Name: JD Vance’s Bizarre Bid To Target Kamala Harris; Said Haitians Are Eating Pets After ‘Ohio Woman Ate Pet C
Uploaded: 2024-09-10T15:26:29.000+05:30
Duration: T03M12S
Channel: Editorji News Desk
Description: Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance has once again stirred a row with his comments.

Iran shut its airspace for over four hours without explanation, causing international flight rerouting as tensions rise with the US over a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran further extends order closing its airspace to commercial aircraft as tensions remain high

Iran shut its airspace for over four hours without explanation, causing international flight rerouting as tensions rise with the US over a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The closure ran 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.
Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities, though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines.
&ldquo;Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,&rdquo; said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
Iran in the past 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 for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.
The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to &ldquo;temporary halt&rdquo; going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that &ldquo;help is on the way&rdquo; and that his administration would &ldquo;act accordingly&rdquo; to respond to the Islamic Republic's deadly crackdown.
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: &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained. Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon.
The security forces' crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. 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.

US Senate Republicans defeated a resolution that would have restricted President Trump’s authority to use military force in Venezuela, marking a setback for congressional oversight.

US Senate backs down on Venezuela war powers after Trump pressure

US Senate Republicans defeated a resolution that would have restricted President Trump&rsquo;s authority to use military force in Venezuela, marking a setback for congressional oversight.

Republicans in the US Senate on Wednesday dealt an all-but-certain defeat to a rare war powers resolution that would have curbed President Donald Trump's authority to use military force in Venezuela.
The measure advanced in a procedural vote last week after five Republican senators joined Democrats in support -- a stunning setback for Trump after he ordered a strike that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
The vote was widely seen as a rebuke of the Republican president's Venezuela operation, which he authorized without notifying members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Trump lashed out at the defectors on social media within hours and the White House mounted an aggressive lobbying campaign to sink the resolution.
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans deployed a procedural maneuver -- stripping the resolution of its "privileged" status, which would have allowed passage by simple majority -- arguing that the rule did not apply because there are no ongoing hostilities.
That makes success in any final approval vote a near impossibility. Republicans have a 53-47 Senate majority, meaning there are not enough Democrats to push it past its new 60-vote threshold.
"Trump claims his war in Venezuela is righteous. If that's the case, why is he browbeating his party into using a procedural scheme to avoid a debate and vote in Congress in front of the American people?" said Democrat Tim Kaine.
The Virginia senator spearheaded the resolution after US special forces captured Maduro in Caracas on January 3, saying it was meant to reaffirm Congress's constitutional power to declare war.
It would have required Trump to seek congressional approval before taking further military action in Venezuela.
 - Line in the sand -
Two of the five Republicans who backed it last week ultimately reversed course, US media reported, after receiving reassurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that there are no plans for boots on the ground and that Congress would be properly consulted if that changed.
After the preliminary vote, Trump declared the five should "never be elected to office again."
But even if the resolution had cleared the Senate, it was largely symbolic: it faced near-certain defeat in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and would have required a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a Trump veto.
Democrats had cast it as a constitutional line in the sand after what they called months of misleading briefings -- including assurances as recently as November that the administration had no plans for strikes on Venezuelan soil.
The White House argued the raid was legally justified as part of a broader campaign against transnational drug trafficking, framing it as a fight against cartels designated as terrorist organizations.
The five defectors initially warned that the operation could lead to deeper US involvement unless Congress reasserted its role.
But Trump thundered on his Truth Social platform that their push "greatly hampers" US national security and impedes his authority as commander in chief.
He has since warned that US involvement in Venezuela could last years, and posted a meme showing him as "Acting President of Venezuela."
Since Trump returned to office, war powers resolutions on Venezuela have been rejected four times in Congress.
Over the last century, only one congressional measure has successfully imposed a lasting limit on unilateral presidential military action abroad: the War Powers Resolution of 1973, passed over then-president Richard Nixon's veto.

US President Donald Trump said killings and executions in Iran have reportedly stopped amid protests, though he left the possibility of military action open, as global concern mounts over repression and human rights abuses.

Trump says Iran killings stopped, Tehran says 'no plan for hanging'

