An Israeli strike on Tehran’s Evin prison earlier this week killed at least 71 people, Iran’s judiciary said Sunday, days after a ceasefire ended a 12-day war between the two arch-foes.
“According to official figures, 71 people were killed in the attack on Evin prison,” said judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir of the Monday strike on the heavily fortified complex in the north of Tehran, part of the bombardment campaign Israel launched on June 13.
Evin Prison, located in northern Tehran, Iran, is one of the world’s most infamous detention facilities, known for its harsh conditions and role in suppressing dissent.
Built in 1972 under the Shah’s regime, it has since become a symbol of political repression, housing activists, journalists, intellectuals, and dual nationals accused of crimes like “propaganda against the state” or espionage.
High-profile detainees, including Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, have faced brutal treatment, drawing global condemnation. Overcrowding and poor sanitation aggravate the plight of inmates, many held without fair trials.
Despite Iran’s claims of reform, human rights organizations like Amnesty International continue to document abuses at Evin, calling it a “black hole” for dissenters.
In 1988, scores of prisoners were executed after cursory trials. Many of those slaughtered were regarded as a threat to the new Islamic regime.
Several renowned Iranians were detained at Evin during the 2022 protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman charged by Iran’s so-called morality police. During the protests, a massive fire engulfed the prison.
In April, the European Union imposed sanctions on Hedayatollah Farzadi, the head of the prison.
The Israeli strike destroyed part of the administrative building of the large, heavily fortified prison complex.
Iran could Enrich Uranium ‘In Matter Of Months’: IAEA Chief
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi says Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium “in a matter of months,” despite damage to several nuclear facilities from US and Israeli attacks, CBS News said Saturday.
Israel launched a bombing campaign on Iranian nuclear and military sites on June 13, saying it was aimed at keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon — an ambition the Islamic Republic has consistently denied.
The United States subsequently bombed three key facilities used for Tehran’s atomic program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the extent of the damage to the nuclear sites is “serious,” but the details are unknown. US President Donald Trump insisted Iran’s nuclear program had been set back “decades.”
However, Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said, “Some is still standing.”
“They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,” Grossi said Friday, according to a transcript of the interview released Saturday.
Another key question is whether Iran was able to relocate some or all of its estimated 408.6-kilo (900-pound) stockpile of highly enriched uranium before the attacks.
The uranium in question is enriched to 60 percent — above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs.
Grossi admitted to CBS: “We don’t know where this material could be.”
“So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved. So there has to be at some point a clarification,” he said in the interview.
For now, Iranian lawmakers voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, and Tehran rejected Grossi’s request for a visit to the damaged sites, especially Fordo, the main uranium enrichment facility.
“We need to be in a position to ascertain, to confirm what is there, and where is it and what happened,” Grossi said.
In a separate interview with Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” program, Trump said he did not think the stockpile had been moved.
“It’s a very hard thing to do, plus we didn’t give much notice,” he said, according to excerpts of the interview. “They didn’t move anything.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday underscored Washington’s support for “the IAEA’s critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran,” commending Grossi and his agency for their “dedication and professionalism.”
The full Grossi interview will air on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday.
© Agence France-Presse
