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U.S. President Donald Trump warned of unspecified "very beardown action" if Iranian authorities spell up with threatened hangings of immoderate protesters, with Tehran calling American warnings a "pretext for subject intervention".
International outrage has built implicit the crackdown that a rights radical said has apt killed thousands during protests posing 1 of the biggest challenges yet to Iran's clerical leadership. Iran's UN ngo posted a connection connected X, vowing that Washington's "playbook" would "fail again".
Iran protests LIVE: Trump warns of ‘very beardown action’ if Iran hangs protesters
"U.S. fantasies and argumentation toward Iran are rooted successful authorities change, with sanctions, threats, engineered unrest, and chaos serving arsenic the modus operandi to manufacture a pretext for subject intervention," the station said.
Iranian authorities person insisted they had regained power of the state aft successive nights of wide protests nationwide since.
Rights groups impeach the authorities of fatally shooting protesters and masking the standard of the crackdown with an net blackout that has present surpassed the five-day mark.
New videos connected societal media, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up successful the Kahrizak morgue conscionable southbound of the Iranian capital, with the corpses wrapped successful achromatic bags and distraught relatives searching for loved ones.
Mr. Trump, who earlier told the protesters successful Iran that "help is connected its way", said connected Tuesday (January 13, 2026) successful a CBS News interrogation that the United States would enactment if Iran began hanging protesters.
Tehran prosecutors person said Iranian authorities would property superior charges of "moharebeh" [waging warfare against God], against immoderate suspects arrested implicit caller demonstrations.
Editorial | At a crossroads: On Iran’s unrest, its re-engagement with the world
"We volition instrumentality precise beardown enactment if they bash specified a thing," said the American leader, who has repeatedly threatened Iran with subject intervention. "When they commencement sidesplitting thousands of radical — and present you're telling maine astir hanging. We'll spot however that's going to enactment retired for them," Mr. Trump said.
The U.S. State Department connected its Farsi connection X relationship said 26-year-old protestor Erfan Soltani had been sentenced to beryllium executed connected Wednesday.
"Erfan is the archetypal protester to beryllium sentenced to death, but helium won't beryllium the last," the State Department said, adding much than 10,600 Iranians had been arrested. Rights radical Amnesty International called connected Iran to instantly halt each executions, including Erfan Soltani's.
Mr. Trump urged connected his Truth Social level for Iranians to "KEEP PROTESTING", adding: "I person cancelled each meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless sidesplitting of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY." It was not instantly wide what meetings helium was referring to oregon what the quality of the assistance would be.
Rising casualties
European nations besides signalled their choler implicit the crackdown, with France, Germany and the United Kingdom among the countries that summoned their Iranian ambassadors, arsenic did the European Union.
"The rising fig of casualties successful Iran is horrifying," said EU main Ursula von der Leyen, vowing further sanctions against those responsible.
Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said it had confirmed 734 radical killed during the protests, including 9 minors, but warned the decease toll was apt acold higher.
"The existent fig of those killed is apt successful the thousands," IHR's manager Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said. Iranian authorities media has said dozens of members of the information forces person been killed, with their funerals turning into ample pro-government rallies.
Authorities successful Tehran person announced a wide ceremonial ceremonial successful the superior connected Wednesday (January 14, 2026) for the "martyrs" of caller days.
Amir, an Iraqi machine scientist, returned to Baghdad connected Monday (January 12, 2026) and described melodramatic scenes successful Tehran.
"On Thursday night, my friends and I saw protesters successful Tehran's Sarsabz neighbourhood amid a dense subject presence. The constabulary were firing rubber bullets," helium told AFP successful Iraq. Reza Pahlavi, the U.S.-based lad of Iran's ousted shah, called connected the subject to halt suppressing protests. "You are the nationalist subject of Iran, not the subject of the Islamic Republic," helium said successful a statement.
Serious challenge
The authorities connected Monday (January 12, 2026) sought to regain power of the streets with wide nationwide rallies that ultimate person Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed arsenic impervious that the protestation question was defeated, calling them a "warning" to the United States.
In powerfulness since 1989 and present aged 86, Mr. Khamenei has faced important challenges, astir precocious the 12-day warfare successful June against Israel, which forced him to spell into hiding.
Analysts person cautioned that it is premature to foretell the contiguous demise of the theocratic system, pointing to the repressive levers the enactment controls, including the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is charged with safeguarding the Islamic revolution.
Nicole Grajewski, prof astatine the Sciences Po Centre for International Studies, told AFP the protests represented a "serious challenge" to the Islamic republic, but it was unclear if they would unseat the leadership, pointing to "the sheer extent and resilience of Iran's repressive apparatus".
