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Finnish Member of the European Parliament Sebastian Tynkkynen described Iran protests as a revolution that will change the world, calling on fellow lawmakers to blacklist Iran's IRGC and invite Iranian exiled prince Reza Pahlavi to the parliament.
“What we are seeing in Iran is a revolution that will change the world," he said in an address to the European Parliament on the situation in Iran on Tuesday.
"The EU needs to act swiftly, stop the appeasement policy, tighten sanctions and isolate a regime that executes its own people,” Tynkkynen added.
“Proscribe IRGC as a terrorist organization, stop the trade with Iran, listen to the Iranian people and invite Mr. Reza Pahlavi to address the parliament – the man whose name the people chant in the streets of Iran. Coordinate attacks with the US to weaken the regime to collapse,” he added.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday did not rule out the use of military option against the Islamic Republic, saying he is "going to see what happens with Iran".
"They were going to hang 837 people, and we let them know that if that happens, that will be a very bad day for them. I can't tell you what's going to happen in the future, but supposedly they've taken that off the table."
"But they were going to last week. They were going to hang on Thursday, Wednesday. They were going to hang, hang, I think 837, people, and they didn't hang anybody. So we're just going to see what happens with Iran," he told reporters on Tuesday.
Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi warned on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic is intimidating artists to erase evidence of its violent crackdown on protesters, citing the killing of a fellow director as the reality the authorities are trying to suppress.
Panahi said on Instagram that the killing of filmmaker Javad Ganji has been followed by an escalating campaign of intimidation against artists aimed at erasing the truth about protest deaths.
Panahi said directors Majid Barzegar and Behtash Sanaeiha were separately summoned and harshly interrogated for hours over a joint statement condemning state violence, warning that more cinema professionals are expected to face summons and that heavy judicial cases are already open.
"Fars News (IRGC-linked) says that some assets have been seized and convicts will be forced to pay for public damages. The regime is attempting to erase its massacre of protesters by intimidating artists, fabricating loyalty narratives, and burying the truth under judicial repression," Panahi said.
"International filmmakers and artists: Stand with your Iranian colleagues now."
Panahi said state media reported that, on orders from Tehran’s prosecutor, files have been built against 10 House of Cinema signatories, 15 prominent actors and athletes, and around 60 cafés allegedly linked to protests.
Heavy use of tear gas by security forces left many protesters struggling to breathe during demonstrations in Karaj, west of Tehran, an eyewitness told Iran International.
The witness said that on the night of Jan. 9, in the Kuy-e Andisheh area, security forces, snipers and plainclothes agents trapped protesters in an alley and targeted them with large amounts of tear gas and direct gunfire.
According to the eyewitness, at least five people had been killed in the area the previous night.
He said the intense tear gas caused severe breathing difficulties for a number of residents, including his mother and aunt, forcing people to light fires in the street in an attempt to make the air breathable.
The witness said security forces blocked both ends of the street, pushed the crowd into side alleys and then opened fire.
The eyewitness added that security forces were brought to the area on city buses, with snipers positioned on walls. Plainclothes agents were also present among the crowd and, alongside the use of tear gas and gunfire, were identifying and suppressing protesters.
Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday addressed regional tensions including events in Iran, and urged restraint.
"The region is going through a lot of tensions. And of course, we cannot exclude what's happening with Iran from these tensions in the region,” Al Thani said, according to a video clip shared by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X.
“And I believe that, with all this turmoil around us, we need to be more cool-headed and resort to wisdom,” he added.
