Iran Protests: Trump Threatens Regime as Death Toll Rises – Updates

The situation in Iran remains volatile as protests continue and international concerns mount. U.S. President Donald Trump has continued to issue warnings to the Iranian regime amid a rising death toll.

Update, 3:06 PM: U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly communicated to Iran that he does not intend to attack the country, in exchange for Tehran exercising restraint. Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, shared this information on Thursday, as reported by Pakistani media outlet Dawn.

The diplomat stated that he received information around 1:00 AM indicating Trump’s desire to avoid war and his request for Iran to refrain from attacking U.S. interests in the region. Moghadam described the ongoing protests in Iran as “the worst in the country’s history,” but asserted that the situation is now “completely under control.”

Protests in Iran: “Unprecedented Scale” of Violence by Cleric Regime

Update, 2:17 PM: Human rights organizations allege that the Iranian government has responded to the unrest with an unprecedented level of brutality. “The repression of nationwide protests in Iran has led to mass killings on a scale previously unseen,” Amnesty International stated, according to the Associated Press. Evidence, including verified videos and eyewitness accounts, suggests that security forces have repeatedly shot unarmed protesters in the head and upper body.

Amnesty International is urging UN member states to launch immediate investigations and pursue prosecutions against those responsible. “Even by the dismal standards of Iranian authorities’ suppression of previous protest waves, the severity and scale of the current killings and repression are unprecedented,” said Julia Duchrow, Secretary General of Amnesty International Germany. The group Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), based in Oslo, has reported a death toll of 3,428 protesters, though the actual number may be significantly higher. Independent verification of these figures is currently unavailable.

Protests in Iran: G7 Expresses Concern Over Events

Update, 1:55 PM: The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States, along with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a joint statement expressing serious concern over the events unfolding in Iran. The statement condemns the intensification of the brutal suppression of the Iranian people by the authorities. Published on the EU website Thursday, the statement expresses deep concern over the high number of reported deaths and injuries and condemns the targeted use of violence by Iranian security forces against demonstrators.

Update, 12:32 PM: American experts believe the Iranian government faces an existential threat from the current mass protests. “The Iranian regime views the protests as a precursor to a revolution that it must crush completely and immediately,” according to an analysis by the Critical Threats Project (CTP), led by the Washington-based think tanks Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and American Enterprise Institute.

Violent actions by individual protesters could reinforce the political leadership’s conviction that protests could escalate into a revolution. The government is likely to successfully suppress this resistance, but the loyalty of the security forces will be crucial. The leadership has abandoned any attempts to distinguish between “legitimate economic protests and illegitimate protests” against the state, the experts added.

Warning of Escalation Due to Iran Protests: U.S. Deploys Aircraft Carrier

Update, 11:22 AM: According to reports from American media, the U.S. currently does not have any aircraft carriers stationed in the Middle East or Europe due to the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuela. However, the Department of Defense has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying fleet to be redeployed from the South China Sea to the Middle East, as reported by NewsNation.

Update, 10:54 AM: The Turkish Foreign Minister called for talks on Thursday to find a solution to the crisis in Iran. “We absolutely want problems to be solved through dialogue,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters in Istanbul. As reported by the Guardian, Fidan said, “Hopefully, the United States and Iran will resolve this matter with each other – either through mediation, other actors, or in direct dialogue.”

Protests in Iran: Impact on Airspace

Update, 10:18 AM: Following reports of a closure of Iranian airspace, authorities in the country have issued an all-clear. Flights are operating normally, state radio reported, citing the civil aviation authority. Passengers were still advised to check a central number to confirm their flights were still scheduled. Iran did not officially confirm the airspace closure overnight.

Update, 10:05 AM: The Iranian judiciary has denied claims that detained protester Erfan Soltani was to be executed. According to state news agency IRIB, the 26-year-old has not been sentenced to death. Concerns about Soltani have grown in recent days after the U.S. State Department, his family, and human rights groups stated that Iranian authorities were planning his execution.

Iran Protests Subside: Cleric Regime Deploys Special Units

Update, 9:25 AM: According to a reporter for Al-Jazeera in Tehran, the protests in Iran are gradually calming down. Several factors are believed to be contributing to this: the cleric regime has significantly tightened security measures in recent days, and special forces are now reportedly being deployed against protesters. Another reason is that many protesters who initially took to the streets to demonstrate against the economic situation have now withdrawn. However, public dissatisfaction with the economic deterioration remains.

Situation in Iran: Seven Days Without Internet

Update, 8:38 AM: Iran has completely shut down internet access for its population for the seventh consecutive day. Netblocks, an organization specializing in internet shutdowns, reported on the platform X that the internet shutdown has now lasted for more than 156 hours.

The information vacuum is simultaneously strengthening pro-regime accounts and AI-generated fakes, Netblocks said. Some people are reportedly circumventing the blackout using Starlink satellite internet – provided they were able to illegally import the necessary terminals. Exceptions to the shutdown apply only to security forces and select state media.

Protests Against Cleric Regime: Lufthansa Avoids Airspace – Concern Over U.S. Military Strike Remains

Update, 7:57 AM: The air traffic has also been affected by the developments. Lufthansa announced that it would avoid the airspace over Iran and Iraq “until further notice.” The situation is considered extremely risky due to the danger of civilian aircraft being misidentified by air defenses, as reported by Reuters.

The concern about misidentification is justified: in 2020, the Iranian military shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board. The temporary closure of airspace highlights the tense situation in the region.

