said the settlers entered the site through the mosque’s al-Maghariba Gate under police protection. The settler incursion came amid rising tensions across the West Bank over Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 32,200 people since last October following a Hamas attack. Read also: Israel to set security limits on Ramazan prayers at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa At least 450 Palestinians have been killed and 4,750 others injured by Israeli army fire in West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times. Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognised by the international community.

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