Tehran

Iran drew international condemnation on Saturday as it executed two men for killing a paramilitary force member in November during unprecedented protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death in custody.

The latest hangings double the number of executions to four over the nationwide unrest, which has escalated since mid-September into calls for an end to Iran's clerical regime.

Iranian authorities released star actor Taraneh Alidoosti on bail on Jan. 4 after holding her for almost three weeks over her support for the protest movement, her lawyer said.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Ukraine: 500 drones have been shot down since September 2022 so far

Iranian protesters on Octç 27 defied a deadly crackdown by security forces against nearly six weeks of women-led protests, as Tehran vowed to punish those behind a mass shooting that killed 15 worshippers at a shrine.

The United States on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on members of Iran's intelligence agency, leaders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, prison wardens and others, acting 40 days since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while being held by the morality police.

Chanting crowds marched in the streets of Berlin, Washington DC and Los Angeles on Saturday in a show of international support for demonstrators facing a violent government crackdown in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of that country's morality police.

The White House said Thursday that Iranian troops are "directly engaged on the ground" in Crimea supporting Russian drone attacks on Ukraine's power stations and other key infrastructure, claiming it has troubling evidence of Tehran's deepening role assisting Russia as it exacts suffering on Ukrainian civilians just as the cold weather sets in.

Arriving at Istanbul Airport with a fake ID from Iran, PKK terrorist Serhat Özel, known as the "arsenal" of the organization, has been captured at the passport control point.

Code-named Kendal Numan Amed, Özel arrived at Istanbul Airport on a plane departing from Iran's Tehran on Oct. 14.

Iranian competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi received a hero's welcome on her return to Tehran early Wednesday, after competing in South Korea without wearing a mandatory headscarf required of female athletes from the Islamic Republic.

The systems will be delivered to help the country defend itself against drones, including those from Iran, that Russia uses to target vital infrastructure, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today.