Iran blames deadly unrest on outsiders, including US

As a cold rain fell on a suburb of Iran’s capital on Wednesday, women swallowed by black chadors and men in green military-style jackets walked alongside the flag-draped coffin of a Revolutionary Guard member, one of over 100 people reported to be killed in protests across the country.

A low wail rose among the women as they passed the burned remains of buildings set ablaze in the chaos that began Friday. The mourners did not blame the Guard member’s death on Iran’s government, which increased gasoline prices amid widespread economic woes as Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers collapses.

Instead, those at the funeral blamed the United States.

Women walk past a building damaged during recent protests, in Shahriar, Iran, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Protests over government-set gasoline prices rising struck at least 100 cities and towns, spiraling into violence that saw banks, stores and police stations attacked and burned. (AP PhotoVahid Salemi)

“America, shame on you for your conspiracies,” they cried. “The blood of our youth is dripping from your claws!"

From allegations of foreigners in demonstrations to claims of outside forces being involved, Iran’s government has been blaming everyone else for the violence unleashed after it raised the minimum price for gasoline by 50%.

Those claims have been amplified by state-controlled TV and radio channels, the only broadcasters allowed, after interference on illegal but widely tolerated satellite dishes has grown worse and the internet has been blocked since Saturday.

People walk past a bank that was burned during recent protests, in Shahriar, Iran, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Protests over government-set gasoline prices rising struck at least 100 cities and towns, spiraling into violence that saw banks, stores and police stations attacked and burned. (AP PhotoVahid Salemi)

Iran has yet to offer any definitive figures of those killed, injured or arrested in the unrest. Amnesty International on Tuesday said it believed at least 106 people had been killed, with the death toll possibly above 200. Iran’s mission to the United Nations disputed the figure as “baseless allegations,” although a U.N. office earlier said it feared the unrest may have killed “a significant number of people.”

Iranian reports suggested the unrest led to nearly a half-billion dollars in damage and losses for the country.

The internet outage and communication disruption made it difficult for Iranians to speak to the outside world. The number of online videos of the unrest similarly have dried up, a result of the internet blockage.

People walk past a bank that was burned during recent protests, in Shahriar, Iran, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Protests over government-set gasoline prices rising struck at least 100 cities and towns, spiraling into violence that saw banks, stores and police stations attacked and burned. (AP PhotoVahid Salemi)

“That the internet is still shut down only signals that despite the heavy use of violence, the security forces haven’t been able to successfully squash the unrest,” said Ali Fathollah-Nejad, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center.

In the hard-line Kayhan newspaper, editor-in-chief Hossein Shariatmadari alleged Wednesday that the U.S., Israel, France and Saudi Arabia all supported the demonstrations. The newspaper run by Shariatmadari, who was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described “retaliation” as a legitimate right for Iran.

“It is possible to bring them to their knees through imposing heavy financial and military damage,” the newspaper wrote. “The enemies have lived in a glass house and their sensitive and strategic military and economy centers are easily accessible.”

Mourners attend a funeral procession of Revolutionary Guard member Morteza Ebrahimi, who was killed during recent protests, in the town of Shahriar, Iran, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Ebrahimi was killed during protests over government-set fuel prices rising last week, demonstrations that quickly spiraled in violence. (AP PhotoVahid Salemi)

It did not offer any suggestion on how the retaliation could occur, although Iran enjoys the support of proxy forces across the wider Middle East and increasingly has confronted the U.S. this summer amid the collapse of the nuclear deal a year after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the 2015 accord.

The protests come as demonstrations also are taking place in Iraq and Lebanon, two nations key to Iran’s regional influence. In Syria, another country supported by Tehran, Israel said it struck dozens of Iranian targets in near Damascus on Wednesday, attacks that a monitoring group said killed at least 23 people.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the Swiss ambassador, America’s representative in Tehran, to complain about what it described as U.S. intervention in the Islamic Republic’s affairs.

A banner in Persian that reads, "Death to Israel," is carried as mourners attend a funeral procession of Revolutionary Guard member Morteza Ebrahimi, who was killed during recent protests, in Shahriar, Iran, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Ebrahimi was killed during protests over government-set fuel prices rising last week, demonstrations that quickly spiraled in violence. (AP PhotoVahid Salemi)

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft, which had been in the Arabian Sea for months over those tensions, sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the U.S. Navy said.

