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Thousands of Iraqi militiamen have crossed into Iran to help Tehran suppress ongoing protests, according to a European military source and an Iraqi security source cited by CNN on Thursday.
The Iraqi security source said nearly 5,000 fighters from powerful Iraqi militias had entered Iran through two border crossings in southern Iraq, while the European source said hundreds of Shiite fighters crossed under the cover of religious pilgrimages.
The fighters were reported to be operating in several sensitive areas, including the western city of Hamedan, according to a European military assessment seen by CNN.
Iran International reported earlier this month that Iranian-backed Iraqi militias had begun recruiting and deploying fighters to assist Iranian forces in cracking down on protests.
That report said hundreds of Shiite militiamen from groups including Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and the Badr Organization had been sent into Iran through multiple border crossings.
The fighters were transferred under the guise of pilgrimage trips and gathered at a base in Ahvaz before being dispatched to various regions, Iran International reported.
New Zealand has temporarily closed its embassy in Iran and evacuated all diplomatic staff, citing what it described as a worsening security situation, officials said on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said all New Zealand staff had left Iran safely on commercial flights overnight and that operations had been shifted to Ankara.
The ministry said its ability to provide consular assistance to New Zealanders in Iran was now “extremely limited” and warned that ongoing communications disruptions were making it hard for people to contact family and friends.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said earlier this week that New Zealand was “appalled” by the escalation of violence and repression in the country, and condemned a crackdown by Iranian security forces that he said included the killing of protesters.
Iran plans to maintain its nationwide internet blackout until at least the Iranian New Year in late March, IranWire reported on Thursday, citing media activists briefed by the government spokesperson.
The outlet said government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told media activists that access to international online services would not be restored before Nowruz, which falls around March 20.
“The shutdown, now in its second week, is also expected to remain in place until after the end of the 40-day mourning period for those killed in recent nationwide protests,” IranWire said.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said Iran’s current blackout had passed 180 hours, exceeding the core length of the 2019 shutdown, with no partial or regional restoration so far.
“In 2019, it was only after connectivity was restored that the scale of the brutal crackdown became known,” the group said in a post on social media.
Iran International reported earlier this week that Iranian authorities were in the final stages of rolling out what sources described as an “internet kill switch” project, designed to enable prolonged nationwide shutdowns.
That project aims to move core digital services, banking platforms and public infrastructure onto a national network, making extended blackouts easier to enforce, according to the report.
Iranian-American activists are calling on US authorities to deport relatives of senior Iranian officials who are living in the United States, according to a report published by the New York Post on Wednesday.
"The pampered offspring of Iran’s ruling elite are living the American Dream as the country’s brutal regime kills protesters by the thousands — and fed-up Iranians in California and across the US want them out," the outlet wrote.
The report said two online petitions are demanding the deportation of Eissa Hashemi, the son of former Iranian vice president Masoumeh Ebtekar, and Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of Ali Larijani, who currently serves as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
According to the Post, Hashemi lives in California and works as an academic, while Ardeshir-Larijani resides in Georgia and is a medical professor.
The petitions said that allowing relatives of Iranian leaders to live in the United States is unjust as Iranian authorities continue a deadly crackdown on protesters at home.
The development comes as the United States imposed new sanctions on Thursday against Ali Larijani, citing his role in overseeing the government’s response to nationwide protests.
The measures were part of a broader sanctions package targeting senior Iranian officials and entities accused of involvement in the violent crackdown on demonstrators.
Iran’s deadly crackdown on nationwide protests has drawn international attention, with the United Nations Security Council holding an emergency session on Thursday at the request of the United States to discuss developments in Iran and the reported use of lethal force against demonstrators.
In the meeting, the United States and several other countries condemned the violence and urged restraint, while Iranian representatives pushed back against foreign criticism.
Turkey has adopted a calculated caution during the recent waves of protests in neighboring Iran, avoiding endorsement of those who took to the streets while stopping short of backing Tehran’s violent crackdown.
Turkish officials have acknowledged that the unrest is rooted in genuine domestic grievances, but warned against what they describe as external efforts to exploit the turmoil.
This balancing act reflects Turkey’s dual position.
A NATO member with institutional ties to the West, Ankara is also a pragmatic regional power deeply embedded in Middle Eastern geopolitics. Its approach to Iran’s crisis has been shaped less by ideological alignment than by concern over how prolonged instability could affect Turkey’s borders, economy and regional posture.
Senior officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and spokesperson for the ruling AKP party Ömer Çelik, have framed the protests as domestically driven but vulnerable to manipulation by outside actors, particularly Israel.
"We are against a military intervention against Iran," Fidan said on Wednesday. Iran needs to solve its authentic internal problems on its own."
At the same time, Turkey has avoided explicitly endorsing Tehran’s security response, signaling unease with the scale of repression.
Shared interests
Behind the public rhetoric, Turkish diplomacy has intensified.
Reports in Turkish media this week suggest that Ankara has remained in close contact with Tehran, Western partners and Arab countries surrounding the Persian Gulf—urging de-escalation and arguing against US intervention.
This is despite Turkey and Iran standing on opposing sides of regional conflicts in recent years, notably in Syria and Iraq.
The Kurdish question adds another layer of sensitivity. Both states oppose Kurdish separatism, but Turkish officials have long accused Iran of tolerating or exploiting groups linked to the PKK, which Ankara considers an existential threat.
But such rivalries have often given way to pragmatism.
Bilateral trade reached roughly $10 billion in 2024, and Iran supplies about 15 percent of Turkey’s natural gas under a pipeline agreement set to expire in mid-2026. Tourism, transportation links and security coordination have continued even during periods of political tension.
Turkey has also consistently opposed US sanctions on Iran, arguing they harm regional trade and ordinary Iranians more than decision-makers in Tehran.
Impartial intermediary
Public messaging during the current crisis has been carefully calibrated.
On January 12, Ömer Çelik warned that foreign intervention would “lead to greater crises,” urging negotiations while acknowledging Iran’s internal problems. Fidan echoed that line and sought to downplay the scale of unrest—perhaps to discourage escalation.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has also largely avoided inflammatory rhetoric. Rather than issuing public condemnations or threats, he convened security meetings to assess potential spillover risks.
Turkish authorities restricted demonstrations near Iran’s consulate in Istanbul, aiming to reassure Tehran of shared security interests.
Overall, Ankara has sought to position itself as a potential intermediary rather than a partisan actor.
Retaining regional influence
Prolonged unrest in Iran raises the prospect of refugee flows that Turkey, already hosting millions of displaced people from Syria and elsewhere, is politically and economically ill-equipped to absorb.
Large-scale displacement from Iran would strain public services, intensify domestic backlash against migrants and complicate relations with the European Union.
Economic exposure reinforces that caution. Iran remains a key energy supplier, and any disruption, particularly during winter, would push up prices and inflation in Turkey’s already fragile economy. With the gas contract nearing renewal, Ankara has strong incentives to avoid a rupture with Tehran.
A wider military confrontation involving Iran would also threaten Turkey’s commercial routes and military positions in Iraq and Syria.
Ultimately, Turkey’s response reflects strategic self-preservation. By combining public restraint with private engagement, Ankara aims to shield itself from instability, protect critical economic links and preserve leverage regardless of how events in Iran unfold.
Whether the Islamic Republic emerges intact or weakened, Turkey appears determined to remain positioned as a consequential regional actor—even as unrest across its border underscores how rarely domestic crises in the Middle East remain contained.
