United News of Bangladesh

Thousands of people are feared dead following a severe crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran, as families abroad receive harrowing reports from those still inside the country. Describing the situation in their first calls home in several days, Iranians have spoken of extensive death and destruction. An Iranian security official has told a news agency that the death toll could be around 2,000 people, including security personnel. Human rights groups have raised alarms over reports that one protester, Erfan Soltani, is due to be executed tomorrow, with some describing the case as unprecedented in its speed. Protests have been ongoing for several weeks. State media claimed that demonstrations had calmed last night, but the BBC has received footage from citizens reporting that protests continued in multiple locations across the country. In response to the crackdown, US President Donald Trump has announced that countries conducting business with Iran could face a 25% tariff on trade with the United States. Officials have told CBS News that the President has been briefed on a range of military and covert options, and his national security team is expected to meet later to discuss potential interventions. Although some Iranians have been able to contact family members abroad, an ongoing internet blackout is hindering the verification of information from inside the country.   Source: Agencies 

 Mobile phones in Iran were able to make some international calls on Tuesday, days after authorities shut down the internet and blocked overseas connections amid a nationwide crackdown on protests. Several residents in Tehran managed to reach journalists at The Associated Press, though the AP bureau in Dubai said it could not call those numbers back. Iranians said text messaging was still not working, and witnesses reported that internet access remained cut off from the outside world. Iran imposed the shutdown on Thursday as protests intensified across the country. US President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after he warned of possible military action over Tehran’s handling of the protests. Activists say at least 646 people have been killed during the unrest. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Qatar-based Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night that he has continued to communicate with US envoy Steve Witkoff. The contacts “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” Araghchi said, adding that Washington’s proposals and threats toward Iran are “incompatible.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s public statements differ from the private messages the US administration has received in recent days. “The president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, the president has also shown he is not afraid to use military options if and when he believes it is necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.” Meanwhile, large pro-government rallies took to the streets on Monday in a show of support for the ruling system after days of protests that directly challenged the leadership of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television broadcast scenes of crowds, appearing to be in the tens of thousands, chanting slogans including “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Others shouted, “Death to the enemies of God!” What to know about Iran protests as government shuts down internet, phone networks Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be treated as an “enemy of God,” a charge that carries the death penalty.

Nationwide protests in Iran, driven by deepening economic hardship, are placing renewed pressure on the country’s theocratic leadership as authorities shut down internet and phone networks to curb unrest. The demonstrations erupted amid a collapsing economy worsened by renewed UN sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme. The rial has plunged to more than 1.4 million to the US dollar, inflation hovers around 40%, and prices of food and fuel have surged. Recent fuel price hikes and the removal of subsidised exchange rates for most imports further inflamed public anger. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, more than 600 protests have taken place across all 31 provinces. At least 646 people have been killed and over 10,700 arrested, though Iran has not released official figures. Independent verification is difficult due to the communications blackout and restrictions on journalists. The protests began in late December with merchants in Tehran before spreading nationwide. While initially focused on economic grievances, chants soon turned openly anti-government. Discontent has simmered for years, notably after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Iran’s regional position is also weakened. Its “Axis of Resistance” allies — including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad government in Syria and Yemen’s Houthis — have suffered major setbacks amid wars and Israeli and US strikes. Meanwhile, Tehran remains under intense scrutiny over its nuclear activities, having enriched uranium close to weapons-grade levels before US strikes on nuclear sites in June. US President Donald Trump has warned Iran against violently suppressing protesters, saying Washington is closely watching events. Relations between Iran and the US remain deeply strained, rooted in decades of hostility following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the US embassy hostage crisis, and disputes over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Despite the crackdown, protests continue, highlighting the most serious challenge to Iran’s leadership in years.  

