Protests continued in Tehran and in northern Iran on Sunday despite a near-total internet blackout, as security forces used lethal force nationwide and reports from activists and medical sources pointed to hundreds, possibly thousands, killed.
Videos received by Iran International showed protests in Tehran, including the Punak neighborhood, and in Shahsavar in Mazandaran province on Sunday.
Videos from Tehran’s Kahrizak forensic center showed rows of bodies, while doctors in Rasht and Karaj said hospitals received dozens of dead in recent days. Independent verification has been hampered by the communications blackout.
Two eyewitnesses who visited Kahrizak in search of their loved ones told Iran International that they saw more than 400 bodies there. The most conservative estimates indicate that at least 2,000 people have been killed across Iran on January 8 and 9.
Internet monitoring groups NetBlocks and Cloudflare said nationwide connectivity remained near zero for a fourth day, isolating the country as protests resumed in Tehran and provincial cities, according to videos and eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.
International reactions intensified. The UN secretary-general said he was “shocked” by reports of excessive force and urged restraint. European officials voiced concern, while Israel said it had gone on high alert amid the possibility of US intervention.
US President Donald Trump is set to be briefed on Tuesday on options to respond to the situation, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported, citing US officials. Axios said measures under discussion range from cyber and information operations to military deterrence, though officials cautioned that major strikes could backfire by undermining the protest movement.
Another report by Jerusalem Post said Trump is expected to assist Iranians protesting nationwide against Iran’s ruling establishment, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing several sources familiar with the details of the discussions held in recent days
“Trump has essentially decided to help the protesters in Iran. What he has not yet decided is the ‘how’ and the ‘when,’” the sources said, according to the report published on Sunday.
Iran’s leadership accused foreign enemies of fomenting unrest and warned that any US or Israeli attack would draw retaliation.
Overseas rallies by Iranians were reported across Europe, the UK, Turkey and Australia, as exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi called for sustained protests and strikes.
