Middle East Watch
Anti-government chants filled the streets of Iran’s capital on Saturday night, as protesters pressed the biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years despite a deadly crackdown under cover of an internet blackout.
from www.news24.com
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Nationwide unrest challenging Iran’s theocracy saw protesters flood the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city Saturday night and into Sunday morning, crossing the two-week mark as an outside monitoring group said at least 116 people had been killed.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. But according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which relies on a network of contacts inside the country, the death toll from clashes between protests and Iran’s security forces has climbed steadily, and more than 2,600 others have been detained over the last two weeks.
Faced with its most significant challenge in years, Iran’s theocratic rulers have issued increasingly stern threats to what it claims are agitators being influenced by the U.S. and Israel — and answered threats of a U.S. intervention by President Trump with corresponding threats of their own.
Iran’s parliament speaker warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic, as threatened by President Trump. Qalibaf made the threat as lawmakers rushed the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting: “Death to America!”
Masoud Pezeshkian expressed sympathy for protesters’ economic pain, but said the state must respond to “rioters.”
from www.nytimes.com
Hospitals across Iran are struggling to cope with a surge of patients as large-scale anti-government protests continue to spread nationwide, medical workers said. Emergency wards of multiple hospitals, including in Tehran, are reporting “bodies piled on top of one another” following a violent crackdown by security forces.
At Poursina Hospital in Rasht in northern Iran, 70 bodies were brought in on Friday night alone. A hospital source said the morgue reached full capacity, forcing staff to remove bodies to make space. “The bodies were placed on top of one another,” she said, adding that after the morgue filled up, bodies were stacked in the hospital’s prayer room.
A medic at a Tehran hospital told the BBC that many young protesters arrived with fatal gunshot wounds. “Around 38 people died, many as soon as they reached the emergency beds,” she told the BBC, adding they couldn’t even perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on them. “There were direct shots to the heads of the young people, to their hearts as well. Many of them didn’t even make it to the hospital.”
- Iran warns US troops and Israel will be targets if America strikes over protests as death toll rises NPR
- Trump Is Briefed on Options for Striking Iran as Protests Continue The New York Times
- Iran says dozens of officers killed as protesters defy government crackdown Al Jazeera
- Is the Iranian Regime About to Collapse? The Atlantic
- Iran Toughens Crackdown, as U.S. Sketches Out Military Options The Wall Street Journal
from news.google.com
The U.S. Military on Saturday launched a series of large-scale airstrikes targeting Islamic State (ISIS) positions across Syria.
These operations, conducted under the broader Operation Hawkeye Strike, involved more than 20 aircraft, including F-15E Strike Eagles, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, AC-130J Ghostrider gunships, MQ-9 Reaper drones from the U.S. Air Force, and F-16 fighter jets from the Jordanian Air Force. Over 90 precision-guided munitions were deployed against at least 35 targets, which included weapons caches, supply routes, and other infrastructure supporting ISIS activities.
The strikes commenced around 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time and were coordinated with partner forces on the ground. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported no immediate civilian casualties or collateral damage assessments, emphasizing the actions as part of an ongoing effort to degrade ISIS capabilities and prevent attacks on U.S. and allied personnel.
Israel is on high alert for the possibility of any United States intervention in Iran as authorities there confront the biggest anti-government protests in years, according to three Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in recent days and warned Iran’s rulers against using force against demonstrators. On Saturday (Jan 10), Trump said the US stands “ready to help”.
Trump threatens US action over Iran protests, rules out sending troops – China Daily Capitalfm.co.ke
from news.google.com
Violence reported across Iran as government signals crackdown on protests Australian Broadcasting Corporation
from news.google.com
Over 60 Killed in Iran as Anti-Government Protests Intensify The Sentinel – of this Land, for its People
from news.google.com
Anti-government protests spread in Iran as authorities impose internet blackout CBC
from news.google.com
As a wave of protests swept across Iran last night, the internet was completely shut down.
I have no idea what is happening to my friends, my family, or anyone else.
My best friend Champ was at the demonstration.
I desperately hope he is safe.
Iran is a nation wanting its soul back.
The exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who has emerged as a prominent voice in the fragmented opposition, made his strongest call yet for the protests to broaden into a revolt to topple the clerical rulers.
State media said a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran, and blamed “rioters”. State TV broadcast footage of funerals of members of the security forces it said were killed in protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.
Footage posted on Friday on social media showed large crowds gathered in Tehran and fires lit in the street. In one video verified by Reuters showing a nighttime protest in Tehran’s Saadatabad district, a man is heard saying the crowd had taken over the area.
“The crowd is coming. ‘Death to the dictator’, ‘Death to Khamenei’,” he said, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Protests have spread across Iran since Dec 28, beginning in response to soaring inflation, and quickly turning political with protesters demanding an end to clerical rule. Authorities accuse the US and Israel of fomenting unrest.
Trump Shares Lindsey Graham’s Post on Truth Social Warning Iran as It Enforces Crackdown on Protests International Business Times UK
from news.google.com
President Trump was briefed on new options for military strikes in Iran, a senior U.S. official confirmed Sunday.
Mr. Trump appeared to lay out his red line for action on Friday when he warned that if the Iranian government began “killing people like they have in the past, we would get involved.”
“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts,” he said at the White House. “And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
On social media, Mr. Trump offered his support for the protesters, saying that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
Mr. Trump’s warnings come as nationwide unrest challenging Iran’s theocracy crossed the two-week mark. At least 538 people have died in violence surrounding the demonstrations, U.S.-based activists said, with fears the death toll is far higher. More than 10,600 people have been arrested, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said.
A reporter asked President Donald Trump about the protests in Iran:
REPORTER: There’s been protesters killed in Iran. You said we were locked and loaded, ready to go. What is the line there for when the US is going to get involved in those protests?
TRUMP: We’ll take a look. We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States.
Mass protests erupt in Iran over mounting economic distress World Socialist Web Site
from news.google.com
A member of Iran’s security forces was killed during a fourth day of protests in the country, which have been sparked by a currency collapse, the semi-official Fars news agency has reported.
Citing regional official Said Pourali, Fars said the incident happened in the city of Kouhdasht, in the western Lorestan province, adding that a number of members of the security forces were also injured.
Footage verified by BBC Persian appears to show security forces firing at protesters in the city on the same day.
President Donald Trump warned Friday that the United States would step in if Iran’s regime turns its guns on peaceful protesters, as economic demonstrations across the Islamic Republic spiral into deadly unrest.
If Iran “kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote in an overnight post on Truth Social.
Iranian leaders quickly fired back, threatening retaliation and warning that any U.S. involvement would put American forces in the Middle East in the crosshairs.
Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least six people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.
The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, one on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in three cities predominantly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.
Two people are reported to have been killed during growing unrest in Iran on the fifth day of protests over the soaring cost of living.
Both the semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group, Hengaw, said people had died during clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lordegan, in south-western Iran.
On Thursday videos posted on social media showed cars set on fire during running battles between protesters and security forces.
Many protesters have called for ending the rule of the country’s supreme leader. Some have also called for a return to the monarchy.
Death toll rises in Iran as anti-government protests spread Australian Broadcasting Corporation
from news.google.com
Dubai:
Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least six people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.
The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, one on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in three cities predominantly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.
Iraq’s Presidential Race: Kurdish candidates competing for the post – Shafaq News شفق نيوز
from news.google.com
Map Shows Anti-Government Protests Spreading Across Iran Newsweek
from news.google.com
Iranian anarchists: Uprising is “genuine self-organisation by ordinary people” Freedom News –
from news.google.com