Stuart Williams

Paris-based correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP). Reported from postings in Tehran, Moscow, Istanbul. Heart in many places. Focusing here on Iran.

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Iran's almost three month internet blackout has ended but connectivity far from full, widespread filtering, VPNs needed and messaging problematic
and as @OfficialToomaj noted; connection 'is not a favour -- it is our right'
out story for @AFP
https://t.co/VpSSUSVZQ7

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Mojtaba Khamenei spent his career in the shadows working in the office of his father but was significant enough to be sanctioned by the US and is alleged to have intervened in 2005 elections and a crackdown on 2009 protests
our profile
https://t.co/aTPeYNcko6

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Unseen in public + wounded, Iran's new SL Mojtaba Khamenei likely now involved in decision-making and his engagement may increase with time, analysts say
But his power unlikely to match his father's, they add
our @afp sty w/ @thomasjuneau and @IranWonk
https://t.co/ee85Av1ucI

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

No room in Iran's World Cup squad for its 3rd most prolific all time goal scorer Sardar #Azmoun
An omission, commentators say, which has more to do with politics than football amid current int'l tensions
our profile for @afp w/analysis by @Eri1806
https://t.co/YY31r6uQHI

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Iran in last 2 days hanged protester + man charged w/ espionage
Execution spree aims to 'instil fear in society and prevent future protests'  says @IHRights
At least 39 people hanged on political/security charges since March, per its figures
@afp story
https://t.co/Pu6xVnwIn4

[Thomas Juneau @thomasjuneau]

I told AFP that while Iran has made gains by blocking the Gulf, "the leadership was taking a gamble, facing a "hugely discontented population"... a struggling economy, and major damage to civilian and military infrastructure after US-Israeli attacks."

https://t.co/lvlaMyAbSN

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Iran thinks it can outwit/outwait Trump with Hormuz control. But strategy risks backfiring in face of unpredictable WH + domestic tensions, leading to new war
our @AFP sty
comments by @thomasjuneau @SanamVakil @arash_tehran
https://t.co/iAKR7CdC3B

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

'I did nothing wrong,' Peyvand Naimi told his parents. The Iranian #Bahai was subjected to torture + mock executions but couldn't have committed the acts he is accused of, say his family
our @afp sty on the crackdown vs Iran's largest non-Muslim minority
https://t.co/KBHmZXgR0Y

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel but has not seen her children for a decade and her life now 'hangs in the balance'
our @afp profile on her sacrifices and struggle after her release on bail for urgent medical treatment in Tehran
https://t.co/CSP3k0HFXm

[AFP News Agency @AFP]

Iran releases Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi on bail following growing alarm over her health

https://t.co/m7mMiKPf8I

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Iranian Nobel winner Narges Mohammadi risks dying in custody like fellow laureate Liu Xiaobo or Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, supporters warn, saying she is 'between life and death' after heart attacks
our @afp story
https://t.co/Demq1Q4Jb2

[AFP News Agency @AFP]

🇮🇷 Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi is fighting for her life after being hospitalised under guard for the last five days with a heart condition, her supporters said on Tuesday ➡️ https://t.co/eVMwfstuTL

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Iran executes 3 over Jan protests in wave of near daily hangings
24 'political prisoners' now executed since March @IHRights
13 over 2026 protests
1 over 2022 demos
9 over alleged PMOI links
 1 over membership of Sunni group
+ 4 on espionage charges
@afp
https://t.co/J9eG2bTy1J

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Trump said Iran's leadership 'seriously fractured' but analysts sceptical. While there may be considerable behind-the-scenes debate, available evidence points, for now, to a united wartime front @afp
comments by @thomasjuneau @SanamVakil @IranWonk
https://t.co/TQcSAvQM2b

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Several rights groups inc @HengawO @IranRights_org have said a woman -- Bita Hemmati - was sentenced to death by a Tehran revolutionary court under judge Afshari over the January protests along with 3 men accused in same case
https://t.co/vtoJFItE5D

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

As uncertainty persists over US-Iran talks, Tehran is pulling its Strait of Hormuz 'lever' to the maximum -- a strategy long-threatened but never used before that is not without risk for the Islamic republic
sty for @AFP comments by @Alfoneh
https://t.co/wjV2QDs3Lv

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

With Starmer under new pressure at home over Mandelson, he finds himself in Paris to co-chair with Macron a video conference that will discuss a hypothetical force for the Strait of Hormuz that could deploy when the Iran war ends - our @afp story
https://t.co/G8LuuBpqdw

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

'Weak and significant weight loss': Iranian Nobel winner Narges Mohammadi, jailed in Zanjan in n. Iran, in a 'critical' condition after suffering a heart attack last month, according to her @nargesfnd foundation - our @afp story
https://t.co/MigBwFzv8p

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

If and when Iran-US talks resume, #Ghalibaf is likely to be centre stage. Our profile of a fiercely ambitious politician who has held key posts for 30 years and may will willing to bend -- but only so much
quotes from @IranWonk
https://t.co/ebukLlz5wG

[Stuart Williams @Stuart_JW]

Key takeaways from @IHRights and @AssoECPM report on executions in #Iran
-At least 1,639 executed in 2025, highest since 1989
-Real figure could be 100s higher
-Fears Iran resorting to new execution spree in wake of war
-Call to put rights/executions 'at heart' of negotiations