**HACKERS DISRUPT IRAN STATE TV TO SUPPORT EXILED CROWN PRINCE AS DEATHS FROM CRACKDOWN EXCEED 4,000**
In a shocking turn of events, hackers disrupted Iranian state television satellite transmissions on Sunday night, airing footage supporting the country's exiled crown prince and calling on security forces to not "point your weapons at the people." The hacking comes as the death toll in the crackdown by authorities that smothered the demonstrations reached at least 4,029 people, activists said.
The hackers, who claimed to be supporters of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, aired two clips of the exiled prince on multiple channels broadcast by satellite from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the country's state broadcaster. The video also included footage of security forces and others in what appeared to be Iranian police uniforms, claiming that some had "laid down their weapons and sworn an oath of allegiance to the people." A graphic read: "Don't point your weapons at the people. Join the nation for the freedom of Iran."
This is not the first time that Iranian airwaves have been disrupted by hackers. In 1986, the CIA supplied Pahlavi's allies with a miniaturized television transmitter to broadcast a clandestine signal into Iran. More recently, in 2022, multiple channels aired footage showing leaders from the exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq and a graphic calling for the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The hacking comes as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington over the crackdown. The United States had already drawn two red lines for the Islamic Republic: the killing of peaceful protesters and mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations. Now, with the death toll exceeding 4,000, the situation is becoming increasingly volatile.
A U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, has been spotted in the Strait of Malacca, a strategic waterway that connects the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea. The Lincoln had been in the South China Sea with its strike group as a deterrent to China over tensions with Taiwan. Ship-tracking data analyzed by the AP showed that the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., the USS Michael Murphy, and the USS Spruance were also traveling with the Lincoln through the strait.
The World Economic Forum has withdrawn its invitation for Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to speak at Davos, Switzerland, over the killings. "Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year," the forum said.
The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the death toll at least 4,029, warning it likely would go higher. Of the dead, 3,786 were demonstrators, 180 were security forces, 28 were children, and 35 were people not demonstrating.
Iranian officials have not given a clear death toll, although on Saturday, Khamenei said the protests had left "several thousand" people dead and blamed the United States for the deaths. It was the first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties from the wave of protests that began Dec. 28 over Iran's ailing economy.
The agency also reported over 26,000 people had been arrested. Fears of some of those detained being put to death in Iran, one of the world's top executioners, have led to widespread condemnation and outrage.
**Sources:**
* Human Rights Activists News Agency * Associated Press * The Washington Post * Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
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