US President Donald Trump said killings and executions in Iran have reportedly stopped amid protests, though he left the possibility of military action open, as global concern mounts over repression and human rights abuses.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he had been told the killings of protesters in Iran had been halted, but added that he would "watch it and see" about threatened military action.
Trump had repeatedly talked in recent days about coming to the aid of the Iranian people over the crackdown on protests that rights groups say has left at least 3,428 people dead.
But in a surprise announcement at the White House, Trump said he had now received assurances from "very important sources on the other side" that Tehran had now stopped, and that executions would not go ahead.
"They've said the killing has stopped and the executions won't take place -- there were supposed to be a lot of executions today and that the executions won't take place -- and we're going to find out," Trump said.
He offered no details and noted that the United States had yet to verify the claims.
Asked by an AFP reporter in the Oval Office if US military action was now off the table, Trump replied: "We're going to watch it and see what the process is."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later said there would be "no hanging today or tomorrow," in an interview with US network Fox News, while accusing Israel of orchestrating violence, without providing evidence.
Araghchi contends the peaceful protests about economic hardship that began December 28 devolved into widespread violence between January 7 and 10 because the protests were infiltrated by external "elements who had a plan to create a big number of killings in order to provoke President Trump to enter into this conflict and start a new war against Iran."
Iran's Minister of Justice Amin Hossein Rahimi echoed that allegation, telling state news agencies that after January 7, "those weren't protests any longer" and anyone who was arrested on the streets then "was definitely a criminal."
A rights group said separately that the execution of an Iranian man arrested during the wave of protests, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, would not take place as scheduled on Wednesday, citing relatives.
Late Wednesday, UN leadership announced a meeting of the Security Council Thursday for "a briefing on the situation in Iran," as requested by the United States.
 - 'Full control' -
Araghchi said the Iranian government was "in full control" and reported an atmosphere of "calm" after what he called three days of "terrorist operation."
Iran also struck a defiant tone about responding to any US attack, as Washington appeared to draw down staff at a base in Qatar that Tehran targeted in a strike last year.
Iran targeted the Al Udeid base in June in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear facilities. Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Trump the strike showed "Iran's will and capability to respond to any attack."
Fears of possible US military action continued to rile the region.
The British government said its embassy in Tehran had been "temporarily closed," while the US embassy in Saudi Arabia urged staff to exercise caution and avoid military installations.
Germany's Lufthansa on Wednesday said its flights would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace "until further notice" after the US threats against Iran.
Trump has threatened to intervene militarily in Iran several times since the protest movement that has shaken the country began in late December. The protests are the largest since the Islamic Republic was proclaimed in 1979.
Rights monitors say that under cover of a five-day internet blackout, Iranian authorities are carrying out their harshest repression in years against demonstrations openly challenging the theocratic system.
Iran's judiciary chief vowed fast-track trials for those arrested, stoking fears authorities will use capital punishment as a tool of repression.
In Tehran, authorities held a funeral for more than 100 security personnel and other "martyrs" killed in the unrest, which officials have branded "acts of terror."
 - 'Unprecedented level of brutality' -
G7 nations said Wednesday they were "deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries" and warned of further sanctions if the crackdown continued.
Monitor NetBlocks said Iran's internet blackout had lasted 144 hours. Despite the shutdown, new videos, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up in the Kahrizak morgue south of Tehran, wrapped in black bags as distraught relatives searched for loved ones.
Amnesty International accused authorities of committing mass unlawful killings "on an unprecedented scale," citing verified videos and eyewitness accounts.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said authorities were using "an unprecedented level of brutality to suppress protests," noting reports of protest activity had sharply declined.
A senior Iranian official told journalists there had been no new "riots" since Monday, distinguishing them from earlier cost-of-living protests. "Every society can expect protests, but we will not tolerate violence," he said.
Prosecutors have said some detainees will face capital charges of "waging war against God." State media reported hundreds of arrests and the detention of a foreign national for espionage, without giving details.
Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, said security forces had killed at least 3,428 protesters and arrested more than 10,000.

US President Donald Trump struck a more conciliatory tone on Greenland after senior Danish and Greenlandic officials met top US leaders, though Copenhagen said Washington’s position on controlling the island remains unchanged.

Trump says Greenland will 'work out' after Denmark fails to bridge gap

US President Donald Trump struck a more conciliatory tone on Greenland after senior Danish and Greenlandic officials met top US leaders, though Copenhagen said Washington&rsquo;s position on controlling the island remains unchanged.

US President Donald Trump held open the possibility Wednesday for a resolution on his designs over Greenland after Denmark's top diplomat said he failed to change the administration's mind on wanting to conquer the island.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous territory under Copenhagen's sovereignty, met at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a meeting the visitors had requested to clear up "misunderstandings" after Trump's bellicose language toward the fellow NATO member.
Trump, speaking after the meeting which he did not attend, for the first time sounded conciliatory on Greenland, acknowledging Denmark's interests even if he again said he was not ruling out any options.
"I have a very good relationship with Denmark, and we'll see how it all works out. I think something will work out," Trump said without explaining further.
He again said Denmark was powerless if Russia or China wanted to occupy Greenland, but added: "There's everything we can do."
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, speaking after leaving the White House, said a US takeover of Greenland was "absolutely not necessary."
"We didn't manage to change the American position. It's clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland," Lokke told reporters.
"We therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree."
He said the issue was "very emotional" for the people of Greenland and Denmark, a steadfast US ally whose troops died alongside Americans in Afghanistan and, controversially, Iraq.
"Ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable," Lokke said.
He nonetheless said the tone was "constructive" and said the sides would form a committee that would meet within weeks to see if there was possible headway.
Referring to the British prime minister who trumpeted his diplomacy with Hitler, Lokke said, "I am not a Chamberlain to say "Peace for our time," but we must seize the opportunities that present themselves."
 - Mocking tone -
While the talks were underway, the White House posted on X: "Which way, Greenland man?"
The post included a drawing of two dogsleds -- one heading towards the White House and a huge US flag, and the other towards Chinese and Russian flags over a lightning-bathed Kremlin and Great Wall of China.
Neither country has claimed Greenland, and Lokke said no Chinese ship had been spotted there in a decade and that there were no major Chinese investments.
Denmark promised ahead of the meeting to ramp up its military presence further in the vast, sparsely populated and strategically located island.
Trump has derided recent Danish efforts to increase security for Greenland as amounting to "two dogsleds." Denmark says it has invested almost $14 billion in Arctic security.
Denmark also announced immediate military exercises that will include aircraft, vessels and soldiers, with Sweden also participating.
In another show of solidarity with Denmark following Trump's threats, Germany and France both said Wednesday they will send troops to Greenland. German's defense ministry said it would send a 13-person team.
 - Signs of relief -
On the quiet streets of the capital Nuuk, red and white Greenlandic flags flew in shop windows, on apartment balconies, and on cars and buses, in a show of national unity during the talks.
Ivaana Egede Larsen, 43, said she felt relief that the meeting appeared to be cordial.
"I am more calm now, and I feel more safe. I had felt very much unsafe lately," she said.
In Copenhagen, Thomas Fallesen, 56, voiced similar sentiments.
"They are now at least talking together instead of talking through the press. I think it's a very positive thing," he said.
Vance, who slammed Denmark as a "bad ally" during an uninvited visit to Greenland last year, is known for a hard edge, which was on display when he publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last February.
Wednesday's meeting, however, was closed to the press, meaning there was no on-camera confrontation.
Trump has appeared emboldened on Greenland -- which he views as in the US backyard -- since ordering a deadly January 3 attack in Venezuela that removed president Nicolas Maduro.

