Iran says it is gathering evidence for legal action against Israel and US

Witnesses in the northern Iranian city of Lahijan, in Gilan province near the Caspian Sea, have told Iran International that security forces have intensified street patrols and vehicle checks, detaining people over protest-related material found on their phones and impounding some vehicles.

According to the accounts, inspections involved thorough searches. Cars were seized if officers found items they considered suspicious, such as wooden sticks or farming tools.

People were also detained if images or videos linked to the protests were found on their mobile phones, the witnesses said.

They added that large numbers of Basij militia members were deployed at major squares and intersections, including Hashmat, Golestan, Abrisham, Bagh-e Melli and Enghelab squares.

Some of the forces remained stationed overnight in unmarked vehicles with tinted windows, according to the reports.

Witnesses also said a number of doctors and nurses who had treated people wounded by pellet shots or live ammunition had been summoned by security agencies.

Videos sent to Iran International showed protesters in Lahijan chanting “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return” on Sunday night, Jan 4.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Iran’s leadership kills protesters and directs militant groups across the Middle East, responding to remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi about the cancellation of his planned appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Herzog made the comments in a post on X on Tuesday, replying to Araghchi, who said the WEF had canceled his appearance due to what he described as political pressure from Israel and its allies.

“The same murderous Iranian regime massacring its own people day after day, executing innocent women and men for daring to call for their freedom, and spreading terror and death across the Middle East is in no position to lecture others on ‘morality,’” Herzog wrote.

He added that international criticism of Iran was not political but, in his words, based on what he called Tehran’s actions.

“The Iranian regime is the head of the snake that arms, funds, and directs Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist proxies committing crimes against humanity,” Herzog wrote.

Araghchi had earlier said on X that the WEF had canceled his appearance based on what he described as “lies and political pressure” from Israel and its US-based supporters.

US President Donald Trump is weighing broader options toward Iran as protests and violence escalate inside the country, a former White House national security official said on Monday.

Richard Goldberg told Fox News that Trump is responding to mass demonstrations in Iran, killings in the streets and executions “happening right now in secret to try to avoid triggering the president's red line again.”

Goldberg said Trump believes a previous red line has been obliterated, and that he views the Islamic Republic as responsible for American deaths over decades. He cited attacks in Beirut, the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, violence against US forces in Iraq, as well as assassination plots against Trump himself.

He said Trump is building a force to expand available options, including a “decapitation strike,” targeting command, control and communications assets, and pressure points such as oil flows and Iran’s missile program.

Goldberg contrasted Trump’s approach with Barack Obama’s policy toward Tehran, which he criticized as prioritizing a nuclear deal while protests were underway in Iran.

Witnesses in the northeastern Iranian city of Shahrud have told Iran International that at least 200 people were killed over two days of protests, alleging they died at the hands of security forces.

The witnesses reported the deaths occurred on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 8 and 9.

One witness said Ibn Yamin Street was bloodstained on the night of Jan. 19, with visible signs of heavy clashes across the area.

Videos sent to Iran International showed people in Shahrud, in Semnan province, chanting “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return” as they gathered in the streets on Friday night, Jan 9.

Fourteen young people were detained last week after armed plainclothes officers raided a villa outside Tehran where they had gathered to access Starlink internet and update their social media accounts, according to an activist.

The detainees, aged 23 to 38, were blindfolded, handcuffed and shackled, Golshan Fathi said, adding that officers broke cameras and seized equipment including hard drives and screens, and did not present a clear warrant before taking the group to an unknown location.

In short phone calls placed several days later from a private number, detainees were verbally told they were accused of “spying for Israel,” “cooperating with hostile media,” “propaganda against the system,” “attempting to overthrow” the government and “smuggling goods,” an apparent reference to Starlink equipment, she said.

Families have searched for their loved ones in Fashafouyeh, Qarchak and Evin prisons but they have not been told where the detainees are held.