Activists report dozens of deaths amid protests in Iran after Trump

At least 29 protesters have died as major anti-government demonstrations spread across the country. Iran for the tenth day, says a US-based human rights group. The Iranian government is trying to quell the unrest and reacted angrily to President Trump’s headscarf. threat of US armed intervention.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which gave the death toll based on its network of contacts in the country, said in its daily report on Monday that more than 1,200 people had been detained by Iranian security forces since protests began more than a week ago. HRANA shared a video on Tuesday that it said showed clashes between protesters and security forces in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, a trading hub in the capital where shop owners have long supported the regime.

The protests began more than a week ago in Tehran when businessmen took to the streets to express frustration over rising inflation in the nation, whose economy has been crippled by U.S. and international sanctions for years. But anger quickly spread to more than 250 locations in at least 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to Washington-based HRANA, with videos on social media showing violent clashes between protesters chanting anti-government slogans and security forces every night since.

People who spoke to News themezone from inside the country on Tuesday said the latest demonstrations in the capital were relatively small, corroborating other reports that efforts by Iranian authorities to placate protesters have likely had some effect on reducing numbers in recent days.

President Trump said on Friday, a day before US forces attacked Venezuela. and captured the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, that the United States was “locked, loaded and ready,” warning that if Iran “violently kills protesters, as is its custom, the United States of America will come to its rescue.”

Trump has not offered further details about his threat, but he has been increasing pressure on Tehran since taking office for his second term, including unprecedented US strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities in June, as Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war.

“I think a lot of Iranians will be inspired by that,” Maziar Bahari, editor of the independent Iranian news website IranWire, told News themezone on Saturday, referring to Trump’s comments. “The message has made the Iranian regime more careful with its actions and with the use of violence against the people.”

Iranian officials have not confirmed the deaths of any protesters, and while they acknowledge the protests and the economic pain being felt in the country, they make little mention of the violence seen on the streets and accuse the United States and Israel of fomenting the unrest. The Islamic Republic’s semi-official Fars news agency said on Monday that some 250 police officers and 45 members of the feared Basij security force had been injured amid the unrest.

The US State Department has issued statements condemning specific incidents in Iran since Trump issued his ambiguous threat, but the prospects for US intervention remained unclear on Tuesday.

As has long been the case with Iran, the uncertainty left room for rumors to emerge. There were unconfirmed reports that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was considering escaping into exile in Russia if the protests got out of control.

Other reports have speculated that the government could even launch a new attack on Israel (something the regime has said it is prepared for since the 12-day war in June) in an attempt to divert attention from internal problems and refocus the population’s anger against Iran’s biggest foreign adversary, which would likely respond quickly and harshly.

But Iran’s intelligence services have a history of leaking false information to the media, especially foreign ones, to create an exaggerated narrative that the country’s leaders can then deny and present as deliberate Western disinformation.

Meanwhile, the government has tried to quell unrest in the streets not only with security forces but with a series of measures aimed at showing sympathy with protesters, including freezing the prices of some basic goods and taxes on businesses, and even a dramatic move on Monday to announce cash subsidies for essential goods for all households.

The government appears to have been bracing for unrest in the wake of the summer war with Israel, which further limited its budgets due to sanctions and forced cuts in subsidies and social services.

However, so far, even if the protests have not continued to escalate (which is difficult to measure since Iran’s government tightly controls the flow of information within the country), efforts to quell the unrest have not been entirely successful.

Meanwhile, demonstrations continue, as people wait for further signs from Trump that he might be willing to try to take advantage of a vulnerable moment for the Islamic Republic’s rulers.