US President Donald Trump is holding off on immediate military action against Iran despite a violent crackdown on protests that has killed more than 600 people, as he considers messages from Tehran indicating a willingness to engage in talks. Trump has repeatedly warned that the use of deadly force against anti-government protesters would cross a red line and has said Iran appears to be nearing it. While the US military has been placed on heightened alert, the White House signaled that Trump is weighing diplomatic options. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Iranian government’s private messages differ from its public rhetoric and that Trump wants to “explore” those communications, while remaining prepared to use force if necessary. Hours later, Trump announced 25% tariffs on countries doing business with Iran, his first concrete punitive step tied to the protest crackdown. The White House did not provide details on how the tariffs would be implemented. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security officials have been developing options ranging from diplomacy to military strikes, according to a US official. Trump said a meeting with Iranian officials was being arranged but warned action could come sooner. Analysts say the sustainability of the protests remains uncertain due to internet blackouts and lack of centralized leadership. The demonstrations, triggered by economic collapse, have grown into a broader challenge to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule. Some Trump allies are urging decisive action, arguing Iran is vulnerable after recent conflicts. Iranian officials have warned US or Israeli forces would be legitimate targets if Washington intervenes.

Hamas said on Sunday it will dissolve its existing government in Gaza once a new Palestinian technocratic leadership committee assumes control of the territory under a US-brokered peace plan, though it did not say when the transition would happen. Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority have yet to announce the names of the technocrats, who are meant to be politically unaffiliated. It also remains unclear whether Israel and the United States will approve the new body. The plan calls for oversight by an international “Board of Peace,” led by US President Donald Trump, which is tasked with supervising the ceasefire that began on October 10. Its mandate includes overseeing Hamas’ disarmament, deploying an international security force, further Israeli troop withdrawals and Gaza’s reconstruction. The board’s members have not yet been named. An Egyptian official said Hamas is sending a delegation to talks with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish officials on moving to the second phase of the agreement. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem urged swift formation of the technocratic committee, while talks with other Palestinian factions are expected this week. Despite the ceasefire, violence continued. Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli gunfire killed three Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday. Israel’s military said it fired at individuals who approached its troops, describing them as “terrorists.” Since the truce began, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to local health officials. Israel says its actions respond to ceasefire violations. Meanwhile, Israeli police questioned a senior official from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office over alleged obstruction in a probe into leaked classified information, adding to political tensions as the fragile ceasefire continues.

The death toll from Iran’s nationwide protests has risen to at least 544, activists said on Sunday, as US President Donald Trump claimed Tehran has reached out to Washington seeking negotiations after he threatened military action over the violent crackdown on demonstrators. Trump said his administration is in talks to arrange a meeting with Iranian officials but warned he may be forced to act first as reports of killings and mass arrests continue. “I think they are tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “Iran wants to negotiate.” He said the meeting was being set up but developments on the ground could prompt earlier action. “We may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” he said. There was no immediate confirmation from Tehran about any offer for talks. Two people familiar with internal White House discussions said Trump and his national security team are weighing a range of responses, including cyberattacks and possible strikes by the US or Israel. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to comment publicly. “The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump said. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he warned: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.” The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said more than 10,600 people have been detained during two weeks of unrest. It said 496 of those killed were protesters and 48 were members of the security forces. The group relies on a network of supporters inside Iran to verify information. With the internet largely shut down and phone lines cut, it has become increasingly difficult to assess the scale of the violence. The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify the figures, and Iran’s government has not released any overall casualty numbers. Despite the blackout, online videos showed fresh demonstrations in parts of Tehran and Mashhad over the weekend, with protesters confronting security forces. Tensions escalated further after Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baagher Qalibaf warned that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators. “In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” he told parliament, prompting lawmakers to chant: “Death to America!” The protests erupted on Dec 28 after the collapse of the Iranian rial, which now trades at more than 1.4 million to the US dollar, as the economy struggles under international sanctions. The demonstrations have since grown into direct challenges to Iran’s ruling theocracy.

