(One word was corrected in the third paragraph, last sentence: protest participants)
TEL AVIV (dpa-AFX) – According to a media report, Israel has provided the USA with intelligence information about the executions of demonstrators in Iran. As a result, the US leadership obtained incriminating evidence against the leadership in Tehran, reported the newspaper “Israel Hajom”.
Concerns about a new war have recently increased, also because the USA is massing strong military forces in the region.
Details of executions and shootings of protesters
The US Secret Service had “clear eyewitness accounts of executions carried out using various methods,” the report said. Israel was involved in obtaining this information. There are also “numerous detailed reports of the use of live ammunition against demonstrators on the streets and of protest participants being executed after their arrest.”
The information cannot be independently verified. According to media reports, Israel has a good intelligence network in Iran. Last June there was a 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which was marked by heavy exchanges of fire. Against the background of speculation about a possible new US attack in Iran, both countries had made mutual threats.
Tehran denied Trump’s statements about stopping executions
The protests with thousands of deaths in Iran broke out at the end of December. Triggered by the severe economic crisis in the country, traders initially took to the streets. A good two weeks ago there were mass protests in the major cities on January 8th and 9th, which were brutally suppressed.
The US President initially said that a military attack on the leadership of the Islamic Republic had not occurred because the authorities had canceled the execution of 800 people. During the wave of protests against the authoritarian government, he repeatedly assured the demonstrators of his support and drew red lines for the leadership in Tehran – so far without consequences. Iran’s judiciary has denied Trump’s statements that the execution of 800 demonstrators had been stopped.
Efforts to find a diplomatic solution
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Saturday evening. According to Israel Hajom, both belong to the group within the US government that is seeking a diplomatic solution with the Iranian leadership in order to prevent the entire region from being drawn into a war. They received support from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey./le/DP/jha/
