Heart Health Crisis for a Nobel Peace Champion in Iran

Narges Mohammadi, who earned the Nobel Peace Prize last year while behind bars for championing women's rights and ending capital punishment, is now in a dangerous health situation after suffering a heart attack. Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, who lives in Paris, told reporters that the couple is terrified because her existing conditions—high blood pressure and a lung clot—could become fatal if she does not receive proper treatment. Mohammadi is currently in a hospital near Zanjan, where she has been imprisoned for the past years. Her family wants her to be moved to Tehran so she can get better medical care, but officials have said she will stay in the local hospital for a week before any decision is made.Rahmani explained that even a slight improvement in her health could quickly reverse if she were sent back to prison. He added that the ongoing war in Iran has tightened military control, making it harder for her to be transferred or treated elsewhere. Security forces fear that Mohammadi could resume activism once released, so they are reluctant to send her to the main prison in Tehran. She has always been a powerful voice wherever she is, and authorities see her as a threat to the regime. The Iranian government shut down most of the internet in January amid protests sparked by economic troubles. Human rights groups say executions are still happening, especially for those linked to the unrest. Rahmani claims that the war has made conditions worse rather than better for people demanding freedom and justice. He sees it as a tool that the military uses to suppress dissent, not a path toward democracy.