A crane fell onto a passenger train at a China-backed high-speed rail project in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, killing 28 and injuring dozens, prompting investigations into construction safety.

Crane collapse derails train in Thailand, killing 22

A crane fell onto a passenger train at a China-backed high-speed rail project in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, killing 28 and injuring dozens, prompting investigations into construction safety.

A crane at a China-backed high-speed rail project in Thailand collapsed onto a passenger train on Wednesday and caused it to derail, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens more, authorities said.
The massive crane's broken structure was left resting on giant concrete pillars, while smoke rose from the wreckage of the train below, footage from the scene verified by AFP showed.
Rescuers worked to extract passengers from the tilted carriages in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast of the capital Bangkok.
Mitr Intrpanya, who was at the scene, said he heard a loud noise "like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions".
"When I went to see what had happened, I found the crane sitting on a passenger train with three carriages," the 54-year-old told AFP. "The metal from the crane appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, slicing it in half."
The health ministry said in a statement that 28 were killed and 64 people were hospitalised, seven in serious condition.
The accident happened at a construction site that is part of a more than $5 billion project backed by Beijing to build a high-speed rail network in Thailand.
It aims to connect Bangkok to Kunming in China via Laos by 2028 as part of China's vast "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative.
 - 'Only company in charge' -
Engineering consultant Theerachote Rujiviphat, an adviser on the high-speed project, told AFP the Thai company contracted to build the section of the high-speed rail where the crane fell, Italian-Thai Development, was solely responsible for its collapse.
Theerachote, from the China Railway Design Corporation, said the launching crane that fell onto the existing rail tracks also belonged to Italian-Thai Development.
"It is the only company in charge. A similar accident also happened a few years ago under their responsibility," Theerachote added.
A representative for Italian-Thai Development, one of Thailand's biggest construction firms, said the company could not immediately answer questions from AFP.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said authorities must determine the cause of the crane collapse and hold those responsible to account.
"These kind of incidents happen very regularly," he told reporters in Bangkok.
"I have heard that it is the same company (involved in previous accidents). It is time to change the law to blacklist construction companies that are repeatedly responsible for accidents."
Italian-Thai Development and its director were among more than 20 people and firms indicted in August in a case linked to the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise in an earthquake. The collapse killed around 90 people, mostly construction workers.
China's foreign ministry said Beijing was looking into what happened on Wednesday, and "attaches great importance to the safety of this project and its personnel".
"Currently, it appears that the relevant section is being constructed by a Thai company," spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.
Mao also extended China's "condolences for the casualties resulting from the accident".
 - Deadly accidents -
The Nakhon Ratchasima provincial public relations department said the crane collapsed onto a train travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani province, "causing it to derail and catch fire".
Thatchapon Chinnawong, the Sikhio district police chief, told AFP that authorities had resumed the rescue operations after briefly pausing due to "chemical leakage" at the scene.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said 195 people were on board the train and authorities were rushing to identify the deceased.
Thailand has around 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) of railway but the run-down network has long driven people to favour travel by road.
Upon completion of the 600-kilometre high-speed railway, Chinese-made trains will run from Bangkok to Nong Khai, on the Mekong River border with Laos, at up to 250 kilometres per hour.
In 2020, then Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha, who pushed closer ties with Beijing, signed a deal for Thailand to cover all expenditures for the project, while using China-advised technology.
Industrial and construction site accidents are common in Thailand, where lax enforcement of safety regulations has led to deadly incidents.
In 2023, a freight train killed eight people after it struck a pickup truck crossing railway tracks in eastern Thailand.

Iran's judiciary signals swift trials amid protests, despite U.S. warnings. Mohseni-Ejei emphasizes urgency in handling cases, while Trump threatens action against executions.

Iran Judiciary Chief Signals Swift Trials Amid Protest Clashes

Iran's judiciary accelerates trials for detained protesters amid U.S. warnings. Mohseni-Ejei stresses urgency, warning delay could reduce the impact. This follows Trump's threat of action against executions.

Iran&rsquo;s judiciary chief indicated rapid trials and possible executions for protest detainees, despite warnings from US President Donald Trump, raising human rights concerns.

