A two-hour gunfight in Iran’s Zahedan has left six people wounded and triggered a security crackdown in the city. Security forces have stepped up their presence following the shooting.

Iran: Six wounded as gunfire erupts in Zahedan

It is the fifth month of protest in Iran against the Islamic regime after the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini on the 16th of September following her arrest for allegedly violating Tehran's strict dress code. People have been flocking the streets in the country in huge numbers to show solidarity with Amini.

Iran: Thousands come out on the street in city of Zahedan

Amid a wave of anti-regime protest in Iran, reports of a massive security crackdown are building especially in the rest of Zahedan city. Reports say there's a heavy presence of Iranian security forces in the city.

Iran: Massive security buildup in Zahedan worries protesters of another crackdown

Iranian security forces opened fire on protesters on Friday in a city in the country's southeast that has been experiencing instability for weeks as a result of nationwide demonstrations. They claimed that at least two people&nbsp;were shot&nbsp;in the incident in Zahedan, which threatened to exacerbate existing tensions.

Zahedan, a city in Iran's long-unrestful Sistan and Baluchestan province, has so far witnessed the deadliest violence in the weeks of protests that have engulfed the country. The protests in the city coincided with those that erupted across the majority of the nation in September following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, and were sparked in part by allegations of rape made against a senior police officer there.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-set-to-put-united-nations-focus-on-iran-protests-next-week-529304">US set to put UN's focus on Iran protests next week</a>

Since a rally there on September 30 sparked a deadly police response, activists believe that approximately 100 people have died in Zahedan alone.

Since the 2009 Green Movement protests, which were centred on women's rights and the state-mandated headscarf, or hijab, the nationwide demonstrations have grown to become the biggest threat to Iran's theocratic government. They now call for the removal of Shiite clerics who have ruled the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Despite increasing international pressure on Iran's government over its crackdown on demonstrators, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/just-a-call-away-after-uk-and-wales-new-zealand-launches-telemedicine-services-for-abortion-529118">women</a> have continued to remove their hijabs during street demonstrations weeks into the protests.

According to the&nbsp;human rights activists in Iran, the protests have affected over 125 areas; at least 270 people have died and close to 14,000 have been jailed.

In its strongest statement yet, the United Nations on Friday condemned “all incidents that have resulted in death or serious injury to protesters” in Iran and reiterated “that security forces must avoid all unnecessary or disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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Iranian security forces opened fire on protesters on Friday in a city in the country's southeast that has been experiencing instability for weeks as a result of nationwide demonstrations.

Iranian security forces opened fire on protesters on Friday in a city in the country's southeast that has been experiencing instability for weeks as a result of nationwide demonstrations. They claimed that at least two people were shot in the incident in Zahedan, which threatened to exacerbate existing tensions. Zahedan, a city in Iran's long-unrestful Sistan and Baluchestan province, has so far witnessed the deadliest violence in the weeks of protests that have engulfed the country. The protests in the city coincided with those that erupted across the majority of the nation in September following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, and were sparked in part by allegations of rape made against a senior police officer there. Also read | US set to put UN's focus on Iran protests next week Since a rally there on September 30 sparked a deadly police response, activists believe that approximately 100 people have died in Zahedan alone. Since the 2009 Green Movement protests, which were centred on women's rights and the state-mandated headscarf, or hijab, the nationwide demonstrations have grown to become the biggest threat to Iran's theocratic government. They now call for the removal of Shiite clerics who have ruled the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Despite increasing international pressure on Iran's government over its crackdown on demonstrators, women have continued to remove their hijabs during street demonstrations weeks into the protests. According to the human rights activists in Iran, the protests have affected over 125 areas; at least 270 people have died and close to 14,000 have been jailed. In its strongest statement yet, the United Nations on Friday condemned “all incidents that have resulted in death or serious injury to protesters” in Iran and reiterated “that security forces must avoid all unnecessary or disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters.” (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Two killed after police open fire at demonstrators in Iran’s Zahedan: Activists

India has reaffirmed its commitment to the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, saying it is engaged in the project that will connect the port to the border city. Zahedan, capital of Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, is a border town and can become a gateway to Afghanistan with the railway connectivity project,

Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs V Muraleedharan, in response to a question in Lok Sabha, said, "India and Iran remain engaged on the modalities of implementation of Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, and other development projects in Iran."

The MoU for the railway project was signed in 2016 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country. The MoU was signed between Indian Railways’ IRCON and Iranian Railways’ CDTIC -Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company.

