{"id":196828,"date":"2026-01-14T01:36:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/people-inside-iran-describe-heavy-security-and-scattered-damage-in-first-calls-to-outside-world-abc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T01:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:36:54","slug":"people-inside-iran-describe-heavy-security-and-scattered-damage-in-first-calls-to-outside-world-abc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/people-inside-iran-describe-heavy-security-and-scattered-damage-in-first-calls-to-outside-world-abc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"People inside Iran describe heavy security and scattered damage in first calls to outside world – ABC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days Tuesday after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on nationwide protests<\/span>
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — <\/span>Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days Tuesday after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on nationwide protests<\/a> that activists say killed at least 646 people, giving a glimpse of life after being cut off from the outside world.
Witnesses described a heavy security presence in central Tehran, burned-out government buildings, smashed ATMs and few passersby. Meanwhile, people remain concerned about what comes next, including the possibility of strikes after U.S. President Donald Trump said he could possibly use the military to defend peaceful protesters. Trump also has said Iran wants to negotiate<\/a> with Washington.
\u201cMy customers talk about Trump\u2019s reaction while wondering if he plans a military strike against the Islamic Republic,\u201d said shopkeeper Mahmoud, who gave only his first name out of concerns for his safety. \u201cI don\u2019t expect Trump or any other foreign country cares about the interests of Iranians.\u201d
Reza, a taxi driver who also gave just his first name, said protests remain on many people's minds. \u201cPeople \u2014 particularly young ones \u2014 are hopeless but they talk about continuing the protests,\u201d he said.
Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press on Tuesday morning and speak to a journalist there. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. The witnesses said text messaging still was down and that internet users in Iran could connect to government-approved websites locally but nothing abroad<\/a>.
Anti-riot police officers, wearing helmets and body armor, carried batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers, according to the witnesses. Police stood watch at major intersections. Nearby, the witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force, who similarly carried firearms and batons. Security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces as well.
Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, they said. Banks struggled to complete transactions without the internet, the witnesses added.
However, shops were open, though there was little foot traffic in the capital. Tehran's Grand Bazaar, where the demonstrations began Dec. 28, was to open Tuesday. However, a witness described speaking to multiple shopkeepers who said the security forces ordered them to reopen no matter what. Iranian state media had not acknowledged that order.
The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
It also appeared that security service personnel were searching for Starlink terminals as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in their homes and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.
On the streets, people also could be seen challenging plainclothes security officials, who were stopping passersby at random.
State television also read a statement about mortuary and morgue services being free \u2014 a signal some likely charged high fees for the release of bodies amid the crackdown.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,<\/a> in a statement carried by state TV, praised the tens of thousands who took part in pro-government demonstrations nationwide on Monday.
\u201cThis was a warning to American politicians to stop their deceit and not rely on traitorous mercenaries,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Iranian nation is strong and powerful and aware of the enemy.\u201d
State TV on Monday aired chants from the crowd, which appeared in the tens of thousands, of \u201cDeath to America!\u201d and \u201cDeath to Israel!\u201d Others cried out, \u201cDeath to the enemies of God!\u201d Iran\u2019s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an \u201cenemy of God,\u201d a death-penalty charge.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
The communication \u201ccontinued before and after the protests and are still ongoing," Araghchi said. However, \u201cWashington\u2019s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.\u201d
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran\u2019s public rhetoric diverges from the private messaging the administration has received from Tehran in recent days.
\u201cI think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,\u201d Leavitt said. \u201cHowever, with that said, the president has shown he\u2019s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.\u201d
Trump announced Monday that countries doing business with Iran will face 25% tariffs from the United States. Trump announced the tariffs in a social media posting, saying they would be \u201ceffective immediately.\u201d
It was action against Iran for the protest crackdown from Trump, who believes exacting tariffs can be a useful tool in prodding friends and foes on the global stage to bend to his will.
Brazil, China, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are among economies that do business with Tehran.
Trump said Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
\u201cI think they\u2019re tired of being beat up by the United States,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIran wants to negotiate.\u201d
Iran, through the country\u2019s parliamentary speaker, warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be \u201clegitimate targets\u201d if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,700 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the latest death toll early Tuesday. It relies on supporters in Iran cross-checking information. It said 512 of the dead were protesters and 134 were security force members.
With the internet down in Iran, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll<\/a>. Iran\u2019s government hasn\u2019t offered overall casualty figures.
24\/7 coverage of breaking news and live events<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days Tuesday after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on nationwide protestsDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days Tuesday after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on nationwide protests that activists say killed at least 646 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":196829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-196828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}