Iran, however, has reopened its airspace after nearly a five-hour closure overnight on January 15, amid concerns about an impending U.S. military strike.

USA Threatens Military Strike Against Tehran – Lufthansa Avoids Airspace Over Iran

Update, 7:16 AM: The Lufthansa Group has suspended flights through Iranian and Iraqi airspace due to the tense security situation in the Middle East. These areas will be avoided “until further notice,” a group spokesperson told the AFP news agency. “Some flights” may be canceled altogether. Affected passengers will be contacted by their airline.

European Officials Rule Out U.S. Military Strike in Iran

Update, 6:14 AM: The United States may launch a military strike against Iran within the next 24 hours, according to two European government officials.

“All signals indicate that a U.S. attack is imminent,” one Western military official told Reuters. The development underscores growing regional tensions.

Cleric Minister Responds to Trump Threat

Update, 5:05 AM, January 15: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Iran does not plan executions following the mass protests. There is no plan to hang people, Araghchi said in an interview with U.S. broadcaster Fox News.

U.S. President Donald Trump had previously threatened the Iranian leadership with severe consequences if protesters were executed. “We will react very harshly,” he told CBS News on Tuesday, January 13. Trump did not provide specific details about what steps the U.S. government is considering.

Update, 9:09 PM: U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that the killings and executions of protesters in Iran have stopped. “We were just notified that the killings in Iran have stopped, stopped,” Trump said at a signing ceremony at the White House. He based this claim on “reliable sources.” He also said Iran is not planning executions.

Update, 6:26 PM: According to activists, at least 3,428 protesters have been killed in Iran since the protests erupted at the end of December. The human rights organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), based in Oslo, also stated that the actual number of deaths could be significantly higher. The figures cannot be independently verified at this time.

Iranian Foreign Minister: Israel Wants to Drag U.S. Into War

Update, 5:58 PM: Iran’s Foreign Minister has accused Israel of trying to draw the U.S. into a war. “Israel has always tried to get the U.S. to fight its wars. But remarkably, they are now openly talking about what was previously kept quiet,” Abbas Araghchi wrote on X in response to a post by an Israeli journalist, who reported on alleged foreign arming of protesters in Iran. “President Trump should now know exactly where to start to end the killings,” the minister added.

Due to Iran Protests: Personnel to Leave U.S. Military Base in Qatar

Update, 1:31 PM: Some U.S. Air Force personnel at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar are temporarily leaving the base, Reuters reported, citing three unnamed diplomats. However, this is “not an ordered evacuation.”

The report comes amid increasing warnings from the Trump administration that it could intervene militarily to protect protesters in Iran. Tehran, in turn, stated on Tuesday that it would respond with force to any attack.

Iran Strike by U.S.: Trump Restrained by Allies

Update, 9:27 AM: Trump wants to proceed with a military strike against the regime in Iran, but Israeli and Arab government officials have reportedly advised the Trump administration to refrain from an attack for now. They argue that the regime in Tehran may not yet be sufficiently weakened for a U.S. intervention to succeed.

Report: Iran’s Rivals Advise U.S. President Trump Against Military Strike Against Cleric Regime

Update, 7:03 AM: Representatives of rivals to Iran reportedly advised U.S. President Trump against launching a military attack against the cleric regime. Israeli and Arab government officials believe, according to NBC News, that the leadership in Tehran is not yet sufficiently weakened to be overthrown by a U.S. attack.

Some would prefer to wait until the Iranian leadership is under even greater pressure, the report said, citing American officials and government representatives. The situation in Iran is currently developing rapidly.

Iran Protests: Trump Warns of Imminent Executions

Update, 5:08 AM, January 14: U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened the Iranian leadership with harsh consequences should the regime execute demonstrators. Should the regime begin to hang demonstrators, there will be a very harsh reaction, Trump said to CBS, as reported by Reuters.

The backdrop is the impending execution of a 26-year-old man today (January 14), according to a Kurdish human rights organization.

Iran News: Trump Imposes Tariffs – Protests Continue

Update, 22:08 PM: On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the people of Iran should continue to protest, stating that help is “on the way.” But what does the U.S. President mean by this? Trump told reporters that he could not elaborate.

Trump is now calling on U.S. citizens and allies living in Iran to leave the country. “I would say it’s a good idea to leave the country,” Trump said, according to CNN. The U.S. government has threatened Iran in recent days with possible military strikes.

Current Protests in Iran: Pahlavi Hopes for Regime Change

The name of Reza Pahlavi frequently appears in the nationwide protests in Iran. The son of the Shah, who was overthrown in 1979, hopes for U.S. intervention sooner rather than later. “The best way to ensure that fewer people are killed in Iran is to intervene early so that this regime finally collapses and all the problems we are facing come to an end,” he told CBS News. Pahlavi is controversial within the opposition, but is seen as a beacon of hope by some.

Tehran is trying to “trick the world” by pretending to be willing to negotiate a way out of the unrest, Pahlavi said. The turning point would be “when this regime realizes that it can no longer rely on continued repression without the world reacting.” Pahlavi claims a future leadership role in Iran and points to chants with his name during the protests. However, it is unclear how much support he actually has within the country.

Reaction to Iran Protests: Wadephul Speaks of “Illegitimate Regime”

In light of the protests in Iran, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul recently called for stricter measures against the leadership in Tehran during a joint appearance with U.S. Foreign Minister Marco Rubio. Wadephul said that an “illegitimate regime” without legitimacy among the people is using means that violate all rules of humanity, and announced that Germany would try to expand sanctions against the leadership in Tehran. (fbu with agencies)