Politics
Trump says killings in Iran subsiding as experts warn on military intervention
- Trump says “we are going to watch” process in Iran.
- Gulf Arab countries concerned about US strikes.
- Trump aides reviewing a range of options, says source.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding and he believed there was no plan for large-scale executions of protesters, as analysts and diplomats warned of possible risks from a US military intervention.
Trump’s comments during an Oval Office event come as fears have escalated in the Middle East that the United States could launch strikes on Iran, following the US president’s repeated threats to intervene on behalf of protesters. He did not rule out possible US military intervention, however.
Some experts and regional diplomats warn that military intervention could backfire by smothering protests, fueling an intensified crackdown on those who participated and triggering retaliatory Iranian missile attacks on US bases in the Middle East.
In a more extreme scenario, several said, US strikes might hasten the government’s collapse, possibly unleashing chaos across the nation of 90 million, encouraging insurgencies by minority Kurdish and Baluch separatists and leaving Iran’s nuclear and missile programs unsecured.
Still, several US intelligence assessments earlier this week concluded that while the protests posed a serious challenge, the government did not appear close to collapsing, according to four knowledgeable sources.
“We have restive ethnic minorities. We have loose undeclared fissile materials. We have dispersed missile stocks with no command and control, and we have had for over a decade refugee flows … and significant atrocities are happening,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, an analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. “All the fears that would come with regime change would be expedited.”
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said “there is no plan” by Iran to hang people, when asked about the anti-government protests in the Middle Eastern nation.
“There is no plan for hanging at all,” the foreign minister told Fox News in an interview on the “Special Report with Bret Baier” show. “Hanging is out of the question,” he said.
The protests appear to be the biggest domestic challenge Iran’s clerical establishment has faced since it took power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with massive crowds demanding the government’s ouster and clashing with security forces.
An Iranian official has said more than 2,000 people have died since the protests erupted on December 28. A rights group put the number of deaths at more than 2,600. Many experts believe the toll is much higher.
The White House and the Iranian delegation to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump on Wednesday said “very important sources on the other side” had reported that killings in Iran’s crackdown were subsiding, and that he believed there was currently no plan for large-scale executions.
He did not rule out potential US military action, saying “we are going to watch what the process is” before noting the US administration received a “very good statement” from Iran.
Concern in the Middle East
Gulf Arab governments “are freaking out” over possible US strikes, said a regional diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. “In every conversation they are having with the Americans and Iranians, (the Gulf governments) have been asking them to calm down.”
Trump’s earlier warnings of intervention assumed fresh weight on Wednesday as the US began withdrawing some personnel in the region after a senior Iranian official said neighboring countries had been told that American bases would be struck in retaliation.
Not everyone expressed concern over possible US strikes.
Abdullah Mohtadi, the leader of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, a leading Kurdish party that advocates a secular democracy, dismissed the threat of separatism and said only significant US strikes can halt widespread killings of protesters by the security forces.
“The chaos is already there. The most important thing is to stop the massacre of people,” said Mohtadi, who lives in exile in London, adding that he believes opposition groups could work together to replace the theocratic government with democratic rule.
Trump, who ordered strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in June during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran, has declined to reveal what action he would take.
One source said that Trump aides have been reviewing a range of options, including limited strikes on symbolic military targets.
Some experts said that with his repeated vows to act, Trump may have left himself little choice but to intervene should the security forces pursue their harsh crackdown.
Otherwise, they said, he risks losing credibility.
The key question, said Taleblu, is what targets would be hit.
“The nature of the target can impact the next round of protests or dampen them altogether if the population senses that Washington’s strikes are merely symbolic … and will have no meaningful impact on the security forces,” he said.
Trump could have a greater impact by interrupting Iran’s cash flows and waging cyber-attacks, giving the protests more time to play out, said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
“A military action would make everyone expect an instant result or complain it wasn’t working,” he said.
Trump has been intent on keeping up pressure on Iran after strikes on its nuclear sites in June, a White House official said. His campaign against Tehran, including both actions and the latest rhetoric, is also intended to show US adversaries that he is not shy about using US military might, the official said, citing the attack on Venezuela that toppled the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro in early January.
