Iran, US at possible precipice of renewed conflict as protests continue

Washington and Tehran are engaged successful escalating rhetoric implicit ongoing protests successful Iran, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying his authorities is acceptable for warfare aft United States President Donald Trump threatened subject enactment implicit Iran’s crackdown connected the demonstrations.

Iran’s quality bureau said connected Tuesday that US arms and explosive instrumentality had been seized from “militants” who hid the weapons successful respective homes successful the country.

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The connection followed earlier claims by Araghchi, successful an exclusive interrogation with Al Jazeera, that Iranian authorities had recordings of voices from overseas giving orders to “terrorist agents” to occurrence connected constabulary and protesters.

Iranian officials person antecedently accused the US and Israel of deploying “foreign agents” to the state to instigate violence.

“The net was lone chopped aft we confronted violent operations, and realised that orders were coming from extracurricular the country,” Araghchi told Al Jazeera.

“We person recorded voices of individuals giving orders from overseas to violent agents, instructing them to occurrence astatine constabulary forces and occurrence astatine demonstrators if constabulary forces were not present. Their volition was to dispersed killing.”

In the interview, Araghchi responded to Washington’s caller threats of subject enactment implicit the repression of the protests by saying his state was acceptable for warfare if Washington wanted “to test” it.

“If Washington wants to trial the subject enactment it has tested before, we are acceptable for it,” said Araghchi, adding that helium hoped the US would take “the omniscient option” of dialogue, portion informing of “those trying to resistance Washington into warfare successful bid to service Israel’s interests”.

He said communications with US peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff had “continued earlier and aft the protests and are inactive ongoing”.

Vance, Rubio ‘presenting options’ to Trump

The bureau of US Vice President JD Vance said connected Tuesday that apical Trump medication officials were preparing diplomatic and subject options to contiguous to Trump implicit the ongoing protests.

“Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio unneurotic are presenting a suite of options to the president, ranging from a diplomatic attack to subject actions,” said William Martin, Vance’s communications director.

The comments came arsenic hardline US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham urged Trump to escalate unit connected Iran’s leadership, saying the “biggest prize” of his presidency would beryllium the “demise of the Iranian authorities led by the Ayatollah”.

He said US subject enactment should absorption connected targeting “the infrastructure that allows the sidesplitting to happen”, portion stopping abbreviated of advocating a crushed invasion.

Putting US troops connected the crushed against the battle-hardened Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would hazard superior US losses.

The US past twelvemonth bombed Iranian atomic sites erstwhile it joined Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.

The statements followed Trump’s remarks connected Sunday that helium was considering “strong options” for Iran implicit its leadership’s crackdown connected the demonstrations, which began past period implicit a plummeting currency and person widened into broader antigovernment protests, resulting successful galore deaths and prompting Iranian authorities to chopped disconnected the country’s internet.

The semiofficial Tasnim quality bureau reported connected Sunday that 109 information unit had been killed successful the protests.

Authorities person not confirmed the fig of demonstrators who person mislaid their lives, but absorption activists based extracurricular the state said the decease toll is overmuch higher and includes hundreds of protesters.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify either figure.

US tariffs connected countries that commercialized with Iran

In summation to the menace of subject action, Trump has threatened countries engaging successful commercialized with Iran with a 25 percent tariff connected immoderate concern done with the US. 

He announced the determination successful a societal media station connected Monday, stating that it was “final and conclusive” but offering fewer further details.

The determination drew a scathing effect from China. In a connection issued successful Washington, DC, the Chinese embassy said Beijing “firmly opposes immoderate illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction”, and volition instrumentality “all indispensable measures” to safeguard its interests.

As demonstrations continued and information restrictions tightened, Washington besides urged its citizens successful Iran to fly the state instantly via Armenia oregon Turkiye.

“Leave Iran now. Have a program for departing Iran that does not trust connected US authorities help,” the US Virtual Embassy successful Iran said successful a information alert issued connected Tuesday.

The Iranian authorities has “restricted entree to mobile, landline, and nationalist net networks”, portion airlines “continue to bounds oregon cancel flights to and from Iran” with respective suspending services until Friday, the alert said.

Internet blackout continues

Iran’s net has been unopen down for much than 100 hours, the London-based cybersecurity show NetBlocks said, with nationalist connectivity levels continuing to flatline astatine astir 1 percent of mean levels.

Despite restrictions connected telephone networks, mobile telephone users successful Iran were concisely capable to marque planetary calls connected Tuesday, The Associated Press quality bureau reported, though it was incapable to instrumentality calls to those numbers.

The Iranians who spoke to AP said SMS substance messaging was inactive down and that net users successful Iran could link to government-approved websites locally, but thing abroad.

They described seeing a dense information beingness successful cardinal Tehran, with antiriot constabulary officers, wearing helmets and assemblage armour, and carrying shotguns, teardrop state launchers and shields posted astatine important intersections.

Witnesses said respective banks and authorities offices had been burned during the unrest, adding that banks were struggling to implicit transactions without the internet.