Protesters chant ‘Death to Khamenei’ in western Iran town

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he hopes a diplomatic accord with Iran can be reached but expressed skepticism that military action can ultimately be avoided, as US-Iran nuclear talks resume in Geneva on Tuesday.

“Will there be anything that can come from that that will bring peace? I honestly don’t know. I know there’s a lot of significant and legitimate doubt that the Iranians will ever agree to something that would cause them to lay down any ambitions of nuclear weaponry,” Huckabee said while speaking to Jewish leaders at a Conference of Presidents gathering in Jerusalem.

Huckabee said US President Donald Trump had made clear military action was “not his first choice.”

He added the president’s “absolute desire” was to ensure Iran does not continue to wreak havoc globally.

“At some point, the United States needs to say: enough is enough, we’re not going to continue to believe that they’re ever going to be different than they are. And it’s time for them to either make a radical change of their point of view and their direction, or for them to experience what we call in the south, the ‘second kick of a mule,’” he said.

Huckabee said Israel and the United States were “absolutely aligned in our understanding that Iran has to be dealt with and it cannot continue as it is.”

“They cannot remain a nuclear threat. They cannot continue to build extraordinary surpluses of ballistic missiles and aim them, not just at Israel, but also at the rest of the world,” he said.

Huckabee added it would be “miraculous if some deal could be reached that would thwart the need, the necessity, the absolute certainty of some military action.”

The trials were presided over by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, head of Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, who is widely known for handing down severe sentences in protest-related and political cases, the sources said.

Salavati has been holding simultaneous virtual hearings in which detainees are tried in groups of 14, according to the sources.

Among those sentenced is Abolfazl Karimi, a detained protester who the sources said had told his family in a phone call that he had been subjected to forced confessions under beatings and torture.

Karimi is the father of a young child and previously worked as a motorcycle courier in eastern Tehran.

He was arrested on January 6 while returning from work in Tehran’s Hengam neighborhood, where he encountered two injured women whose legs had been hit by gunfire from security forces, the sources said.

When he went to assist them, officers shot his leg with pellet rounds and arrested him along with the two wounded women, the sources added.

After about a month in detention in Greater Tehran Prison, he was recently transferred along with around 50 other protesters to Ghezel Hesar Prison, the sources said.

In a later phone call, Karimi told his family he had been tortured without medical treatment for his wounds and, while blindfolded, was forced to sign papers containing confessions against himself, according to the sources.

In recent days, Iran’s judiciary has intensified the process of trying protesters detained during the nationwide protests and issuing death sentences, the sources said.

On Monday Tehran Revolutionary Court, also presided over by Salavati, sentenced 19-year-old Mohammadamin Biglari to death on the charge of “enmity against God,” and the case has been referred to the Supreme Court, the sources said.

Biglari was arrested on January 8 on Tehran’s Damavand Street.

His mother is deceased, and his father was unaware of his fate for weeks, searching for him among bodies in Kahrizak before authorities informed him after three weeks that his son had been detained, the sources said.

Separately, on Sunday, the judiciary announced the first hearing session for three detained protesters—Ehsan Hosseinipour Hesarloo, Matin Mohammadi and Erfan Amiri—on charges including allegedly setting fire to Seyed al-Shohada Mosque in Pakdasht and alleged participation in murder.

Other charges against the three were announced as “assembly and collusion to appear and act against the country’s internal security following calls on hostile social media, particularly the US president and the Zionist regime (Israel)…” according to the judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency.

Norway-based rights group Hengaw said the case against the three was marred by due process violations.

"The hearing was held despite reports that the detainees have been denied basic rights since their arrest, including access to a lawyer of their choice and contact with their families. They were subjected to intense pressure and torture during detention and compelled to provide forced confessions," Hengaw said.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested during the nationwide protests, many facing heavy charges, the sources said.

Some families have reported being pressured by security bodies to refrain from speaking to media or publicly discussing the cases of detained relatives, the sources added.

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi praised protesters who chanted ant-government slogans from their homes in Iran and members of the Iranian diaspora who attended rallies abroad over the weekend.

“Your resounding cries within Iran on the nights of February 14th and 15th, and your remarkable presence in the rallies of the February 14th Global Day of Action were a clear manifestation of our national unity,” he said in a post on X.

