Iran unrest death toll nears 2,600 as Trump signals possible US intervention

 

The death toll from weeks of unrest in Iran has risen to nearly 2,600, according to a rights group, as Tehran intensified diplomatic engagement with U.S.-allied countries amid escalating threats of intervention from Donald Trump.

An Israeli assessment has concluded that Trump has taken a decision to intervene, although the scope and timing remain uncertain, an Israeli official said. A second Israeli government source said Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet was briefed late Tuesday on both the prospects of regime collapse in Iran and the likelihood of U.S. intervention. Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war last year.

The protests erupted on December 28 over soaring inflation and have since grown into one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Trump warned of “very strong action” if Iranian authorities began executing protesters, without spelling out what that would involve. “If they hang them, you're going to see some things,” he said. Trump also urged Iranians to continue protesting and seize institutions, declaring that “help is on the way”, though he offered no details.

As pressure mounted, Iranian state media reported that Tehran had stepped up contacts with key regional U.S. allies. It said the head of Iran’s top security body, Ali Larijani, spoke with Qatar’s foreign minister, while Iran’s foreign minister held separate conversations with counterparts in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed that “calm has prevailed” and said Iranians were determined to protect their sovereignty and security against any foreign interference, according to state media.

The flow of information from Iran has been restricted by an internet blackout. Holistic Resilience, a U.S.-based organisation that promotes information access in closed societies, said on Tuesday that Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service was now available free of charge in Iran.

The U.S.-based HRANA rights group said it had verified 2,403 protester deaths and 147 fatalities among government-affiliated individuals. An Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that the total number of people killed stood at around 2,000.

Iranian authorities have accused the United States and Israel of fuelling the unrest, blaming the violence on what they describe as terrorists who attacked security forces, mosques and public property.

On Monday, Trump announced that any country continuing to trade with Iran would face new 25% tariffs on exports to the United States.

Iran’s chief justice, speaking during a visit to a Tehran prison holding detained protesters, said swift judicial action was essential. He said speed in judging and punishing those “who beheaded or burned people” was necessary to ensure such events were not repeated. HRANA reported a total of 18,137 arrests so far.

State television said funeral processions would be held in Tehran on Wednesday for more than 100 civilians and security personnel killed during the unrest.

Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group, said a 26-year-old man, Erfan Soltani, arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. Hengaw told Reuters it could not confirm whether the sentence had been carried out because of the communications shutdown. Reuters said it was unable to independently verify the report.

Pro-government rallies were held across Iran on Monday in a show of support for the clerical establishment. There have been no indications so far of splits within the security forces, which have suppressed previous protest movements.

The current unrest comes at a time when Iran is still recovering from last year’s war and its regional influence has been weakened by setbacks suffered by allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Asked what he meant by his statement that “help is on the way,” Trump told reporters they would have to “figure that out.” He said military action was among the options under consideration to respond to Iran’s crackdown.

“The killing looks like it's significant, but we don't know yet for certain,” Trump said after returning to the Washington area from Detroit, adding that more clarity would come after receiving a report. “We'll act accordingly,” he said.

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday urged American citizens to leave Iran immediately, including by travelling overland through Turkey or Armenia.

Reacting to Trump’s social media comments, Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani accused the U.S. president of inciting violence, threatening Iran’s sovereignty, and seeking to destabilise the government.

Russia condemned what it described as “subversive external interference” in Iran’s internal affairs, warning that any repeat of last year’s U.S. strikes would have “disastrous consequences” for regional and international security.

(With inputs from Reuters)