Anti government chants swept through Tehran on Saturday night as protesters pushed ahead with the largest uprising Iran has seen in more than three years. Demonstrators filled the streets despite a deadly crackdown carried out under the cover of a nationwide internet blackout designed to limit communication and conceal the scale of the unrest.
Authorities have signaled that the response may escalate further, with the Revolutionary Guards vowing to defend the government. The two week long movement has become one of the most significant challenges to the theocratic leadership that has ruled since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has remained defiant, accusing the United States of driving the protests.
Fresh reports of violence emerged from multiple cities, though the blackout has made it difficult to assess the full extent of clashes. Eyewitness accounts and scattered videos suggest widespread confrontations between security forces and demonstrators.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States was “ready to help” the movement. His remarks followed a warning that Iran was in “big trouble” and a reminder that he could order new military action, after Washington backed and joined Israel’s twelve day war with Iran in June.
The protests began on December 28 after the collapse of the Iranian rial, which now trades at more than 1.4 million to one US dollar. The currency’s freefall, driven by international sanctions including those tied to Iran’s nuclear program, has deepened public frustration. What started as anger over economic hardship has now grown into a sweeping call to remove the clerical authorities from power.
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