In Tehran’s suburbs, people described the assailants in the unrest as moving quickly, something mentioned by others. Gas stations and banks, both private and state-owned, were seriously damaged.

“Everything happened in seconds,” homemaker Maliheh Qorani said in Tehran’s western Tehransar neighborhood. “Dozens of young and organized men smashed the windows of the bank and threw (gasoline bombs) into the building.”

A poster of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is held up as mourners attend a funeral procession of Revolutionary Guard member Morteza Ebrahimi, while passing buildings which were damaged in recent protests in Shahriar, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Ebrahimi was killed during protests over government-set fuel prices rising last week, demonstrations that quickly spiraled in violence. (AP PhotoVahid Salemi)

A heavy police presence could be seen in neighborhoods most recently affected by protests. However, people appeared to be more comfortable with coming out on the street than they had been since the unrest began.

Iran’s relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani, whose administration said it pushed for the gasoline price increase to pay for more aid to the poor, declared victory Wednesday in the unrest, blaming “the Zionists and Americans” for the violence.

“Our people have come out victorious in different incidents and in the face of enemies' plots,” Rouhani said.

Clerics attend a funeral procession for Revolutionary Guard member Morteza Ebrahimi, walking past a bank building which burned in recent protests, in Shahriar, Iran, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Ebrahimi was killed during protests over government-set fuel prices rising last week, demonstrations that quickly spiraled in violence. (AP PhotoVahid Salemi)

Blaming foreigners for domestic woes is a decades-old tradition in Iran, dating back even to the time of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In the months before his abdication and the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the shah and his government blamed Soviet-backed rebels for the unrest then. Others saw the hand of Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, Palestinian militants or Israel.

The same could be heard at the funeral for Morteza Ebrahimi, a young member of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Protesters shot and stabbed Ebrahimi in the unrest and he died in a car that had been commandeered to take him to the hospital, his friends told the hard-line news website Raja News.

A funeral procession passed through the streets of the Tehran suburb of Shahriar, his casket riding on the back of a truck. Posters of Ebrahimi, bearded and smiling, sat pinned against garlands of flowers.

Traffic passes a building set ablaze during recent protests over government-set gasoline prices rises, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. The demonstrations struck at least 100 cities and towns, spiraling into violence that saw banks, stores and police stations attacked and burned. (AP PhotoEbrahim Noroozi)

A truck in front bore a banner with the faces of Khamenei and the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini reading: “Protecting Islamic and revolutionary values, as well as praising martyrs, is the highest work.” White-turbaned Shiite clerics in robes followed the crowd as it passed a building that was nearly razed in the unrest.

"These people have gathered here to say with a loud voice to the world's arrogance and hypocrites and those who wish to deal a blow to our ruling system to understand that the blood of martyrs has been spilled for this country,” said Mohammad Reza Rezaei, a man who accompanied the funeral procession. “One of those martyrs is Ebrahimi who stood up for this system until the last drop of his blood.”

He added: “We are here to announce that we will resist also until the last drop of our blood and support the ruling system."

A gas station that was attacked during protests over rises in government-set gasoline prices is reflected in a puddle, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Demonstrations struck at least 100 cities and towns, spiraling into violence that saw banks, stores and police stations attacked and burned. (AP PhotoEbrahim Noroozi)

Rainwater pools at a gas station attacked during protests over government-set gasoline prices in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. The demonstrations struck at least 100 cities and towns, spiraling into violence that saw banks, stores and police stations attacked and burned. (AP PhotoEbrahim Noroozi)

A bank that was attacked and burned during protests over rises in government-set gasoline prices, remains closed, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Demonstrations struck at least 100 cities and towns, spiraling into violence that saw banks, stores and police stations attacked and burned. (AP PhotoEbrahim Noroozi)

A worker cleans the walls of a bank that was attacked during protests over rises in government-set gasoline prices, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Demonstrations struck at least 100 cities and towns, spiraling into violence that saw banks, stores and police stations attacked and burned. (AP PhotoEbrahim Noroozi)

Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Meanwhile, an apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan. It came nearly a week after Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel.

Israel also carried out a missile strike targeting an air defense unit in southern Syria, causing material damage, state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying Friday.

Israel had vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented weekend attack, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. Allies have urged Israel to hold back on any response to the attack that could spiral.

Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad — two militant groups backed by Iran — carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,900 people, according to local health officials.

