Tehran: Iran has issued an ultimatum to protesters involved in "riots," warning they have three days to surrender or face severe punishment. National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said this week that those who took part in the protests must hand themselves in within 72 hours or confront "the full force of the law," AFP news agency reported.
With nearly 5000 people reportedly dead in Iran, the demonstrations have posed the biggest challenge to the country's leadership, with the true scale of violence still unclear amid an ongoing internet blackout now entering its 11th day.
"Young people who became unwittingly involved in the riots are considered deceived individuals, not enemy soldiers," Radan told state television. "They will be treated with leniency" if they surrender within the deadline.
Iranian officials have claimed the protests began peacefully before spiralling into violence allegedly fuelled by "foreign enemies". Senior officials from Iran’s executive, legislative and judicial branches issued a joint statement pledging to work around the clock to address economic grievances that sparked the unrest, AFP reported. At the same time, they warned that those responsible for terrorist incidents would be decisively punished.
Concerns have also grown over the possible use of capital punishment against demonstrators. The United Nations warned this week that Iran was using executions as a tool of state intimidation. Tasnim News Agency said around 3,000 people have been arrested, while rights groups estimate the figure could be closer to 20,000.
‘Will act with force not yet known’: NetanyahuIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a stern warning to Iran, pledging an unprecedented military response should Tehran attack Israel. “If it makes a mistake and attacks us, we will act with a force it has not yet known," Netanyahu told a session of the Knesset (parliament), News18 reported, citing Xinhua. He said Israel is “closely" monitoring Iran, warning that “no one can predict what the future holds for Iran, but it will not return to what it once was," implying irreversible consequences for Tehran in any conflict. |
