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Iran-US tensions highlights: Amid US warning, Hezbollah chief says any attack on Iran also targets group
Iran-US tensions highlights: Masoud Khamenei, the third son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly assumed day-to-day management of his father's office and is serving as the principal channel of communication with Iran’s executive branches, reported Iran International.
- 6:59 AM IST, Jan 27Latest developments
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- 11:45 PM IST, Jan 26Iran, US exchanging ‘informal’ messages, ISNA reports
- 2:55 PM IST, Jan 26Iranian foreign ministry warns against any attack, says it would give 'sweeping' response
- 2:31 PM IST, Jan 26Yemen rebels threaten new Red Sea attack as US carrier heads toward Tehran
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- 10:03 AM IST, Jan 26What was Trump's 'big force' warning?
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- 9:30 AM IST, Jan 26'Worst mass murder in contemporary history of Iran', says former UN prosecutor
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- 8:41 AM IST, Jan 26Indigo flights to Tbilisi, Almaty might halt at Doha briefly for refuelling
- 8:31 AM IST, Jan 26Trump administration planning to deport Iranians despite protests
- 8:26 AM IST, Jan 26Over 36,500 people killed in January 8-9 crackdown, says report
- 8:17 AM IST, Jan 26UN rights body calls on Tehran to end 'brutal repression'
- 8:03 AM IST, Jan 26Iranian judicial chief says 'no leniency' for protest instigators
- 7:48 AM IST, Jan 26American carrier Abraham Lincoln is near Iran, says report
- 7:36 AM IST, Jan 26Rubio warns Iraq on ties with Tehran amid likely return of Nouri al-Maliki as PM
- 7:20 AM IST, Jan 26Tehran unveils new warning to the US as American warships near region
Iran-US tensions highlights: The updates on this blog have ended, follow here for the latest updates. Amid heightened concerns of a possible US attack on Iran, American aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, and accompanying warships have reportedly arrived near Iran. On the other hand, Iranians unveiled a massive mural on a billboard in central Tehran Square, issuing a direct warning to the US not to attempt a military strike on the country....Read More
The mural shows an aircraft carrier with damaged and exploding fighter planes on its flight deck, which is strewn with bodies and streaked with blood that spills into the water behind the ship to form the American flag's stripes pattern. A slogan is also written across one corner: “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.”
Earlier, US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly delivered a WhatsApp message from Tehran's foreign minister and the Iranian president to Trump in a bid to persuade him to postpone a military strike.
The recent developments come against the backdrop of the recent warnings thrown by Iran and the US after Trump announced that he was moving naval warships closer to the region "just in case" he wants to take action.
Classified documents reviewed by Iran International revealed that more than 36,500 Iranians were killed in the January 8-9 crackdown on protests in the country.
US fleet nears Iran
A US fleet, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying warships, is moving toward Iran amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran. The aircraft carrier, which arrived in the Middle East on Sunday evening, is near Iran, reported Israel's Channel 13.
Khamenei moves underground
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly moved into a special underground shelter in Tehran amid increased fears of a potential US attack, two sources told Iran International.
The supreme leader's third son, Masoud Khamenei, has likely taken over day-to-day management of his father's office, serving as the main channel of communication with Iran's executive branches, the sources indicated.
Iran-backed militia warns of attack
Two Iranian-backed militias in the Mideast have signalled their willingness to launch new attacks, likely trying to back Iran, Associated Press reported.
Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Monday hinted they were ready to resume attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. That came just after Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah paramilitary group, long supported by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, issued a direct threat late Sunday toward any attack targeting Iran, warning a “total war” in the region would be a result.
Iran's situation, fight with US: What we know
1. Protests in Iran erupted late December as citizens took to the streets to demonstrate against economic hardship and the sharp fall of the national currency, Rial.
2. Amid growing protests, Iranian authorities moved to crack down on the protestors and impose a nationwide internet shutdown.
3. US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency placed the death toll in Iran's crackdown on protests at 5,848 on Sunday, expecting the numbers to further increase.
4. The human rights agency said that more than 41,280 people have been arrested in these protests. Meanwhile, the head of Iran's judiciary warned recently that those behind the anti-Khamenei protests could expect punishment "without the slightest leniency".
5. Trump had been warning Iran to stop the violent crackdown against protestors, and urged the country to halt the killings of the demonstrators. Recently, he revealed to reporters that the US has a lot of ships moving in Iran's direction. He stated that the US's strikes on the Iranian nuclear facilities would look like 'peanuts'.
Iran-US tensions LIVE: Trump administration planning to deport Iranians despite protests
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to deport Iranian migrants from the US despite the ongoing unrest in their home country, news agency AFP reported earlier, citing an Iranian-American NGO.
The deportation flights would reportedly be the first to Iran since the beginning of the protests and the deadly crackdown in the country.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) said on Thursday it had learned that Trump's administration was planning to restart deportation flights to Iran, after prior removals in September and December.
"The same administration that promised Iranians that 'help is on the way' amid a deadly crackdown is now forcibly sending Iranians back into danger," said NIAC president Jamal Abdi.
Iran-US tensions LIVE: Over 36,500 people killed in January 8-9 crackdown, says report
More than 36,500 people have been reportedly killed in the deadly crackdown on Iranian protests, reportedly Iran International, citing classified documents that it reviewed.
However, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, the death toll has been placed at 5,848.
Iran-US tensions LIVE: UN rights body calls on Tehran to end 'brutal repression'
The UN rights body condemned Iran on Friday for rights abuses and mandated an investigation into a recent crackdown on anti-government protests that killed thousands of people.
"I call on the Iranian authorities to reconsider, to pull back, and to end their brutal repression," High Commissioner Volker Turk told an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The human rights council also passed a motion extending a previous inquiry set up in 2022 so UN investigators could also document the latest unrest "for potential future legal proceedings".
Iran-US tensions LIVE: Iranian judicial chief says 'no leniency' for protest instigators
The head of Iran's judiciary warned on Sunday that those behind a recent wave of anti-Khamenei protests could expect punishment "without the slightest leniency".
"The people rightly demand that the accused and the main instigators of the riots and the acts of terrorism and violence be tried as quickly as possible and punished if found guilty," judicial chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei was quoted as saying by Mizan online news portal.
He further stated that the "greatest rigour must be applied in the investigations".
Iran-US tensions LIVE: American carrier Abraham Lincoln is near Iran, says report
The US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln reportedly arrived in the Middle East on Sunday evening and is near Iran.
According to a report from Israel's Channel 13, a ship carrying systems designed for missile defence is also approaching Israel.
Iran-US tensions LIVE: Rubio warns Iraq on ties with Tehran amid likely return of Nouri al-Maliki as PM
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a telephone call with Iraq's incumbent prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and warned against a pro-Iranian government amid the expected return of Nouri al-Maliki as PM.
Rubio told al-Sudani, "The secretary emphasized that a government controlled by Iran cannot successfully put Iraq's own interests first, keep Iraq out of regional conflicts or advance the mutually beneficial partnership between the United States and Iraq."
Iran-US tensions LIVE: Tehran unveils new ‘reap the whirlwind’ warning to US as American warships near region
Iran unveiled a new mural on a giant billboard in a central Tehran square on Sunday with a direct warning to the United States not to attempt a military strike on the country.
The mural has a bird's-eye view of an aircraft carrier with damaged and exploding fighter planes on its flight deck.
The deck is strewn with bodies and streaked with blood that trails into the water behind the ship to form a pattern reminiscent of the stripes of the American flag.
A slogan is emblazoned across one corner: “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.”