Iran on Wednesday vowed fast-track trials for people arrested over a massive wave of protests, after US President Donald Trump threatened "very strong action" if the Islamic Republic goes ahead with hangings.
International outrage has built over a crackdown on the demonstrations, which a rights group said has likely killed thousands in one of the biggest challenges yet to Iran's clerical leadership.
Iranian authorities have insisted they have regained control of the country after successive nights of mass protests, repeatedly accusing the demonstrators of carrying out "acts of terror" of the kind committed by Islamic State.
Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on a visit to a prison holding protest detainees that "if a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire then we must do our work quickly", in comments broadcast by state television.
Iranian news agencies also quoted him as saying the trials should be held in public and said he had spent five hours in a prison in Tehran to examine the cases.
Trump on Tuesday said in a CBS News interview that the United States would act if Iran began hanging protesters.
"We will take very strong action if they do such a thing," said the American leader, who has repeatedly threatened Iran with military intervention.
"When they start killing thousands of people -- and now you're telling me about hanging. We'll see how that's going to work out for them," Trump said.
Tehran called the American warnings a "pretext for military intervention".
Iran's UN mission posted a statement on X, vowing that Washington's "playbook" would "fail again".
"US fantasies and policy toward Iran are rooted in regime change, with sanctions, threats, engineered unrest, and chaos serving as the modus operandi to manufacture a pretext for military intervention," the post said.
Rights groups accuse the government of fatally shooting protesters and masking the scale of the crackdown with an internet blackout imposed on January 8.
"Metrics show #Iran remains offline as the country wakes to another day of digital darkness," said internet monitor Netblocks on Wednesday in a post on X, adding that the blackout had lasted 132 hours.
Some information has trickled out of Iran however. New videos on social media, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up in the Kahrizak morgue just south of the Iranian capital, with the corpses wrapped in black bags and distraught relatives searching for loved ones.
Tehran prosecutors have said Iranian authorities would press capital charges of "waging war against God" on some detainees.
 - Calls to halt executions -
The US State Department on its Farsi language X account said 26-year-old protestor Erfan Soltani had been sentenced to be executed on Wednesday.
"Erfan is the first protester to be sentenced to death, but he won't be the last," the State Department said, adding more than 10,600 Iranians had been arrested.
Rights group Amnesty International called on Iran to immediately halt all executions, including Soltani's.
Trump urged on his Truth Social platform for Iranians to "KEEP PROTESTING", adding: "I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY."
It was not immediately clear what meetings he was referring to or what the nature of the help would be.
 - 'Rising casualties' -
European nations have also signalled their anger over the crackdown, with France, Germany and the United Kingdom among the countries that summoned their Iranian ambassadors, as did the European Union.
"The rising number of casualties in Iran is horrifying," said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, vowing further sanctions.
Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said it had confirmed 734 people killed during the protests, including nine minors, but warned the death toll was likely far higher.
"The real number of those killed is likely in the thousands," IHR's director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.
Iranian state media has said dozens of members of the security forces have been killed, with their funerals turning into large pro-government rallies.
Authorities in Tehran have announced a mass funeral ceremony in the capital on Wednesday for the "martyrs" of recent days.
Amir, an Iraqi computer scientist, returned to Baghdad on Monday and described dramatic scenes in Tehran.
"On Thursday night, my friends and I saw protesters in Tehran's Sarsabz neighbourhood amid a heavy military presence. The police were firing rubber bullets," he told AFP in Iraq.
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's ousted shah, called on the military to stop suppressing protests.
"You are the national military of Iran, not the military of the Islamic Republic," he said in a statement.
 - 'Serious challenge' -
The government has sought to regain control of the streets with nationwide rallies that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed as proof that the protest movement was defeated, calling them a "warning" to the United States.
In power since 1989 and now aged 86, Khamenei has faced significant challenges, most recently the 12-day war in June against Israel, which forced him to go into hiding.
Analysts have cautioned that it is premature to predict the immediate demise of the theocratic system, pointing to the repressive levers the leadership controls, including the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is charged with safeguarding the Islamic revolution.
Nicole Grajewski, professor at the Sciences Po Centre for International Studies, told AFP the protests represented a "serious challenge" to the Islamic republic, but it was unclear if they would unseat the leadership, pointing to "the sheer depth and resilience of Iran's repressive apparatus".

US President Donald Trump warns Iran of strong action over threatened hangings of protesters as rights groups allege thousands killed and Europe signals sanctions.

Trump warns of 'very strong action' if Iran hangs protesters

US President Donald Trump warns Iran of strong action over threatened hangings of protesters as rights groups allege thousands killed and Europe signals sanctions.

US President Donald Trump warned of unspecified "very strong action" if Iranian authorities go ahead with threatened hangings of some protesters, with Tehran calling American warnings a "pretext for military intervention".
International outrage has built over the crackdown that a rights group said has likely killed thousands during protests posing one of the biggest challenges yet to Iran's clerical leadership.
Iran's UN mission posted a statement on X, vowing that Washington's "playbook" would "fail again".
"US fantasies and policy toward Iran are rooted in regime change, with sanctions, threats, engineered unrest, and chaos serving as the modus operandi to manufacture a pretext for military intervention," the post said.
Iranian authorities have insisted they had regained control of the country after successive nights of mass protests nationwide since.
Rights groups accuse the government of fatally shooting protesters and masking the scale of the crackdown with an internet blackout that has now surpassed the five-day mark.
New videos on social media, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up in the Kahrizak morgue just south of the Iranian capital, with the corpses wrapped in black bags and distraught relatives searching for loved ones.
Trump -- who earlier told the protesters in Iran that "help is on its way" -- said Tuesday in a CBS News interview that the United States would act if Iran began hanging protesters.
Tehran prosecutors have said Iranian authorities would press capital charges of "moharebeh", or "waging war against God", against some suspects arrested over recent demonstrations.
"We will take very strong action if they do such a thing," said the American leader, who has repeatedly threatened Iran with military intervention.
"When they start killing thousands of people -- and now you're telling me about hanging. We'll see how that's going to work out for them," Trump said.
The US State Department on its Farsi language X account said 26-year-old protestor Erfan Soltani had been sentenced to be executed on Wednesday.
"Erfan is the first protester to be sentenced to death, but he won't be the last," the State Department said, adding more than 10,600 Iranians had been arrested.
Rights group Amnesty International called on Iran to immediately halt all executions, including Soltani's.
Trump urged on his Truth Social platform for Iranians to "KEEP PROTESTING", adding: "I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY."
It was not immediately clear what meetings he was referring to or what the nature of the help would be.
 - 'Rising casualties' -
European nations also signalled their anger over the crackdown, with France, Germany and the United Kingdom among the countries that summoned their Iranian ambassadors, as did the European Union.
"The rising number of casualties in Iran is horrifying," said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, vowing further sanctions against those responsible.
Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said it had confirmed 734 people killed during the protests, including nine minors, but warned the death toll was likely far higher.
"The real number of those killed is likely in the thousands," IHR's director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.
Iranian state media has said dozens of members of the security forces have been killed, with their funerals turning into large pro-government rallies.
Authorities in Tehran have announced a mass funeral ceremony in the capital on Wednesday for the "martyrs" of recent days.
Amir, an Iraqi computer scientist, returned to Baghdad on Monday and described dramatic scenes in Tehran.
"On Thursday night, my friends and I saw protesters in Tehran's Sarsabz neighbourhood amid a heavy military presence. The police were firing rubber bullets," he told AFP in Iraq.
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's ousted shah, called on the military to stop suppressing protests.
"You are the national military of Iran, not the military of the Islamic Republic," he said in a statement.
 - 'Serious challenge -
The government on Monday sought to regain control of the streets with mass nationwide rallies that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed as proof that the protest movement was defeated, calling them a "warning" to the United States.
In power since 1989 and now aged 86, Khamenei has faced significant challenges, most recently the 12-day war in June against Israel, which forced him to go into hiding.
Analysts have cautioned that it is premature to predict the immediate demise of the theocratic system, pointing to the repressive levers the leadership controls, including the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is charged with safeguarding the Islamic revolution.
Nicole Grajewski, professor at the Sciences Po Centre for International Studies, told AFP the protests represented a "serious challenge" to the Islamic republic, but it was unclear if they would unseat the leadership, pointing to "the sheer depth and resilience of Iran's repressive apparatus".

