UNITED NATIONS (AP) 鈥� After weeks of escalating tension, U.S. and faced each other Thursday at , where America’s envoy renewed threats against the Islamic Republic despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to lower the temperature between the two adversaries.
The U.S. was joined by Iranian dissidents in rebuking the government鈥檚 bloody crackdown on that activists say have killed at least 2,677 people.
鈥淐olleagues, let me be clear: President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations,鈥� , told the council. 鈥淗e has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime.鈥�
Waltz’s remarks came as the prospect of U.S. retaliation for the protesters鈥� deaths still hung over the region, though signaled a possible de-escalation, saying the killing appeared to be ending. By Thursday, the protests challenging Iran鈥檚 theocracy appeared increasingly smothered, but the state-ordered internet and communication blackout remained.
One diplomat told The Associated Press that top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar spent the last 48 hours with Trump that a U.S. military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region.
During the meeting, Hossein Darzi, the deputy Iranian ambassador to the U.N., blasted the U.S. for what he claimed was America’s 鈥渄irect involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence.鈥�
鈥淯nder the hollow pretext of concern for the Iranian people and claims of support for human rights, the United States is attempting to portray itself as a friend of the Iranian people, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for political destabilization and military intervention under a so-called 鈥瞙umanitarian鈥� narrative,鈥� Darzi said.
The U.S. requested the emergency Security Council meeting and invited two Iranian dissidents, Masih Alinejad and Ahmad Batebi, to describe their experience as targets of the Islamic Republic.
In a stunning moment, Alinejad addressed the Iranian representative directly.
鈥淵ou have tried to kill me three times. I have seen my would-be assassin with my own eyes in front of my garden, in my home in Brooklyn,鈥� she said while the Iranian official looked directly ahead, without acknowledging her.
In October, two purported Russian mobsters were each sentenced to 25 years behind bars for hiring a hit man to kill Alinejad at her New York home three years ago on behalf of the Iranian government.
Batebi described the deep cuts the prison guards in Iran would inflict on him before pouring salt on his wounds. 鈥淚f you do not believe me, I can show you my body right now,鈥� he told the council.
Both dissidents called on the world body and the council to do more to hold Iran accountable for its human rights abuses. Batebi pleaded with Trump not to 鈥渓eave鈥� the Iranian people alone.
鈥淵ou encouraged people to go into the streets. That was a good thing. But don鈥檛 leave them alone,鈥� he said.
Russia was the only member of the council that defended Iran’s actions while calling for the U.S. to stop intervening.
Protests appear smothered as death toll rises
Videos of demonstrations have stopped coming out of Iran, likely signaling the slowdown of their pace under the heavy security force presence in major cities.
In Iran鈥檚 capital, Tehran, witnesses said recent mornings showed no new signs of bonfires lit the night before or debris in the streets. The sound of gunfire, which had been intense for several nights, has also faded.
The clampdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,677 people, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The figure reported Thursday is an increase of 106 from a day earlier, and the organization says the number will likely continue to climb. exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country鈥檚 .
The U.S.-based agency, founded 20 years ago, has been accurate throughout multiple years of demonstrations, relying on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities.
With communications greatly limited in Iran, the AP has been unable to independently confirm the group鈥檚 toll. The Iranian government has not provided casualty figures.
New sanctions on senior Iranians
In other developments Thursday, the U.S. announced on Iranian officials accused of suppressing the protests, which over the country鈥檚 faltering economy and the collapse of its currency. The Group of Seven industrialized democracies and the European Union also said they too were looking at new sanctions to ratchet up the pressure on Iran鈥檚 theocratic government.
Among those hit with U.S. sanctions was the secretary of Iran鈥檚 Supreme Council for National Security, whom the Treasury Department accuses of being one of the first officials to call for violence against protesters. The Group of Seven, of which the U.S. is a member, also warned they could impose more sanctions if Iran鈥檚 crackdown continues.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the 27-nation bloc was looking at strengthening sanctions 鈥渢o push forward that this regime comes to an end and that there is change.
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
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