Jaishankar receives call from Iran Foreign Minister Araghchi, discusses unrest amid protests in Tehran

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday, with the two discussing the unrest in Iran amid rising tensions in Tehran.

“Received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. @araghchi. We discussed the evolving situation in and around Iran,” Jaishankar said on X.

Meanwhile, the Iranian embassy in India said that the United States’ unilateral moves against the current global order, such as imposing what it called unfair tariffs and pulling out of 66 international institutions, have driven the world closer to a collapse of established global norms. It warned that remaining silent or failing to act does not reduce these risks but instead makes them worse, adding that such policies will eventually impact every country, irrespective of its size or economic strength.

These developments comes as the United States pulls some personnel out of military bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official stated that Tehran had warned neighbouring countries it would target American bases if Washington were to strike.

As Iran’s leadership moves to suppress what it describes as the most severe domestic unrest in the country’s history, Tehran is also seeking to deter repeated threats by US President Donald Trump to intervene in support of anti-government protesters.

As per a report by Reuters, an US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the personnel withdrawals from key regional bases were a precautionary step in response to heightened tensions.

Two European officials stated US military intervention now appeared likely, with one suggesting it could happen within the next 24 hours. An Israeli official also said it seemed Trump had already decided to intervene, although the scope and timing remain unclear.

Qatar said that reductions at Al Udeid air base, the largest US military installation in the region, were “being undertaken in response to the current regional tensions”.

According to three diplomats, some staff had been instructed to leave the base. However, there were no immediate indications of a mass evacuation, such as troops being transported to a soccer stadium or shopping mall, which occurred hours before an Iranian missile attack last year.

Trump has repeatedly warned that he could intervene in support of demonstrators in Iran. An Iranian official said more than 2,000 people had been killed, while a human rights organisation estimated the death toll at over 2,600.

Both Iran and Western governments have characterised the unrest, which began two weeks ago as protests over severe economic hardship and intensified rapidly in recent days, as the most violent turmoil since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that established Iran’s clerical system.

Iran “had never faced this volume of destruction”, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Wednesday, attributing the violence to foreign adversaries. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called it “the most violent repression in Iran's contemporary history”.

Iranian officials have accused the United States and Israel of inciting the unrest, which they say has been carried out by armed terrorists.