Iran protests highlights: Tehran extends airspace closure; over 3000 people killed amid unrest

At least 12,000 people have been killed in the ongoing deadly crackdown on protests in Iran, reported Iran International, citing senior government and security sources.

They also said that much of the 'killing' was carried out on January 8 and 9, during an ongoing internet shutdown.

Iran International's Editorial Board has released an entire statement on its findings, titled: "The killing of 12,000 Iranians will not be buried in silence."

Iran's nationwide internet shutdown, which was imposed by authorities amid a crackdown on the ongoing protests, has now lasted for more than 132 hours, a monitor said on Wednesday.

"Metrics show #Iran remains offline as the country wakes to another day of digital darkness," Netblocks posted on X.

Iran's judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, signaled on Wednesday that there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from US President Donald Trump.

He made the remark in a video shared by the Iranian state television online.

Mohseni-Ejei said, "If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly."

"If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn't have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast," he added.

Anti-Khamenei protester, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who was arrested on January 8 during the demonstrations in west Tehran's Fardias, has been sentenced to death and is due to be executed on Wednesday, Iran International reported, citing sources close to his family.

The information was passed on to the Oslo-based rights group, Iran Human Rights.

The exact charges against Soltani were not immediately clear.

Regarding US President Donald Trump's threats over the protests in Iran, China said that it opposes outside interference in internal affairs.

The French foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that he believed the ongoing crackdown in Iran is "probably most violent" in the contemporary history of Iran, Reuters reported.

"What we suspect is that this is the most violent repression in Iran's contemporary history and that it must absolutely stop," Barrot said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday that China supports Iran in maintaining its stability, adding that Beijing has always opposed interference in other countries' internal affairs and the use of force in international relations.

"China's position on the tariffs issue is very clear. Tariff wars have no winners. China will firmly protect its legitimate and lawful rights and interests," he said.

In a post on X, the spokesperson said, "China hopes Iran will maintain stability and supports Iran in doing so. We always oppose interference in other countries' internal affairs and the use or threat of force in international relations."

The United Arab Emirates said the US's decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on countries doing business with Iran will impact its commodity supplies, including food, yet details remain unclear on how Washington would apply the fee.

Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said the UAE is Iran’s second-largest trading partner, adding that authorities are still evaluating the consequences of such a decision, if applied.

“They’re one of the main providers and suppliers of many of our commodities, especially when it comes to food products,” Al Zeyoudi said. “We’re still doing the analysis and the decision has not been taken but this is going to have an impact for sure," he added.

European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas on Wednesday lauded the anti-regime protests led by Iranians. She denounced the use of force against the protestors and threatened to put additional sanctions.

"The courage of the Iranian people is humbling. The brutal response by the security forces is unacceptable and exposes a regime afraid of its own people. The EU already has sweeping sanctions in place on Iran. We are now discussing putting additional sanctions," she said in a post on X.

Russia's foreign ministry called the US threats "categorically unacceptable".

In a statement, the ministry warned that any such strikes would have "disastrous consequences" for the situation in the Middle East and global security. It also slammed what it called "brazen attempt to blackmail Iran's foreign partners by raising trade tariffs".

It also took note of the protests in Iran that had been triggered by social and economic problems, resulting from Western sanctions. The Russian foreign ministry denounced "hostile external forces" for trying to "exploit the resulting growing social tension to destabilize and destroy the Iranian state" and charged that “specially trained and armed provocateurs acting on instructions from abroad” sought to provoke violence.

The United Nations officials said on Tuesday that more than 500 UN staff members in Iran are safe and accounted for as of Monday.

Stephane Dujarric, the UN spokesperson, told reporters that many staff were working from home amid the ongoing unrest that has spread across the nation and killed thousands of protestors.

The UN country team in Iran has 46 international staff and 448 national staff.

Iranian state TV said that officials will hold a funeral on Wednesday for the "martyrs and security defenders" who have died in the nationwide protests that have intensified in the last week.

Tasnim news agency reported that the funeral will take place at Tehran University and will be first among many state funerals held for security forces in the coming days.

Iranian and Qatari officials discussed the deadly protests in Iran and America's escalating threats of intervention.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani spoke to Qatar's prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani over a phone call.

Al Thani said in a post on X that he “reaffirmed the State of Qatar’s backing of all de-escalation efforts, as well as peaceful solutions to enhance security and stability in the region.”

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in Iran amid the country's internet shutdown, The Associated Press reported, citing activists on Wednesday.

Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who has helped get the units into Iran, said that the free service had started.

Starlink has reportedly been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet on Thursday night as nationwide protests escalated and turned violent.

Donald Trump on Tuesday was consulting with his national security team about steps as he sought a better understanding of the death toll in the unrest in Iran.

He said that he believes that the killing is "significant", adding that his administration would "act accordingly". Trump also said that he believed the Iranian government was "badly misbehaving".

The US President called on Tehran to "show humanity". He said, "They've got a big problem. I hope they're not going to be killing people."

Iran has also accused US President Donald Trump of encouraging political destabilisation, inciting violence, and threatening the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security. Iran's UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to the UN Security Council and said, "The United States and the Israeli regime bear direct and undeniable legal responsibility for the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives, particularly among the youth."

The Iranian government on Tuesday accused the United States of seeking to manufacture a pretext for military intervention, after US President Donald Trump threatened "strong action" over the deadly crackdown on protestors.

Iran's UN mission posted on X, "US fantasies and policy toward Iran are rooted in regime change, with sanctions, threats, engineered unrest, and chaos serving as the modus operandi to manufacture a pretext for military intervention." Iran vowed that Washington's "playbook" would "fail again".

US President Donald Trump asked Iranians on Tuesday to "keep protesting" and "take over their institutions".

In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP"

US-based Human Rights Activists New Agency has said that the verified death toll of Iran's protests has risen to 2,571, The Associated Press reported.

US President Donald Trump warned of "very strong action" if Iranian authorities continue the hangings of some protestors.

"When they start killing thousands of people -- and now you're telling me about hanging. We'll see how that's going to work out for them," Trump told CBS News. He said the US will take "very strong action if they do such a thing".

Amid the ongoing protests and violence, the Iranian government has finally eased some restrictions on its people, allowing them to make phone calls abroad for the first time in days. However, curbs on internet service and text messaging have not yet been lifted.