Blood on the streets of Tehran: From uprising to massacre with over 500 dead – Trump fears Khamenei

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Blood on the streets of Tehran: From uprising to massacre with over 500 dead – Trump fears Khamenei

Over 500 dead in Iran unrest – Tehran threatens US bases if Trump intervenes.

More than 500 people have lost their lives in the ongoing unrest in Iran, according to a human rights organization, while Tehran threatens to target U.S. military bases if President Donald Trump follows through on new threats to intervene on behalf of the protesters. As the theocratic regime of the Islamic Republic faces its largest demonstrations since 2022, Donald Trump has repeatedly stated he will get involved if force is used against demonstrators.

According to the latest data from the U.S.-based organization HRANA, which relies on information from activists inside and outside Iran, 490 protester deaths and 48 security force deaths have been confirmed, while over 10,600 people have been arrested within two weeks of turmoil. Iran has not announced an official death toll.

A U.S. official told Reuters that Trump was scheduled to meet on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, with senior advisors to review U.S. options toward Iran; however, there are indications that the American president fears something in Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Wall Street Journal reported that scenarios under consideration include military strikes, covert cyberattacks, expanded sanctions, and providing internet support to anti-regime sources.

“The military is looking at it, and we are looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One on Sunday night. Trump also mentioned he is in contact with Iranian opposition leaders and, without providing details, claimed that Iranian leaders called him on Saturday seeking negotiations, leaving the door open for talks.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Washington against a “miscalculation.” “Let us be clear: in the event of an attack against Iran, the occupied territories (Israel), as well as all U.S. bases and ships, will become our legitimate targets,” said Qalibaf, a former commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards.

Intensification of the crackdown

The protests began on December 28 as a reaction to skyrocketing prices before evolving into a direct challenge to the theocratic leadership that has ruled the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iranian authorities accused the United States and Israel of inciting the unrest and called for a nationwide rally on Monday to condemn “terrorist acts guided by the U.S. and Israel,” according to state media.

The flow of information from Iran has been severely restricted due to an internet shutdown since Thursday. Trump stated Sunday that he would speak with Elon Musk about restoring internet access via the Starlink satellite service. Videos posted on social media Saturday from Tehran show large crowds demonstrating at night, clapping and chanting slogans. “The crowd has neither beginning nor end,” a man is heard saying.

Other footage from the city of Mashhad, in the northeast, shows smoke rising from fires in the streets, masked protesters, and debris-strewn roads while explosions are heard. State television broadcast images of dozens of body bags at Tehran’s forensic office, claiming the deceased were victims of events caused by “armed terrorists.” Footage also showed relatives waiting outside the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre to identify bodies.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was shocked by reports of violence by Iranian authorities and called for maximum restraint. “The rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly must be fully respected and protected,” he wrote on X. On Sunday, authorities declared three days of national mourning “in honor of the martyrs killed in the resistance against the United States and the Zionist regime.”

Regional concerns and international reactions

Three Israeli sources involved in security consultations over the weekend stated that Israel is on high alert due to the possibility of American intervention. Israel and Iran had engaged in a 12-day war in June 2025, in which the United States also briefly participated, striking nuclear facilities. Iran responded by launching missiles at Israel and a U.S. airbase in Qatar.

Despite repeated past protests, the current unrest manifests while Tehran is still recovering from last year’s war and its regional influence has weakened following strikes on allies like Lebanon’s Hezbollah after Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Israel and the U.S. are orchestrating the country’s destabilization and have introduced “terrorists who burn mosques, attack banks and public property.”

“Families, I ask you: do not allow your young children to join rioters and terrorists who behead people and kill others,” he said in a televised interview, adding that the government is ready to listen to the people and resolve economic problems. Iran summoned the British Ambassador to the Foreign Ministry on Sunday, protesting “interfering comments” by the British Foreign Secretary, as well as an incident where a protester removed the Iranian flag from the embassy in London and replaced it with a pre-1979 flag.

Alan Eyre, a former U.S. diplomat and Iran expert, told Reuters he considers it unlikely the protests will topple the regime. “I believe they will eventually be suppressed, but the regime will emerge much weaker,” he noted, emphasizing that the elite remains united and there is no organized opposition.

“U.S. ready to help,” says Trump

In a post on Saturday, Trump wrote: “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The U.S. is ready to help!!!” According to an Israeli source, in a phone call Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of American intervention in Iran.

At the same time, demonstrations in support of the Iranian protesters took place in the United States. In the Westwood area of Los Angeles, a truck drove into a crowd of a few hundred people participating in a solidarity rally, according to the KNBC network. Police Officer Sean Murray stated that, based on video footage, the driver was removed under police escort. It was not immediately clear how many were injured, though all received on-site first aid.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran and a prominent voice of the fragmented opposition, stated that Trump recognized the “indescribable courage” of Iranians. “Do not give up the streets,” he wrote on X.

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Οι απόψεις που εκφράζονται στα σχόλια των άρθρων δεν απηχούν κατ’ ανάγκη τις απόψεις της ιστοσελίδας μας, το οποίο ως εκ τούτου δεν φέρει καμία ευθύνη. Για τα άρθρα που αναδημοσιεύονται εδώ με πηγή, ουδεμία ευθύνη εκ του νόμου φέρουμε καθώς απηχούν αποκλειστικά τις απόψεις των συντακτών τους και δεν δεσμεύουν καθ’ οιονδήποτε τρόπο την ιστοσελίδα.‌‌