More than 500 people have been killed in two weeks of protests across Iran, a U.S.-based rights group said, as Tehran warned it would target U.S. bases and Israel if President Donald Trump follows through on threats to intervene on behalf of demonstrators.
HRANA said it has verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, and more than 10,600 arrests since the unrest erupted on Dec. 28 over soaring prices before expanding into the largest challenge to the clerical establishment since 2022. Iran has not released an official toll.
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“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding he was in contact with Iranian opposition leaders. He said, without elaborating, that Iranian leaders had called him Saturday seeking talks and that he might speak with them.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Washington against “a miscalculation,” saying that in the event of an attack on Iran, Israel as well as all U.S. bases and ships would be “legitimate targets.” Authorities accused the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest and called for a nationwide rally to condemn “terrorist actions.” State media later announced three days of national mourning “in honor of martyrs killed in resistance against the United States and the Zionist regime.”
The flow of information from inside Iran has been sharply curtailed by an internet blackout since Thursday. Trump said he would speak to Elon Musk about restoring access via Starlink satellite service.
Despite the blackout, videos shared on social media showed large nighttime crowds in Tehran clapping and chanting. State TV broadcast images of dozens of body bags at the Tehran coroner’s office, describing the dead as victims of “armed terrorists,” and showed families gathered outside the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Center waiting to identify bodies.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was shocked by reported violence by Iranian authorities and urged maximum restraint. “The rights to freedom of expression, association & peaceful assembly must be fully respected and protected,” he wrote on X.
Regional tensions spiked as three Israeli sources said Israel was on high alert in case of any U.S. move. Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June 2025, joined briefly by U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Iran retaliated with missiles against Israel and a U.S. airbase in Qatar. Analysts say Tehran’s position has since been weakened by regional blows to allies including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Trump said on social media that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” U.S. officials said he will meet senior advisers Monday to discuss options. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed possible U.S. intervention in a phone call, an Israeli source said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Washington and Jerusalem of orchestrating destabilization, alleging that “terrorists” were imported to set mosques on fire and attack banks and public property. Meanwhile, solidarity rallies unfolded abroad. In Los Angeles’ Westwood area, a rental truck drove into a crowd supporting Iranian protesters, KNBC reported; police escorted the driver from the scene and said injuries were treated on site.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, praised the “indescribable bravery” of demonstrators and urged them not to abandon the streets in a message on X.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
