Iran raises the bar and, on the sixteenth day of protests across the country, the repression turns into a bloodbath with hundreds of deaths, 2000 denounced by the Nobel Mohammadi foundation, bodies piled up in hospitals, and thousands of people arrested. Donald Trump supports the protest against the regime and considers intervening. “Any US attack will lead Iran to react against Israel and American military bases in the region, which will be legitimate targets,” warned Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, linking the internal crisis to a new destabilization of the region.
The protest continues to grow. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana), at least 490 protesters have died, but the toll remains uncertain and probably higher. Indeed, over 2,000 demonstrators killed in the last 48 hours, as reported by opposition sources and also the Narges Foundation. Over 10,600 people were arrested. Hrana also reports 48 deaths among security forces. Numbers that are difficult to verify, but which show the extent of the repression.
The drama of families and the management of bodies
And the drama does not stop at the deaths because identifying loved ones among the hundreds of piled up corpses becomes almost impossible, also due to the regime’s obstructionism. Families would be asked to pay around $6,000 for the release of the bodies, which are piled into black bags or “herded into hospitals”, as the videos show.
The roots of the protest and the role of Reza Pahlavi
The movement, which has entered its 16th day of protests, is the most intense since ‘Women, Life and Freedom’, the protest that erupted in 2022 following the death of Mahsa ‘Jinà Amini. Sparked by the collapse of the currency and the economic crisis, the demonstrations quickly turned into a direct political protest against the regime. Many protesters are clamoring for the return of the son of the last Shah, Reza Pahlavi who, from his forced exile in the USA, continues to push citizens not to abandon the streets, declaring that he is ready to return to Iran “as soon as possible” to lead a political transition and allow free and transparent elections.
International reactions: Israel and the United States
A scenario that would not displease Israel, where the latest events have triggered maximum alert. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called security meetings and expressed support for Iranian protesters, saying the Jewish state and Tehran would return to partners after the fall of the Tehran regime. The Israel Defense Forces said it was “ready to respond if necessary.” In the background, Washington evaluates its next moves: Trump will receive a briefing on Tuesday in which new sanctions, cyber attacks and possible military actions against Iran will be proposed. According to the New York Times, attacks against non-military sites in Tehran are also among the options, although a final decision has not yet been made.
Resistance in the streets and technological blackout
On the Iranian streets, meanwhile, repression is expressed not only with violence, but also with closure to the outside world. Despite blackouts and isolation, however, the mobilization continues to find new forms. In Tehran, without electricity or internet for over 72 hours, hundreds of citizens lit up the night with mobile phone flashlights. Some videos have circulated thanks to Starlink, which is still active in some areas, while other videos show buildings on fire, firefights and graffiti in front of large crowds. Unrest was reported in numerous cities on Saturday night, including Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Qom, Ahvaz, Kerman and Saqqez. In Mashhad, the hometown of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, protesters faced the police, set up barricades and set fires.
The regime’s hard line and death threats
The authorities’ response remains harsh. The head of the national police Sardar Radan admitted that “the level of clashes with the rioters has increased”, announcing “important arrests”. According to Iran International, security forces also used tear gas and compressed air weapons against family members of the victims during funerals in Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.
After initially downplaying the demonstrations, claiming that the streets were empty again, the regime now recognizes their strength but changes the definition, even decreeing three days of national mourning to “honor” the victims of the “battle of national resistance”, i.e. the security and police forces. Even President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had previously offered to dialogue with the demonstrators, spoke of “terrorists linked to foreign powers”, while the attorney general threatened the demonstrators and those who help them, accusing them of being “enemies of God”, a crime punishable by the death penalty. A line that closes every glimmer of dialogue and leaves the country suspended between increasingly harsh repression and a protest that, despite everything, continues to fill the streets.