Several Iranians who protested in Tehran, the capital of Iran, in recent days spoke to CNN about what they witnessed, describing huge crowds and feelings of hope, as well as brutal violence and dozens of bodies.
A woman aged around 65 and a man aged 70 reported seeing people of all ages on the streets of the Iranian capital on Thursday (8) and Friday (9).
Last night, however, security forces, carrying military rifles, killed “many people”, they said.
Other protesters in a different Tehran neighborhood told CNN who helped a man aged around 65 who had been seriously injured in the repression. He had about 40 rubber bullets lodged in his legs and a broken arm, they said.
They attempted to take the man to receive medical attention at several different hospitals, but said the situation was “completely chaotic.” One woman described seeing “bodies piled on top of each other” in the hospital.
Others told CNN that the number of people in the streets was incomparable to anything they had seen before, describing the scenes as “incredibly beautiful and hopeful”.
A televised speech by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the night before changed that atmosphere. Shortly afterwards, the crackdown turned incredibly violent, protesters reported.
“Unfortunately, we may have to accept the reality that this regime will not be defeated without the use of external force,” one protester told CNN.
Protests have lasted two weeks
At least 65 people died and more than 2,300 were arrested across the country during demonstrations against the current regime, according to the United States-based news agency HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency).
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned on Saturday (10) that security protection was a “red line” and the military promised to protect public property, as the regime stepped up efforts to contain the most widespread protests in recent years.
The statements came after US President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iranian leaders on Friday (9) and after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared this Saturday: “The United States stands with the brave people of Iran.”
Protests continued throughout the night. State media reported that a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran, the country’s capital, and blamed “violent protesters.”
State TV broadcast images of the funerals of members of the security forces who it said were killed in protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.
Protests have spread across much of Iran over the past two weeks, starting in response to rising inflation but quickly turning political, with demonstrators demanding an end to Islamic rule.
Authorities accuse the US and Israel of fomenting the “unrest”. Human rights groups have documented dozens of protester deaths.
