Iran sentences Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to seven more years in jail

Iran has sentenced Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to another seven years in jail. Mohammadi is reportedly on hunger strike following the conviction. According to the Guardian, Mohammadi’s lawyer Mostafa Nili has been in touch with her.

He said:

She has been sentenced to six years in prison for ‘gathering and collusion’ and one and a half years for propaganda and two-year travel ban.

The paper added:

She had been arrested in December at a memorial ceremony honouring Khosrow Alikordi, a 46-year-old Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate who had been based in Mashhad. Footage from the demonstration showed her shouting, demanding justice for Alikordi and others.

Iran has been rocked by near-revolution since December. Protests which began among small businesses over living costs were reportedly brutally repressed. Figures of dead and wounded are hard to verify due to state-enforced media and internet blackouts. Some estimates put the killed and injured in the tens of thousands.

Nuclear talks in Oman

The blackout also makes claims about the degree of US and Israel involvement difficult to corroborate. Despite this – or as a result – conspiracy and rumour have proliferated.

The new sentence comes as the US and Iran prepare to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump has deployed a US navy armada to the region.

Iran and the US will meet in Oman. Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani visited Muscat ahead of the talks. Anadolu Agency said:

The indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington were halted following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June last year, during which the US targeted three key Iranian nuclear sites.

Adding:

While Iranian media have not specified the agenda of Larijani’s visit, sources said he is expected to discuss the contours of the next round of talks with the Omani mediators.

Narges Mohammadi: Venezuela connection?

The Nobel Committee condemned Mohammadi’s arrest on 12 December 2025:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately clarify Mohammadi’s whereabouts, ensure her safety and integrity, and to release her without conditions. The Committee stands in solidarity with Narges Mohammadi and all those in Iran who work peacefully for human rights, the rule of law, and freedom of expression.

They appeared to suggest there was a link between Mohammadi’s arrest and the award of a Nobel to pro-US Venezuelan figure Maria Corina Machado:

Given the close collaboration between the regimes in Iran and Venezuela, the Norwegian Nobel Committee notes that Ms. Mohammadi is arrested just as the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado.

They offered nothing further to verify this specific claim.

Iran wants to appear strong in a crisis

Mohammadi had been temporarily released on a medical furlough from jail when she was re-arrested. She had been serving a 13 year sentence for:

charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against Iran’s government.

During the recent protests Mohammadi:

kept up her activism with public protests and international media appearances, including even demonstrating at one point in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where she had been held.

Mohammadi has reportedly had multiple heart attacks in jail. Her doctors fear she may also have cancer. This is why she was on medical furlough from her previous sentence. Now she appears to have been returned to prison. And at the precise moment the Iranian government is looking to avert internal crises and head off a threat of regime change.

The implications of this crunch moment for Mohammadi may be dire.

Featured image via the Canary