The Dictatorship
As death toll climbs in Iran, Trump weighs potential response, official says
Massive anti-government protests in Iran have turned deadly, with human rights groups reporting Sunday that hundreds of people have been killed.
Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that more than 500 people have died and more than 2,600 people – including women and children – have been arrested in the protests.
HRANA and the U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said that an exact count is difficult due to communication restrictions. MS NOW has not independently verified the death toll and number of arrests.
The country is in a widespread internet blackout as demonstrations continue into a second week in major cities, including Mashhad in the northeast and the capital city of Tehran.
The unrest has been fueled by Iran’s deepening economic crisis and anger toward the country’s authoritarian leadership. After the rial, Iran’s national currency, fell to a record low in December, shopkeepers in Tehran took to the streets in protest. Sanctionson Iran’s oil sector have further strained an already struggling economy.
President Donald Trump is weighing potential responses to the demonstrations in Iran to protect the protesters, a senior White House official told MS NOW on Sunday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Trump has said he would consider intervention in the country. In a Truth Social post Saturday, he said, “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
In June the U.S. struck three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, which Trump said was done to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Tehran has warned that the U.S. military, as well as Israel, would be “legitimate targets” if it intervenes with force to protect protesters.
Parlimentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday that “in the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets.”
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned the demonstrations, likening protesters to “mercenaries from foreign powers” such as the United States.
“The President of the United States declared that if the Iranian government did this or that, he would side with the rioters,” Khamenei said on X on Sunday. “The rioters have placed their hopes in him. If he is so competent, let him manage his own country then.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for “unity,” saying in a state interview Sunday that “if people have concerns, it’s our responsibility to listen and solve them.” Pezeshkian drew a distinction between protesters and “rioters and terrorists,” who he said “come and cause chaos for the entire country.”
The protests are the largest since the demonstrations against the regime in 2022 and 2023, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Aminiwho was arrested by the morality police for violating the dress code law.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Akayla Gardner is a White House correspondent for MS NOW.