DUBAI/JERUSALEM, Jan 11 (Reuters) – More than 500 individuals have been killed in Iranian violence, human rights teams stated on Sunday, as Tehran threatened to focus on U.S. army bases if President Donald Trump threatened to intervene on behalf of protesters.
As the Islamic Republic’s clergy faces the most important demonstrations since 2022, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if drive is used towards protesters.
US-based human rights group HRANA has confirmed the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 safety personnel, and greater than 10,600 individuals have been arrested, based on an up to date spreadsheet primarily based on activists in Iran and overseas.
Reuters couldn’t independently verify the toll.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned the United States to not make “miscalculations” in a speech in parliament on Sunday.
“Let me be clear: In the occasion of an assault on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) and all U.S. army bases and ships are respectable targets,” stated Qalibaf, a former commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Authorities step up crackdowns
The protests started on December 28 within the wake of hovering costs and towards the clerical rulers who’ve dominated for the reason that 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The stream of data from Iran has been hampered by an web blackout since Thursday.
Footage posted on social media from Tehran on Saturday confirmed giant crowds clapping and chanting as they marched via the streets at night time. A person will be heard within the crowd saying, “There is not any finish and no starting.”
In one other video posted on Saturday, footage from the northeastern metropolis of Mashhad confirmed fires within the streets, masked protesters and smoke rising into the night time sky from roads strewn with particles. I heard an explosion.
Reuters confirmed the placement.
State tv on Sunday confirmed footage of dozens of physique luggage on the bottom at Tehran’s coroner’s workplace and stated the lifeless had been victims of an incident instigated by “armed terrorists.”
Three Israeli sources who attended Israeli safety talks over the weekend stated Israel was on excessive alert for doable U.S. intervention.
An Israeli army official stated that whereas the protests had been an inner Iranian difficulty, the Israeli army was carefully monitoring developments and was ready to reply “with drive if mandatory.” An Israeli authorities spokesperson declined to remark.
Israel and Iran waged a 12-day struggle final June, with the United States briefly becoming a member of the struggle by attacking key nuclear amenities. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at US air bases in Israel and Qatar.
Iran condemns ‘insurgents and terrorists’
Iran’s unrest comes as President Trump ousts Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and floats the potential of buying Greenland, both via buy or army drive, projecting American energy on the world stage.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated in a tv interview that Israel and the United States had been masterminds of the destabilization and that Iran’s enemies had been “bringing terrorists… who’re setting fireplace to mosques… and attacking banks and public buildings.”
“Families, please don’t let your younger youngsters be part of mobs and terrorists who decapitate and kill individuals,” he stated, including that the federal government was able to take heed to the individuals and clear up the financial issues.
Alan Eyre, a former US diplomat and Iran professional, thought it was unlikely that the protests would carry down Iran’s ruling regime.
“Eventually these protests are more likely to be crushed, however what’s going to come out of that course of can be a lot weaker,” he advised Reuters, noting that Iran’s ruling elite nonetheless seems united and there’s no organized opposition.
Millions rally throughout Iran after Prince Reza Pahlavi’s name for brand new protests
Iranian state tv broadcast funeral processions for safety personnel killed in protests in western cities reminiscent of Ghaksalan and Yasuj.
State tv stated 30 members of the safety forces had been buried within the central metropolis of Isfahan and 6 extra had been killed by “insurgents” in western Kermanshah.
President Trump: “The United States stands prepared to assist”
President Trump posted on social media on Saturday: “Iran needs freedom greater than maybe ever earlier than. America stands prepared to assist!!!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned the potential of U.S. intervention in Iran throughout a telephone dialog on Saturday, based on an Israeli official who was current on the assembly.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s final shah and a outstanding voice within the opposition, stated Trump noticed the “indescribable braveness” of Iranians. “Please don’t abandon the streets,” Pahlavi, who relies within the US, wrote to X.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advised a cupboard assembly that Israel was carefully monitoring developments. “We all hope that the Persian nation will quickly be free of the yoke of tyranny,” he stated.