US President Donald Trump responds with an obscene gesture to a heckler during a visit to a Ford auto plant in Michigan, sparking controversy as a video circulates online.

Watch: Heckler shouts 'pedophile protector', Trump responds with middle finger

US President Donald Trump responds with an obscene gesture to a heckler during a visit to a Ford auto plant in Michigan, sparking controversy as a video circulates online.

US President Donald Trump was caught on camera Tuesday responding obscenely to a heckler during a visit to an auto plant in Michigan, according to a video circulating on social media.
During a tour of the Ford F-150 factory in Detroit, Michigan, Trump is seen on an elevated walkway overlooking the factory floor dressed in a long black overcoat.
After some shouting, Trump appeared to point at the heckler on the factory floor, scowling and saying a few choice words, before raising a middle finger.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WATCH: Trump shows his middle finger and appears to say "fuck you" after Ford worker yells "pedophile protector" - TMZ <a href="https://t.co/aFsDmrvkr7">pic.twitter.com/aFsDmrvkr7</a>
&mdash; BNO News (@BNONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/2011188488171888665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The heckler has not been identified, but White House spokesman Steven Cheung told AFP they got what they deserved.
"A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response," Cheung said.
The heckler seemed to shout, in part, "pedophile protector," TMZ reported.
The 79-year-old Republican's second term has been dogged by demands to release the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was once a friend to Trump and the jet set.
Epstein, a financier, was awaiting trial for allegedly trafficking underage girls when he died in a New York jail cell in 2019 -- a death officially ruled a suicide but long the subject of conspiracy theories amplified by Trump's supporters.
Trump approved bipartisan legislation to release the files, but his Department of Justice has failed to meet the December 19 deadline to release them all.
Earlier this month, justice officials said it was still reviewing more than two million documents for release.

Denmark’s foreign minister visits the White House to defuse tensions after US President Donald Trump renewed threats to seize Greenland, drawing strong resistance from Denmark and Greenland.

Danish foreign minister heads to White House for high-stakes Greenland talks

Denmark&rsquo;s foreign minister visits the White House to defuse tensions after US President Donald Trump renewed threats to seize Greenland, drawing strong resistance from Denmark and Greenland.

Denmark's top diplomat visits the White House on Wednesday in a high-stakes attempt to lower the temperature on Greenland, which US President Donald Trump has vowed to seize from the longtime ally.
Since returning to office nearly a year ago, Trump has mused about taking over the vast, strategic and sparsely populated Arctic island, and he has sounded emboldened since ordering a deadly January 3 attack in Venezuela that removed its president.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen had sought the talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The meeting will take place at the White House, after Vice President JD Vance requested to join.
On requesting the meeting, Lokke said he was hoping to "clear up certain misunderstandings." But it remains to be seen if the Trump administration also sees a misunderstanding and if it wants to climb down.
Trump, when asked Tuesday about Greenland's leader saying that the island prefers to remain an autonomous territory of Denmark, said: "Well that's their problem."
"Don't know anything about him, but that's going to be a big problem for him," Trump said.
Trump, a real-estate developer, said on Friday that he wanted Greenland "whether they like it or not" and "if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way."
According to Trump, the United States needs Greenland due to the threat of a takeover by Russia or China.
The two rival powers have both stepped up activity in the Arctic, where ice is melting due to climate change, but neither claims Greenland.
With an echo of America's 19th-century self-conception of possessing a "Manifest Destiny" to expand, Trump has spoken of the need for the United States to grow.
Incorporating Greenland, which has 57,000 people, would catapult the United States past China and Canada to be the world's second largest country in land mass after Russia.
 - Is cooperation possible? -
Vance in March paid an uninvited visit to Greenland. He stayed only at Pituffik, the longstanding US base on the island, and did not mingle with local residents.
Vance is known for his hard edge, which was on display when he berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly during a White House meeting in February.
It has not been announced if the Greenland meeting will be open to the press. If not, it would reduce chances of a similar, televised confrontation.
"If the US continues with, 'We have to have Greenland at all cost,' it could be a very short meeting," said Penny Naas, a senior vice president at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a Washington think tank.
"If there is a slight nuance to it, it could lead to a different conversation," she said.
Greenland's top diplomat Vivian Motzfeldt will join the talks. Her government as well as Denmark have been firm against Trump's designs.
"One thing must be clear to everyone: Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States," Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference ahead of the White House talks.
He was speaking alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who said it had not been easy to stand up to "completely unacceptable pressure from our closest ally."
Denmark has rejected US claims it is not protecting Greenland from Russia and China, recalling that it has invested almost 90 billion kroner ($14 billion) to beef up its military presence in the Arctic.
Denmark is a founding member of NATO and its military joined the United States in the wars in Afghanistan and, controversially, Iraq.
Shortly after the White House talks, a senior delegation from the US Congress -- mostly Democrats, but with one Republican -- will visit Copenhagen to offer solidarity.
"President Trump's continued threats toward Greenland are unnecessary and would only weaken our NATO alliance," said Dick Durbin, the number-two Senate Democrat.

