Tehran, Iran. Iran’s deadly crackdown appears to have broadly quelled protests for now, according to a rights group and residents, as state media reported more arrests and the White House warned of “grave consequences” if killings continue.
U.S. warnings and regional diplomacy
After President Donald Trump’s repeated threats of military action against Iran in support of protesters, fears of a U.S. attack retreated since Wednesday, when Trump said he had been told killings in the crackdown were easing.
A Gulf official said U.S. allies including Saudi Arabia and Qatar conducted intense diplomacy with Washington this week to prevent a U.S. strike, warning of consequences for the wider region that would ultimately impact the United States.
The White House said on Thursday that Trump is closely monitoring the situation on the ground, adding that the president and his team have warned Tehran there would be “grave consequences” if killings linked to its crackdown continue.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump understands that 800 scheduled executions were halted, and that the president was keeping “all of his options on the table”.
Protests and reported security deployments
The protests erupted on December 28 over soaring inflation in Iran, whose economy has been crippled by sanctions, before spiralling into one of the biggest challenges yet to the clerical establishment that has run Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
With information flows from Iran obstructed by an internet blackout, several residents of Tehran said the capital had been quiet since Sunday. They said drones were flying over the city and they had seen no sign of protests on Thursday or Friday.
Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw said there had been no protest gatherings since Sunday and that “the security environment remains highly restrictive”.
Hengaw, which is based in Norway, said its sources confirmed a heavy military and security presence in cities and towns where protests previously took place, as well as in several locations that did not experience major demonstrations.
What developments will you be watching next in Iran and the international response?