US senator Graham urges Trump to ‘kill’ Iran’s leaders

Two US senators warned on Sunday that military action against Iran could backfire, saying strikes risk uniting Iranians behind their rulers rather than weakening them, as nationwide protests continue in the country.

“I don’t know that bombing Iran will have the effect that is intended,” Republican Senator Rand Paul said on ABC News’ This Week.

Democratic Senator Mark Warner said a US military attack could rally Iranians against an outside enemy rather than undermine the authorities.

Warner, speaking on Fox News Sunday, warned that a strike against Iran could unite Iranians against the United States “in a way that the regime has not been able to.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “shocked” by reports of violence against protesters in Iran and urged the authorities to show restraint, his spokesman said on Sunday.

“[Guterres] is shocked by the reports of violence and excessive use of force by the Iranian authorities against protesters,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

He called on Iranian authorities “to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from unnecessary or disproportionate use of force,” Dujarric said.

A series of videos obtained by Vahid Online, an Iranian blogger and internet activist known for documenting protests, from Tehran’s Kahrizak forensic center show rows of bodies reportedly transported by pickup trucks after the January 8 crackdown on protests in Iran.

In one clip, an on-screen label refers to “photo number … out of 250,” suggesting the scale of fatalities.

Two eyewitnesses who visited Kahrizak in search of their loved ones told Iran International that they saw more than 400 bodies there. The most conservative estimates indicate that at least 2,000 people have been killed across Iran on January 8 and 9.

A doctor in the northern city of Rasht told Iran International that one hospital alone received at least 70 bodies. On Friday alone, 44 bodies were transferred to Madani Hospital in Karaj and 36 to Ghaem Hospital in Karaj. Medical sources in other cities also reported a high number of fatalities to Iran International.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed protests in Iran in separate calls on Sunday with the foreign ministers of Cyprus and France, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos,” Pigott said in a readout. “The two leaders discussed the United States’ counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean and the protests in Iran.”

In a separate call, Rubio spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. “The two leaders discussed protests in Iran, the recent US law enforcement operation in Venezuela, and diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war,” Pigott said.

Germany’s foreign minister said he would raise Iran’s protests and the government’s response in talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, describing Tehran’s leadership as having lost legitimacy.

“The people are protesting against this regime. A regime that shuts down the internet, that restricts the right to communication, has basically lost its legitimacy. They are afraid of their own population,” Johann Wadephul said in a video he posted on his Instagram account.

"This is a matter that concerns us very much. I will also talk about this with my colleague Marco Rubio in Washington,” Wadephul added.