What we covered here
• A cautious calm: Tehran is beginning to show signs of a return to normalcy, but some Iranians say they are still bracing for possible US intervention after weeks of anti-government protests and a brutal crackdown.
• Inside negotiations: Several Arab states helped de-escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran following intensive diplomatic efforts over the past 72 hours, a Gulf official told CNN.
• US not ruling out action: President Donald Trump hasn’t taken any options off the table, the White House said, and there will be “grave consequences” if killings continue. The US military is moving a carrier strike group to the Middle East region amid the tension, according to a source.
• Blackout still in place: At least 2,400 protesters have been killed since the start of Iran’s crackdown on dissent, according to a US-based rights group, and a state-imposed communications blackout has lasted a week.
Our live coverage of the Iran protests has ended for the day. Get the latest here.
US carrier strike group could bring dozens of fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles to Persian Gulf
The US military is moving a carrier strike group to the Middle East as tensions simmer over protests in Iran, according to a source.
US President Donald Trump has pledged to help protestors and has been weighing military action in recent days.
The nearest US Navy carrier strike group, according to open-source intelligence, is led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, and it was last reported to be in the South China Sea, some 5,000 miles from the Persian Gulf.
Analysts estimate it could take five to seven days to reach the gulf.
Displacing more than 100,000 tons and almost 1,100 feet long, the Abraham Lincoln can carry a mix of 90 planes and helicopters, including F/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets.
According to the US Naval Institute’s fleet tracker, the Abraham Lincoln is accompanied by three guided-missile destroyers. Along with providing air and submarine defense for the carrier, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are armed with dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can hit targets up to 1,000 miles away.
UN secretary general urges "maximum restraint" as Security Council discusses Iran tension
The United Nations Security Council convened Thursday to address the deadly unrest in Iran following a request from the United States, with senior UN officials urging restraint and deescalation.
Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Political Affairs Department, voiced alarm over public statements suggesting possible military strikes on the country, according to a statement from the UN.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres “remains convinced that all concerns regarding Iran, including those related to the nuclear issue and ongoing protests, are best addressed through diplomacy and dialogue,” the statement said.
He also urged “maximum restraint” and called on actors to “refrain from actions that could lead to further loss of life or ignite a wider regional escalation.”
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the Iranian people “are demanding their freedom like never before in the Islamic Republic’s brutal history,” adding that Trump and the US “stands by the brave people of Iran.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Gholamhossein Darzi, blamed the US for “steering unrest” in Iran, according to the statement.
“It is deeply regrettable that the representative of the United States regime, which requested this meeting, has today resorted to lies, distortions of facts and deliberate disinformation to conceal his country’s direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran towards violence,” he said.
US moving carrier strike group to Middle East region due to Iran tension, source says
The US military is moving a carrier strike group to the Middle East region as tensions simmer over protests in Iran, according to a source familiar with the matter.
US President Donald Trump has pledged to help protesters and has been weighing military action in recent days. Military planners typically move additional assets — often including carrier strike groups — into a region when tensions escalate. The nearest group, according to open-source intelligence, is the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group that was last reported to be in the South China Sea.
Carrier strike groups normally include an aircraft carrier, guided missile cruisers, anti-aircraft warships, and anti-submarine destroyers or frigates.
US lowers security alert at Qatar air base, sources say
The security warning level at the US Al Udeid air base in Qatar has been lowered after a heightened alert was triggered on Wednesday, three sources briefed on the situation told Reuters on Thursday.
US aircraft that were moved out of Al Udeid on Wednesday are gradually returning to the base, one of the sources added. The other two sources, both diplomats who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that some personnel who were advised to leave the base on Wednesday have also been permitted to return.
The US embassy in Qatar did not comment when contacted by Reuters.
Iraqi militias have joined the Iranian regime’s crackdown, security sources say
Iraqi militiamen have crossed into Iran over the past weeks to help Tehran suppress ongoing protests, according to a European military source and an Iraqi security source familiar with the matter.
The Iraqi security source said nearly 5,000 fighters from powerful Iraqi militias entered Iran from two border crossings in southern Iraq: the Shaib border crossing in Maysan province and the Zurbatiya border crossing in Wasit province.
A European military source also confirmed to CNN that 800 Shiite fighters crossed from the Iraqi provinces of Diyala, Maysan and Basra, to help with the Iranian crackdown under the pretense of religious pilgrimages.
CNN has reached out to the Iraqi government and the Iranian embassy in London for comment.
According to a weekend statement by the Iraqi Observatory for Rights and Freedom, waves of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters have been entering Iran since violent protests erupted in the country nearly three weeks ago.
