The UN┬аHigh Commissioner┬аfor Human Rights said on Tuesday that the situation in Iran was┬а“critical,” describing a hardening of the authorities’ response┬аto protests that have resulted in more than 300 deaths in the┬аpast two months.
“The rising number of deaths from protests in Iran,┬аincluding those of two children at the weekend, and the┬аhardening of the response by security forces, underline the┬аcritical situation in the country,” said┬аJeremy┬аLaurence,┬аa spokesperson for UN┬аhuman rights chief Volker Turk, at a Geneva news briefing.
The Islamic Republic has been gripped by nationwide protests┬аsince the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in┬аmorality police custody on Sept. 16 after she was arrested for┬аwearing clothes deemed “inappropriate.”
Tehran has blamed foreign enemies and their agents for┬аorchestrating the protests, which have turned into a popular┬а revolt by Iranians from all layers of society, posing one of the┬аboldest challenges to the clerical rulers since the 1979┬а revolution.
Iran’s World Cup team declined to sing their anthem before┬аtheir opening World Cup match on Monday in a sign of support for┬аthe protests.
WATCH | Iran’s opening World Cup match marked with protests, disputes:
Supporters at Iran’s opening World Cup match on Monday reported disputes among pro and anti government groups within the stadium, while one fan said he was asked to put away his pre-Islamic revolution flag and a T-shirt expressing support for protesters in Iran.
Deaths in 25 of 31 provinces
Later this week, the UN┬аHuman Rights Council in Geneva┬аwill hold a debate on the protests expected to be attended by┬а diplomats as well as witnesses and victims.
A proposal to be discussed at the session seeks to establish┬аa fact-finding mission on the crackdown in Iran. Any evidence of┬аabuses such a body might find could later be used before┬аnational and international courts, a UN┬аdocument showed.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)┬аsaid that more than 300 people had been killed so far, including┬аmore than 40 children. These deaths occurred across the country,┬аwith deaths reported in 25 of 31 provinces.
In the same briefing,┬аLaurence┬аalso voiced concern about the situation in mainly Kurdish cities┬аwhere it has reports of more than 40 people killed by security┬аforces over the past week.
Iranian state media said last month that more than 46┬аsecurity forces, including police, had been killed in the┬аprotests.
Government officials have not provided an estimate of┬аany wider death count.┬а
40 foreign nationals arrested, Iran says
Iran, which has blamed┬а“foreign adversaries” for the protests, said on Tuesday 40 foreign┬аnationals had been arrested for their role in the unrest.
“So far, 40 foreign nationals have been arrested for their┬аinvolvement in the protests,” Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Masoud┬аSetayeshi told a televised news conference, without revealing┬аtheir nationalities.
In September, Tehran said nine Europeans had been arrested┬аfor their involvement in the protests.
Iran hits Iraqi Kurdistan
In attacks linked to the protests,┬аIran’s Revolutionary Guard┬аtargeted on Tuesday a base of what it says are “separatist┬а terrorists” in Iraq’s Kurdistan region with missiles and┬аkamikaze drones, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.
Tehran accuses Iranian Kurdish groups taking refuge in┬аIraq’s Kurdistan of fomenting the nationwide protests.
“In today’s operation, the base of a separatist terrorist┬аgroup near Kirkuk, known as the Free Kurdistan Party, was┬а targeted by missiles and kamikaze drones,” Tasnim said.
The news agency also said that since Nov. 14 the Revolutionary Guards launched a new round of attacks against “separatist┬аterrorists” in response to the group’s alleged anti-security┬аactions in Iranian cities bordering Iraq.
Last week, two people were killed and 10 were wounded when┬аrockets and drones hit the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish┬аparties in the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.┬а
Nuclear move may┬аirk Western powers
Meanwhile, Iran has begun enriching┬аuranium to 60 per cent┬аpurity at its underground Fordow nuclear site,┬аthe country’s nuclear chief said on Tuesday, a move that may irk┬аWestern powers pushing Tehran to roll back its nuclear work by┬аreviving a 2015 pact.
Enrichment to 60 per cent┬аpurity is one short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. Nonproliferation experts have warned in recent months that Iran now has enough 60-per-cent-enriched uranium to reprocess into fuel for at least one nuclear bomb.
“We had said that Iran will seriously react to any┬аresolution and political pressure….┬аThat is why Iran has┬аstarted enriching uranium to 60 per cent┬аpurity from Monday at the┬аFordow site,” said Mohammad Eslami, according to Iranian media.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation┬аBoard of Governors on Thursday passed a resolution ordering Iran┬аto co-operate urgently with the agency’s investigation into┬аuranium traces found at three undeclared sites. Iran had warned┬аthat the move could impact its “constructive relations” with┬аthe agency.
Earlier this month, the IAEA said it believes that Iran has further increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. As recently as last week, the agency criticized Tehran for continuing to bar the agency’s officials from accessing or monitoring Iranian nuclear sites.
It has been nearly two years since IAEA officials have had full access to monitor Iran’s nuclear sites, and five months since the surveillance equipment was removed.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony┬аBlinken said on Tuesday he could not confirm Iran’s announcement.
Speaking on a visit to Qatar for the U.S.-Qatar strategic┬аdialogue, Blinken said Iran has tried to “insert extraneous┬а issues” into efforts to revive the deal between Iran and┬аworld powers that eased sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
The United States unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear deal in 2018, under then-president Donald Trump. It reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to start backing away from the deal’s terms.