Currently:

— Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site

— Israel gave US last-minute warning about drone attack on Iran, Italian foreign minister says

— US and UK issue new sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran’s weekend attack on Israel

— US vetoes a widely supported resolution backing full UN membership for Palestine.

— Palestinian soccer renews call for sanctions against Israel at FIFA congress

Here is the latest:

CAPRI, Italy — The United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers on Friday that it received “last minute” information from Israel about a drone action in Iran, Italy’s foreign minister said.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the United States provided the information at a Friday morning session that was changed at the last minute to address the apparent attack. Tajani said the U.S. informed the G7 ministers that it had been “informed at the last minute” by Israel about the drones. “But there was no sharing of the attack by the U.S. It was a mere information.”

He said Italians living in Iran were all accounted for and “without problems.”

BERLIN – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling on all in the Middle East to ensure that there is no further escalation in the region, but he and his government are saying little about events in Iran overnight.

Scholz noted at an event on the North Sea island of Norderney Friday that there were reports of more “military activity” during the night.

He said: “I can’t and don’t want to say more about it than that for us, a very clear principle goes for all – everyone must now and in the near future ensure that there is no further escalation of the war.”

Scholz said that Germany will talk with “all our friends and allies” about de-escalation.

Asked about reports of an Israeli attack, Scholz’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, said in Berlin that he can’t contribute “anything of my own” to information on what happened.

CAPRI, Italy — Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who chaired the meeting of ministers of industrialized countries, said the agenda of the three-day meeting was changed on Friday to address the latest developments.

Early Friday, Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones. They were apparently part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country last weekend.

Tajani didn’t immediately address the incident, but said that G7 ministers condemned Iran’s weekend attack on Israel and urged both sides to exercise restraint.

“The political objective is de-escalation,” Tajani said in a closing news conference.

JERUSALEM — Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir appeared to ridicule an apparent Israeli strike on Iran Friday morning, posting a single word to X: “Lame.”

The attack hasn't been confirmed by Iranian or Israeli officials. Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan after spotting apparent Israeli drones.

The attack is thought to be an Israeli retaliation to Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.

Ben-Gvir’s post drew condemnation from Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who said that the firebrand minister had inflicted “heavy” damage on the country’s “security, its image, and its international status.”

“In an unforgivable one-word tweet, Ben-Gvir managed to mock and shame Israel from Tehran to Washington” Lapid wrote on X.

ISTANBUL — Turkey's Foreign Ministry says that it's becoming clear that tensions between Iran and Israel risk “turning into a permanent conflict."

“In light of the latest developments, it is becoming increasingly evident that the tensions that were initially caused by Israel’s illegal attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus risk turning into a permanent conflict," according to a statement from the ministry.

“We call on all parties to refrain from steps that could lead to a wider conflict. The priority of the international community should be to stop the massacre in Gaza and to ensure lasting peace in our region by establishing a Palestinian state.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The sultanate of Oman has condemned what it called an Israeli attack on Isfahan on Friday.

Oman has close ties with Iran and often serves as a interlocutor for the West when dealing with Tehran.

A statement from its Foreign Ministry said Oman “condemns and denounces Israel’s repeated military attacks in the region.”

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called on Israel and Iran to refrain from further actions, saying “it is absolutely necessary that the region stays stable.”

“We have to do all, everything possible that all sides of this time from the escalation in that region,” von der Leyen said Friday in Arctic Finland in reply to a question on the recent strikes by the two countries on each other.

Von der Leyen was on a visit to part of Finland’s 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia — one of the EU’s longest external borders — with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to see the migration that Helsinki is facing from Moscow.

BEIJING — China is opposed to any actions that further raise tensions in the Middle East, its Foreign Ministry said Friday after an apparent Israeli attack on Iran.

Asked about Israel, Iran and rising tensions in the Middle East, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the reports had been noted.

“We oppose any actions that lead to the escalation of tensions,” Lin told reporters at a daily briefing Friday. “China opposes any actions that lead to the escalation of tensions and will continue to play a constructive role in easing the tensions.”

LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cautioned Friday against escalation in the Middle East, saying Britain was working to confirm the details around a reported Israeli strike inside Iran.

“We have condemned Iran’s reckless and dangerous barrage of missiles against Israel ... and Israel absolutely has the right to self defense,” he said. “But as I said to Prime Minister Netanyahu when I spoke to him last week, and more generally, significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region.”

