The Iranian government has accused Washington of trying to create a pretext for US military intervention in Iran. The US policy towards Tehran is based on “regime change”, with “sanctions, threats, artificially fomented unrest and chaos” being used as an approach “to create a pretext for military intervention,” the Iranian embassy to the UN said on Tuesday in the online service X.
US President Donald Trump had previously announced “decisive measures” on US broadcaster CBS News if the authorities in Iran began executing arrested demonstrators in the wake of the crackdown on the latest wave of protests. “If they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about executions, we’ll see how that plays out for them,” he said.
In Iran, the authorities are taking brutal action against a wave of protests that was sparked more than two weeks ago by the poor economic situation and has now become a mass movement against the government in Tehran. According to the human rights organization Iran Human Rights (IHR), at least 734 people have been confirmed dead so far. However, it is estimated that up to 6,000 people died. The public prosecutor’s office in Tehran announced that it would impose the death penalty on some “troublemakers” arrested during the protests.
Donald Trump has vowed “decisive action” if authorities in Iran begin executing detained demonstrators as they crack down on the latest wave of protests. “We will take very tough action if they do something like that,” Trump said in an interview with CBS News on Tuesday. “If they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about executions, we’ll see how that affects them,” the US president said.
Trump later told reporters: “I’m going back to the White House, we’re going to look at the situation in Iran. We’re going to have exact numbers on the deaths.” Prosecutors in Tehran had previously announced that they would impose the death penalty on some “troublemakers” arrested during recent protests.
As state television reported, the public prosecutor’s office said that an unspecified number of suspects would be charged with the “war against God” (Moharebeh). According to Islamic Sharia law, this is a crime that carries the death penalty in Iran.
In view of internet blockages in Iran, Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX has made its satellite service free for the country. Corresponding information from activists was confirmed by SpaceX circles to the financial service Bloomberg. SpaceX initially did not provide any official information about this. In view of the nationwide protests, the Iranian government has been blocking the internet for days.
