U.S. President Donald Trump was consulting with his national security team Tuesday about next steps with Iran as he looked to get a better understanding of the number of Iranian citizens who have been killed and arrested in more than two weeks of unrest throughout the country.
Trump said he believes that the killing is “significant” and that his administration would “act accordingly.” He added that he believed the Iranian government was “badly misbehaving.”
But the president said he has yet to receive a confirmed number of Iranians killed in the protests that began late last month, saying he has heard “five different sets of numbers” about the death toll.
Since the protests began Dec. 28, 18,100 people have been arrested and more than 2,571 have been killed, the vast majority protesters, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency. The organization relies on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities.
“The message is they’ve got to show humanity,” Trump said of the Iranian government. “They’ve got a big problem. And I hope they’re not going to be killing people.”
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The comments came after Trump earlier in the day announced he was cutting off the prospect of talks with Iranian officials amid a protest crackdown, telling Iranian citizens “help is on its way.”
Trump did not offer any details about what the help would entail, but his remarks come just two days after the Republican president said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic.
But Trump appeared to make an abrupt shift about his willingness to engage with the Iranian government.
“Iranian Patriots, keep protesting and take over your institutions if you can,” Trump said in speech Tuesday at an auto factory in Michigan. “Save the names of the killers and abusers that are abusing you. You are being very badly abused.”
Reuters
Iranian state television offered the first official acknowledgment of the high death toll, quoting an official saying the country had “a lot of martyrs” and that it did not release a toll earlier because of the dead suffering gruesome injuries. However, that statement came only after activists reported their toll.
The demonstrations began in anger over Iran’s ailing economy and soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Images obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press from demonstrations in Tehran showed graffiti and chants calling for Khamenei’s death – something that could carry a death sentence.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al-Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he had continued to communicate with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
But after Trump’s message Tuesday, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani responded by writing: “We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Death toll spikes
The activist group said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests.
With the internet down in Iran, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The AP has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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Skylar Thompson with the Human Rights Activists News Agency told AP the new toll was shocking, particularly since it reached four times the death toll of the months-long 2022 Mahsa Amini protests in just two weeks.
She warned that the toll would still rise: “We’re horrified, but we still think the number is conservative.”
Regime says communication with U.S. is open after weekend of protests challenging clerical rule.
Reuters
Speaking by phone for the first time since their calls were cut off from the outside world, Iranian witnesses described a heavy security presence in central Tehran, burned-out government buildings, smashed ATMs and few passersby. Meanwhile, people remain concerned about what comes next, including the possibility of a U.S. attack.
“My customers talk about Trump’s reaction while wondering if he plans a military strike against the Islamic Republic,” said shopkeeper Mahmoud, who gave only his first name out of concerns for his safety. “I don’t expect Trump or any other foreign country cares about the interests of Iranians.”
Reza, a taxi driver who also gave just his first name, said protests remain on many people’s minds. “People – particularly young ones – are hopeless but they talk about continuing the protests,” he said.
Iranians reach out, but world can’t reach in
Several people in Tehran were able to call the AP on Tuesday and speak to a journalist. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. Witnesses said text messaging was still down, and internet users in Iran could connect to government-approved websites locally but nothing abroad.
Anti-riot police officers, wearing helmets and body armour, carried batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers, according to the witnesses. Police stood watch at major intersections. Nearby, the witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, who similarly carried firearms and batons. Security officials in plain clothes were visible in public spaces as well.
Pedestrians pass a burned out building in Tehran on Saturday.Getty Images/Getty Images
Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, they said. Banks struggled to complete transactions without the internet, they added.
Shops were open, though there was little foot traffic in the capital. Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where the demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of Iran’s rial currency, opened Tuesday. However, a witness described speaking to multiple shopkeepers who said security forces ordered them to reopen no matter what. Iranian state media had not acknowledged that order.
The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
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It also appeared that security service personnel were searching for Starlink terminals as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in their homes and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.
On the streets, people also could be seen challenging plain clothes security officials, who were stopping passersby at random.
A crowd gathers during a pro-government rally Monday in Tehran.Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
State television also read a statement about mortuary and morgue services being free – a signal some likely charged high fees for the release of bodies amid the crackdown.
Khamenei, in a statement carried by state TV, praised the tens of thousands who took part in pro-government demonstrations nationwide on Monday.
“This was a warning to American politicians to stop their deceit and not rely on traitorous mercenaries,” he said. “The Iranian nation is strong and powerful and aware of the enemy.”
State TV on Monday aired chants from the crowd, which appeared in the tens of thousands, of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney-general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.