Protests refuse to die out in Iran as the Mullah regime unleashes a deadly crackdown, killing hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in the past two weeks.
The death toll continues to mount as the nationwide uprising enters its fifteenth day. “The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has confirmed 572 deaths, but there have been suggestions that the true figure is far higher,” Sky News (UK) reported on Monday evening. “Alongside that, more than 10,600 people have been detained with protests now in their third week,” the broadcaster added, citing the same source.
According to Israeli intelligence sources, the actual number of demonstrators killed by the regime is much higher. “Israeli intelligence estimates that at least 1,000 Iranians have already been killed in the wave of protests sweeping the country, with hundreds of thousands reportedly taking to the streets,” Israel’s Ynetnews reported Monday. “Demonstrations have intensified significantly since last Thursday, with widespread unrest gripping multiple regions.”
Even by moderate assessments, the current death toll has surpassed that of the 2022 protests, which began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the regime’s ‘Morality Police’ for disregarding the hijab law. “Then, more than 550 people were killed and 20,000 detained,” the BBC noted, citing human rights groups.
President Trump, on Sunday, announced that he was weighing up “very strong options” against the regime as the killing of unarmed protesters continued. He disclosed that Tehran is willing to “negotiate,” but didn’t rule out striking regime targets.
“President Donald Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate but warned he may still carry out strikes against the Islamic Republic over its violent crackdown on protests challenging the regime’s rule,” CNBC reported early Monday. “Trump has repeatedly warned that the United States may intervene if authorities open fire on the demonstrations, which first erupted two weeks ago over soaring prices.”
The president is reportedly considering a range of actions, from military to economic. “Possible actions for the US include military strikes, deploying secretive cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, placing more sanctions on Iran’s government and boosting anti-government sources online,” The Guardian (UK) reported, quoting sources.
Some Western commentators believe that the Mullah regime will manage to keep its hold on power despite the mounting unrest. Germany’s state-run Deutsche Welle, on Monday, cited an expert who said the regime has withstood the wave of protests and “was far from collapsing.”
The broadcaster commented that “the Islamic Republic’s five pillars — the intelligence service, the Revolutionary Guard, the clerics, the judiciary — all seem to be intact rather than weakening or defecting to the protesters’ side.”
Reuters concurred with the assessment, observing that “despite the massive scale of the protests, there are no signs of splits in the Shi’ite clerical leadership, military or security forces, and demonstrators have no clear central leadership.”
“The opposition is fragmented,” the news agency added.
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, urged President Trump to act against the regime as it massacres its own people.
President Trump can “bring about the greatest peace the world has ever seen: by helping Iranians finally end this criminal regime,” Pahlavi said on Sunday.
“The regime is weak and on its back legs. The people are ready to topple it. They do not need boots on the ground,” he added. “All they need is the action of the leader of the free world. Negotiating with this criminal regime, [which] is still threatening America, and the President will not bring peace.”
In recent weeks, the crown prince has emerged as the figurehead of the popular uprising, with protesters across the country chanting pro-monarcist slogans even though raising them is punishable by death in Iran.
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