Trump-Iran latest: Americans urged to leave Iran after US President threatens ‘very strong action’ if protesters are hanged

Donald Trump on Tuesday told Iranians to keep protesting and said help was on the way, without giving details.

"Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!... HELP IS ON ITS WAY," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He added that he had cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the "senseless killing" of protesters stopped.

As concern mounts that the blackout is concealing atrocities against protesters, there have been growing calls for the US to assist in restoring connectivity in Iran.

Donald Trump on Sunday promised he would speak to Musk about using his Starlink service to restore internet across the country.

The Independent’s Alex Croft looks at how Iran is ‘jamming’ Starlink satellites to stop the horrors of the protest crackdown from getting out:

Iran ‌accused US president Donald Trump on Tuesday of encouraging ‌political destabilisation, inciting violence, and threatening the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, ‌and ​national ​security, Iran's UN ambassador Amir Saeid ‍Iravani wrote to ‍the ​US Security Council.

"The ‍United States and the Israeli regime ‍bear direct and undeniable ⁠legal responsibility for the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives, particularly among the youth, he wrote in the letter, which was also sent to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.

He wrote the letter in response to a social media post by Trump earlier on Tuesday.

28 December: Protests break out in two major markets in downtown Tehran, after the Iranian rial plunged to a new record low.

29 December: The central bank head resigns as the protests spread and police fire tear gas at protesters.

30 December: President Masoud Pezeshkian vows to work with business leaders to hear their demands as university campuses join protests.

31 December: Protests in Fasa allegedly turn violent after crowds break into the governor’s office.

1 January: The protests' first fatalities are officially reported, with authorities saying at least seven people have been killed.

2 January: Trump threatens Iran if it kills peaceful protesters.

3 January: Khamenei greenlights security forces to crack down on dissent. Protests reach 170 locations with 15 dead.

8 January: The government blocks the internet after Reza Pahlavi calls on citizens to act.

9 January: Iran ramps up threats of punishment with 65 reported killed and 2,300 detained.

11 January: Iran’s parliament speaker threatens to strike US military bases in the region if Trump attacks, as rights groups say 538 people have now been killed. HRANA reports arrests have surpassed 10,000.

12 January: Trump announces 25 per cent tariffs on any country doing business with Iran. The ISW reports protests have thinned significantly since their peak on 8 January, likely due to the internet blackouts.

13 January: HRANA reports more than 2,000 verified deaths as Donald Trump tells protesters that help is “on the way”. Russia backs Iran, denouncing “subversive external interference” and saying Trump’s threat of strikes is “categorically unacceptable”.

Americans have been urged to flee Iran by the US department of state consular affairs.

It comes as Iran is set to carry out its first execution of a protester accused of taking part in the demonstrations.

A voice from our partner site, Independent Persian:

The public now demands regime change, financial resources are gone and support outside the country has collapsed, writes Mojtaba Dehghani

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the ‌United States would take "very strong action" if ‌the Iranian ​government ​starts hanging protesters, ‍but did not elaborate ‍on ​what those ‍actions would be.

"I haven't ‍heard about the ⁠hanging. If they hang them, you're going to see some things... We will take very strong action ‌if they ​do such a thing," Trump ⁠told CBS News in ‍an interview.

Regime change, a return to monarchy or a bloody authoritarian crackdown? What are the future scenarios for Iran, asks chief international correspondent Bel Trew:

Elon Musk's SpaceX is offering its Starlink satellite service for free in Iran, according to Bloomberg.

The subscription fee has been waived so people with Starlink receivers in the country can access the service without paying, meaning that Iranians are now able to make calls abroad for the first time in days.