Reuters reported overnight that an Iranian official said about 2000 people had been killed so far during the protests, broadly matching claims by activists. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the United Nations human rights office said it was hearing the number was in the hundreds, citing sources in Iran.
The Islamic regime has cut off internet access in Iran and is attempting to jam Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, which protesters have been using to organise and communicate with the outside world. That makes assessing the death toll and full scale of the demonstrations difficult.
Reza Pahlavi in Paris last year, exiled son of Iran’s toppled shah. It’s unclear whether he has much support among protesters in Iran.Credit: AP
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince and son of the deposed shah of Iran, is also among those urging Trump to intervene militarily.
“The level of massacre has been unbelievable. The regime is, with no pity, using military machinery – AK-47s – to shoot to death protesters. Morgues are overfilled,” he told Fox News.
“The decisive element that everybody’s waiting for is: when will the cavalry arrive? Part of the reason they are still on the street fighting is they believe that this president is committed to do what he promised he will.”
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Vice President JD Vance rejected a report in The Wall Street Journal that suggested he was trying to convince Trump to pursue a diplomatic solution instead of using force, in contrast to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Vance’s aide William Martin released a statement saying Vance and Rubio were together presenting a suite of diplomatic and military options to the president, “without bias or favour”.
Trump has already threatened 25 per cent tariffs on any country doing business with Iran, including China, which is the largest buyer of Iranian oil.
In Europe, governments summoned Iranian ambassadors to account for the regime’s brutality against its own people. The German Foreign Office called the Islamic Republic’s actions “shocking” in a statement on X.
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British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the United Kingdom was preparing new sanctions that targeted Iranian finance, energy, transport, software and other industries.
“This latest conduct by the Iranian regime is no aberration. It is no outlier. It is all too in keeping with the fundamental nature and track record of this regime,” Cooper told the House of Commons.
“Just as they did in 2022, it is absolutely clear that the Iranian regime are trying to paint these protests as the result of foreign influence and instigation.
“They are using that accusation to try and whip up opposition to the protests amongst anti-western Iranians, and to try and justify their vicious and sickening attacks on the ordinary civilians marching in the streets.”
The US, which has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, and already warns Americans against travelling to the country, issued an alert saying US citizens in Iran should consider departing to Armenia or Turkey if safe to do so.
Trump was expected to be briefed on Iran later on Wednesday (AEDT) after returning to Washington from Detroit, where is speaking about the US economy.
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