According to a European military assessment seen by CNN, they belong to armed groups loyal to Tehran – like Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and the Badr Organization. These Iraqi militias operate within the umbrella group known as the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
According to the document, their presence has been reported in several sensitive areas in Iran, including in cities like Hamedan, where they have been involved in the crackdown on protests.
The use of non-Iranian fighters is another indication of the regime’s fragility and of its determination to hold firm despite the high human cost of the protests so far.
“The recourse to foreign militias falls under a clear security strategy: neutralizing any possibility of fraternization between the forces of repression and the demonstrators,” according to the assessment.
Trump hasn't taken options off the table for responding to Iran
President Donald Trump hasn’t removed any options for responding to Iran’s brutal crackdown on protests, the White House said, warning of “grave consequences” if the repression turns deadly.
“The president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a daily briefing.
She said Trump had received a message from the regime that “killing and executions” would stop.
“The president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted,” Leavitt said.
Iranians have now spent a week without internet access
The Iranian government has choked off internet access for its population for a week, according to the cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks, in what observers say is one of the regime’s longest-ever digital blackouts.
At least 2,400 people have been killed since the start of Iran’s crackdown on dissent, according to a US-based rights group. But the blackout means that the true death toll could be much higher as the communications shutdown has made it harder to tally, human rights groups say.
The blackout makes it nearly impossible for Iranians to get any message out and has fueled a surge of misinformation and disinformation, with AI-generated videos and old footage resurfacing online.
For context: The country’s decades-long push to nationalize its internet infrastructure — accelerated by intensifying international sanctions — has given the state far greater capacity to censor, throttle and control online activity.
Several Arab nations helped de-escalate tensions between US and Iran, says Gulf official
Four Arab states helped de-escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran following intensive diplomatic efforts over the past 72 hours, a Gulf official told CNN on Thursday.
Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt urged the United States to avoid strikes on Iran, warning of security and economic risks that could affect both the US and the wider region, the official said.
The four states also warned Iran that any attack on US facilities in the Gulf would have serious consequences for Iran’s relations with countries across the region.
According to the source, these diplomatic efforts have led to a de-escalation of the situation. Qatar, a key US ally, has previously acted as an intermediary for the US in Gaza and other conflicts.
Trump has been weighing military action against Iran and has pledged to protesters that help is on the way. On Wednesday, the US president said he had received assurances that the “killing has stopped” and that Iran had called off scheduled executions of detained protesters.
US-Iran tensions remain as residents in Tehran slowly resume their daily lives. Catch up on the latest
Residents in Tehran appear to be returning to their daily lives today, though some say they are still bracing for potential US military action following a violent crackdown by Iranian authorities against anti-government protesters.
Here’s everything you need to know:
• More details of victims emerging: An Iranian Red Crescent Society staff member died in Iran Saturday, the aid organization has confirmed, while Canada said one of its citizens died at “the hands of the Iranian authorities.” At least 2,400 protesters have been killed since the protests began last month, according to a US-based rights group.
• Internet outage: A state-imposed communications blackout still remains in place, seven days after it began, making it all but impossible for Iranians to contact the outside world. When international calls do connect, no one dares to have conversations that go beyond the regular pleasantries, aware that there may be others on the line, a Tehran resident told CNN in a brief call this week.
• Spread of AI-generated videos online: Some videos circulating online that purport to show protests in Iran have been generated by AI, according to a US-based disinformation watchdog group. It identified seven AI-generated videos shared by both pro- and anti-government accounts, with some clips drawing as many as 3.5 million views.
• Warnings against foreign intervention: Both Turkey and China’s foreign ministers warned against foreign intervention in Iran earlier today. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi added that Beijing could play a “constructive role” in deescalating tensions while Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara’s priority was to avoid destabilization. Meanwhile, Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned the government might not be able to prevent instability from spreading beyond its borders, despite using all their power to suppress “armed, brutal terrorists.”
• Executions postponed: The family of detained Iranian protester Erfan Soltani said his execution was postponed, as US President Donald Trump said he had received assurances that the “killing has stopped.” Iran’s judiciary today, however, indicated that Soltani had not been sentenced to death, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
• New US sanctions: The Trump administration announced new sanctions against Iranians it alleges drove the crackdown and laundered the proceeds of oil sales to foreign markets. The move comes as Trump is still weighing military action against Iran.
CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim, Lauren Kent, Zahid Mahmood, Kit Maher and Helen Regan contributed reporting.
Iranians arriving in Turkey say Trump should not intervene
Wheeling their suitcases through the snow after crossing into Turkey at the Kapikoy Border Gate, some Iranians say protests at home have subsided and that US President Donald Trump should not intervene.
Trump has been weighing a potential military response after Iranian authorities conducted a brutal crackdown on protesters. Yesterday, however, the president said the United States would “wait and see” after Iran called off the executions of detained dissent.
“There is nothing going on anyway, there was turmoil for a few days but everything has ended.”