In the month of November last year, Iran started laying the tracks for the project from the Chabahar side. Work on laying tracks from Zahedan began in July. The total length of the railway is 628 km. India has been strongly backing the development of the Chabahar port project as a means of increasing connectivity with Afghanistan and the Central Asian region.&nbsp;

New Delhi is involved with the development of phase-I of the Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar.&nbsp;

Over the weekend, India handed two 140 tonne mobile harbour cranes. In December 2018, an Indian company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) took over the port operations, and as of December 2020, the port has handled 1.75 million tonnes of bulk cargo and more than 13000 TEUs of container cargo.&nbsp;

India has reaffirmed its commitment to the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, saying it is engaged in the project that will connect the port to the border city. Zahedan, capital of Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, is a border town and can become a gateway to Afghanistan with the railway connectivity project, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs V Muraleedharan, in response to a question in Lok Sabha, said, "India and Iran remain engaged on the modalities of implementation of Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, and other development projects in Iran.

India has reaffirmed its commitment to the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, saying it is engaged in the project that will connect the port to the border city. Zahedan, capital of Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, is a border town and can become a gateway to Afghanistan with the railway connectivity project, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs V Muraleedharan, in response to a question in Lok Sabha, said, "India and Iran remain engaged on the modalities of implementation of Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, and other development projects in Iran." The MoU for the railway project was signed in 2016 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country. The MoU was signed between Indian Railways’ IRCON and Iranian Railways’ CDTIC -Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company. In the month of November last year, Iran started laying the tracks for the project from the Chabahar side. Work on laying tracks from Zahedan began in July. The total length of the railway is 628 km. India has been strongly backing the development of the Chabahar port project as a means of increasing connectivity with Afghanistan and the Central Asian region. New Delhi is involved with the development of phase-I of the Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar. Over the weekend, India handed two 140 tonne mobile harbour cranes. In December 2018, an Indian company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) took over the port operations, and as of December 2020, the port has handled 1.75 million tonnes of bulk cargo and more than 13000 TEUs of container cargo.

Engaged on Chabahar-Zahedan rail project, India says

Iran's Chabahar port is the only deep seaport and India's gateway to central Asia. The port was inaugurated in 2017, it not only side-stepped Pakistan but also counter-balanced the Chinese-controlled Gwadar port.

India had an ambitious plan - offload shipments in Chabahar, load them on trucks and trains, send them to Zahedan in Iran, go further to Zarang in Afghanistan and take the goods to the central Asian republics.

For this plan to be successful, India needed to develop better connectivity to the port - enter the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line, the 628-km-long track connecting the port to Zahedan.

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India and Iran had agreed to jointly construct the railway line with 34 stations estimated to ferry 2.8 million tonnes of freight per year. The deal was reached in 2016&nbsp;during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Iran. Four years on, Tehran has thrown New Delhi out of the project. It now wants to construct the railway&nbsp;line alone. Reports claim that Iran has already inaugurated the track-laying process.

Tehran claims New Delhi has been delaying funding. The project was being stalled because of US sanctions on Iran, although it was waived in 2018 but finding suppliers and partners continued to remain a challenge as banks too were reluctant to provide loans.

Iran is now constructing the railway line alone. It wants to complete the project by 2022. It is a big roadblock in India's strategic ambitions in central Asia. It loses its influence in the trade corridor and it is a setback for India's bigger plan since the railroad was supposed to be a transit corridor to Afghanistan after connecting Chabahar to Zahedan, the railroad was to be linked to Zaranj in Afghanistan.

The plan may now need a rethink. The loss is diplomatic too. It is a sign of Iran losing confidence in India.

India's loss is China's gain. The development comes at a time when China is finalising a $400 billion strategic partnership deal with Iran. Not surprising given the two countries have a common enemy - the United States.

Beijing is set to gain from Chabahar development. Firstly, it will ensure a tighter grip over Iran which is a country with a population of 80 million with 60 per cent people under 30.

Secondly, Chabahar's loss is Gwadar's gain. The two ports are just 172 km away. Gwadar already has better connectivity, and China is unlikely to be shy of promoting it as the go-to port for trading with central Asia.

Also, by kicking India out of a project in Iran, China gets to poison one more of India's allies and China gets to carve its way into trying to influence the affairs in Chabahar.

India must learn from the episode. New Delhi cannot take its allies for granted especially when the expansionist Dragon is on the loose and desperate.

Iran's Chabahar port is the only deep seaport and India's gateway to central Asia. The port was inaugurated in 2017, it not only side-stepped Pakistan but also counter-balanced the Chinese-controlled Gwadar port.

