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Thursday, May 21, 2026

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Tag: Palm Springs Film Festival

Iranian-Australian Actor Mojean Aria Wins Heath Ledger Award

June 30, 2017

kayhanlife

An English-language digital media outlet with a spotlight on the global Iranian community. #kayhanlife

Explore the Butterfly Series by Haleh Mashian May

Explore the Butterfly Series by Haleh Mashian
May 2 - June 27, 2026
Los Angeles, CA - MASH Gallery is pleased to present Mystic Seduction, Los Angeles-based artist Haleh Mashian’s fifth solo exhibition.

Curated by Edward Goldman, the presentation brings together works spanning her Forest, Tears, Figurative Abstraction, Rose, and Butterfly series, exploring transformation as both subject and artistic practice through the lens of feminine identity, cyclical change, and the natural world.

The Butterfly Series reflects a personal understanding of transformation that has deepened over time. Mashian writes, “As I get older, I’ve come to see that freedom comes from releasing what weighs us down and having the courage to step into the unknown.”

These are the first works she has ever made with the butterfly as a central motif, exhibited for the first time in Mystic Seduction. The symbol emerges as the result of a sustained shift in how Mashian approaches the canvas: less controlled, more exploratory, and willing to follow where the process takes her. That openness is visible in the surfaces themselves.

@mash_gallery @halehmashian
#kayhanlife #artgallery
🦋

By Miranda Murray CANNES, France, May 20 (Reuters)

By Miranda Murray
CANNES, France, May 20 (Reuters) – For Iranian filmmaker Pegah Ahangarani, making her documentary “Rehearsals for a Revolution,” which blends her personal history with that of her homeland since Iran‘s 1979 revolution, felt more like therapy than conventional filmmaking.

“I wanted to say everything that was on my mind – whether it was things from my personal life or things related to Iranian history – and I wasn’t thinking about what would come next,” she told Reuters at the Cannes Film Festival, where it is screening out of competition.

“Maybe if I had thought about it beforehand, it would have been a little scary.”

In the film, Ahangarani uses her and her family’s personal stories to illustrate key points in modern Iranian history in five episodes using animation, old newsreels, family archives and tape recordings.

It opens with her father, who fought in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and his friend, who was executed as a political prisoner after the revolution, and ends with her recent years in exile and the deadly January crackdown on protesters.

Viewers are taken along as Ahangarani and her hidden camera take to the streets after the 2009 presidential election and listen to tape recordings her uncle Rashid made before he took his own life after the July 1999 university raid.

Ahangarani described filmmaking as the one way she can draw attention to what is happening in Iran, particularly as widespread internet shutdowns since early 2026 have cut off communication for many citizens.

“The only thing I can really do, though it’s not much, is to reflect what’s happening there and not let it go unspoken,” she said, adding that she aimed to ensure international audiences remain aware of the situation.

Continues as a free article on kayhanlife.com
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#kayhanlife #PegahAhangarani

The Islamic regime in Iran is tightening control o

The Islamic regime in Iran is tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints, with tankers reportedly required to seek clearance from Iranian authorities before leaving the waterway. Israeli analyst Danny Citinowicz said ships must file requests through Iran’s Foreign Ministry, which are then passed to the Iranian Navy and the Revolutionary Guard Navy for approval.

The new approval process could give Tehran leverage over global energy flows, allowing it to impose fees and decide which vessels are permitted to pass. Citinowicz warned that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer only a maritime and security chokepoint, but also a political tool that the Islamic regime in Iran may use to strengthen ties with partners such as China and India while pressuring rivals.

WATCH VIDEO ON KAYHAN LIFE’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://youtu.be/KC4GpNiSZVY?si=ICaJ_Cm2S_A0G_9t

By Jana Choukeir and Humeyra Pamuk DUBAI/WASHINGTO

By Jana Choukeir and Humeyra Pamuk
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiations with Iran were “in the final stages”, while warning of further attacks unless Tehran agrees to a peace deal.

Six weeks since Trump paused Operation Epic Fury for a ceasefire, talks to end the war have shown little progress. Trump said this week he came close to ordering more attacks, but held off to allow time for negotiations.

in the final stages of Iran. We’ll see what happens. Either have a deal or we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won’t happen,” he told reporters.

“Ideally I’d like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way.”

Speaking later at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Trump reprised his either/or rhetoric – “We may have to hit them very hard… but maybe not” – and reiterated his determination not to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Tehran, for its part, accused Trump of plotting to restart the war, and threatened to retaliate for any strikes with attacks beyond the Middle East.

“If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will extend beyond the region this time,” the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran‘s top peace negotiator, said in an audio message on social media that “obvious and hidden moves by the enemy” showed the Americans were preparing new attacks.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei later said the U.S. had to end its “piracy” against Iranian ships – a reference to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

“Despite the negative record of the other side over the past year and a half, Iran is pursuing the path of negotiations with seriousness and good faith, but it has strong and reasonable suspicion over America’s performance,” Baghaei said.

May 20 (Reuters) – Iran‘s newly created Persian Gu

May 20 (Reuters) – Iran‘s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a post on X on Wednesday there will be a “controlled maritime zone” at the Strait of Hormuz.

The authority, which was set to manage the strait, set the zone as the “line connecting Kuh-e Mobarak in Iran and southern Fujairah in the UAE at the eastern side of the strait, to the line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm Al Quwain in the UAE at the western side of the strait.”

It said transit through the area to pass through the strait would require coordination and authorization from the authority.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Yomna Ehab; Editing by Chris Reese)

By Kayhan Life Staff May 20 - The Islamic Republic

By Kayhan Life Staff
May 20 - The Islamic Republic of Iran executed 2,159 people in 2025, pushing the total number of executions worldwide to its highest in 44 years, Amnesty International reported in an annual report titled “Death Sentences and Executions 2025.”

“Amnesty International’s monitoring of the global use of the death penalty recorded 2,707 executions in 2025, representing a 78 percent rise from 1,518 in 2024,” the report said. “Iranian authorities carried out more than 2,000 executions, the highest figure recorded in the country by Amnesty International since 1981, as the death penalty continues to be used as a tool of fear and repression.”

At least 2,707 individuals were executed across 17 countries last year — a roughly 80 percent increase from 2024. The figures do not include the thousands of executions believed to have taken place in China, which Amnesty International continues to identify as the world’s leading user of the death penalty.

The unprecedented rise in executions is largely attributed to Iran’s intensified implementation of death sentences.

In 2025 alone, Iran executed at least 2,159 people, more than double the number recorded in 2024. Executions in Iran accounted for roughly four-fifths of the total worldwide.

Other countries also reported higher execution numbers: Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 individuals, mainly for drug-related offenses, while Kuwait saw executions rise from six to 17, Egypt from 13 to 23, Singapore from nine to 17, and the United States from 25 to 47.

Amnesty International noted that the U.S., Iran, China, Somalia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Egypt, Vietnam, and Yemen maintained relatively consistent execution practices over the past five years.

Executions in Iran have accelerated sharply over the past 12 weeks. A nationwide internet blackout has made it difficult to collect prison data, but reports indicate that executions of political prisoners have reached levels unseen in three decades.

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