SYDNEY — The Australian government urged its citizens Friday in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to leave “if it’s safe to do so,” in response to growing military tensions in the Middle East.

The Department of Foreign Affairs posted a travel advisory on its website Friday saying “there’s a high threat of military reprisals and terrorist attacks against Israel and Israeli interests across the region” and the security situation could deteriorate quickly, with little or no notice.

It said military attacks could cause closures and travel disruptions, and that Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport may pause operations due to heightened security concerns at any time.

Previously, the government had advised Australians to reconsider their travel to these areas, or whether to remain in the region, but had stopped short of asking its citizens to leave.

BEIRUT — Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defense unit in its south and causing material damage, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying Friday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike hit a military radar for government forces. It was not clear if there were casualties, the Observatory said.

The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said six Israeli fighter jets entered Syria’s airspace and were flying east when they were spotted by the radar. He added that the fighters jets were flying east.

The warplanes were seen around the time loud noises and drones were reported near a major Iranian air base and nuclear site early Friday. That area of Syria is directly west of Isfahan, some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away, and east of Israel.

Iranian state television described all atomic sites in the Isfahan area as “fully safe.” The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said “there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites” after the commotion.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran fired air defense batteries early Friday morning at a major air base and a nuclear site near its central city of Isfahan over drones being spotted, raising fears of a possible Israeli retaliatory strike following Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.

Iran then grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers informed customers of the incident at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, online videos purported to show. Iran later restored normal flight service, authorities said.

Air defenses fired in several provinces over reports of drones being in the air, state television reported. However, Iranian state-run media sought to immediately downplay the incident, airing footage of an otherwise-peaceful Isfahan morning.

The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as well as handles fuel production and other activities for Iran’s civilian nuclear program.

Vehicles drive past an anti-Israeli banner showing missiles being launched, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones early Friday morning, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian worshippers chant slogans in an anti-Israeli gathering after their Friday prayer in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. The poster at right shows the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian women without wearing their mandatory Islamic headscarf walk past a banner showing missiles being launched from Iranian map in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones early Friday morning, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman walks past a banner showing missiles being launched from Iranian map in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones early Friday morning, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People visit the Mount of Olives overlooking the Dome of the Rock at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, April 19, 2024. Tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A woman walks past a banner showing missiles being launched, in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones early Friday morning, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. On the missiles, a decorative sign reads: "Allah" (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People visit the Mount of Olives overlooking the Dome of the Rock at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, April 19, 2024. Tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A Lebanese villager looks through a broken window of his house which was damaged by Israeli shelling, in Kfar Kila, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces have been exchanging fire since a day after the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Ultra-Orthodox Jews collect food distributed to large families for free, in a special market ahead of the upcoming Passover holiday in Jerusalem, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foodstuffs during the Passover holiday that celebrates the biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery and exodus from Egypt. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Osnat Peri, right, whose husband, Haim, is in Hamas captivity, takes part in a Passover Seder commemoration with relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, at the communal dining room at Kibbutz Nir Oz, Thursday, April 11, 2024. For many Jews, no matter how observant, Passover is a time to unite with family to eat and drink around what's known as a Seder table, remembering how the Jews persevered through harsh times. But this year, when Passover begins on Monday, many families are torn on how to celebrate, or if it's worth acknowledging at all. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Ambassador of Israel to Nepal, Hanan Goder, speaks to an assembly at his residence in Kathmandu, during which family members of a Nepalese man who is still being held captive by Hamas, appealed for his prompt release in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Protesters shout slogans against Israel and wave Palestinian flags during a sit-in in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza in front of UNRWA office in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Hundreds of Palestinian refugees protested Thursday outside the offices of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in Beirut, expressing solidarity with fellow Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Lebanese villagers check their house which was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike, in Kfar Kila, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces have been exchanging fire since a day after the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man dips cooking utensils in boiling water to remove remains of leaven in preparation for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover in the ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood Mea Shearim, in Jerusalem, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foodstuffs during the Passover holiday that celebrates the biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery and exodus from Egypt. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Protesters wave Palestinian flags during a sit-in in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza in front of UNRWA office in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Hundreds of Palestinian refugees protested Thursday outside the offices of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in Beirut, expressing solidarity with fellow Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Iran's Minister for Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, right, and Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani, 2nd left, arrive at a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)