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Iran condemns US attempts to exploit protests for political gain, as Trump seemingly backs off military threat

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Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Iranian President Pezeshkian joins protests against US intervention. Photo: IRIB

Though anti-government protests have largely subsided, Iran claims there still persists a threat of possible external aggression from countries such as the US and Israel and has warned of strong retaliation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the “exploitation of the protests to pursue political agendas, combined with the ongoing effects of illegal unilateral US sanctions, undermines Iranians’ basic rights” and is a “shameful” act.

Araghchi was addressing a letter to the UN Security Council, which is scheduled to meet on the afternoon of Thursday, January 15, to discuss the situation in Iran, where anti-government protests in the last few weeks have captured global attention.

Araghchi expressed concerns over “provocative and irresponsible statements” made by current and former US officials inciting violence and unrest in his country and reiterated accusations of the direct involvement of Israel’s secret agency Mossad in the same.

Earlier, in an interview with US TV channel Fox News, Araghchi reiterated that external elements were responsible for “escalating the situation by carrying out attacks against Iranian security forces and civilians.”

Araghchi reiterated that the protests, which began peacefully, turned violent in order to justify foreign intervention.

“They wanted to increase the number of deaths. Why? Because US President Donald Trump had “stated that if there were killings, he would intervene. Their goal was to drag the US into this conflict,” Araghchi claimed, asserting that it was a plot made by Israel.

Araghchi assured that the Iranian state had full control over the situation now and there were no fresh reports of violence in the country.

Meanwhile, threats of a strike by external forces still continue, with Iranian officials claiming they are fully prepared to face any situation.

Fear of US airstrikes

Though the anti-government protests have largely been replaced with millions-strong pro-government rallies since Monday, Iran is still apprehensive about possible air strikes from the US.

Iran had shut its airspace following strong indications of such possible airstrikes after Trump, addressing the protesters in Iran, claimed “help is on its way” on his social media post on Tuesday, asking the protesters to continue and “occupy institutions”.

The news of the withdrawal of some staff from the US military base in Qatar further escalated the fear of possible US strikes on Wednesday.

Several Iranian officials, including the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that if Iran is targeted with a military strike, US bases and ships in the region, along with Israeli territories, would be a legitimate target.

Several countries, such as India, and some European nations issued travel warnings to their citizens, asking those who are already there in Iran to leave the country on Wednesday.

Though the airspace was opened after Trump toned down his rhetoric, claiming he was briefed that the violence against protesters had abated, Iran remained on high alert on Thursday, Al Jazeera reported.

Deliberate exaggerations about the number of casualties

Though anti-government protests have largely subsided, Iran continued to restrict internet services on the seventh day in a row on Thursday, with limited accessibility of international calls gradually being restored.

Iran imposed the restrictions after large-scale violence was recorded across the country on January 8.

During his interview with Fox News, Araghchi claimed that the number of people killed in the protests so far does not exceed a few hundred, which includes innocent bystanders killed and the security forces killed by the violent protesters.

Araghchi promised that the state would announce the exact figure soon, dismissing the very high figures quoted in some media outlets, such as CNN, as false.

European countries concerned about new US sanctions on ICC judges

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

European Union flags are seen waving outside the EU Commission Building in Brussels, Belgium. [Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency]

Several European countries voiced concern Friday about new US sanctions imposed on two judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), reaffirming their support for the Court’s independence and ability to carry out its judicial mandate without political pressure, Anadolu reports.

The Finnish Foreign Ministry said on US social media platform X that it “deeply regrets” the US decision to sanction the judges, stressing that the court must be able to function freely.

In a statement, the French Foreign Ministry said Paris had taken note of the new sanctions targeting, as it urged Washington to withdraw all measures taken against the Court.

“France condemns all forms of threats and coercive measures against the ICC, its staff and civil society organizations supporting the court,” it said, warning that the sanctions amount to an attack on the institution and the 125 states party to the Rome Statute.

Belgium expressed concern about the decision, with Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot saying the sanctions “further undermine judicial independence and efforts to fight impunity.”

READ: ICC rejects Israel’s appeal as arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant remain in force

“Belgium strongly regrets the new additional sanctions of the US against two judges of the @IntlCrimCourt,” Prevot wrote on X, adding that Brussels would continue to support the Court in carrying out its mandate independently and impartially.

Denmark echoed similar concerns, with the Foreign Affairs Ministry saying Copenhagen “deeply regrets” the US decision and reaffirmed its unwavering support for the ICC as an independent and impartial judicial institution.

