The United Nations Security Council will meet on Thursday at the request of the United States to discuss Iran, as tensions escalate amid nationwide unrest and warnings of possible US intervention.
The meeting comes as Washington has begun withdrawing some personnel from US military bases in the Middle East. Quoting a US official, Reuters reported that the move followed remarks by a senior Iranian official who said Tehran had warned neighbouring countries that US bases on their territory would be targeted if Washington attacked Iran.
Iranian authorities are struggling to contain the most serious domestic unrest the country has faced in years, while also seeking to deter repeated threats by US President Donald Trump to intervene in support of anti-government protesters.
A Western military official told Reuters on Wednesday that “all the signs point to the possibility of an imminent US strike,” but added that Washington may also be acting to keep adversaries on edge. “Unpredictability is part of the strategy,” the official said.
Trump, however, struck a more cautious tone at the White House, saying he was adopting a wait-and-see approach.
He told reporters he had been informed that the killing of protesters by Iranian authorities was easing and that there were currently no plans for mass executions. Asked to identify his sources, Trump described them as “very important people on the other side.”
The US president did not rule out military action, saying: “We’re watching it very closely,” before adding that his administration had received what he described as “a very good statement” from Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, denied that Tehran had any plans to execute protesters, saying: “There is no plan in Iran to execute people.”