“Our struggle to overthrow the Islamic Republic and establish a national and democratic government is irreversible… We will continue this struggle with strength until the overthrow of this criminal regime and the expulsion of the occupiers from our beloved Iran,” he added.

The hardline newspaper Kayhan, aligned with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned on Sunday that raising bread prices could have “catastrophic consequences,” cautioning that “Iranian society cannot tolerate a new shock.”

Kayhan urged the heads of Iran’s executive, legislative and judicial branches to intervene, calling the planned price increase “mysterious and suspicious” and accusing economic advisers to President Masoud Pezeshkian of “playing into the hands of Iran’s enemies.”

The warning came days after government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said bread prices would “most certainly” rise soon, signaling a politically sensitive move affecting a staple food relied upon by millions of low-income Iranians.

Iran’s Statistical Center reported inflation at about 60%, sharply reducing purchasing power and placing essential goods increasingly out of reach for poorer households.

Economists warn that price increases in staples such as bread can ripple across the economy, raising costs and accelerating inflation.

Blame game

Bread has long been a politically sensitive commodity in Iran, where subsidies have historically helped preserve social stability. Price increases or subsidy cuts affecting basic goods have previously triggered protests and unrest.

Kayhan linked the issue to recent protests, saying earlier subsidy cuts had already produced “heavy social and security consequences.” It said officials had “chosen the worst possible time” for further increases, given the country’s economic and political pressures.

The dispute reflects a broader pattern in Tehran, where competing factions often blame one another for economic hardship. Hardline outlets and political figures frequently accuse elected governments of mismanagement, while President Pezeshkian and his allies have said entrenched interests and powerful unelected institutions are obstructing efforts to stabilize the economy.

Rarely acknowledged in these public exchanges is the extent to which Iran’s economic trajectory is shaped by political and foreign policy decisions made at the highest levels of the system.

Under Iran’s constitution, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei holds ultimate authority over key areas including foreign policy, defense and the nuclear program, decisions that have played a central role in triggering sanctions and shaping the country’s economic environment.

Cash payments

The newspaper also accused the government of disguising subsidy reductions through technical language, saying officials claim subsidies have merely been “shifted in the supply chain” rather than eliminated.

Such explanations, Kayhan said, “never convince the people and will certainly lead to crises.”

The government has said it plans to offset higher bread prices through cash payments to households.

But economic researcher Yaser Bagheri said the current monthly subsidy allows recipients to buy only three loaves of bread, highlighting the limited impact of compensation measures.

Iranian outlets including the moderate Rouydad24 reported last week that food prices rose by more than 13.7% in a single month, underscoring mounting pressure on household budgets.

Kayhan’s unusually blunt warning underscores growing concern within Iran’s political establishment that economic hardship—especially involving essential goods such as bread—could carry serious political consequences.

The raid began at around 4:30 a.m., involving dozens of armored vehicles as well as several minibuses and vans, sources said. Forces also deployed four DShK heavy machine guns on the rooftops of some homes across the village.

Sources said detained residents were paraded through the city in vehicles fitted with cage bars before being transferred to the Asadabad police station.

Several villagers were injured during the mass arrests and some detainees were severely beaten by officers, sources said.

Residents who gathered outside the police station seeking information about those detained reported hearing shouting and cries from inside the building, sources added.

A source familiar with the matter said Chenar residents had been highly active during the nationwide protests in December and January and that the slogan “Khamenei the murderer — dream on” was first chanted in the village.

The source added that villagers had drawn attention during demonstrations by carrying Iran’s pre-1979 Lion and Sun flag.

According to the source, residents buried slain protesters without ritual washing, departing from Islamic burial rites, and recited passages from the Persian epic Shahnameh at their funerals.

Sources also said the area’s Friday prayer leader had told village elders they would be “disciplined” over their role in the protests.

Previous videos published by Iran International showed Chenar residents carrying Lion and Sun flags and chanting “Reza Shah, rest in peace,” as well as a chant directed at Iran’s Supreme Leader — roughly translates as “what a futile delusion” or “dream on” — at earlier protests.

The phrase “dream on” drew wider attention after Elon Musk used it in response to a post by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on X about not surrendering.

The mass arrests and lack of clear information about the number and condition of detainees have sparked concern among families and residents, sources said.

The raid comes amid broader reports by rights groups of widespread arrests across Iran in recent weeks, with tens of thousands detained nationwide since the start of the protests in late December.