Twins sentenced in Iran: one to death, one to prison | Eye for Iran | EP 121 |

They were 19 when they took to the streets. They turned 20 behind bars. Now one twin has been sentenced to death — and the other to decades in prison.

Taraneh and Romina Rahimi joined Iran’s January uprising in Isfahan. Their cousin, Masoud Nourmohammadi, says the sisters were tortured and forced to confess. Taraneh now faces execution, while Romina has been sentenced to decades behind bars. As their family fights to save them, Masoud says he and his children are also receiving death threats for speaking publicly about their case.

Their story comes four years after the death of Mahsa “Jina” Amini ignited the Woman, Life, Freedom movement and changed the trajectory of protest in Iran. Iran International journalists Shervin Shahrestani and Azadeh Akbari look at what that movement left behind — from women openly defying compulsory hijab to a generation that discovered the power of collective action. Could January’s massive nationwide uprising have happened without it? And what did the Islamic Republic learn from 2022?

And beyond Iran’s borders, another pressure point is emerging. As the Houthis make their biggest military gains in Yemen in years, Yemeni-American analyst Fatima Abo Alasrar explains why she believes the timing is no coincidence — and why Tehran may see the Red Sea as another source of leverage in its economic confrontation with Washington. How far can Iran push Saudi Arabia before that leverage becomes a liability?

Chapters:

02:50 One twin sentenced to death, the other to decades in prison

Guest: Masoud Nourmohammadi

25:13 Four years after Mahsa Amini: What did Woman, Life, Freedom change?

Guests: Shervin Shahrestani & Azadeh Akbari

49:42 Why are the Houthis escalating now — and what does Iran want?

Guest: Fatima Abo Alasrar

#iran #iranprotests #mahsaamini #houthi #humanrights #babalmandab #hormuz #yemen #saudiarabia #iranian #hijab