Greenland’s prime minister says the Arctic island would remain with Denmark over the United States, ahead of high-stakes White House talks amid renewed takeover threats by Donald Trump.

'We choose Denmark,' says Greenland ahead of White House talks

Greenland&rsquo;s prime minister says the Arctic island would remain with Denmark over the United States, ahead of high-stakes White House talks amid renewed takeover threats by Donald Trump.

Greenland would choose to remain Danish over a US takeover, its leader said Tuesday, ahead of crunch White House talks on the future of the Arctic island which President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened.
Trump has been talking up the idea of buying or annexing the autonomous territory for years, and further stoked tensions this week by saying the United States would take it "one way or the other".
"We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark," Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference.
"One thing must be clear to everyone: Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States."
He was speaking alongside Danish leader Mette Frederiksen, who said it had not been easy to stand up to what she slammed as "completely unacceptable pressure from our closest ally".
"However, there are many indications that the most challenging part is ahead of us," Frederiksen said.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt are to meet US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday to discuss Greenland's future.
Lokke said they had requested a meeting with Rubio, and Vance had asked to take part and host it at the White House.
Vance made an uninvited visit to the island in March where he criticised Denmark for what he said was a lack of commitment to Greenland and security in the Arctic, and called it a "bad ally".
The comments enraged Copenhagen, which has been an ardent trans-Atlantic supporter and which has sent troops to fight US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 - 'Misunderstandings' -
For Nuuk and Copenhagen, Wednesday's meeting at the White House is aimed at ironing out "misunderstandings".
These relate to Greenland's defence, Chinese and Russian military presence in the Arctic, and the relationship between Greenland and Copenhagen, which together with the Faroe Islands make up the Kingdom of Denmark.
"To the uninformed American listener, the ongoing (independence) talks between Denmark and Greenland might have been construed as if Greenland's secession from Denmark was imminent," said Greenland specialist Mikaela Engell.
For these listeners, "I can understand that, in this situation, it would be better for the Americans to take hold of that strategic place", the former Danish representative on the island told AFP.
But this "discussion has been going on for years and years and it has never meant that Greenland was on its way out the door", she stressed.
Denmark's foreign minister said the reason Copenhagen and Nuuk had requested Wednesday's meeting was "to move the entire discussion... into a meeting room, where you can look each other in the eye and talk through these issues".
Greenland's location is highly strategic, lying on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States. It is therefore a crucial part of the US anti-missile shield.
Washington has accused Copenhagen of doing little to protect Greenland from what it perceives as a growing Arctic threat from Russia and China, though analysts suggest Beijing is a small player in the region.
Denmark's government has rejected US claims, recalling that it has invested almost 90 billion kroner ($14 billion) to beef up its military presence in the Arctic.
The Danish prime minister on Tuesday called for stronger cooperation with the US and NATO to improve the region's security.
She also called for NATO to defend Greenland, and said that security guarantees would be "the best defence against Chinese or Russian threats in the Arctic".
Diplomats at NATO say some Alliance members have floated the idea of launching a new mission in the region, although no concrete proposals are yet on the table.
Rutte said on Monday that NATO was working on "the next steps" to bolster Arctic security.
Greenland's foreign minister and Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen are to meet NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte on January 19 to discuss the issue.
"We are now moving forward with the whole issue of a more permanent, larger presence in Greenland from the Danish defence forces but also with the participation of other countries," Lund Poulsen told reporters.

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Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance has once again stirred a row with his comments.

JD Vance’s Bizarre Bid To Target Kamala Harris; Said Haitians Are Eating Pets After ‘Ohio Woman Ate Pet Cat’

Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance has once again stirred a row with his comments.

Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance has once again stirred a row with his comments. This time, he made a false claim that Haitians are eating pets. Vance also shared a post on X which has a video of him raising issue about Haitians. Vance claimed that people have had their pets eaten by those &lsquo;who shouldn't be here&rsquo;

Four ISS crewmembers, including American, Russian, and Japanese astronauts, returned safely to Earth after the station's first-ever medical evacuation due to a health issue.

ISS astronauts splash down on Earth after first-ever medical evacuation

Four ISS crewmembers, including American, Russian, and Japanese astronauts, returned safely to Earth after the station's first-ever medical evacuation due to a health issue.