The death toll in the crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran spiked Sunday to at least 538 people, activists said. Over 10,600 people have been detained, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Of those killed, 490 are protesters and 48 are members of the security forces, it said, warning the toll is likely to go up. With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The activist group, which relies on activists in Iran crosschecking information, has offered accurate tolls in previous rounds of unrest in the Islamic Republic. The Iranian government has not offered any overall casualty figures for the demonstrations. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll, given that internet and international phone calls are now being blocked in Iran. Parliament rallies Iranian state television broadcast the parliament session live. Qalibaf, a hard-liner who has run for the presidency in the past, gave a speech applauding police and Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, particularly its all-volunteer Basij, for having “stood firm” during the protests. He went on to directly threaten Israel, “the occupied territory” as he referred to it, and the U.S. military, possibly with a preemptive strike. “In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” Qalibaf said. “We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.” Lawmakers rushed the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting: “Death to America!” It remains unclear just how serious Iran is about launching a strike, particularly after its air defenses were destroyed during the 12-day war in June with Israel. Any decision to go to war would rest with Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. military has said in the Mideast it is “postured with forces that span the full range of combat capability to defend our forces, our partners and allies and U.S. interests.” Iran targeted U.S. forces at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar back in June, while the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet is stationed in the island kingdom of Bahrain. Israel, meanwhile, is “watching closely” the situation between the U.S. and Iran, said an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to speak to journalists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio overnight on topics including Iran, the official added. “The people of Israel, the entire world, are in awe of the tremendous heroism of the citizens of Iran,” said Netanyahu, a longtime Iran hawk. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which relies on activists in Iran cross-checking information, offered the new death toll of 203 on Sunday, a large jump. Of those killed, 162 are protesters and 41 are members of the security forces, it said. The agency also acknowledged receiving claims of far more deaths that it was still assessing as over 3,280 others have been arrested. The group has offered accurate tolls in previous rounds of unrest in the Islamic Republic. The Iranian government has not offered any overall casualty figures for the demonstrations. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll, as communications with Iran have been cut. At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV mentioned Iran as a place "where ongoing tensions continue to claim many lives." “I hope and pray that dialogue and peace may be patiently nurtured in pursuit of the common good of the whole of society,” he said. Protests in Tehran and Mashhad Online videos sent out of Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters, purportedly showed demonstrators gathering in northern Tehran's Punak neighborhood. There, it appeared authorities shut off streets, with protesters waving their lit mobile phones. Others banged metal while fireworks went off. “The pattern of protests in the capital has largely taken the form of scattered, short-lived, and fluid gatherings, an approach shaped in response to the heavy presence of security forces and increased field pressure,” the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. “Reports were received of surveillance drones flying overhead and movements by security forces around protest locations, indicating ongoing monitoring and security control.” In Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city some 725 kilometers (450 miles) northeast of Tehran, footage purported to show protesters confronting security forces. Protests also appeared to happen in Kerman, 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Tehran. Iranian state television on Sunday morning had their correspondents appear on the streets in several cities to show calm areas with a date stamp shown on screen. Tehran and Mashhad were not included. Government rhetoric also ratcheted up Sunday. Ali Larijani, a top security official, accused some demonstrators of “killing people or burning some people, which is very similar to what ISIS does,” referring to the Islamic State group by an acronym. State TV aired funerals of slain security force members while reporting another six had been killed in Kermanshah. In Fars province, violence killed 13 people, and seven security forces were killed in North Khorasan province, it added. It also showed a pickup truck full of bodies in body bags and later a morgue. Even Iran's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had been trying to ease anger before the demonstrations exploded in recent days, offered a hardening tone in an interview aired Sunday. “People have concerns, we should sit with them and if it is our duty, we should resolve their concerns,” Pezeshkian said. “But the higher duty is not to allow a group of rioters to come and destroy the entire society.” More demonstrations planned Sunday Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi asked in his latest message for demonstrators to take to the streets Sunday. Demonstrators have shouted in support of the shah in some protests, but it isn’t clear whether that’s support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Pahlavi’s support of and from Israel has drawn criticism in the past, particularly after the 12-day war. The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.  

