Fears of a possible U.S. military strike against the country echoed across the wider Middle East on Wednesday, while Iran’s currency hit a new low a month after a nationwide and bloody crackdown by Iranian officials.
Two countries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have announced that they will not allow their airspace to be used for any attack. But the US has deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided missile destroyers to the region, which can be used to launch attacks from the sea.
Despite the fact that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has set two red lines, it is not clear what he will decide on the use of force – the killing of peaceful demonstrators and the possible mass execution of prisoners. At least 6,221 people have been killed in Iran’s bloody crackdown on peaceful protests, activists said on Wednesday.
“We hope Iran will quickly ‘come to the table’ and negotiate a fair and just deal – no nuclear weapons – that benefits all parties,” Trump wrote on the reality social platform on Wednesday. “Time is running out, that’s really the point!”
Referring to the June attack on Iran as the United States embroiled itself in Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic Republic, Trump said, “The next attack will be much worse!”
Iran’s UN mission was quick to respond to Trump, saying on X: “Iran is ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests – but if pushed, it will defend itself and respond as it has in the past!”
Iran’s state media, which now calls the opposition “terrorists,” has been the only source of news for many since Tehran cut off international Internet access three weeks ago. But Iranians are angered and dismayed by images of gunned-down protesters as the economy — the original focus of the protests — sinks further.
“I feel that my generation has not been able to provide better education to young people,” said Mohammad Heidari, a 59-year-old teacher in Tehran. “The results of decades of teaching by me and my colleagues have resulted in thousands of deaths, probably many wounded and prisoners.”
Diplomacy between Iran, Arab countries
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry’s top diplomat, Badr Abdelati, spoke separately to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, saying, “We will work to bring stability to the region so that it does not enter into new instability.”
The statement, however, cited Iranian state media Aragchi as saying third-party mediators had been contacted. Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and friend of Trump, has previously discussed Iran’s nuclear program. There was no immediate acknowledgment of the call from the White House.
Turkey’s foreign minister spoke to Aragçi on the phone about de-escalation of tensions in the region. Turkish officials have expressed concern that intervening in Iran could cause instability or an influx of refugees.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a meeting with Iranian President Massoud Pezshkian that the kingdom “will not allow its airspace or territory to be used for military action against Iran or any attack from any side.” This follows a similar commitment made by the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has acknowledged that thousands of people have been killed in the past two weeks in anti-government protests, but blames the US for the death toll. They called President Donald Trump a criminal for supporting protests against tens of thousands of pro-government protesters. The US-based Human Rights Watch reported that 3,090 people were killed, including 2,885 protesters, and more than 22,000 were arrested. CBC News spoke to exiled Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad about the protests.
America’s largest regional base is Qatar’s sprawling Al Udeid Airport, which will serve as the future headquarters of the US military’s Central Command. Both Aragchi and Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar acknowledged the calls but gave few details on what was discussed.
Iran attacked al-Udeid in June in response to Trump sending US warplanes to bomb Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites during last year’s war.
“Our position is exactly this: implementing diplomacy through military threats cannot be effective or constructive,” Aragchi told reporters outside a cabinet meeting Wednesday. “If they want negotiations to take shape, they must abandon threats, excessive demands and illogicalities.” Negotiations have their own principles: they are based on mutual respect and must be conducted on an equal footing for the common good”.
Activists have provided a new death toll.
Although the protests stopped for weeks after the attack, the data coming out of Iran’s Starlink satellite dish is reaching activists trying to make sense of the massacre.
On Wednesday, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch reported that at least 6,221 people had died, including at least 5,858 protesters, 214 government-aligned forces, 100 children and 49 non-violent protesters. He added that more than 42,300 have been arrested.
The group verifies each death and arrest with its network of human rights activists on the ground in Iran. The Associated Press was unable to provide an independent estimate of the death toll because authorities cut off the Internet and disrupted calls to the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian government put the death toll at a much lower figure of 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labeled the rest as “terrorists”. In the past, the Iranian theocracy has downplayed or underreported the number of people killed in violence.
That death toll exceeded any protests or riots in Iran in decades, reminiscent of the chaos surrounding the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The protests began on December 28, sparked by the fall of Iran’s currency, the rial, and quickly spread. The country experienced the longest internet blackout in its history for more than two weeks.
Iran announced on Wednesday that it had executed Hamidreza Sabet, accused of spying for Israel. Sabet’s killing is the 13th time Iran has executed alleged spies for Israel since the June war.