Activists report dozens killed in Iran protests after Trump warns of possible US intervention

At least 29 protesters were killed during massive anti-government demonstrations that spread across the country. Iran for a tenth day, says a US-based rights group. The Iranian government is trying to quell the unrest and has reacted angrily to President Trump’s veiled remarks. threat of American armed intervention.

The Human Rights Activists News 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 arrested by Iranian security forces since the protests began more than a week ago. HRANA on Tuesday shared a video it said showed clashes between protesters and security forces at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar – a shopping center in the capital where merchants have long supported the regime.

The protests began more than a week ago in Tehran as business leaders took to the streets to express frustration over rising inflation in the country, whose economy has been crippled for years by U.S. and international sanctions. 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 since then showing violent clashes between protesters chanting anti-government slogans and security forces.

People who spoke to CBS News from inside the country on Tuesday said the latest protests in the capital were relatively limited, corroborating other reports that efforts by Iranian authorities to placate demonstrators likely had some effect in reducing the number of demonstrators in recent days.

President Trump said Friday – a day before US forces attack Venezuela and captured the country’s longtime leader, Nicolas Maduro — that the United States was “locked, loaded and ready,” warning that if Iran “violently kills protesters, as is their wont, the United States of America will come to their rescue.”

Mr. Trump did not elaborate on his threat, but he has increased pressure on Tehran since taking office for his second term, including with unprecedented U.S. strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities in June, as Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day war.

“I think many Iranians will be inspired by this,” Maziar Bahari, editor-in-chief of the independent Iranian news site IranWire, told CBS News on Saturday, referring to Mr. Trump’s remarks. “This message has caused the Iranian regime to be more cautious in its actions and in its use of violence against the population.”

Iranian officials have not confirmed the deaths of any protesters and, while acknowledging the protests and economic hardship felt in the country, they make little mention of the violence seen in the streets and accuse the United States and Israel of fomenting the unrest. The Islamic Republic’s semi-official Fars news agency said Monday that around 250 police officers and 45 members of the Basij security forces were injured during the unrest.

The US State Department has issued statements condemning specific incidents in Iran since Mr Trump made his ambiguous threat, but the chances of US intervention remained uncertain on Tuesday.

As has long been the case with Iran, uncertainty has given way to rumors. According to unconfirmed reports, the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was considering going into exile in Russia if the protests got out of control.

Other reports have speculated that the government might even launch a new attack on Israel – something the regime has said it is ready for since the 12-Day War in June – in an effort to distract from domestic problems and refocus public anger against Iran’s biggest foreign adversary, who would likely respond quickly and harshly.

But Iran’s intelligence services have a history of leaking false information to the media, especially foreign media, 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 the unrest in the streets, not only with security forces, but also with a series of measures aimed at showing sympathy for the protesters, including freezing some commodity prices 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 following the summer’s war with Israel, which further limited its sanctioned budgets and forced cuts to subsidies and social services.

However, so far, even if the protests have not continued to escalate – which is difficult to assess as the Iranian government tightly controls the flow of information inside the country – efforts to quell the unrest have not been fully successful.

Meanwhile, the protests continue, as people await new signals from Mr. Trump that he may be willing to try to take advantage of a period of vulnerability for the Islamic Republic’s leaders.