On Saturday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attributed the weeks of protests to President Donald Trump, following reports from rights organizations indicating that a brutal response by security forces had resulted in thousands of fatalities.
Those associated with Israel and the United States inflicted significant damage and resulted in the deaths of several thousand individuals," he stated, noting that they ignited fires, vandalized public property, and provoked disorder. They "perpetrated offenses and a serious defamation," he remarked.
INTERNET SERVICES PARTIALLY RESTORED
Reuters has been unable to independently confirm the casualty figures or the specifics of the unrest as reported by Iranian media and human rights organizations.
The U.S.-based HRANA rights organization indicated that it had verified 3,090 fatalities, which included 2,885 protesters, along with over 22,000 arrests.
Acquiring information has been hindered by internet outages, which were partially lifted on Saturday.
On Saturday, the semi-official Mehr News Agency announced that internet access had been restored for certain users. The ISNA news outlet reported that SMS services had also been reactivated.
"Metrics indicate a very slight increase in internet connectivity in #Iran this morning" following 200 hours of shutdown, the internet monitoring organization NetBlocks shared on X. Connectivity remained at approximately 2% of normal levels, it noted.
A resident of Karaj, located to the west of Tehran, communicated via WhatsApp that he observed the internet restoration at 4 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Saturday. Karaj witnessed some of the most intense violence during the protests. The resident, who requested anonymity, indicated that Thursday marked the height of the unrest in that area.
Several Iranians living abroad reported on social media that they were also able to send messages to users in Iran early on Saturday.
ARRESTS HAVE FOLLOWED INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS, MEDIA SAY
Iranian media linked to the government disclosed that multiple individuals identified as key figures in the unrest included a woman named #NazaninBaradaran, who was apprehended following "complex intelligence operations." The reports indicated that Baradaran, who operated under the alias Raha Parham on behalf of Reza Pahlavi - the exiled son of Iran’s last shah - had played a significant role in orchestrating the unrest. Reuters was unable to verify the report or her identity.
#Pahlavi, a veteran opposition figure, has positioned himself as a possible leader should the regime collapse and has expressed intentions to re-establish diplomatic relations between Iran and #Israel if he were to take on a leadership role in the nation.
Israeli officials have shown their support for Pahlavi. In an unusual public statement this month, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu mentioned in an interview with Israel's Army Radio that Israel had operatives "on the ground" in Iran. He indicated that their objective was to undermine Iran's capabilities, although he refuted claims that they were directly attempting to overthrow the regime.
In the northeastern city of Mashhad, media reports indicate that 22 ringleaders have been apprehended, along with over 10 individuals suspected of murder and 50 accused of arson against public and private properties.
In the northern province of Gilan, officials reported the detention of 50 ringleaders, with the total number of arrests surpassing 1,500.
State television announced that two men associated with the #MujahedeenKhalq, an exiled Iranian opposition group that seeks to dismantle the Islamic Republic, were arrested in Tehran.
Reporting by the #Dubai newsroom; Additional reporting by #SaurabhSharma in New Delhi; Editing by William Mallard and Barbara Lewis
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