Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has strongly advocated for U.S. strikes against the regime in Iran, contradicted President Donald Trump on the killing of protesters, saying there is “every indication” that it is “still very much in full swing”.
“The death toll is mounting by the hour. Hoping that help is on the way,” the senator from South Carolina said in a post on X late Wednesday. Graham had previously said Trump would assassinate the Iranian regime’s leaders if the killings continued.
Earlier in the day, Trump said he had been told that the “killing in Iran is stopping, it’s stopped” and “there’s no plan for executions,” information he said was relayed “on good authority.”
What To Know
- Trump appears to have paused moves towards striking the Iranian regime, having earlier urged protesters to take over the country’s institutions, and that “HELP IS ON ITS WAY”. He had threatened “very strong action” against Iran if more protesters were killed, including executions.
- As the U.S. pulled non-essential personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in the crosshairs of any Iranian retaliation to strikes, and allies told citizens to leave Iran immediately, Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a warning on Fox News: “Do not repeat the same mistake you did in June. If you try a failed experience, you will get the same result.”
- The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of at least 2,615 people so far, the vast majority of them protesters. A further 18,470 people have been arrested.
- Iran’s judiciary is pushing forward with expedited trials, including the death penalty for those who face capital charges related to acts of violence during the unrest or working on behalf of foreign powers. The regime claims foreign “terrorists” are behind most of the violence.
- The fate of one protester whose disappearance captured public attention is clearer. The family of protester Erfan Soltani, 26, feared he had been given the death penalty in a quick trial behind closed doors. But Iranian state media has now said he is not facing capital charges and is held in a prison in Karaj, calling death penalty reports “fabrication”.
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax that his department can see the “rats fleeing the ship” in Iran, as the wealthy regime elite smuggles out tens of millions of dollars into financial institutions all over the world: They are abandoning ship…We are going to trace these assets, and they will not be able to keep them.”
Stay with Newsweek for live coverage of the unrest in Iran.
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