DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The nationwide protests challenging Iran's theocracy appeared increasingly smothered Thursday, a week after authorities shut the country off from the world and escalated a bloody crackdown that activists say has killed at least 2,637 people.
The prospect of U.S. retaliation for the deaths of protesters still hung over the region, though President Donald Trump signaled a possible de-escalation, saying the killing appeared to be ending. The U.S. announced new sanctions on Iranian officials accused of suppressing the protests, which began late last month over the country's faltering economy and the collapse of its currency.
In Iran's capital, Tehran, witnesses said recent mornings showed no new signs of bonfires lit the night before or debris in the streets. The sound of gunfire, which had been intense for several nights, has also faded.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media has announced wave after wave of arrests by authorities, targeting those it calls "terrorists" while also apparently looking for Starlink satellite internet dishes, which offer the only way to get videos and images out to the internet.
"Since Jan. 8, we saw a full-fledged war, and anybody who was in the gathering since then is a criminal," said Justice Minister Amin Hossein Rahimi, according to a report Wednesday from the judiciary's Mizan news agency.
Iranian state media broadcast a roster of damage from what it called a "terrorist operation," including damage to hundreds of stores and public buildings, scores of cars and ambulances and several "heritage sites." including mosques and shrines.
China's foreign ministry said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Chinese counterpart that the situation in the country was now stable.
But as Iran tries to assert control at home, it has signaled worries about threats from abroad, including the United States, which has threatened military action over the killing of peaceful demonstrators. Tensions soared after Trump's comment Tuesday that "help is on its way" to Iranian protesters.
The Islamic Republic shut down its airspace for hours early Thursday without explanation, something it has done in previous rounds of attacks between it and Israel, as well as during the 12-day war in June. The U.S. also took steps to move some personnel from Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base while warning diplomats in Kuwait to stay away from military bases where American troops are stationed. Britain closed its Tehran embassy and withdrew British staff from Iran.
Airspace shut
The airspace closure lasted for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key east-west flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired, and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.
Around midday, Iranian state television carried a statement from the country's Civil Aviation Authority saying that the nation's "skies are hosting incoming and outgoing flights, and airports are providing services to passengers." It did not acknowledge the closure.
The closure immediately rippled through global aviation.
"Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace," said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. "The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic."
In the past, Iran has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board.
Iran protests spark reaction abroad
Videos of demonstrations have stopped coming out of Iran, likely signaling the slowdown of their pace under the heavy security force presence in major cities. But in the meantime, protests against Iran have been held around the world as global attention has focused on the crackdown.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran for Thursday afternoon at the request of the United States.
Trump made a series of statements that left unclear what action, if any, the U.S. would take. In comments to reporters Wednesday, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. On Thursday he hailed as "good news" reports that a protester's death sentence had been lifted.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.
Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: "My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don't have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war."
Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon, though Araghchi told Fox News "there is no plan for hanging."
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran emerged hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.
Among those hit with U.S. sanctions Thursday was the secretary of Iran's Supreme Council for National Security, whom the Treasury Department accuses of being one of the first officials to call for violence against protesters. The Group of Seven industrialized democracies, of which the U.S. is a member, also warned they could impose more sanctions if Iran's crackdown continues.
The clampdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,637, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The figure reported Thursday is an increase of 22 from the figure a day earlier, and the organization says the number will likely continue to climb. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The U.S.-based agency, founded 20 years ago, has been accurate throughout multiple years of demonstrations, relying on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities.
With communications greatly limited in Iran, the AP has been unable to independently confirm the group's toll. The theocratic government of Iran has not provided overall casualty figures for the demonstrations.
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