Iran

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a force that was key to putting down recent nationwide protests in an offensive that left thousands dead, is “more ready than ever, with its finger on the trigger,” its commander said Saturday, while American warships headed towards the Middle East.

Nournews, a media outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported on its Telegram channel that commander General Mohammad Pakpour warned the United States and Israel “to avoid any miscalculations.”

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dear Iran are more prepared than ever, with their finger on the trigger, to execute the orders and directives of the Commander-in-Chief,” Nournews quoted Pakpour as saying.

Tension remains high between Iran and the United States following a bloody repression of protests which began on December 28, triggered by the collapse of the Iranian currency, the rial, and swept the country for about two weeks.

President Trump has repeatedly warned Tehran, setting two red lines for the use of military force: the killing of peaceful protesters and the mass execution of people arrested in protests.

Trump has repeatedly said that Iran stopped the execution of 800 people arrested in the protests. He has not elaborated on the source of the claim, which Iran’s top prosecutor, Mohammad Movahedi, strongly denied on Friday in comments carried by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency.

On Thursday, Trump said aboard Air Force One that the United States was warships in motion towards Iran “just in case” he wants to take action.

“We have a huge fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump said.

A U.S. Navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements, said Thursday that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships traveling with it were in the Indian Ocean.

Trump also mentioned the multiple rounds of talks U.S. officials had with Iran over its nuclear program before Israel launched a 12-day war against the Islamic Republic in June, which also saw US warplanes bomb Iranian nuclear sites. He threatened Iran with military action that would make previous US attacks on Iranian uranium enrichment sites “look insignificant.”

“They should have made a deal before we hit them,” Trump said.

The tension has led at least two European airlines to suspend some flights to the wider region.

Air France canceled two return flights from Paris to Dubai over the weekend. The airline said it was “closely monitoring developments in the Middle East in real time and continuously monitoring the geopolitical situation in the territories served and overflown by its aircraft to ensure the highest level of flight safety.” It said it would resume service to Dubai later on Saturday.

Luxair said it had postponed its Saturday flight from Luxembourg to Dubai by 24 hours “in light of the continued tensions and insecurity affecting the region’s airspace, and in line with measures taken by several other airlines.”

He told the AP he was closely monitoring the situation “and a decision will be made on whether the flight will operate tomorrow based on the ongoing assessment.”

Arrival information at Dubai International Airport also showed the cancellation of Saturday’s flights from Amsterdam by Dutch companies KLM and Transavia. The airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some KLM flights to Tel Aviv in Israel were also canceled on Friday and Saturday, according to online flight trackers.

Although there have been no further demonstrations in Iran for days, the death toll reported by activists has continued to rise as they move forward. information is leaked despite the most complete internet blackout in Iran’s history, which has now lasted more than two weeks.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency on Saturday estimated the death toll at 5,137, with the number expected to rise. More than 27,700 people have been arrested, he said.

The group’s figures have been accurate in previous riots and rely on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths. That death toll exceeds that of any other round of protests or unrest in decades and is reminiscent of the chaos that surrounded Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s government offered its first death toll on Wednesday, saying 3,117 people were killed. He said 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and called the rest “terrorists.” In the past, the Iranian theocracy has underreported or underreported deaths caused by unrest.