Iran set to hang protester in what would mark first execution tied to anti-regime demonstrations

Iran is set to execute protesters in what could mark the first execution linked to anti-government protests. A violent crackdown on protests in Iran has left scores dead.

A US-based human rights group has reported that at least 646 people have been killed, including 505 protesters and nine children.

Social media videos show bodies lying in a violent crackdown near Tehran’s Kerezika Zak Forensic Medical Center.

People are now seen trying to identify bodies in body bags. They can be heard crying in grief.

That’s not all. More than 10,700 people have been arrested as a nationwide communications blackout continues. Iranian authorities are trying to regain control of the streets through massive nationwide rallies.

Thousands of people attended the government’s call for rallies in support of the Islamic Republic. President Masoud Peshmerga was also seen marching with the protesters.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed it as proof that the protests, which authorities have dismissed as foreign interference, had failed. Speaking to the media, the Iranian foreign minister

accused the US and Israel of waging a war of terror inside Iran’s borders. He said he had many documents

that indicated US and Israeli involvement in terrorist movements. He even claimed that Mossad agents were with the protests

and that their interference was the cause of the violence and killings. Mr. Mike Pompeo, who was Trump’s CIA director, said on his ex-wife that he wished every Iranian in the streets a Happy New Year,

and every Mossad agent who was walking with them. This clearly shows that Mossad agents tried to direct such terrorist acts.

Iraqi also highlighted how protesters targeted mosques. More than 350 mosques were set on fire. He added that no one would dare set fire to an Iranian place of worship.

And to learn more, our correspondent Susan Thrani sent us this report from New York. Take a look. President Donald Trump, in response to the nationwide protests,

announced a new trade policy that would impose 25% tariffs on any country doing business with Iran. The move is designed to put pressure on Iran’s economy as well as its partners,

although the legal and diplomatic implications for US trade relations are unclear. At the same time, the US Virtual Embassy to Iran, a security alert published online,

is now urging Americans in Iran to leave immediately amid the growing unrest in the country. He warned that continued protests could turn violent

and that internet shutdowns could disrupt communications and suggested that US citizens should consider traveling by land to neighboring countries that are safer.

Officials will brief President Trump on Tuesday on options for intervention in Iran. This is according to the Wall Street Journal. Susan Tani reports from New York that we are on the world as one.

In full: US ambassador to Israel discusses Iran protests and US military action

In full: US ambassador to Israel discusses Iran protests and US military action The US ambassador to Israel has told Sky News

that he is not aware of any plans by his country to launch military strikes against Iran. This is despite President Trump saying

that he is considering such an intervention in support of the mass protests against the government. Ambassador Mike Huckabee sat down with our Middle East correspondent Adam Parsons.

What kind of proactive role do you expect the United States to play in intervening, I understand from your perspective to be trying to hasten regime change?

I don’t think it’s something that the United States is actively trying to hasten anything. It’s a matter of respect and President Trump has framed it that way.

He certainly wants to acknowledge that the Iranian government shouldn’t be killing, injuring and hurting its own people because they’re protesting.

They have the right to protest and they are protesting legitimate things. So are you rejecting a military attack by the US or indeed by your great ally Israel on Iran?

I don’t think the US or Israel are planning to get involved right now. I don’t know what could happen. I just don’t know. I would be completely out of my league

If I were to say what would happen here. We don’t know. Would it be your assessment that a missile attack now could have serious consequences and that it’s not worth the political and human risk?

And frankly, those are decisions that are going to be made in Washington by the president, the secretary of war. Oh but I’m not hearing anything at this point where the US is preparing to engage militarily.

If they change their mind I’m sure they’ll tell you all about it. But at this point it remains to be seen what an organic movement is unfolding in a very unpleasant way

So the Iranian people who have decided that they can’t continue like this. Many people look at American foreign policy right now and see this idea

that they see as power. That the United States is flexing its muscles militarily, threatening Greenland, taking on Maduro.

To what extent is the West looking to the United States for military force to try to achieve diplomatic goals? I think we have a president

who will never use military force. He will never deploy it. But he is also a president who is not a chump. He will not watch people being slaughtered.

He will intervene when necessary and he will deal with those who do terrible things. Ambassador, you are of course based in Jerusalem here. Um, this is not just about the United States.

It is also about Israel. Oh, looking at Iran, you both certainly have huge diplomatic and conflicting ties with Iran. To what extent are you working with Israeli intelligence to inform on plans for Iran? I think it would be a miscalculation to say that the United States and Israel are working on plans for Iran.

What we are doing is certainly working together to assess and understand what the Iranian people are doing and to assess this uprising of people

who have every right to be fed up with the Iranian regime. I want to ask you about Gaza. When we get the last hostage, the last hostage remains,

and we enter the second phase, a key component of that is of course this peace board that President Trump will chair. Who else will be on that board and will Tony Blair still be involved in particular?

I don't know. I mean, it will be announced when it is ready. I think well thought out that it probably would have been announced,

but one thing that I appreciate about this process is that it could have been done quicker, but there is more of a desire to do it better than to speed it up.

And what does that mean? What does it do right? Because many people look at it and say that it is right, it means that the Palestinians will have control over Gaza.

There will be a Palestinian technocratic government. This is part of the peace plan that President Trump has outlined. Who is in it has yet to be named and determined.

And I know that this process is intense and it continues every day. And do you have any hope that the Palestinians will get all of Gaza back? I think that is the ultimate plan.

I don't think there is anything to establish Israel in Gaza. But I will tell you what they are absolutely certain about. They do not want another October 7th.

They will maintain the border and they will not let anything like that happen to them again. And as you know, Britain, France, several other countries have now recognized the state of Palestine.

This is something you objected to, but is now considered by many countries to be an extraordinary everyday diplomatic opinion. Why are they wrong? It wasn't just me. My government, the United States, is strongly opposed to this unilateral recognition. It was not just temporary for us. It was very damaging and painful for the Gaza march.

It was detrimental to what we were doing to end the financial crisis between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. I'm not sure to this day

what was really done other than messing up some things that didn't need to be messed up. And to the conversations between some European leaders who thought

that somehow they were going to come up with some great resolution that they didn't. Was Ambassador Mike Huckabee talking to Adam Parsons and Adam joined me live from Jerusalem.

Um Adam, great interview just referencing what you did with him about Iran and all options were on the table. But of course, we keep hearing that behind the scenes the Trump administration is considering allocating time.