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

Anti-government protests have been rocking Iran since late December in anger over the country's ailing economy and soon also targeted theocracy.

Iran protests highlights: Updates to this live blog have ended, follow latest on Iran protests here. At least 3,428 protestors have been killed amid the crackdown on protests in Iran, and more than 10,000 have been arrested, AFP cited Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO as saying. Around 3,379 of the deaths took place during the height of the protests from January 8 to 12, AFP cited IHR as saying.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency had reported early Wednesday that the number of dead was at least 2,571. Iranian state television has acknowledged that the country had a "lot of martyrs" without providing a specific figure.

Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday called external affairs minister S Jaishankar. In a post on social media platform X, Jaishankar said, “Received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. We discussed the evolving situation in and around Iran.”

The Indian embassy in Iran in an advisory on Wednesday urged Indian nationals who are in Iran to leave the country by available means of transport, including commercial flights.

The embassy asked Indian citizens and PIOs in Iran to exercise due caution and stay away from areas of protests or demonstrations, and has urged them to stay in contact with the Indian embassy and monitor local media for developments.

Meanwhile, an anti-government protestor in Iran was allegedly due to be executed on Wednesday, the first reported hanging since demonstrations began.

26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who was arrested on January 8 during the demonstrations in west Tehran's Fardias, has been sentenced to death, 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.

Iran has faced international pressure over the crackdown on protests in the country. The Iranian government and US President Donald Trump are trading barbs over the violent protests in Tehran.

Trump called on Iranians to "keep protesting", telling them that "help is on its way". His remarks drew sharp criticism from Iran's regime, which accused the US President of encouraging political destabilisation, inciting violence, and threatening the country's sovereignty.

ALSO READ | What we know so far about Iran protests and Trump's remarks

Protests in Iran began in late December amid the anger over the country's ailing economy, and soon targeted the theocracy as well, especially Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Several graffiti and chants across Tehran reportedly called for Khamenei's death, something that could carry a death sentence.

Iran protests | Key points

1. Trump on Iran: The US President urged Iranians to keep protesting and asked them to take over their institutions. He told them that "help is on its way". Trump also called on Iran's government to "show humanity" towards the protestors and condemned the deaths in the ongoing demonstrations. He further warned that the US would respond forcefully if Iranian authorities hanged protestors amid the ongoing unrest in Iran. "We'll take very strong action if they do such a thing," he told CBS News.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday reportedly said that he has been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran signalled fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters, Reuters reported.

2. Iran accuses Trump: Tehran said that Washington was seeking to manufacture a pretext for a military intervention. Iran also accused the US President of encouraging political destabilisation, inciting violence, and threatening the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security.

3. Trump, Netanyahu 'main killers': Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, responded to Trump's threats and said that the US and Israel will be the ones responsible for the death of Iranian civilians. "We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2- Netanyahu," he said in a post on X.

4. Iran eases restrictions: The Iranian government has eased some curbs for the people, allowing them to make phone calls to outside countries for the first time. However, people told the Associated Press that the SMS text message service was still down, adding that internet users were unable to access content from other countries. It remained unclear whether the regime would ease further restrictions.

5. Starlink service in Iran: Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's satellite internet provider Starlink is now offering free service in Iran, AP reported, citing activists on Wednesday. A Los Angeles-based activist, Mehdi Yahyanejad, 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 people outside the country since authorities shut down the internet on Thursday night amid soaring nationwide protests.

6. Countries issue advisories: Countries including Italy, the UK, Spain and Poland reportedly issued travel advisories for their citizens. Britain also temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran and evacuated its officials. Countries recommended that their citizens leave Iran due to security concerns.