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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...

Moscow pledges to respond to Japan's 'hostile stance' toward Russia

Moscow has said that Russia will continue responding to Japan's "hostile policy" and "anti-Russian course," as Tokyo announced fresh sanctions on the country over the ongoing war in Ukraine. A statement by Russia's Foreign Ministry on Friday said this was conveyed to Tokyo during talks between Lyudmila Vorobyova, director of its Third Asian Department, and Masashi Nakagome, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s European Affairs Bureau. The statement said the Russian side outlined Moscow's assessment of bilateral ties, blaming Tokyo's "short-sighted hostile policy" for their decline to an "unprecedented low level." Thursday's sanctions, which Moscow called Japan's latest step towards the "complete destruction" of bilateral relations, included the freezing of assets held by dozens of financial institutions and individuals over their alleged involvement in or support for Russia in the Ukraine war. "We warned that in such a situation, we will continue to respond with the toughest and most sensitive countermeasures for Tokyo, guided solely by our own national interests," the statement went on to say. It also said that in its contacts with Tokyo, the Russian side conveyed details on a new initiative by Russian President Vladimir Putin to create a "new continental security architecture in Eurasia." Moscow also underlined the "categorical unacceptability" of Japan's protest against the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement signed between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday. In response to a question on the matter, Japan's Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Maki Kobayashi said in a written statement that Tokyo considers the regional security environment surrounding the country to be "ever more severe." Almost all engagements between Moscow and Tokyo have come to a standstill since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. Following the conflict's onset, Tokyo joined Western allies, including the US and other G7 nations, in imposing sanctions on Russian individuals, including Putin, and entities.

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