Iran, US cut contact

Direct contact between the United States and Iran has broken down amid rising tensions over Tehran’s violent crackdown on protesters and growing fears of US military intervention.

A senior official told Reuters that communication between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff has been suspended.

The development came as US President Donald Trump renewed his threat of “very strong action” on Iran, where rights groups say more than 2,600 people have been killed in one of the biggest protest movements against clerical rule since 1979.

Tehran, meanwhile, warned neighbours hosting US troops that it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.

According to an Israeli assessment, Trump has decided to intervene, although the scope and timing of this action remains unclear, an Israeli official said.

The three diplomats told Reuters that some personnel had been advised to leave the US military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by Wednesday evening. One of the diplomats described the move as a “posture change” rather than an “ordered evacuation”. 

Defying Trump’s warnings and international pressure, Iranian authorities vowed to fast-track trials for what they describe as “rioters”. Tehran has branded the protests as foreign-backed “acts of terror”.

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on a visit to a prison holding protest detainees that “if a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire then we must do our work quickly”, in comments broadcast by state television.

Iranian news agencies also quoted him as saying the trials should be held in public.

Iranian prosecutors have said authorities would press capital charges of “waging war against God” on some detainees.

Trump has been openly threatening to intervene in Iran for days, though without giving specifics.

In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Trump vowed “very strong action” if Iran executes protesters. “If they hang them, you’re going to see some things,” he said. He also urged Iranians on Tuesday to keep protesting and take over institutions, declaring “help is on the way”.

The Iranian official, a senior figure speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran had asked US allies in the region to “prevent Washington from attacking Iran”.

“Tehran has told regional countries, from Saudi Arabia and UAE to Turkey, that US bases in those countries will be attacked” if the US targets Iran, the official said.

Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said that his country has “many surprises” in store for any enemy that attacks it.

“If these threats are turned into action, we will defend the country with full force and until the last drop of blood, and our defence would be painful to them,” Nasirzadeh said at a security meeting, according to Press TV.

He also warned countries that provide assistance for any strike on Iran that they “will be legitimate targets”.

The flow of information from inside Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout.

US-based HRANA rights group said it had so far verified the deaths of 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated individuals. An Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that about 2,000 people had been killed.

A Western official said it did not appear the Iranian government was facing imminent collapse and its security apparatus remained in control. The crackdown had restored some calm, though the authorities had been impacted, the official added.

An Israeli government official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet was briefed late on Tuesday about the chances of regime collapse or US intervention. Israel fought a 12-day war against its arch-foe last year.

Iranian state TV broadcast footage of large funeral processions for people killed in the unrest in Tehran, Isfahan and Bushehr, and other cities. People waved flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and held aloft signs with anti-riot slogans.

Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group, has reported a 26-year-old man, Erfan Soltani, arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, was to be executed on Wednesday. Hengaw yesterday told Reuters it had not been able to confirm whether the sentence had been carried out. Reuters could not independently confirm the report.

UN and the Amnesty International yesterday called on Iran to immediately halt all executions, including Soltani’s.

While Iranian authorities have weathered previous protests, the latest unrest is taking place with Tehran still recovering from last year’s war, and with its regional position weakened by blows to allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks against Israel.

Asked what he meant by “help is on its way”, Trump told reporters on Tuesday they would have to figure that out. Trump has said military action is among the options he is weighing.

“The killing looks like it’s significant, but we don’t know yet for certain,” said Trump upon returning to the Washington area from Detroit.

Once he has the numbers, he said, “We’ll act accordingly.”

Trump on Monday announced 25 percent import tariffs on products from any country doing business with Iran, drawing strong reaction from China which relies on Tehran for its oil needs. 

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday vowed to continue working with Iran despite threats of attacks and tariffs from the US.

Asked about US pressure on Iran, Lavrov said Russia will implement bilateral agreements, adding no external power can alter the nature of ties between the two countries.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Lavrov said US actions are contributing to the fragmentation of the global order and damaging Washington’s credibility.

By abandoning principles it long promoted, the US is weakening the international framework established over decades, he added.

Meanwhile, India’s Embassy in Tehran yesterday called on its nationals to leave Iran citing what it called an “evolving situation” in the Islamic Republic.

In recent days, several countries have urged their nationals to leave Iran including the US, Canada, and Australia amid fears of escalating violence.