The scheduling note said the briefing was requested by the United States.
It comes as the US is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said, after a senior Iranian official said Iran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if the US strikes.
With Iran’s leadership trying to quell the unrest, Iran is seeking to deter US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was pulling some personnel from key bases in the region as a precaution given heightened regional tensions
Iranian authorities have accused the US and Israel of fomenting the unrest
Iranian authorities have accused the US and Israel of fomenting the unrest
The UN Security Council is expected to meet for “a briefing on the situation in Iran,” according to a spokesperson for the Somali presidency.
The scheduling note said the briefing was requested by the United States.
It comes as the US is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said, after a senior Iranian official said Iran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if the US strikes.
With Iran’s leadership trying to quell the unrest, Iran is seeking to deter US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was pulling some personnel from key bases in the region as a precaution given heightened regional tensions.
A burnt out fire truck outside a building
A burnt fire truck is displayed in front of Tehran University
“All the signals are that a US attack is imminent, but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy,” a Western military official told Reuters.
At the White House, however, Mr Trump suggested he was adopting a wait-and-see posture toward the crisis.
President Trump told reporters that he has been told that killings in the Iranian government’s crackdown on the protests were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for large-scale executions.
Asked who told him that the killings had stopped, Mr Trump described them as “very important sources on the other side.”
The president did not rule out potential US military action, saying “we are going to watch what the process is” before noting that his administration had received a “very good statement” from Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said yesterday that “there is no plan” by Iran to execute people, when asked about the anti-government protests.
Two European officials said US military intervention could come in the next 24 hours.
Trump says he’s been told the killings in Iran have stopped.Iran and its Western foes have both described the unrest, which began two weeks ago as demonstrations against dire economic conditions and rapidly escalated in recent days, as the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that installed Iran’s system of Shi’ite clerical rule.
An Iranian official has said more than 2,000 people have died. A rights group put the toll at more than 2,600.
Iran has “never faced this volume of destruction”, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi said, blaming foreign enemies.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described “the most violent repression in Iran’s contemporary history”.
Iranian authorities have accused the US and Israel off omenting the unrest, carried out by people it calls armedterrorists.
Iran asks regional states to prevent US attack
Mr Trump has openly threatened to intervene in Iran for days,without giving specifics. In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, he vowed “very strong action” if Iran executes protesters. He also urged Iranians to keep protesting and takeover institutions, declaring “help is on the way”.
The senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran had asked US allies in the region to prevent Washington from attacking Iran.
“Tehran has told regional countries, from Saudi Arabia and UAE to Turkey, that US bases in those countries will be attacked” if the US targets Iran, the official said.a
