U.S., Israeli and European leaders exploited Iran’s economic problems and encouraged unrest during recent nationwide protests, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday (31 January).
The demonstrations broke out in late December over soaring inflation and rising living costs and spread across multiple cities.
“Recent experience has shown that sworn enemies, including the Zionist regime and its Western backers, are constantly trying to provoke, sow discord and divide Iran,” Pezeshkian said.
"By exploiting social demands, they attempted to turn protests into a civil war,” he said, adding that authorities must listen to peaceful protesters and address their real concerns.
“We are obliged to reassess our behavior and actions toward the people in order to deprive ill-wishers of any excuse to turn protests into hatred and incitement,” the Iranian President concluded.
The protests lasted around two weeks before being suppressed by security forces in a crackdown that rights groups say left at least 6,563 people dead, including 6,170 protesters and 214 members of the security forces, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CNN Türk that 3,100 people, including 2,000 security personnel, had been killed.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced support for the demonstrators and warned that the U.S. was prepared to act if Iran continued to kill protesters.
U.S. officials said on Friday that Trump was reviewing options but had not decided on any military action.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Ynet news reported that a U.S. Navy destroyer docked at the Israeli port of Eilat on Friday.
Regional powers, including Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have been engaging in diplomatic efforts to prevent a confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
The U.S. has demanded that Iran curb its missile programme as a condition for resuming talks, but Araghchi said missiles would never be subject to negotiation.
He added that Tehran was prepared for either diplomacy or warfare and was also ready to engage with regional countries to promote stability.
“Regime change is a complete fantasy,” Araghchi said, adding that “some have fallen for this illusion”.
"Our system is so deeply rooted and so firmly established that the comings and goings of individuals make no difference," he concluded.
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Protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis on Friday, 30 January, joined by student walkouts across the United States, demanding the withdrawal of federal immigration agents after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot in the city.
Melania, the new documentary about the U.S. First Lady Melania Trump that premiered Thursday, is drawing sharply contrasting reactions. Professional critics have slammed the film, giving it a 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, while ordinary viewers have embraced it, with audience ratings currently at 99%.
The United Nations faces the risk of “imminent financial collapse” because of unpaid contributions, including substantial arrears from the United States, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday made public more than three million pages of documents on Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, including investigative records referencing U.S. President Donald Trump, tech mogul Elon Musk and Britain’s former Duke of York.
Catherine O’Hara, the celebrated Canadian actress and comedy legend, has died at the age of 71, her publicist confirmed on Friday. She passed away at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.
The Kremlin said on Friday (30 January) that Russian President had received a personal request from his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump. The request was to halt strikes on Kyiv until 1 February to create a favourable environment for peace negotiations.
Bangladesh and Pakistan on Thursday (29 January) resumed direct flight services after 14 years, marking a milestone in the revival of relations between the two Muslim-majority nations.
Iran’s armed forces are prepared to “immediately and powerfully” respond to any U.S. attack, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, as American military assets arrived in the Middle East amid renewed tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
“The decision is made that the Qamishli air base is not needed anymore,” political analyst Dmitry Bridzhe said, as Russia begins withdrawing forces from its facility in northeastern Syria amid shifts in the country’s political and security landscape.
Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis hosted a meeting with members of the majority staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Azertag reported, on 31 January.
Lebanon plans to transfer more than 300 Syrian prisoners to Syria under a bilateral agreement between the two countries, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said on Friday.
The U.S. military has warned it will "not tolerate unsafe" actions by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as Tehran announced it will conduct live-fire naval exercises next week in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping routes.
Explosions shook parts of southern Lebanon on Friday night as Israeli strikes rippled across the Zahrani district, with the blasts travelling toward the coastal city of Sidon.
Tajikistan has announced an unprecedented rise in dust storms. Over the past 12 months, meteorologists recorded 63 such weather events, lasting a total of 216 days, or almost 60 per cent of the year.
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