Listen to the article
By Staff Writer
Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, has warned that “the slaughter has not stopped” inside the country, as the United States withdraws personnel from the region and foreign governments scale back their presence in Tehran.
United States officials said Washington had begun withdrawing some personnel from military facilities across the Middle East, describing the move as a precaution. The decision follows repeated warnings from Tehran that any US strike would be met with retaliation against American bases in neighbouring countries.
United States President Donald Trump told reporters he was monitoring developments closely and suggested that reports of killings inside Iran were easing. He said he had received what he described as “a very good statement” from Iran, while stopping short of ruling out military action.
Privately, diplomats and officials from several countries said they remained concerned that US intervention was still possible. Some suggested there may be only a limited window in which action could take place.
Qatar confirmed it had taken measures affecting its personnel, while Britain said it had closed its embassy in Tehran, citing security concerns.
Inside Iran, the leadership has sought to project control over what officials describe as the most serious unrest in decades. Iranian authorities have blamed foreign enemies, particularly Israel and the United States, for fuelling the violence, while insisting calm has returned following what they describe as a brief but intense period of disorder.
In an interview with Fox News, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected claims that Iranian security forces had carried out mass killings of protesters. He said the violence stemmed from clashes with what he called foreign-backed “terrorist elements”, portraying the unrest as part of a wider conflict imposed on Iran.
“There was fighting between our security forces and terrorist elements,” Mr Araghchi said, dismissing reports of widespread repression as misinformation and accusing Israel of trying to draw the United States into war.
Human rights organisations outside Iran have reported high casualty figures, although an internet blackout has made independent verification difficult. The lack of reliable information has fuelled uncertainty, with competing narratives emerging from Iranian officials, foreign governments and activists.
Iran has intensified contacts with neighbouring states in recent days, according to officials. Tehran has urged countries in the region to prevent any US military action, warning that American bases would be at risk if Iran were attacked. Direct communication between Iranian and US officials remains suspended, they added.
Despite the scale of unrest and mounting international pressure, Western officials have said Iran’s security apparatus appears intact and that the government does not look close to collapse. Iranian state media has broadcast images of funerals and rallies, presenting them as evidence of continued public support for the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s judiciary sought to address growing concern over the fate of detainees, saying on Thursday that Erfan Soltani, a protester detained earlier this month, has not been sentenced to death. The judiciary rejected earlier claims by his family that such a ruling had been issued, and said Mr Soltani is being held at the central penitentiary in the city of Karaj.
According to state media, he has been formally charged with “collusion against internal security” and “propaganda activities against the system”. The judiciary said no death sentence has been issued and that capital punishment does not apply to those charges under Iranian law. If the charges are upheld by prosecutors and a court issues a legal ruling, the punishment would be imprisonment.
Mr Soltani’s family had previously said he had been sentenced to death, raising alarm among activists amid a broader crackdown on protesters.
During earlier waves of unrest, Iranian authorities charged some detainees with moharebeh, commonly translated as “waging war against God”, and “corruption on earth”, which under the Islamic Republic’s penal code can carry the death penalty.
