Iran Human Rights reported that at least 3,428 protestors had been slain and 10,000 had been jailed by security forces. US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that he had been informed that the executions of demonstrators in Iran had stopped, but he added that he would “watch it and see” regarding the military action that had been threatened. In recent days, Trump has frequently spoken helping the Iranian people in the wake of the crackdown on protests, which rights organizations claim has killed at least 3,428 people.
However, in an unexpected statement at the White House, Trump claimed to have gotten guarantees from “very important sources on the other side” that Tehran had ceased its killings and that they would not continue.There were scheduled to be many executions today, but they have stated that the killing has stopped and that the executions won’t happen. We’re going to find out,” Trump stated.
Unverified assertions
He stated that the US has not yet confirmed the accusations and provided no further information.
In response to an AFP reporter in the Oval Office asking if US military action was no longer an option, Trump said, “We’re going to watch it and see what the process is.” Later, in an interview with the US network Fox News, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that there would be “no hanging today or tomorrow.”Araghchi accused Israel of inciting violence without offering any proof, saying, “I can tell you, I’m confident that there is no plan for hanging.” Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old Iranian man detained during the protest wave, will not be executed on Wednesday as planned, according to a rights group that made a separate announcement citing family members.
“Total control”
Araghchi, however, claimed that the Iranian government was “in full control” and that there was “calm” following what he described as a three-day “terrorist operation.” As Washington seemed to reduce personnel at a base in Qatar that Tehran had targeted in a strike last year, Iran likewise adopted a combative stance about retaliating against any US attack. In June, Iran retaliated to US strikes on its nuclear facilities by attacking the Al Udeid base. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s top advisor, Ali Shamkhani, cautioned Trump that the strike demonstrated “Iran’s will and capability to respond to any attack.” The region remained agitated due to fears of potential US military action.
The US embassy in Saudi Arabia advised employees to be cautious and stay away from military installations, while the British government said that its embassy in Tehran had been “temporarily closed.” In response to US threats against Iran, Germany’s Lufthansa announced on Wednesday that its planes would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace “until further notice”.
US dangers
Since the protest movement that has rocked Iran started in late December, Trump has made multiple threats to militarily intervention in the country. Since the declaration of the Islamic Republic in 1979, there have been the most protests. According to human rights observers, Iranian authorities are repressing protests that openly criticize the theocratic system in the most severe way in years under the pretext of a five-day internet outage.
The head of Iran’s judiciary promised to expedite trials for those detained, fueling concerns that the death penalty will be used as a repressive tactic. More than 100 security guards and other “martyrs” who were killed in the unrest—which authorities have called “acts of terror”—were laid to rest in Tehran.An unprecedented degree of cruelty The G7 declared on Wednesday that they were “deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries” and threatened to impose more measures if the crackdown persisted. Iran’s internet outage lasted 144 hours, according to Monitor NetBlocks. New footage, with locations confirmed by AFP, showed bodies arranged in black bags in the Kahrizak morgue south of Tehran while distressed family members looked for loved ones despite the shutdown.
Amnesty International accused authorities of carrying out mass unlawful killings “on an unprecedented scale,” citing eyewitness accounts and verified footage. Authorities were utilizing “an unprecedented level of brutality to suppress protests,” according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War, which also noted that reports of protest activity had drastically decreased.
Since Monday, there have been no additional riots
In contrast to previous cost-of-living protests, a top Iranian official informed reporters that there had not been any new “riots” since Monday. “Every society can expect protests, but we will not tolerate violence,” he stated. According to prosecutors, some inmates will be charged with capital murder for “waging war against God.” Without providing specifics, state media announced hundreds of arrests and the incarceration of a foreign individual for espionage.
Iran Human Rights, a Norwegian organization, reported that security forces had detained over 10,000 demonstrators and killed at least 3,428 of them.
