By Lyndal Rowlands and Erin Hale

    Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, has ‍accused US President Donald Trump of encouraging political destabilisation in his country and inciting violence, in a letter to the UN Security Council.

  The letter came as Trump told US media that “the endgame is to win” Iran, after earlier telling Iranians to “keep protesting” and to “take over your institutions … Help is on its way”.
   Iranian state television acknowledged reports of a high death toll from nationwide protests, and quoted Ahmad Mousavi, the head of the Martyrs Foundation, as saying that “armed and terrorist groups” were to blame.
   The internet has been cut off in Iran for more than five days, US internet services company Cloudflare said on Tuesday.
   Several European countries summoned Iranian ambassadors to protest the deadly crackdown on demonstrations, while Iran’s ally Russia condemned what it described as “subversive external interference” in Tehran’s internal politics.

How will Trump’s new 25% tariff impact Iran’s trading partners

    Donald Trump has said he will slap a 25 percent tariff on any country doing business with Iran, ratcheting up pressure on its government, which is facing its biggest protests in decades.

    Years of Western sanctions have battered the OPEC member nation’s economy, causing high inflation, widespread unemployment and the collapse of Iran’s currency, the rial.

    The current protests were triggered by the mounting economic woes, which the Iranian government has struggled to address, partly due to its economic isolation brought on by sanctions.

    Iran’s main source of foreign revenue comes from exports to China, Turkiye, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and India.

So, how will Trump’s threat impact Iran’s international trade

How will countries such as China, which buys 80 percent of Iran’s oil, respond

Ex-defence minister says Israel should influence Iran protests with ‘invisible hand’

    Israel’s former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Gaza, has said that Israel should be “active when necessary” and employ an “invisible hand” amid the protests in Iran.

    “At this time, when what matters is the action of the masses on the ground, we need to stay behind and direct things with an invisible hand,” Gallant said in an interview published by Israeli Army Radio on Tuesday.

    “The regime in Iran needs to fall, and we need to exercise strategic patience, but to be active when necessary,” he said.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says ‘changes are needed’ in Iran

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has included a message of support for the US “position on Iran” in a daily update video shared on social media.

    “We support the position on Iran: A regime that has lasted so many years and killed so many people does not deserve to exist,” Zelenskyy said, adding that “changes are needed”.

    Zelenskyy’s message comes as a number of European countries have summoned Iranian ambassadors to protest against the deadly crackdown on protesters.

    Ukraine’s wartime enemy, Russia, an ally of Iran, has condemned what it described as “subversive external interference” in Tehran’s internal politics.

Starlink offers free access in Iran: Report

    Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service is offering free access in Iran, where a communication blackout has been imposed amid demonstrations since last week.

    “We can confirm that the free subscription for Starlink terminals is fully functional,” Mehdi Yahyanejad, a US-based activist, told the Associated Press news agency. “We tested it using a newly activated Starlink terminal inside Iran.”

    Activists say subscription fees have been waived as of Tuesday.

    Iran’s government has cut off the internet and restricted phone access since January 8, though some international phone services have been restored.

    Starlink has reportedly been the main channel for Iranians to share news, photos, and videos with the outside world amid the protests. In response, authorities have tried to jam Starlink’s signal and confiscate Starlink dishes.