Iran has warned it will strike US and Israeli targets if it is attacked, as human rights groups and BBC sources suggest hundreds of protesters have been killed in a two-week uprising against clerical rule.
The standoff escalated on Saturday night as demonstrators again defied a “deadly crackdown” that has seen security forces use live ammunition in several cities. Iran’s police chief announced on state television that the government’s response has “intensified,” while the attorney general warned that protesters would be treated as “enemies of God”—a charge carrying the death penalty.
‘Direct shots to the head’
The scale of the violence is difficult to verify due to a severe internet shutdown, but accounts from medical staff paint a grim picture. Medics at two hospitals told the BBC that over 100 bodies were brought in over just 48 hours.
“Around 38 people died [at one hospital],” a health worker in Tehran told the BBC. “Many had direct shots to their heads and hearts. Many didn’t even make it to the emergency beds.”
The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel. An estimated 10,600 people have been detained.
US weighs military options
The crisis has drawn a sharp response from Washington. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US “stands ready to help” as Iran “is looking at freedom.”
Official sources told the BBC’s US partner, CBS, that the president has been briefed on military options. Other measures reportedly being considered include:
- Cyber-attacks targeting Iran’s military infrastructure.
- Increased sanctions to further isolate the Iranian economy.
- Digital support for anti-government activists to bypass censorship.
In response, Iran’s parliament speaker warned that any US intervention would make American military bases and shipping centres—as well as Israel—”legitimate targets” for retaliation.
‘Vandals and terrorists’
The protests were sparked by soaring inflation in Tehran but have rapidly transformed into a nationwide movement calling for the end of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has blamed the unrest on the US and Israel, alleging without evidence that “terrorists” have been smuggled into the country to burn mosques and markets. However, footage verified by BBC Verify and BBC Persian shows security forces firing into crowds in Tehran, Mashhad, and Kermanshah.
Total digital blackout
The current internet shutdown is described by experts as even more severe than during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising in 2022.
“The authorities have for the first time severely restricted even the domestic intranet,” said Alireza Manafi, an internet researcher. He warned that while some are using Starlink satellite kits to reach the outside world, the Iranian government may be able to trace these connections.
Amid the chaos, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, urged protesters to stay in groups for safety. Pahlavi, who lives in the US, claimed that some security forces were beginning to “disobey orders,” though these reports have not been independently confirmed.
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