China urges restraint, dialogue in call with Iran foreign minister

Christoph Heusgen, former head of the Munich Security Conference, said on Thursday that the European Union’s failure to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization was a sign of weakness.

“That the Revolutionary Guards are still not listed is a sign of weakness by the European Union,” Heusgen told German public radio Deutschlandfunk.

He said the bloc had long treated Iran with caution in the hope that diplomacy, including talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, could lead to change, but said that approach had failed.

“There is no longer any reason to take diplomatic considerations toward the Iranian government into account,” he said.

Heusgen said pressure on Tehran should focus on political and economic isolation rather than military action.

“They need help from outside, they need solidarity, but they do not need a military intervention,” he said.

He also called for targeted sanctions on Iran’s leadership and elites, including travel bans, and said the issue should be raised at the United Nations to increase pressure on countries that continue to do business with Tehran.

Three members of the same family were killed after their car came under fire from Iranian security forces in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, during protests on Jan. 9, Iran International has learned.

The victims were identified as Bijan Mostafavi, a retired education worker, his wife Zahra Bani Amerian, a retired social security employee, and their 19-year-old son, Danial Mostafavi, a university student, a source close to the family said.

According to information received by Iran International, the family was inside their private vehicle when it was hit by heavy gunfire amid unrest in the area.

The couple’s older son, Davoud Mostafavi, was also in the car at the time, but there was no confirmed information about his condition at the time of publication.

Iran International has previously reported that at least 12,000 protesters were killed in Iran, mostly over two nights on Jan. 8 and 9.

Turkey does not condone the possibility of the use of violence against Iran, its foreign minister said on Thursday.

“Turkey does not condone the possibility of the use of violence against Iran,” Hakan Fidan said.

He added that Ankara would continue diplomatic initiatives regarding Iran, saying the priority was to avoid destabilization.

He also pointed to a 25 percent tariff on US imports from any country that trades with Iran, saying “there is no US presidential decision on tariffs targeting countries trading with Iran that we need to realistically consider at this stage.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has written to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, calling for what he described as opposition to “all forms of foreign interference” in Iran, state media reported on Thursday.

In the letter, Araghchi urged the United Nations to oppose what he called any actions against Iran’s territorial integrity and national interests.

He also referred to recent unrest in the country, which he described as violent and terrorist in nature.

“In recent days, we witnessed violent acts and terrorism in the style of Islamic State against Iran,” Araghchi said in the letter.

He said what he described as peaceful protests had been “sabotaged by terrorist elements” and called for the condemnation of what he termed terrorist acts.

Araghchi also criticized US statements on human rights in Iran, calling them “misleading and shameful,” the reports said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan spoke by phone on Thursday about bilateral ties and regional and international developments, Iran’s foreign ministry said.

"The two ministers stressed their determination to strengthen relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in areas of mutual interest," the ministry said.

Araghchi said recent events in Iran began with peaceful economic and labor protests but later turned violent after what he described as "the organized involvement of terrorist elements linked to Israel."

“Iran will strongly defend its borders against any external threat,” he said, according to the statement.

He also criticized what he called provocative and interfering remarks by US officials, and said countries in the region had a responsibility to safeguard stability and security against destabilizing actions.