Other European countries, including Spain, the Netherlands and Norway, have also voiced concern about the sanctions and reiterated their support for the Court’s independence.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions Thursday against ICC judges Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, accusing them of being “directly engaged” in “the illegitimate targeting of Israel.”

In response, the ICC said it “strongly rejects” the sanctions and labelled the move a “flagrant attack” against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.

The latest measures follow previous US sanctions imposed on ICC officials involved in authorizing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — warrants accusing both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has killed more than 70,600 victims, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,100 people in attacks in Gaza since October 2023, which have continued despite a truce being signed in October.

READ: US sanctions 2 International Criminal Court judges over rejecting Israel’s appeal of war crimes arrest warrants

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Post published:21 December 2025
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Iran condemns fresh US sanctions

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Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: MFA

Iran claimed the proposed nuclear deal submitted May 31 by the US did not reflect the essence of the five rounds of indirect talks between the two countries.

On Sunday, June 9, Iran condemned a fresh round of US sanctions on its citizens and commercial entities, calling them a reflection of the US’s long-standing hostility towards the country and its people.

Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described the sanctions as a flagrant violation of international laws and another attempt to deny Iranians their fundamental rights and increase their hardships.

The administration of Donald Trump issued fresh sanctions against dozens of individuals and entities in Iran on Saturday, continuing its so-called maximum pressure campaign to force Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

The sanctions targeted the individuals and entities involved in banking and other commercial activities. Some of the entities are based in Hong Kong and the UAE. The US targeted them by accusing them of being involved in “money laundering” and “shadow banking” activities for sanctioned entities, such as the National Iranian Tanker Company.

NITC is sanctioned for its involvement in the export of Iranian oil which is targeted by the US as part of its maximum pressure campaign. The US has alleged that proceeds from the oil trade are used for the development of nuclear weapons by Iran.

Iran has claimed it has every right to have a peaceful civil nuclear program as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and denied it has any intention to develop nuclear weapons. It has termed US sanctions against it illegal and a violation of its sovereignty and demanded their immediate withdrawal.

The new sanctions were announced despite ongoing talks between Iran and the US on the nuclear issue. On May 31, the US submitted a proposal for a deal after five rounds of indirect talks.

Reflecting on the content of the US proposal, Baghaei said on Monday that it did not reflect the essence of the talks so far. He claimed that Iran is preparing its own proposal for a deal which will be submitted to the US through Oman in the coming days.

Iran has repeatedly made it clear that it will not consider any proposal for a deal if it is asked to abandon its peaceful nuclear program and sanctions imposed by the US are not lifted completely.

IAEA must not be politicized

Meanwhile, Russia warned on Sunday that any anti-Iran resolutions in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors meeting scheduled to begin on Monday will not “bring positive results.”

Russia’s permanent representative to Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, claimed that the expected anti-Iran resolution by European signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the UK, France, and Germany in collaboration with the US – would be counterproductive for the ongoing peace efforts.

Ulyanov was referring to the reports in western media which claimed that E3 along with the US have already drafted a resolution against Iran to be presented during the IAEA meeting. The draft accuses Iran of non-compliance in its safeguard obligations for the first time in two decades.

The resolution is part of E3’s threats of invoking snapback sanctions against Iran, which were withdrawn following the signing of the JCPOA in 2015 by a resolution in the UN Security Council.

The European signatories of the JCPOA have recently been following the US line on the Iran nuclear program. In the years following the US unilateral withdrawal from the deal in May 2018, however, these nations expressed a desire to revive it.

Iran has maintained that all calls for snapback sanctions are illegal. It has asserted that its decision to gradually withdraw from its commitments under the JCPOA were based on the provisions of the agreement itself and a response to the US and E3 failing to keep their own commitments under the deal first.

Reiterating the Iranian position, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Sunday that if others “return to their commitments [to JCPOA], we will do the same.”

Iran has warned E3 of counter measures to the imposition of snapback sanctions. On Sunday, Iran also warned the IAEA of counter measures if the said resolution was adopted, claiming such resolutions are “politically motivated” and a result of US dominance over the agency.

Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

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Post published:10 June 2025
Post category:Donald Trump Neo-liberalism nuclear plutocracy the filthy rich Trump
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Though anti-government protests have largely subsided, Iran claims there still persists a threat of possible external aggression from countries such as the US and Israel and has warned of strong retaliation.

Fear of US airstrikes

Deliberate exaggerations about the number of casualties

Read more: Six points to navigate the turmoil in Iran

Iran claimed the proposed nuclear deal submitted May 31 by the US did not reflect the essence of the five rounds of indirect talks between the two countries.

IAEA must not be politicized