ANI file photo
At least 116 people have been killed in violence linked to nationwide protests challenging Iran’s theocratic leadership, which entered their second week on Sunday. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that more than 2,600 people have also been arrested, citing verified reports.
With internet access restricted and phone lines cut across Iran, assessing the scale of the demonstrations has become increasingly difficult. Iranian state television has focused on reporting casualties among security forces and projecting an image of control, while avoiding mention of dead protesters, whom it has increasingly described as “terrorists,” as cited by AP.The country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has signaled an impending crackdown despite warnings from the United States.Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, also issued a warning that anyone taking part in the protests would be treated as an “enemy of God,” a charge that carries the death penalty. A statement aired on state television said the designation would also apply to those who “helped rioters.”“Prosecutors must carefully and without delay, by issuing indictments, prepare the grounds for the trial and decisive confrontation with those who, by betraying the nation and creating insecurity, seek foreign domination over the country,” the statement read, as cited by AP. “Proceedings must be conducted without leniency, compassion or indulgence.”
USA ready to help, says Donald Trump
Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has been briefed on new options for possible military strikes against Iran as he weighs responding to Tehran’s crackdown on protesters, according to multiple US officials.The officials said Trump has not made a final decision but is seriously considering authorizing action in response to the Iranian government’s efforts to suppress demonstrations fueled by widespread economic grievances. He has been presented with a range of options, including strikes on nonmilitary sites in Tehran, the capital, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations, as cited by the New York Times.“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump said through a post on Truth Social. Trump has repeatedly threatened to use lethal force against the Iranian government over its crackdown on demonstrations. “I’ve made the statement very strongly that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved,” Trump said earlier on Friday. “We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts. And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts. So we don’t want that to happen.”The demonstrations began on December 28, following the collapse of the Iranian rial. The currency is trading at more than 1.4 million to the US dollar as international sanctions, partly imposed over Iran’s nuclear program, tighten pressure on the economy.The unrest has since intensified, evolving into calls that directly challenge Iran’s theocratic system. Go to Source