A mosque and a police station were set on fire in Iran as nationwide protests over economic hardship turned increasingly violent, with state media reporting that more than 100 members of the police and security forces have been killed since the unrest began. Iran’s state television said on Sunday that 30 police and security personnel were killed in Isfahan province and six others in Kermanshah in the latest clashes. The semi official Tasnim news agency reported that a total of 109 security officers have died across the country during the protests. State media also said a mosque was set on fire in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Saturday night, while a police station was torched during clashes in Tehran, according to videos circulating on social media. Burning vehicles and debris were seen blocking roads in several cities as protesters confronted security forces. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said one of its staff members was killed during an attack on a relief building in Gorgan city in northern Iran. The protests, which began in late December after a sharp fall in the value of Iran’s currency, have spread to many cities as people took to the streets over rising prices, inflation and worsening living conditions under Western sanctions. What started as economic protests has increasingly taken on an antigovernment tone. Interior Ministry officials said the riots are now gradually subsiding, while the attorney general warned that those involved in violence could face severe punishment. Speaking in parliament on Sunday, Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned the United States against any military action after US President Donald Trump threatened strikes if Iranian authorities kill protesters. He said any attack on Iran would make Israel and all US bases and ships in the region legitimate targets. Trump said on Saturday that the United States is ready to help Iranian protesters and again warned of possible military action. President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a televised interview, pledged to overhaul Iran’s struggling economy and said his government is ready to listen to the people’s demands. At the same time, he accused the United States and Israel of trying to create chaos in Iran and called on citizens to stay away from violence. Human rights groups have urged restraint, saying dozens of protesters have been killed and many more arrested during the crackdown.   With inputs from agencies

A two-month-old Palestinian baby has died from severe cold in Gaza, becoming the fourth child to freeze to death since November, health officials said on Sunday. Zaher al-Wahidi, director of health information at Gaza’s Health Ministry, said the infant, Mohammed Abu Harbid, died of hypothermia at al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital. His death brings the number of babies who have frozen to death in Gaza since November 2025 to four, and 12 since the war began in October 2023, according to local health officials. As winter storms, heavy rain and freezing winds hit the coastal enclave, thousands of displaced families are living in tents and makeshift shelters with little protection from the cold. Many homes have been destroyed, leaving families without proper shelter, heating or electricity. Hospitals are also struggling to keep premature babies alive. Medical staff at al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp said incubators often stop working due to frequent power cuts and lack of backup batteries. Doctors said many premature babies are now suffering from hypothermia, while shortages of medicine and baby formula have made the situation worse. Displaced families living in flooded tent camps said water enters their shelters during storms and children are falling sick from cold and damp conditions. Aid agencies and human rights groups have warned of a growing humanitarian disaster in Gaza, calling for urgent delivery of winter supplies, tents and medical support to protect vulnerable children.   With inputs from ALJAZEERA

Heavily retouched photos of Israel’s First Lady Sara Netanyahu, shared in official government announcements, have raised concerns about transparency, ethics, and the integrity of Israel’s state archives, officials and experts said. The edited images show Sara Netanyahu with flawless skin, defined eyes, and perfectly styled hair while lighting Hanukkah candles at the Western Wall alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and Israeli soldiers. Critics said that while photo editing is common on social media, its use in official releases distorts reality and risks compromising archival records. Veteran journalist Shabi Gatenio, who reported the story for The Seventh Eye, said the images, if included in official archives, “will forever infect it with a virtual reality that never existed.” In response, the government has begun crediting Sara Netanyahu in press releases that feature retouched images, though it remains unclear if all edited photos from last year will be archived. Government Press Office Director Nitzan Chen said the prime minister’s photos are never altered, but images of the first lady appear to have been digitally enhanced. Forensic experts noted modifications to smooth her skin, lighten her complexion, and remove wrinkles in photos taken during visits to Washington, D.C., and New York. The controversy has prompted debate about the broader implications of AI and photo manipulation in politics. Netanyahu’s official Instagram has posted AI-generated or altered content, including images with U.S. President Donald Trump. Experts warned that the practice reflects a growing trend among world leaders and raises questions about public trust and historical record-keeping. “This is about something bigger than making someone look younger,” said digital forensics expert Hany Farid. “It’s about trust. Why should I trust any official photo coming out of that administration?” Israel’s Justice Ministry and Government Press Office are reviewing guidelines for identifying and labeling edited images, while some media outlets, including the Times of Israel, have refused to publish manipulated state photos. Analysts say the case highlights the challenge of maintaining accurate government archives in the digital age.