DUBAI: Dubai has announced the implementation of a new public safety law introducing stricter regulations for public spaces and events, with fines ranging from AED500 ($136) to AED1 million ($272,000), authorities said.
Under the legislation, repeat violations within one year could result in fines of up to AED2 million, officials added.
The new law, which takes effect across the emirate on June 1, sets out enhanced safety requirements for public venues and gatherings.
The rules were issued by Dubai’s Ruler, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
According to the regulations, public venues and events must ensure safe entry and exit routes, adequate lighting, and capacity limits to prevent overcrowding.
Event organisers will be required to provide firefighting equipment, emergency evacuation plans, first aid facilities, and trained security personnel.
Compliance with safety instructions at public venues has been made mandatory.
The law also requires adherence to designated swimming times at beaches and prohibits access to restricted areas.
Possession of explosives or fireworks without a permit is banned, as is the use and transport of hazardous or flammable materials.
India has allowed an Iranian warship to dock as a humanitarian gesture, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, after the US sank another Iranian navy vessel off neighbouring Sri Lanka.
The Lavan docked at India’s southern port of Kochi on Wednesday, the same day the US submarine struck Iranian navy frigate Dena, after an urgent request from Tehran, an Indian government source told Reuters.
US President Donald Trump has said destroying the Iranian navy is one aim of the war he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic a week ago.
The Lavan – an amphibious landing vessel, according to the US Naval Institute’s online news site – and two other ships “were coming in for a fleet review and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of the events,” Jaishankar told the annual Raisina Dialogue event.
“I think we really approached it from the point of view of humanity, of other than whatever the legal issues were,” he said. “I think we did the right thing.”
At least 87 people were killed in the US attack on the Dena in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, 19 nautical miles off the coast, outside its maritime boundaries.
India received the docking request for the Lavan on February 28, the day the Iran war started, the source said late on Friday, adding that the request “was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues”.
Its 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi, said the source, who asked not to be identified citing confidentiality.
The Dena was on its way back from a naval exercise organised by India, according to the drill’s website and Sri Lankan officials.
Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that they were escorting the Iranian naval ship Booshehr to a harbour on the eastern coast and moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.
- Iran to suspend strikes on neighbours unless attacks from them.
- Putin calls for immediate halt to Iran conflict.
- Iran envoy says 1,332 Iranian civilians killed in war.
Israel and Iran traded attacks on Saturday as the war entered a second week, while the Islamic Republic made an unusual apology to neighbouring states for its “actions”, apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets.
“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
He said Iran’s temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.
Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat centre at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters could not independently verify that report.
Huge explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, state media reported.
Gulf states hit by drones and missiles
The US-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran’s borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations and Israel has launched fresh attacks in Lebanon.
The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have all reported drone and missile attacks over the past week.
Gulf states voiced immediate outrage that their civilian infrastructure — hotels, ports and oil facilities — were struck despite their having had no part in the US-Israeli attacks.
How far Pezeshkian’s statement reflects a decision to back off by Iran, or if it should be read as a warning that Tehran remains ready to strike across the region, is not yet clear, with some strikes still reportedly directed at Gulf states on Saturday morning.
Iran had mended fences with its Gulf neighbours in recent years, including with former regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia — a diplomatic campaign that imploded as the Revolutionary Guards launched a blitz of drones and missiles over the past week.
No deal without surrender, says Trump
While Gulf states host US military bases, they had told Washington they would not allow these to be used for any attacks on Iran.
Iran’s apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices, hurting global business and logistics links and shaking trust in the stability of a critical region for the world’s economy.
Pezeshkian’s remarks come as diplomatic prospects for an end to hostilities appear bleak, with US President Donald Trump demanding Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” he added.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.
Iranian attacks have killed 11 people in Israel, and at least six US service members have been killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Pezeshkian over the numerous civilian casualties resulting from “the armed Israeli-American aggression against Iran” and called for an immediate halt to hostilities, the Kremlin said.
UAE president says country is well and ‘no easy prey’ in first public comments since Iran strikes
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