Iran Crackdown Smothers Protests       01/15 06:02

   The nationwide protests challenging Iran's theocracy appeared increasingly 
smothered Thursday, a week on from authorities shutting the country off from 
the world and escalating a bloody crackdown that activists say killed at least 
2,615 people.

   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The nationwide protests challenging 
Iran's theocracy appeared increasingly smothered Thursday, a week on from 
authorities shutting the country off from the world and escalating a bloody 
crackdown that activists say killed at least 2,615 people.

   In Iran's capital, Tehran, witnesses say recent mornings saw 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 faded. Meanwhile, Iranian state 
media announces wave after wave of arrests by authorities, targeting those it 
calls "terrorists" and also apparently looking for Starlink satellite internet 
dishes, the only way to get videos and images out to the internet.

   "Since Jan. 8, we saw a full-fledged war and anybody who was in the 
gathering since then is a criminal," said Justice Minister Amin Hossein Rahimi, 
according to a report Wednesday from the judiciary's Mizan news agency.

   But as Iran tries to assert control at home, it faces challenges abroad. The 
Islamic Republic shut down its airspace for hours early Thursday morning 
without explanation, something it has done in previous rounds of attacks 
between it and Israel, as well as during the 12-day war in June. The U.S. also 
took steps to move some personnel from Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base while also 
warning diplomats in Kuwait to stay away from military bases with American 
troops stationed there.

   Airspace shut

   The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by 
Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers 
diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure 
appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just 
after 7 a.m.

   Around midday, Iranian state television carried a statement from the 
country's Civil Aviation Authority saying that the nation's "skies are hosting 
incoming and outgoing flights, and airports are providing services to 
passengers." It did not acknowledge the closure.

   Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in 
June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. 
However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure 
immediately rippled through global aviation.

   "Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most 
carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace," said the website SafeAirspace, which 
provides information on conflict areas and air travel. "The situation may 
signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile 
launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of 
civil traffic."

   Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile 
target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines 
Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. 
Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western 
propaganda before finally acknowledging it.

   Iran protests spark reaction abroad

   Videos of demonstrations broadly have stopped coming out of Iran, likely 
signaling the slowdown of their pace under the heavy security force presence in 
major cities. But in the meantime, protests against Iran have been held around 
the world as global attention has focused on the crackdown.

   The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the 
request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.

   U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that 
left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.

   In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for 
executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift 
comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that "help is on the way" and 
that his administration would "act accordingly" to respond to the Islamic 
Republic's deadly crackdown.

   Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the 
rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.

   Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: "My message is: 
Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don't have 
any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much 
better than war."

   The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the 
Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands 
who have been detained.

   Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security 
forces' crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the 
U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported, warning it likely would 
rise even higher. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or 
unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country's 1979 
Islamic Revolution.

   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's toll. The theocratic government of Iran has 
not provided overall casualty figures for the demonstrations.