The most enduring outcome of not attacking would not simply be the failure of this uprising. It would be the longer-term damage: a confirmation that external backing is largely performative.
While an estimated 2,000 people have been killed in anti-Islamic regime protests in recent weeks, Erfaneh Soltani is the first protester to be sentenced to execution.
"This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue. The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard," Volker Turk said.
“We will never allow terrorist agents and terrorist groups, especially those directed from abroad and particularly by Israel, to continue their actions," Iranian FM Araghchi told Al Jazeera.
Protesters gathered in Iran’s largest cemetery, Behesht-e Zahra, on Monday, chanting slogans such as “This year is the year of bloodshed, Seyyed Ali will be overthrown.”
The United States virtual embassy in Iran urged American nationals to “leave Iran now,” citing protests that are “escalating and may turn violent.”
While Iran shuts down its internet, Starlink defies the ban, keeping some Iranians connected during the ongoing crackdown on protests.
US forces in the Middle East are ready for operations against Iran, as military plans move into advanced stages, an anonymous official told Al Jazeera.
NATO member Turkey does not wish to see chaos in Iran, with Omer Celik, spokesperson for Turkey's ruling AK Party, saying that "these problems must be resolved through the internal dynamics."
HRANA estimated there were some 250 bodies at the facility, and published a video on X/Twitter that appears to show deceased people, in open body bags, lying in rows.
Over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi initiated talks with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff regarding the unrest in Iran, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Axios.