Emran Kahir, an Iranian-Kurd from the city of Urmia, said the “chaos” had eased but added that it was still unclear what would happen next. He said there is limited information about the rest of the country because of the internet blackout.
Footage from Tehran shows signs of a return to normalcy, with one resident saying people are coming out to shop more even as economic hardship persists.
US sanctions Iranians it alleges were responsible for protester crackdown
The Trump administration today announced new sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities that it alleges drove the crackdown on protesters and laundered the proceeds of oil sales to foreign markets.
Bessent said the sanctions, from the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, target 18 individuals and entities that the regime “uses to evade sanctions on Iranian oil and divert proceeds from its energy sales away from the rightful owners, the Iranian people.” Those sanctioned include Ali Larijani, the Iranian national security chief.
The move comes as President Donald Trump is weighing military action against Iran and has pledged to protesters that help is on the way. Trump already announced a 25% tariff against countries that do business with Iran. But seeming to dial back his aggressive posture of recent days, Trump said Wednesday that he had been told that that the killing in Iran would stop.
Canadian dies "at the hands of the Iranian authorities," Canada's foreign minister says
A Canadian citizen has died in Iran “at the hands of the Iranian authorities,” Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand posted on X Thursday, without providing additional details about the incident.
“Our consular officials are in contact with the victim’s family in Canada and my deepest condolences are with them at this time,” Anand said.
She did not identify the victim nor say when they died.
More than 2,400 protesters have been killed since Iran cracked down on the anti-government protests which began just over two weeks ago, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). CNN is unable to verify HRANA’s figures.
“Peaceful protests by the Iranian people – asking that their voices be heard in the face of the Iranian regime’s repression and ongoing human rights violations – has led the regime to flagrantly disregard human life,” Anand said. “This violence must end. Canada condemns and calls for an immediate end to the Iranian regime’s violence.”
AI-generated videos of Iran protests spread online amid internet blackout, watchdog says
Some videos circulating online that purport to show protests in Iran have been generated by artificial intelligence, a U.S.-based disinformation watchdog group said, as the country’s internet blackout makes it increasingly difficult to verify footage.
NewsGuard said in a report that it has identified seven AI-generated videos shared by both pro- and anti-government accounts claiming to show the unrest, with some clips drawing as many as 3.5 million views.
In one video identified by NewsGuard, women protesters appear to be smashing a vehicle said to belong to the Basij, Iran’s large volunteer paramilitary group, established by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and often used to crack down on demonstrations.
The post received 719,600 views and 5,700 likes in a single day, NewsGuard said. But after analyzing the footage with the detection tool Hive, the watchdog found there was a 100 percent likelihood the video had been AI-generated.
“The video shows clear signs of AI-generation, including shards of glass that appear inexplicably and misspelled words,” the report said.
Another set of videos shared by U.S.-based conservative, anti-regime accounts purported to show Iranian protesters changing street signs to symbolically rename them after President Donald Trump. One of those clips received 91,000 views and 7,100 likes in a day, but NewsGuard said its analysis found with 100 percent certainty that it too had been generated by AI.
Since the protests broke out in December, at least 2,400 demonstrators have been killed, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). With Iran largely cut off from the internet, only a portion of deaths can be confirmed, raising fears the true toll is far higher.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks says Iran has now been without internet access for seven days, after authorities imposed a nationwide shutdown last week, severely limiting the flow of images, videos and eyewitness accounts.
Despite the blackout, CNN has been able to reach some people on the ground when brief landline and mobile calls become available.
CNN’s Renée Rigdon, Adrienne Vogt and Helen Regan contributed to this report
Red Crescent says staff member killed in Iran
A staff member working for the Iranian Red Crescent Society was killed in Iran on Saturday, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Amir Ali Latifi was killed in Gilan Province in the northwest of Iran, while five other Iranian Red Crescent workers were wounded “in the line of duty,” according to a statement posted on X today.
The IFRC could not provide CNN with any more details immediately, due to the difficulties in verifying reports from inside Iran amid a state-imposed communications blackout.
“We stand in solidarity with the Iranian Red Crescent Society and all medical and humanitarian workers providing life-saving assistance during this difficult time,” according to the IFRC’s statement, which was issued yesterday.
Normal life resumes in Tehran but residents brace for possible US action
Tehran is beginning to show signs of a return to normalcy, but some Iranians say they are still bracing for a possible US attack after weeks of protests against the regime and a brutal crackdown that left thousands dead.
The protests began in Tehran in December and were initially motivated by worsening economic conditions, but quickly spread across the country, fuelled by widespread dissatisfaction with the regime.
As the Iranian authorities’ crackdown on dissent intensified, US President Donald Trump signaled his administration was weighing a potential military response, before indicating this week that the United States would “wait and see.”