Four International Space Station crewmembers splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, NASA footage showed, after the first ever medical evacuation in the orbital lab's history.
A video feed from NASA showed the capsule carrying American astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui land off the coast of San Diego at 12:41 am (0841 GMT).
A health issue prompted their mission to be cut short, after spending five months in space.
The US space agency has declined to disclose any details about the health issue but stressed the return was not an emergency situation.
The affected crewmember "was and continues to be in stable condition," NASA official Rob Navias said Wednesday.
Fincke, the SpaceX Crew-11 pilot, said in a social media post earlier this week: "First and foremost, we are all OK. Everyone on board is stable, safe, and well cared for."
"This was a deliberate decision to allow the right medical evaluations to happen on the ground, where the full range of diagnostic capability exists. It's the right call, even if it's a bit bittersweet."
The Crew-11 quartet arrived at the ISS in early August and had been scheduled to stay onboard the space station until they were rotated out in mid-February with the arrival of the next crew.
James Polk, NASA's chief health and medical officer, said "lingering risk" and a "lingering question as to what that diagnosis is" led to the decision to bring back the crew earlier than originally scheduled.
American astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, who arrived at the station in November aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, remained on the ISS.
The Russian Roscosmos space agency operates alongside NASA on the outpost, and the two agencies take turns transporting a citizen of the other country to and from the orbiter -- one of the few areas of bilateral cooperation that still endure between the United States and Russia.
 - Ready for the unexpected -
Continuously inhabited since 2000, the International Space Station seeks to showcase multinational cooperation, bringing together Europe, Japan, the United States and Russia.
Located some 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) above Earth, the ISS functions as a testbed for research that supports deeper space exploration -- including eventual missions to return humans to the Moon and onward to Mars.
The four astronauts who were evacuated had been trained to handle unexpected medical situations, said Amit Kshatriya, a senior NASA official, praising how they have dealt with the situation.
The ISS is set to be decommissioned after 2030, with its orbit gradually lowered until it breaks up in the atmosphere over a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, a spacecraft graveyard.

France, Germany, Norway, and Sweden deploy troops to Greenland as Denmark boosts Arctic security, following disagreements with the US over potential American control of the island.

European troops arrive in Greenland as talks with US highlight 'disagreement' over island's future

France, Germany, Norway, and Sweden deploy troops to Greenland as Denmark boosts Arctic security, following disagreements with the US over potential American control of the island.

Troops from several European countries, including France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, are arriving in Greenland to help boost the Arctic island's security after talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the US on Wednesday highlighted &ldquo;fundamental disagreement&rdquo; between the Trump administration and European allies.
&ldquo;The first French military elements are already en route&rdquo; and &ldquo;others will follow,&rdquo; French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 French soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.
Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, its Defense Ministry said.
Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland, with NATO allies joining them, just as the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers met with White House representatives on Wednesday in Washington to discuss US President Donald Trump's intentions to take over the island in order to tap its mineral resources and protect the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars L&oslash;kke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a &ldquo;fundamental disagreement&rdquo; over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rasmussen added that it remains &ldquo;clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We really need it,&rdquo; Trump told media in the Oval Office after the meeting. &ldquo;If we don't go in, Russia is going to go in and China is going to go in. And there's not a thing Denmark can do about it, but we can do everything about it."
Trump said he had not yet been briefed about the contents of the White House meeting when he made his remarks.
In Greenland's capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.
Several people said they viewed Denmark's decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible US military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a US move against the island.
Maya Martinsen, 21, agreed and said it was &ldquo;comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements&rdquo; because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.
The dispute, she said, is not about &ldquo;national security&rdquo; but rather about &ldquo;the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.&rdquo;
&nbsp; More troops, more talks
In Copenhagen, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic &ldquo;in close cooperation with our allies,&rdquo; calling it a necessity in a security environment in which &ldquo;no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.&rdquo;
&ldquo;This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,&rdquo; Poulsen said.
Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the US-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities.
However, NATO is looking at how members can collectively bolster the alliance's presence in the Arctic, according to a NATO official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister, announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.
&ldquo;The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,&rdquo; he said.
Speaking to FOX News Channel's Special Report on Wednesday after the White House talks, Rasmussen rejected both a military takeover and the potential purchase of the island by the US.
Asked whether he thinks the US will invade, he replied: &ldquo;No, at least I do not hope so, because, I mean, that would be the end of NATO.&rdquo;
Rasmussen said Greenlanders were unlikely to vote for US rule even if financial incentives were offered &ldquo;because I think there's no way that US will pay for a Scandinavian welfare system in Greenland, honestly speaking.&rdquo;
&ldquo;You haven't introduced a Scandinavian welfare system in your own country,&rdquo; he added.
Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: &ldquo;We'll see how it all works out. I think something will work out."

Elon Musk-owned X announced new safeguards to stop its AI chatbot Grok from generating sexualised images of real people, amid investigations and bans by several governments worldwide.

Elon Musk's X announces curbs on Grok after backlash over sexualised images

Elon Musk-owned X announced new safeguards to stop its AI chatbot Grok from generating sexualised images of real people, amid investigations and bans by several governments worldwide.

Microblogging platform X has implemented technological measures to prevent Grok from generating images of real people in revealing clothing in jurisdictions where it is illegal, following backlash over obscene deepfakes created by the AI chatbot.
This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers, X said on its official 'Safety' handle.
Further, image creation and editing via the Grok account on X are now only available to paid subscribers. The platform said this adds an extra layer of protection, ensuring that individuals who attempt to abuse Grok to violate the law or platform policies can be held accountable.
"We now geoblock the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X in those jurisdictions where it's illegal," the post said. X also said it has implemented measures to prevent editing of images of real people in revealing clothing.
"This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers," the platform added. X emphasised that all AI prompts and generated content must still adhere to its safety rules. "Whether content is created by free or paid users, our Safety team works around the clock to add safeguards, remove violating content, suspend accounts when necessary, and collaborate with governments and law enforcement," it said.
X reiterated its commitment to a safe platform, with zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content. "We take action to remove high-priority violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-consensual nudity," the post said. Accounts seeking such content are reported to law enforcement as necessary.
The platform recently removed about 3,500 pieces of content and deleted over 600 accounts after the Indian IT Ministry raised concerns about obscene material linked to Grok. X assured authorities it would comply with Indian laws.
Governments worldwide, including India, have increased pressure on Grok over content moderation, data safety, and non-consensual sexually explicit images flooding the platform. On January 2, the IT Ministry directed X to remove all vulgar, obscene, and unlawful content generated by Grok, warning of action under the law if it failed to comply.
The ministry asked X to submit a detailed action-taken report covering technical and organisational measures, the oversight role of the Chief Compliance Officer, actions against offending content, and mechanisms for compliance with reporting requirements. It highlighted misuse of Grok to create fake accounts or manipulate images of women in a derogatory manner, noting this as a serious failure of platform safeguards.
The government emphasised that compliance with the IT Act and rules is mandatory, and failure to observe due diligence obligations could result in loss of safe harbour under section 79 of the IT Act and other legal consequences. X was asked to enforce user terms and AI usage restrictions, including suspension and termination of violating accounts, and to remove all illegal content without delay.
X&rsquo;s initial detailed response was seen as reiterating respect for Indian laws and content policies but lacking specific actions on Grok AI obscene content. The IT Ministry sought more concrete details on content takedowns and preventive measures.
Following this, X admitted its mistakes and assured compliance with Indian laws. Apart from India, the UK and EU have also pressured X over the Grok deepfake image issue.

A federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man in Minneapolis amid heated protests following a recent fatal ICE shooting, prompting city officials to urge calm as unrest continues.

US immigration officer shoots Venezuelan man in Minneapolis

A federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man in Minneapolis amid heated protests following a recent fatal ICE shooting, prompting city officials to urge calm as unrest continues.

A federal immigration agent shot a man Wednesday in Minneapolis, city officials said, urging the public to "remain calm" a week after agents shot and killed an American woman in the same city.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the shooting resulted from a struggle in front of a residence between a man and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on the north side of the city Wednesday evening.
"During the struggle, the federal agent discharged his weapon, striking one adult male," O'Hara told reporters at a press conference.
The man suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his leg and was transported to a hospital for treatment, officials said.
The shooting marked the second time in a week an ICE agent had shot someone in Minneapolis, with the previous shooting resulting in the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on January 7, sparking ongoing protests against the presence of federal agents in the northern US city.
"We understand there is anger," officials wrote on the midwestern city's X account, adding that "the City of Minneapolis again demands that ICE leave the city and the state immediately."
O'Hara said Wednesday's shooting generated a crowd of protesters around where it happened, with some throwing fireworks at officers.
 - 'This is not sustainable' -
Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed the shooting in a post on X, saying "an illegal alien from Venezuela" was targeted for a traffic stop and resisted arrest.
"While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle," DHS said.
The officer then "fired a defensive shot to defend his life," hitting the initial subject in the leg.
Elected officials in Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota have decried the actions of Department of Homeland Security agents, including those with ICE.
"This is not sustainable," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told reporters, adding: "We have ICE agents throughout our city and throughout our state who, along with Border Patrol, are creating chaos."
"This is not the path that we should be on right now in America."
In a video posted to social media earlier Wednesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz decried "the chaos, disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down on our community," describing door-to-door interrogations by "armed, masked, undertrained" ICE agents.

The US State Department announced a pause on immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 “high-risk” countries, citing concerns over reliance on public benefits, effective January 21.

Immigrant visa pause for individuals from 75 'high-risk' countries does not include tourist, temporary visas

The US State Department announced a pause on immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 &ldquo;high-risk&rdquo; countries, citing concerns over reliance on public benefits, effective January 21.

The Trump administration's latest pause on immigrant visas for individuals from 75 &ldquo;high-risk&rdquo; countries, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, does not apply to tourist or work visas and will impact those wishing to live permanently in the US.
The State Department on Wednesday issued a list of 75 countries that will face a pause in immigrant visa processing, saying migrants from these nations take welfare from the American people at &ldquo;unacceptable rates.&rdquo;
The move, the latest in the crackdown by the Trump administration on immigration, is aimed at curtailing the entry of foreigners likely to rely on public benefits while living in the US.
&ldquo;President Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans. The Department of State is undergoing a full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk countries do not utilise welfare in the United States or become a public charge,&rdquo; the State Department said in a statement.
Effective January 21, the Department of State is pausing all visa issuances to immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of countries including Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Bhutan, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Somalia, Syria, Thailand, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
The department said that the pause does not apply to tourist visas and is specifically for immigrant visa applicants. &ldquo;Tourist visas are non-immigrant visas,&rdquo; it added.
An immigrant visa (IV) is issued to a person &ldquo;wishing to live permanently in the United States.&rdquo;
Immigrant visa categories include spouse of a US Citizen, fianc&eacute;(e) to marry a US Citizen and live in the US, certain family members of US citizens and lawful permanent residents, and certain employment-based immigrants who can live permanently in the US by applying for the Green Card and then getting US citizenship.
Nonimmigrant visas (NIV) are issued to individuals who have permanent residence outside the United States but seek to enter the country on a "temporary basis&rdquo; for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study.
The State Department further said that immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of affected countries may submit visa applications and attend interviews, and the Department will continue to schedule applicants for appointments, but &ldquo;no immigrant visas will be issued to these nationals during this pause.&rdquo;
Dual nationals applying with a valid passport of a country not on the list of 75 nations are exempt from this pause. The Department clarified that no immigrant visas have been revoked as part of this guidance.
In a post on X, the White House said the Trump administration will pause immigrant visa processing from the 75 countries until the US can ensure that &ldquo;incoming immigrants will not become a public charge or extract wealth from American taxpayers. AMERICA FIRST.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,&rdquo; the State Department said in a post on X Wednesday.
It added that it will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.
&ldquo;The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people. The pause impacts dozens of countries &ndash; including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea &ndash; whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival. We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused. The Trump administration will always put America First," the State Department added.

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