Iran Sentences Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi to Additional Prison Term Amid Nuclear Talks

By Blessing Nweke

Iran has sentenced Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to more than seven additional years in prison, her supporters said Sunday, deepening concerns over Tehran’s intensifying crackdown on dissent as it engages in sensitive negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program.

Mohammadi’s lawyer, Mostafa Nili, said a Revolutionary Court in Mashhad handed down the sentence Saturday. According to Nili, she received six years for “gathering and collusion,” one and a half years for propaganda activities, a two-year travel ban and an additional two years of internal exile to Khosf, about 460 miles southeast of Tehran.

The sentencing followed a hunger strike Mohammadi began on Feb. 2 to protest her detention and treatment. Supporters said she ended the strike Sunday after the ruling, citing deteriorating health. Iranian authorities have not publicly acknowledged the new convictions.

Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, described the sentence as emblematic of “skyrocketing lethal repression against dissent and protests” in Iran.

Mohammadi, 53, had been out on medical furlough since December 2024 after serving part of a 13-year, nine-month sentence on national security-related charges. Though initially granted only a three-week leave, her release was extended. During that time, she continued her activism, appearing in international media and protesting outside Tehran’s Evin prison, where she had previously been held.

She has long supported nationwide protests sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and has faced repeated arrests. Supporters say she suffered multiple heart attacks in prison and underwent emergency surgery in 2022.

The sentencing comes as Iran seeks to negotiate limits on its nuclear program to avoid a threatened military strike by President Donald Trump. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated Sunday that Iran’s strength lies in its ability to “say no to the great powers,” underscoring Tehran’s hardline stance following recent talks in Oman.