In a video published by Reuters one Tehran resident, Abolfazi, said the US president “speaks a lot” but Iranians would not be intimidated.
“He seeks to make the Iranian people kneel,” he said. “This is a mistake. We will stand up to him with all our ability.”
Another resident, Mohammad Haeri, said daily life in Tehran was getting back to normal after the mass protests, but economic hardship persisted.
“People come to shop a bit more,” Haeri said. “But the whole cost of living situation for people is [still] weak, especially in shopping.”
At least 2,400 protesters have been killed in the crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). CNN is unable to verify HRANA’s figures.
Last June, the US struck three Iranian nuclear facilities during the Israel and Iran war. In response, Iran hit Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Haeri said he believed that response was strong enough to deter further attacks.
“We gave the US a firm response last time, I don’t think they dare to attack again,” Haeri said.
Analysis: Iran has tremendous oil reserves
The Iranian government is at its weakest point in years, destabilizing yet another OPEC nation less than two weeks after the US toppled the government of Venezuela.
Iran controls the third-largest proven oil reserves on Earth and one of the world’s most important oil shipping lanes.
Iran produces about 3.2 million barrels of oil per day, on average, according to OPEC, accounting for roughly 4% of global crude production. That makes Iran the world’s sixth-largest oil producer — an impressive feat, considering Iran faces sanctions that have limited its potential customers. To skirt sanctions, Iran operates a shadow fleet of vessels to export oil at a steep discount.
But Iran’s potential far outweighs its actual output. The country is sitting on 209 million barrels of oil in reserve, behind only Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. And its daily production is less than half the 6.5 million barrels per day Iran produced in the mid-1970s before revolutionaries overthrew the Shah.
China is by far Iran’s biggest customer: It buys 89% of Iran’s oil, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Like Venezuela, Iran nationalized the country’s energy infrastructure after expropriating foreign oil companies’ assets.
But Iran is much more important for global energy than Venezuela.
The price of oil has already risen sharply because of the threat of disruption to Iran’s oil. And oil could rise significantly if the US strikes Iran – but that depends on the extent of the possible attack and Iran’s response.
But Iran also has the power to inflict serious damage on the oil market: It controls the northern side of the Strait of Hormuz, a pinch point for other oil-producing countries through which 20 million barrels of crude — about one-fifth of daily global production — flow. The strait is the only way to ship crude from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world.
In photos: Residents of Tehran go about their daily lives as unrest looms over capital
The banality of everyday life lived under the shadow of social unrest and potential war with the US: That’s how one middle-aged Tehran resident described the mood on the ground in a brief phone call with CNN this week.
Across the capital, people are trying to go about their daily routine as much as possible — going to work, visiting family, keeping medical appointments or buying groceries.
Nonetheless, the shock and trauma of the violence of the last few couple of days are never too far away.
Iran may not be able to stop instability from spreading beyond its borders, defense minister warns
Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said Thursday that the government may not be able to prevent instability from spreading beyond its borders, a prospect that has concerned Tehran’s neighbors.
In a statement broadcast on Iran’s state-run IRIB news agency, Nasirzadeh said authorities will use all their power to suppress “armed, brutal terrorists,” but may not be able to control insecurity spilling into neighboring territories.
Iran’s fractious social fabric has helped fuel calls by multiple opposition groups for demonstrators to take to the streets against the regime, including groups that aspire to secede from the Islamic Republic.
He claimed that some “rioters attacked military bases to take weapons and use them in the unrest.”
Without providing evidence, he also claimed that some protestors attacked religious and cultural sites, as well as threatened shopkeepers, arguing that those actions are security threats rather than protests or economic demonstrations.
Some background: The Defense minister’s comments follow a Wednesday statement from the intelligence arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that outlined recent operations against what it described as “armed terrorists” and foreign-backed unrest in the country. The IRGC said it was working to counter what it called the “American-Zionist project of unrest,” according to state-run IRIB.
Also on Wednesday, Iran’s Minister of Justice Amir Hossein Rahimi argued that from January 8 onwards, the unrest “wasn’t just protests, but this was an internal war. Anyone who has been arrested in that time frame is guilty because they were at the scene.”
China says it is willing to play a “constructive role” in easing Iran tensions
China says it could play a “constructive role” in easing tensions around Iran, as Beijing warned against a return to what it called a global “law of the jungle.”
During a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing “opposed the use or threat of force in international relations” and rejected attempts by “any country to impose its will on others,” according to a readout published by China’s foreign ministry.
Wang said China supports the Iranian government and people in maintaining national stability and safeguarding their legitimate rights, adding that he believed they would unite to overcome current difficulties.
He urged all parties to show restraint, cherish peace and resolve differences through dialogue, saying China stood ready to help facilitate those efforts.
