{"id":196834,"date":"2026-01-14T02:37:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T02:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/world-reacts-to-iran-protests-us-military-threats-against-tehran-al-jazeera\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T02:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T02:37:43","slug":"world-reacts-to-iran-protests-us-military-threats-against-tehran-al-jazeera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/world-reacts-to-iran-protests-us-military-threats-against-tehran-al-jazeera\/","title":{"rendered":"World reacts to Iran protests, US military threats against Tehran – Al Jazeera"},"content":{"rendered":"

Global leaders have been divided on the protests, with the US and its allies backing the protesters.<\/em>
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The sustained nationwide protests<\/a> that have gripped Iran since late December have divided global opinion, with some governments raising concern about what they fear are foreign, instigated riots, while others have accused Iran\u2019s leaders of responding violently to those protesting.
Several senior Iranian figures have acknowledged the grievances of the demonstrators but have attempted to distinguish between people motivated by economic duress and rising costs, and what they have described as rioters seeking to \u201csow discord\u201d, as Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated.
Araghchi has said Iran is not seeking war but told Al Jazeera that Tehran was \u201cprepared for all options\u201d<\/a> after US President Donald Trump threatened military action over the response to the protests.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that 109 security personnel had been killed in the protests. Authorities have not confirmed the number of demonstrators who have been killed, but opposition activists based outside the country said the death toll is higher and includes hundreds of protesters. Al Jazeera cannot independently verify either figure.
Here\u2019s a look at how countries and key global organisations are reacting.
Iran\u2019s President Masoud Pezeshkian<\/a> has pledged to address mounting economic grievances, saying on Sunday his government is \u201cready to listen to its people\u201d while accusing the United States and Israel of trying to \u201csow chaos and disorder\u201d by directing elements of the unrest.
He acknowledged that the people \u201chave concerns\u201d, stating that \u201cwe should sit with them, and if it is our duty, we should resolve their concerns\u201d.
However, he warned, \u201cThe higher duty is not to allow a group of rioters to come and destroy the entire society.\u201d
President Donald Trump has warned Iran\u2019s leaders against using lethal force against demonstrators and has repeatedly said the US is considering military action.
\u201cThe military is looking at it, and we\u2019re looking at some very strong options. We\u2019ll make a determination,\u201d he told reporters on board Air Force One late on Sunday.
Last week, in a post on Truth Social, Trump\u2019s social media site, he said: \u201cIran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!\u201d
The Gulf nation is trying to mediate the rising tensions and threats of war between the US and Iran.
\u201cThere are expectations that the current tension will lead to an escalation in the region, and we are trying to de-escalate the situation,\u201d Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said at a news conference in Doha.
\u201cWe know that any escalation \u2026 would have catastrophic results in the region and beyond and, therefore, we want to avoid that as much as possible.\u201d
Al-Ansari added diplomacy is the most effective way to resolve regional crises, and \u201cwe are working on this with our neighbours and partners.\u201d
\u201cWe are a party to the contacts aimed at calming the situation in the region and resolving the disputes between Washington and Tehran,\u201d he said.
Iran\u2019s most hostile regional foe, Israel, has strongly backed the demonstrators, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commending the \u201ctremendous heroism of the citizens of Iran\u201d during a cabinet meeting.
The Israeli army has separately said the protests are internal but that the army is \u201cequipped to respond with power if need be\u201d.
A minister also refused to rule out the possibility of backing military action, with Peter Kyle telling broadcaster Sky News, \u201cThere\u2019s lots of ifs\u201d.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Tuesday that there were plans for \u201cfull and further sanctions\u201d on Iran likely to come from London.
The Conservative opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch, told the BBC: \u201cGiven the threat that we\u2019re seeing to the people, I think that would be right.\u201d
EU foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, said the 27-member bloc was \u201cdiscussing putting additional sanctions\u201d, after it signalled its readiness to impose further measures on Monday.
Kallas told reporters that the EU already has sweeping sanctions in place on Iran \u2026 and we are discussing putting additional sanctions.\u201d
The UK, along with Germany and France, issued a joint statement last week saying they \u201cstrongly condemned\u201d the killing of protesters.
Germany\u2019s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, predicted the last days of Iran\u2019s Islamic republic, telling reporters while on a trip in India that when \u201ca regime can only hold on to power through violence, then it is effectively finished\u201d.
Germany, which has close commercial and military ties with Israel, and has staunchly supported its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, previously described what it called Iran\u2019s violent response as a sign of \u201cweakness\u201d and not strength.<\/p>\n

The Spanish government summoned Iran\u2019s ambassador in Madrid to formally protest against a crackdown on nationwide demonstrations.
Speaking on Tuesday, Spain\u2019s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the government had conveyed its \u201ccondemnation\u201d of the response to the protests, which have been met with mass arrests and the use of lethal force.
\u201cThe right of Iranian men and women to peaceful protest, their freedom of expression, must be respected,\u201d Albares said in an interview with Catalunya Radio. He added that \u201carbitrary arrests must cease\u201d.
The Spanish foreign minister also urged Iran to re-engage diplomatically, calling on Tehran to \u201creturn to the dialogue tables and to the negotiating tables\u201d.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the Japanese government \u201cstrongly calls for the immediate cessation of violence and strongly hopes for an early settlement of the situation\u201d.
China\u2019s government has taken a line closer to Iran\u2019s, expressing its opposition to external \u201cinterference in other countries\u2019 internal affairs\u201d, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson adding that \u201cthe sovereignty and security of all nations should be fully protected by international law.\u201d
Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia\u2019s Security Council and former defence minister, speaking about the protests following a call with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran\u2019s National Security Council, \u201ccondemned\u201d what he said was \u201cthe latest attempt by foreign forces to interfere in Iran\u2019s internal affairs\u201d.
Turkiye\u2019s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, who was previously the country\u2019s intelligence chief, said the protests were \u201cmanipulated by Iran\u2019s rivals from abroad\u201d, naming Israel\u2019s intelligence service as having a hand.
\u201cMossad doesn\u2019t hide it; they are calling on the Iranian people to revolt against the regime through their own internet and Twitter accounts,\u201d he said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is \u201cshocked\u201d by reports of violence against protesters in Iran and called on the government to show restraint.
\u201cAll Iranians must be able to express their grievances peacefully and without fear,\u201d he added.
UN High Commissioner for Human \u200bRights Volker Turk \u200csaid in a statement read out by spokesperson \u200cJeremy Laurence when asked about the scale of killings: \u201cThe number that we\u2019re hearing is ‍hundreds.\u201d\u00a0 Al Jazeera hasn\u2019t been able to independently verify that figure.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

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