Those against the economic crisis, now converted into a generalized uprising for rights and freedoms in the Islamic Republic, are reaching impressive levels of violence. And the information blockade prevents us from knowing a good part of what is really happening.
As the agency revealed this morning, the number of deaths due to the regime’s repression has reached 2,571, indicates the American human rights organization. A classic way to silence the largest wave of dissent in years, at least since the veil crisis and the Women, Life, Freedom movement, after the murder of .
Two details about the numbers stand out: the fact that there are minors among them and the first confirmation of victims by the regime:
- HRANA claims to have verified the deaths of at least 147 people affiliated with the government, 12 minors under 18 years of age and nine non-protester civilians. In addition, there are more than 16,700 arrests, he adds.
- An Iranian official also told Reuters on Tuesday that about 2,000 people had died – the first time authorities have given a total death toll in more than two weeks of unrest across the country.
The unrest, sparked by precarious economic conditions, has posed the biggest domestic challenge to Iran’s rulers in at least three years and comes as international pressure intensified last summer.
Washington’s promise
The US president on Tuesday urged Iranians to continue protesting. However, authorities in Tehran have accused the United States and Israel of fueling violence in the country and have attributed the deaths to “terrorist agents” who allegedly receive foreign guidance to incite street violence.
Asked what he meant by “help is on the way,” Trump told reporters they would have to find out. Trump has claimed that military action is one of the options he is considering to punish Iran for the crackdown.
Already this morning, the Republican has announced that he will send economic aid to the opponents and has once again threatened a possible military attack against the Government of Tehran for repression of the protests. “There is a lot of help on the way in different forms, including economic,” the president responded during an interview with , during a visit to a plant of the Ford automobile manufacturer.
When asked about the violence of the Iranian State against the protesters, the Republican responded that they will take “strong measures” if it is confirmed that they will hang people who have participated in the protests. When explaining what would be “the long-term goal” of a military attack on the Ayatollah Government, Trump responded that his goal is “to win.”
Later, when defining what it would mean for him to have a “victory” in Iran, the magnate limited himself to giving as an example the US operations to kill , former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC) or Abu Bakar, former leader of the Islamic State, or the one that extracted the then president from Venezuela on January 3.
The US president, who has asked his citizens to leave Iran in the face of escalating violence and security risks, has also threatened to impose “very severe measures” if the Iranian authorities hang protesters participating in the demonstrations. “We will take very severe actions if they do something like this. We will take very severe actions,” he declared in the same interview, in response to the complaint about this that comes from various NGOs.
It’s Trump, so in subsequent statements to the press, he downplayed warnings from Iran, which promised a response in the event of a U.S. attack. “Yes, Iran said that last time I destroyed their nuclear capabilities, which they no longer have, so they better behave,” he warns.
“You better behave”
The Republican made these statements after the Iranian Defense Minister, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, warned Washington that Iran will respond “more decisively to any new act of aggression.”
It has been published that Israeli and Arab officials have told the Trump Administration in recent days that they believe that the , to the point where US military strikes would be the decisive blow that overthrows him. Therefore, they say it is better to suspend large-scale attacks for now, as some prefer to wait until the regime is even more under pressure, according to this media’s sources.
These advisors also noted that the situation in Iran is evolving rapidly and that the stability of the regime could change quickly in one direction or another, quickly. Better not to rush, meanwhile.
A senior White House official has responded to this information by saying that Trump “has all options at his disposal to address the situation in Iran. The president listens to various opinions on any issue, but in the end he makes the decision that he considers most convenient.” The president “means what he says,” pointing to military actions he ordered against Iran in June and earlier this month to capture Venezuela’s leader.
The accusation of the regime
Iran is trying to deflect its responsibility in this crisis and has formally accused the US and its president of fomenting political destabilization, inciting violence and threatening the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security of the country, according to a letter sent to the (UN).
The letter, published by the Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN in
In the letter, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, maintained that “the United States and the Israeli regime bear direct and undeniable legal responsibility for the consequent loss of innocent civilian lives, particularly among young people.” The letter was also sent to the Secretary General of the UN, .
The North American digital published tonight that Steve Witkoff, the US president’s emissary, met last weekend with Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran, deposed in 1979, to address the crisis. The meeting, confirmed to the portal by a senior US official, suggests an attempt by Pahlavi to position himself as the leader of a transition in the event of the eventual fall of the regime.
The eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who reigned Iran until the Islamic revolution of 1979, said Tuesday that it is “essential to listen to the Iranian people, who want to put an end to the regime.”
