• Tehran shows charred buses, highlights destruction from unrest.
• Authorities praise security forces’ restraint during protest wave.
• Exiled royals urge continued protests, say there’s no turning back.

Iran on Wednesday put the protest death toll at 3,117, terming the unrest “foreign-backed acts of terrorism” and declaring 2,427 Iranians, including civilians and security personnel, as martyrs.

Demonstrations and strikes initially sparked by economic grievances turned into a mass movement against the present leadership that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution, with people pouring onto the streets in mass protests for several days from January 8.

However, the protests appear for now to have petered out in the face of what activists describe as a crackdown under the cover of a blanket internet shutdown.

The Iranian authorities have condemned the protest wave as a “terrorist” incident characterised by violent “riots” fuelled by the United States.

In the first official toll from the authorities, a statement by Iran’s foundation for veterans and martyrs, cited by state television, said a total of 3,117 people were killed during protests.

Of these, 2,427 people, including members of the security forces, were declared “martyrs”, with the statement calling them “innocent” victims.

The official toll was also posted by the Iranian Embassy in Islamabad in its X post, labelling the protests as “foreign-backed acts of terrorism” which claimed thousands of lives.

“The 690 people who are not among the martyrs are terrorists, rioters, and those who attacked military sites,” Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, told state TV.

He said the high number of “martyrs” showed “restraint and tolerance of the security forces” during protests.

‘No turning back’

In a bid to show the damage caused by the protests, Tehran municipality on Wednesday showed journalists on an escorted official tour roughly a dozen charred buses lined up in the parking lot of a bus depot in the capital.

A key protagonist in the protest movement was Reza Pahlavi, the son of the ousted shah. The US-based Pahlavi called for nightly protests and said he was ready to return to Iran.

In a rare interview, his mother, the former empress Farah Pahlavi, told AFP from her home in Paris in written answers to questions that there was “no turning back” after the wave of protests.

US President Donald Trump has never ruled out military action over the crackdown, although expectations of a swift American response have now receded.

Iranian General Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman of the Iranian armed forces, warned Trump that Tehran would attack him if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was targeted.

In a News Nation interview that aired Tuesday, Trump responded: “I have very firm instructions. Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”

• Trump says reached deal framework on Greenland.
• Understanding achieved during meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.
• Trump says planned tariffs on European allies will be dropped.

DAVOS: US President Donald Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland, ruled out the use of force, and said a deal was in sight to end a dispute over the Danish territory that risked the deepest rupture in transatlantic relations in decades.

On a whirlwind trip to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Trump backed down from weeks of rhetoric that shook the NATO alliance and risked a new global trade war.

Instead, Trump said Western Arctic allies could forge a new deal that satisfies his desire for a “Golden Dome” missile-defence system and access to critical minerals while blocking Russia and China’s ambitions in the Arctic.

“It’s a deal that everybody’s very happy with,” Trump told reporters after emerging from a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “It’s a long-term deal. It’s the ultimate long-term deal. It puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and to minerals.”

He added: “It’s a deal that’s forever.”

A NATO spokesperson said seven NATO allies in the Arctic would work together to ensure their collective security.

“Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland,” the spokesperson said.

Respect for Danish sovereignty, Greenland crucial: Denmark

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the US and NATO had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” and that “based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1.”

Denmark said the issue should be handled through private diplomacy rather than on social media.

“What is crucial for us is that we get to end this with respect for the integrity and sovereignty of the kingdom (of Denmark) and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told public broadcaster DR.

Rasmussen said he had spoken with Rutte but declined to provide details on what had been agreed.

Greenland’s government did not reply to a request for comment.

Trump said he had tasked Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff to take part in further discussions.

Earlier in the day, the Republican US president acknowledged financial markets’ discomfort with his threats and ruled out force in a speech at the Swiss Alpine resort.

“People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

The change in posture on tariffs sparked a stock market rally, with the S&P 500 .SPX index up 1.2%. That added to the market’s recovery after the sharpest equities sell-off in three months.

NATO allies have been unnerved by Trump’s increasing threats to seize the territory from Denmark, which is a long-time US NATO ally.

But in his year in office, Trump has also repeatedly made severe threats that spooked markets, only to water them down or withdraw them completely.

Eight Arab and Islamic countries including Pakistan have announced their shared decision to join the Board of Peace.

In a joint statement, the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar welcomed the invitation extended to their leaders by the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, to join the Board of Peace.

According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these countries have reiterated their support for the peace efforts led by President Donald Trump.

The Ministers also reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to supporting the implementation of the mission of the Board of Peace as a transitional administration, as set out in the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict and endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803, aimed at consolidating a permanent ceasefire, supporting the reconstruction of Gaza, and advancing a just and lasting peace grounded in the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood in accordance with international law, thereby paving the way for security and stability for all countries and peoples of the region.

Each country will sign the joining documents according to its respective relevant legal and other necessary procedures.

Meanwhile, Group of eight Arab-Islamic countries have jointly announced their decision to join the Board of Peace.

In a post on social media platform X today, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said Pakistan has been and will continue to work with its brotherly Arab- Islamic countries for lasting peace in Gaza and for ensuring the right to self-determination of our Palestinian brothers and sisters.