Iran's Chabahar port is the only deep seaport and India's gateway to central Asia. The port was inaugurated in 2017, it not only side-stepped Pakistan but also counter-balanced the Chinese-controlled Gwadar port. India had an ambitious plan - offload shipments in Chabahar, load them on trucks and trains, send them to Zahedan in Iran, go further to Zarang in Afghanistan and take the goods to the central Asian republics. For this plan to be successful, India needed to develop better connectivity to the port - enter the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line, the 628-km-long track connecting the port to Zahedan. India and Iran had agreed to jointly construct the railway line with 34 stations estimated to ferry 2.8 million tonnes of freight per year. The deal was reached in 2016 during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Iran. Four years on, Tehran has thrown New Delhi out of the project. It now wants to construct the railway line alone. Reports claim that Iran has already inaugurated the track-laying process. Tehran claims New Delhi has been delaying funding. The project was being stalled because of US sanctions on Iran, although it was waived in 2018 but finding suppliers and partners continued to remain a challenge as banks too were reluctant to provide loans. Iran is now constructing the railway line alone. It wants to complete the project by 2022. It is a big roadblock in India's strategic ambitions in central Asia. It loses its influence in the trade corridor and it is a setback for India's bigger plan since the railroad was supposed to be a transit corridor to Afghanistan after connecting Chabahar to Zahedan, the railroad was to be linked to Zaranj in Afghanistan. The plan may now need a rethink. The loss is diplomatic too. It is a sign of Iran losing confidence in India. India's loss is China's gain. The development comes at a time when China is finalising a $400 billion strategic partnership deal with Iran. Not surprising given the two countries have a common enemy - the United States. Beijing is set to gain from Chabahar development. Firstly, it will ensure a tighter grip over Iran which is a country with a population of 80 million with 60 per cent people under 30. Secondly, Chabahar's loss is Gwadar's gain. The two ports are just 172 km away. Gwadar already has better connectivity, and China is unlikely to be shy of promoting it as the go-to port for trading with central Asia. Also, by kicking India out of a project in Iran, China gets to poison one more of India's allies and China gets to carve its way into trying to influence the affairs in Chabahar. India must learn from the episode. New Delhi cannot take its allies for granted especially when the expansionist Dragon is on the loose and desperate.

Iran ignores India, starts work on Chabahar-Zahedan railway project

Heavy snow covered the streets of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/irans-khamenei-stands-by-revolutionary-guards-after-unrest-over-downed-plane-275015">Tehran</a> on Sunday, causing major flight delays and forcing the closure of schools, authorities in the Iranian capital said.

The snow started falling early in the morning and disrupted the flow of traffic on some of the city's main highways.

"We knew that it would snow as of last night and that it naturally affects traffic," head of Tehran's traffic police Mohammadreza Mehmandar told state television.

"On some highways in the north (of Tehran) there was a bit of ice&nbsp;and accidents were responded to quickly," he added.

Schools in all districts of Tehran city and some parts of the province were closed both in the morning and in the afternoon due to the heavy snowfall.

Tehrani children took to parks to build snowmen and start snow fights as the capital was blanketed in white.

The snow dump caused long delays to flights to and from Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport.

"Flights at Mehrabad will go ahead but with delays due to the lack of proper vision," said <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/black-boxes-of-ukranian-boeing-737-airline-found-iran-273062">Reza Jafarzadeh</a>, spokesman for&nbsp;Iran's aviation authority.

But flights were still going according to schedule at <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-says-it-is-sending-black-boxes-of-downed-plane-to-ukraine-275132">Imam Khomeini International Airport</a>, also in Tehran, he added.

Flights at Mehrabad resumed around noon after more than 30 had been cancelled and others delayed for up to seven hours, state news agency IRNA said.

Several flights from Isfahan, Zahedan and Tabriz to Mehrabad had also been cancelled due to the whiteout.

Snowfall is forecast to continue until Monday in Tehran and other northern provinces.

Heavy snow covered the streets of Tehran on Sunday, causing major flight delays and forcing the closure of schools, authorities in the Iranian capital said. The snow started falling early in the morning and disrupted the flow of traffic on some of the city's main highways.

Heavy snow covered the streets of Tehran on Sunday, causing major flight delays and forcing the closure of schools, authorities in the Iranian capital said. The snow started falling early in the morning and disrupted the flow of traffic on some of the city's main highways. "We knew that it would snow as of last night and that it naturally affects traffic," head of Tehran's traffic police Mohammadreza Mehmandar told state television. "On some highways in the north (of Tehran) there was a bit of ice and accidents were responded to quickly," he added. Schools in all districts of Tehran city and some parts of the province were closed both in the morning and in the afternoon due to the heavy snowfall. Tehrani children took to parks to build snowmen and start snow fights as the capital was blanketed in white. The snow dump caused long delays to flights to and from Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport. "Flights at Mehrabad will go ahead but with delays due to the lack of proper vision," said Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Iran's aviation authority. But flights were still going according to schedule at Imam Khomeini International Airport, also in Tehran, he added. Flights at Mehrabad resumed around noon after more than 30 had been cancelled and others delayed for up to seven hours, state news agency IRNA said. Several flights from Isfahan, Zahedan and Tabriz to Mehrabad had also been cancelled due to the whiteout. Snowfall is forecast to continue until Monday in Tehran and other northern provinces.

Iran: Heavy snowfall shuts schools, delays flights in Tehran

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