Iran faces in at least three years. Demonstrations in all the provinces, in more than one hundred cities, demand economic measures that relieve their suffocation and, incidentally, the freedom that the so-called Islamic Revolution has stolen from them over the years.
While the deaths and reprisals accumulate, while analysts raise the fear of civil war as real, threats continue to come to Tehran from the president of the United States, who already demonstrated last summer that he can bomb Iranian soil without shaking his pulse. Now he says he can do it again if the repression does not stop.
This same night, the Republican said that the US Army is considering “very strong options” in the country and that it is “very seriously analyzing” armed intervention.
The American news agency says it has verified the deaths of some 500 protesters and 48 security agents in Iran, while internal sources cited by media such as the British network affirm that the death toll could be much higher.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene, but in his speech tonight he also revealed a possible path of understanding: he maintains that Iranian officials had called him “to negotiate.” “We might have to act before a meeting,” he said next. Of lime and sand.
“Vandals”
Iranian leaders have described protesters as a “band of vandals” and have called on their supporters to take part in pro-government marches on Monday. The government has also announced three days of mourning for what it called “martyrs” killed in a “national battle against the United States and Israel,” two countries that Tehran says are fomenting unrest.
Anger over the fall in the value of the Iranian currency sparked protests in late December, which have escalated into a legitimacy crisis for Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah.
Trump has yet to provide further details on what the US is considering in terms of military options, nor on proposed negotiations, despite saying that “a meeting is being arranged” with Iranian officials. He added that the Iranian leaders “want to negotiate” because “they are tired of being beaten by the US.”
A US official said Trump has been briefed on options for launching military strikes against Iran. Other approaches could include encouraging anti-government sources online, using cyber weapons against Iran’s military or imposing more sanctions, other officials told The Associated Press. .
Morgues atestadas
Protests continued Sunday night, but at a reduced level compared to previous days, as fears grow of a growing crackdown by the Iranian government. At least 10,600 people have been detained during the two weeks of unrest, according to HRANA.
The BBC counted 180 body bags in footage from a morgue near the Iranian capital, and a source said on Sunday that the streets of Tehran were “full of blood.” “They are taking the bodies away in trucks,” the source added.
In a video from the site near Tehran, you can see about 180 shrouded or wrapped figures, most lying uncovered. Screams and cries of anguish are heard from people who seem to be looking for their loved ones. The images have been altered to protect the identity of the living, who could face further persecution by authorities.
Sources said large numbers of bodies had accumulated in hospitals and forensic facilities, while some bodies were urgently buried before dawn by authorities, limiting chances of identification.
Council workers also removed debris, burnt cars and blood stains from the streets overnight, a source told the BBC. Several sources in Iran also said they had seen drones persistently flying over crowds and residential neighborhoods to identify and track protesters.
Communications outage
Most other international news organizations cannot report from inside Iran, and the Iranian government has imposed an internet blackout since Thursday, making it difficult to obtain and verify information.
Some witnesses rely on connections proxy Starlink or satellite television to obtain information, but fear that authorities could use it to track them. Only the Government sends threatening messages to the people.
Trump said Sunday that he would talk to , owner of the SpaceX company that operates Starlink, about restoring Internet access in Iran. “He’s very good at that kind of thing, he’s in very good company,” Trump said.
In context
- The protests are the largest in Iran since the 2022 uprising, triggered by the death in custody of , a young Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly.
- Khamenei said protesters were seeking to “please” Trump, while Iran’s attorney general said anyone protesting would be considered an “enemy of God,” a crime that carries the death penalty.
- The speaker of the Iranian Parliament warned the United States should not make a “miscalculation,” adding that if the United States attacked Iran, both Israeli and American military and shipping centers in the region would become legitimate targets.
- Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, said in a post on X that the protests had “shaken the foundations” of the Iranian government. “The increase in shooting against the people is not a sign of strength, but of fear: fear of collapse and an accelerated decline.” He is trying to present himself as the leader of a united opposition, but he is a figure that divides the country, someone who has not lived there since he was two years old and who remembers a monarchy that he also does not want to recover.
