Amid a near-total communications blackout, witness footage trickling out of Iran paints a picture of how the country’s largest uprising in decades spread — and turned deadly.
“HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” President Trump said on social media. He has threatened to intervene militarily on behalf of the protesters if Iran uses lethal force.
The Pentagon is presenting a wider range of strike options to the president than previously reported. Targets could include Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile sites.
Despite an internet blackout, reports are emerging of a rise in deadly violence as protests spurred by economic woes have snowballed into a mass movement.
Demonstrations that began as outrage at the state of the economy have spread to cities across the country, amid an escalating crackdown by the authorities.
After days of fierce protest, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused protesters of trying to “please” President Trump. Iranian authorities signaled further crackdowns on the demonstrations.
Rights groups accuse security forces of killing protesters and storming a hospital in the province of Ilam. State media claimed that some protesters were armed.
Galloping inflation, a currency crisis and anger at the regime have fueled demonstrations across the country.
Amid sky-high inflation, water and energy cuts and prospects for a deal with the U. S. dimming, President Masoud Pezeshkian has apparently thrown up his hands.
With no negotiations, no oversight and no clarity about Iran’s stock of nuclear material, many in the region fear another war with Israel is inevitable.