Iranian authorities signaled on Saturday that they could step up their crackdown on the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years. The Revolutionary Guards blame the riots on terrorists and vow to protect the government system. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the Reuters and AFP agencies.
On Saturday, crowds gathered again in the north of the Iranian capital. According to a video verified by AFP protesters set off fireworks, banged pots and chanted slogans in support of the overthrown monarchy. Other videos, which AFP could not immediately verify, showed demonstrations in other parts of the capital, where protesters chanted anti-government slogans.
Iran says the United States is behind the demonstrations that broke out two weeks ago in Tehran due to economic difficulties. Protests calling for the overthrow of clerical authorities have since spread across the country. Human rights organizations already ithey reported dozens of dead and on Saturday expressed concern that the authorities are intensifying repression.
After the Internet is turned off, little information is leaked to the public, while Netblocks, an organization that monitors cyber security and internet governance, has seen virtually no connectivity since Thursday.
US President Donald Trump declared that his country was “ready to help” the protest movement. “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The US is ready to help,” wrote the American president on his social network Truth Social without further explanation. His comments came a day after he said Iran had a “big problem” and reiterated his warning against military strikes.
According to the New York Times, he was Trump recently informed about the possibility of possible military strikes. US officials who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity said that Trump has yet to make a final decision on further intervention after Washington joined Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic Republic in June.
The son of Iran’s last shah, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the US, called on Iranians to organize targeted protests over the weekend. “Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to occupy and hold city centers,” Pahlavi said in a video on social media. The demonstrations represent one of the biggest challenges to the theocratic authorities that have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
