Protests against the Islamic regime in Iran have further intensified with US President Donald Trump openly saying that America is ready to help the protestors. Meanwhile, Iran has warned that it will retaliate if the United States chooses to attack. While there are reports of several deaths, the activists have claimed a higher number of casualties.
1. According to the BBC, at least 180 body bags were seen in a morgue near Tehran. According to the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency, 495 protesters and 48 security personnel have died across Iran.
2. US President Donald Trump said that he will talk to Starlink’s owner Elon Musk, about restoring internet in Iran, where authorities have blacked out services for four days. Trump also said the United States is considering “very strong options” in response to developments in Iran.
3. More than 10,600 people have been arrested in two weeks of unrest. Iran has not provided an official toll or arrest figures, and the claims have not been independently verified by news agencies.
4. US President Trump has already been discussing the Iran situation with his military advisers. The US options included military strikes, use of secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government people. Trump said he was in contact with Iranian opposition leaders.
5. In a social media post, Trump said on Saturday, “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary Of State Marco Rubio have already discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran.
6. Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has warned Washington against any misadventure. “Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all U.S. bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. He warned that any miscalculation by the United States would prove costly.
7. Amid the ongoing protest, exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahalavi has praised protesters for what he called “million-strong demonstrations” that have shaken the foundations of the Iranian regime. In a video message on X, he said , “Relying on your million-strong response to the calls of the past days, and with the legitimacy and popularity I have received from you, I announce another stage of the national uprising to overthrow the Islamic Republic and reclaim our dear Iran. Inside Iran, in addition to seizing and holding the central streets of cities, all institutions and apparatuses responsible for the regime’s false propaganda and cutting off communications are considered legitimate targets. Government employees, and the armed and security forces, have the opportunity to join the people and be helpers of the nation, or to choose complicity with the murderers of the nation and buy eternal shame and the curse of the nation for themselves.”
8. Demonstrations have spread across multiple cities, with authorities responding through arrests, crackdowns, and the use of force. Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns over the scale of casualties and the treatment of protesters. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on “rioters” and foreign interference, while maintaining that legitimate economic grievances will be addressed.
9. Iran’s ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali, has cautioned against fake news being peddled about the alleged arrest of six Indian and ten Afghan nationals in Iran. Urging people to be cautious when searching for and consuming information online, in a post on X, he wrote, “The news circulated on some foreign X accounts about Iran’s developments is totally false. I request all interested people to get their news from the reliable sources.”
10. Iran’s current protests began on December 28 in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
